Camp Nurse

Ever since I was a little girl, I've had a secret desire to be a camp nurse...perhaps it's because of the close relationships I developed with the camp nurses at all the summer camps I went to or maybe it's because of my secret love affair with band-aids - and everyone knows camp nurses give out the most band-aids. So when my classmate asked if I would like to go with her to her church's jr. high and high school summer camp, I jumped at the opportunity. What fun!

Thankfully we only had to contact 911 once and it was for a minor issue. We did have one poor sweetie with tonsillitis which required a visit to the ER for a scrip, but that was it for the "major" events. I got to dole out dozens upon dozens of band-aids and of course all the meds these kids are on (a surprising number of which were psych drugs!). So for 370 kids and 5 days, not a bad record.

I'd forgotten though, how much I love the mountains. I've always considered myself a beach girl, and still do, but I do love the mountains in the summer time. The squirrels were fun to watch and air was so crisp. There's just something about that fresh pine smell that's hard to beat. Unfortunately, mountains rarely have a Starbucks on every corner, and camp coffee leaves a bit to be desired. BUT, one of the many perks of being camp nurse is that people generally tend to appreciate you which means for surprise treats! Woo-hoo!!!
Fellow classmate, Krystin and me enjoying pure bliss!

Got the Picture!

Here is the picture of me with the little guy that was born via c-section...His foot is black because of the foot printing (like a finger print)

Once in a Lifetime

Every so often, an experience comes along that you know is once-in-a-lifetime, an experience that you know most people don't get. On Wednesday, I had what will probably be the highlight of nursing school.

As you know, I'm in my Maternal Health unit. It's only 5 weeks and is going by entirely too fast. I was assigned a patient who had been brought into the hospital for a midnight induction. By the time I got there, she had dilated to 3cm. (full dilation is 10) At 9, the nurse and I both examined her and found her to be at 5cm. We were hoping for a mid-afternoon delivery if everything went according to plan. Of course, nothing ever goes that way and at 1:30 she was still only 5cm and was having very strong contractions with no progress. We also noticed that the baby's head was swelling pretty badly. The doctor was notified and a c-section was decided on. When the doctor walked in, I realized it was the same one who had explained how to read a fetal heart rate monitor the week before. He recognized me and asked if I'd like to scrub in... Would I? Wow!

For those of you who aren't medically savvy, scrubbing in is a big deal. It's what you see the TV doctors doing before surgery - you scrub with a special brush up to the elbows and wash the soap off very carefully. Then you walk into the OR with your hands in the air and water dripping off your elbows. A scrub technician then helps you dry off with sterile towel and then dresses you in a sterile gown and gloves. Students never get to do this; we're relegated to the back of the OR and watch from a distance, or we stand by the anesthesiologist. I was standing right next to the surgeon, we were literally bumping shoulders.

I can't even begin to describe how amazing this was! He had me name each layer of tissue, touch them, palpate them. I stuck my hand inside the uterus and measured the thickness of this incredible muscle. The human body is absolutely miraculous...

After the c-section, I got to watch and assist with a vaginal delivery. This is no less miraculous and the poor mom had to really work hard to have this baby as he was facing the wrong way. (Not breech, but his face was up instead of down.) The baby's grandmother took pictures of us and sent them to me - I am so lucky to have these as we are not allowed to take pictures ourselves in accordance with privacy laws. So here they are!

This is the waiting game... the mom had given herself a bolus in her epidural, so much that she couldn't even feel pressure to push. This meant that we had to wait it out. The OB doc is on the right.

How to Relax on a Warm Summer's Night

A couple of weeks ago, my roommate, Sara, mentioned that she loved the classic film, "Easter Parade" with Fred Astaire and Judy Garland. She was aghast that none of us living at Pemberly had ever seen it... Then just last week Cora got an e-mail announcing free-for-all summer screenings of musicals at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, and what just happened to be showing on the first night?? Nothing but "Easter Parade!!!"

I was a bit dubious at first...old movie, outside, in the summer (meaning insanely hot and chilly), a late weeknight; but I put aside my reservations and we all (minus Melissa) grabbed our beach chairs and went to go watch it. I can't remember having that much free fun in a long, long time. Everyone there was laid back, happy, and just excited to be there. Even the local news was there to cover the event. And yes, I LOVED "Easter Parade!"

A tiresome lesson

I learned a very important tidbit about myself yesterday. Contrary to what my cardiologist told me in 1998, I am very much sensitive to caffeine! Now I haven't been stupid about caffeine, but I'll have a cup of regular coffee or a glass of diet coke every now and then before bed (horrid habit, I know) without a problem, but I'm not someone who drinks a pot of coffee just because I can...

But on Tuesday, I especially felt that a cup of coffee would go well with my evening plans of relaxing and reading. So, I wandered to my pantry and saw the package of coffee my parents had given me from their recent East Coast trip. When they first gave it to me I noticed it was decaf. Perfect! I started the coffee pot and promptly had 8 cups of the most delightful coffee I've had in a long time. I proceeded to drink ALL of it. At about 2am, it finally dawned on me that maybe the package of coffee I'd opened (my parents gave me two of them) had not been decaf. At 5am when my alarm clock went off after finally dozing at 4am (yes, only 1 hour of sleep!), I stumbled downstairs and saw that sure enough...I'd had the full coffeepot of regular coffee. I managed to survive driving 60 miles roundtrip and a full day at the hospital, but was in bed by 7pm for a blissful 12 hours of sleep. Ahhhhhh...

On a different note, I had a wonderful, albeit sleepy, day at the hospital. I really do love OB. I didn't get to do much as both my patients were antepartum (meaning neither were in labor) and were doing ok, but I just loved the ambiance and the nurses and even the docs. One of the docs sat me down and explained in detail how the fetal heart rate monitor is read and what are good and bad signs to look for. Love it! and I'm sure I'll be writing more when I get to watch my first C-section and see my first "American" birth. :-)

Lessons Learned

Pediatric Rotation: CHECK!

The pediatric rotation has finally come to a close. It was a big disappointment because we didn't get to experience the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), the pediatric ICU, the Oncology ICU, or even a general acute pediatric population. Most of our patients at the rehabilitation facility had had a traumatic brain injury (TBI) or an anoxic brain injury (lack of oxygen to the brain). I can't really say the word "recovering" from, because the sad truth is that most of these children will never recover. They will never again be able to talk, to communicate, to wiggle their toes, or even blink their own eyes. They are perpetually mechanically ventilated and fed through a gastrostomy tube. (See my previous post, "The Ethics of It All" for more).
However, this is not to say that I didn't learn anything from this rotation...on the contrary!
I learned:

1. ALWAYS wear gloves when handling the g-tube, lest you get curdled stomach contents on your bare hands
2. Snot/phlegm/mucous is way more disgusting than blood
3. When suctioning a tracheostomy, always cover the trach. Projectile phlegm is not cool.
4. Make sure all valves on the gtube are closed when feeding, otherwise it ends up in the bed.
5. Bring lots of homebaked goodies for the staff - especially the ones who change diapers for your patients
6. Be thankful for each time you are inconvenienced with having to get up to use the bathroom, at least you can still go!
   ...and finally
7. NEVER get used to seeing these kids in such horrible conditions and NEVER take the life you live for granted!