Happy New Years!

So I got a little slow with the picture posting, because I left my camera at my aunts house on Christmas Eve and only got around to getting it today. In my defence I have been working everyday since then. And I've been lazy...but what are holidays for?

Anyway we had a good time at my aunts house on Christmas Eve, then had a nice Christmas day at home attempting to play Clue with French checklists. Yikes! I also worked, which was nice. I liked being a part of the resident's Christmas.

Tonight I'm going to the big fiddle in Sydney to a New Year's party with Gordie Sampson and a bunch of other bands whose names I can't remember. I never heard of any of them but they should be good anyway. Below is a picture of my dad and my uncle Ron (and Mira) on Christmas eve, and a pic of Heather getting ready for work tonight. She's going to her boyfriend's house after work to ring in the new year.

Because You Asked

I took the cats out in the snow and took some pictures. The cats weren't very happy with me but the pictures turned out pretty cute. I also got my marks back and they were good so I was happy with that. Another step closer to being an RN. Merry Christmas everyone!

SNOW!

So last night it snowed, which of course meant I got called in for a shift. One of the RN's called and I could see it was work and that it was 0545 so I picked up the phone half asleep, "hello?"
"Hi Beth"
"Seven?"
"Sorry?"
"Do I need to pack a lunch?"
"WHAT?"
"The shift, is it seven to three or seven to one"
"Does that mean you're available? Seven to one for now."
"Good enough I'll pack a lunch just in case"

I didn't end up staying the whole day anyway so it all worked out. My plan for the rest of the day is to finish "Tuesday's With Murrie" and maybe have a rest. Down below are some pictures of the dogs romping in the snow after I got home from work. Yes in some of the pictures they look like they're sitting really good, but I actually had to hold up a treat for it to work. *sigh*

Getting Ready For Christmas

Well it's about time that we get ready for the holidays and the animals have been helping in this matter. Alex decided to take the boxes down from the attic, Louie got the bows ready for the railing on the stairs, and Lily and Susie got out thier christmas bows to show off.

On other news, my med surg rotation has officially finished...I had my evaluation with Debbie on Tuesday morning. She said I did a really good job and had a good rotation. That was good because it felt really good anyway. I'm glad she noticed it though. After the holidays I start mental health clinical with Kim, who I never had before but heard good things about so I'm looking forward to that as well.

Stuck In The Middle With You

I now find myself directly in the middle of exams. I wrote three between tuesday and today, and now I have two more left: Maternal Nursing and Nursing Ethics.

I'm very tired.

My Nursing of Adults (aka MedSurg) went well today though. The questions were really good and they really made me think. They were almost all in a situation type format so the whole time I wrote the exam I felt like I was actually in a hospital. If you could have seen what was in my head...it was me floating around the hospital to each different "Client" with the exam paper and pen in my hand dealing with whatever was wrong with them. It was funny, although only to me because I was the only person who saw it.

Anyway I studied for ethics today when I got out of that exam, I'm going to have a nap and then study for maternal nursing.

Last MedSurg Clinical

Today we went to our last day of clinical on 4C, which was kind of sad because it was a really great floor with really good nurses who were both caring for the patients and helpful to us students. Not a whole lot happened, but I did get to go down to the OR with my client and see a ureter scope (not the real name of the procedure...that really left my mind right now) where they put a scope through the man's ilieal conduit, which is a stoma that lets the ureters empty into a colostomy bag instead of the bladder. Anyway the doctor let me look, and I could see where they made the ilial conduit and the left ureter above and the right one underneath (the openings for them) It looked just like the picture I saw the night before. I also got to prime my own line by myself (although Debbie checked it) and Michelle helped me hook it up. Anyway I have some pictures of clinical today. Keep in mind that every one of us got up at five this morning.

Okay so we have Angela, Mary and Jennifer bright and fuzzy in the morning before our shift on 4C...How many hours left? The girls waiting in the conference room for report to start, Evelyn, Clare and Clare's partner in crime, Kim...in the caf. Mary showing us how to gown, glove and mask up before going into an MRSA isolation room, followed by Mary trying to show us how to take everythign off again..."Debbie what did you do braid the back of this?" And Anne Frances, Isabelle, Jeanie and Chrissy very must more awake than we were coming on for their three to eleven shift in Obs. And at the very top is my whole 4C medsurg clinical group: Me, Mary, Kelly, Lydia, Angela, Jennifer, Charlene and Debbie.

Yuk Yuks And Harry Potter

Amanda, Chrissy, Lydia, Angela, Crystal and I went to the yuk yuk's at the membertou trade and convention center. Mary and Morley met us there, they came with Val and her dad. And when we got there we found shae and crew as well. It was an okay night, although there were only two comedians and they didn't stay on long. It was X rated as well, but not too bad anyway.

And two weeks ago Heather, Sherri, Jenn and I went to see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. That was amazing. It went away from the book quite a bit, but still stayed close enough that it wasn't horribly different. Below is a picture of heather before we left. She discovered a "firebolt" in our kitchen and just had to try it out. I think she missed the snitch.

On other news meds went really well two weeks ago, and I mentored this past week. Basically you float around the floor and pray that something exciting will happen or a skill will come up for grabs...and help out the girls on meds by taking vitals and helping with am care. I was lucky. I got to do a catheter (my first one) and could have done two dressing changes if we had time. I was allowed to pick from a picc line or a jelonet change, and since I've never done one or seen one I picked the picc line. It wasn't hard at all and I got to prime another TPN to go in the picc. the scary part was changing the caps. You have to get the person to hold their breath or else they could get an air embolus that leads to the heart! Scary stuff. When I was doing the catheter I was trying to put on my sterile gloves, but they were a little different than the ones we practiced with and I couldn't find the thumb to know where to put it. Anyway long story short I pulled down the cuff and the thumb was actually on the back of my hand. Debbie laughed. I turned beet red. She said I did a good job though, both with my skills and my charting. Tuesday is our last day and then it's time to get into exams.

And It's Ewen

After consideration, John and Dana picked Ewen Frances MacKenzie Whyte as the name of the new baby. I think that's a good name. I was looking through pictures of him and he looked a little jaundice in some of them, then in a few more he had this neat blanket that seemed to light up by itself. Jaundice, of course, is caused by an elevated billiruben which is usually caused because the liver is not breaking down the blood cells quick enough. Very common in babies. Anyway light helps it break down faster. Sunlight is best, but here in Cape Breton they take the baby in the NICU until the billi is down to a happy level (<250 in babys 48hrs, and <300 in those 72hrs) This blanket, apparently called a billiblanket (my friends sister is taking her LPN's in PEI and they have these blankets too) allows the baby to move around, be with the family and still get that needed light to help break down the billi. It's amazing the things we can do. Anyway I digress. This picture is absolutely beautiful...Angus holding Ewen and looking so happy to have his little brother with him. I hope as they grow that they will be close and always be there for each other.

Welcome Baby Ewen...or Alastor...

Meet the new addition to the Whyte family, I think now they're thinking of calling him Alastor, which would be a cute name. Ewen is another pick though. That's not bad either. Anyway he's nine lbs and twenty inches and was born at one if I read all that properly (it came out weird in the file). His apgar score is about a nine right here which is good. I'm going to post a picture of Angus too because I really like it. I think this was taken at the wildlife park in the part where the horses were, but it could have been taken in Ottawa too I'm not sure. Angus loves horses. I can't wait to see them again.

Med Surg Clinical

I thought I'd finally post a quick update of my nursing life. I started my med surg clinical rotation two weeks ago on Four C. This floor is very familiar to me, and it's also a lot like intersession (4B). I have Debbie for a clinical instructor which is awesome...she's an amazing nurse. They all are. I am amazed that Debbie can go into a room and within ten minutes find out loads of information from a client. Just from making one comment "I hear a bit of accent..sounds like highlands" How did she even know that? I sometimes find I'm spending too much time on skills and not enough on communication skills. Through that ten minute conversation we were able to find out that the lady was indeed from the highlands and was allergic to shellfish. It was just amazing.

Anyway next week I'm on meds so that'll be interesting. For now I have to go study more med surg for the morning. ABG's! Yey!

Oh and I'll have some clinical pictures soon too....one of the girls had her camera with her today.

Pumpkins, Ghosts and Goblins

Well we finally got the house decorated for halloween, and I must say it looks pretty good. My parents fixed it up yesterday, and we carved our pumpkins today. I did mine with a palm tree and flamnigo to celebrate our going on the cruise in February. My mom made a bat and my dad made a frently toothy-smiled pumpkin man to greet the trick-or-treaters. I don't know if I'll get to give out treats this year because I have to research for clinical on Tuesday. I'll probably pop down from time to time to see the kids in their costumes though.

Mardi Gras!

So David and I decided to go to the halloween party dressed up for Mardi Gras. Actually if you want to be specific, I decided we were going and David agreed after seeing the mask and planning the clothes. I think it's going to work out well. On other news my cousin Heather got her drivers licence yesterday...yey Heather! Now don't smash the car! And I found out I'm in Debbie Brennick's group for my next clinical rotation on 4C of the regional. I'm excited for this because I like that floor and I haven't had Debbie for clinical since The Cove. I guess that's it for now. My mom decided to light the wood stove tonight so the oil heat is going to turn off and my room will be like an ice box. I'd better go downstairs soon to get warm!

Finished Obs.

Well I worked my last clinical shift in maternity on Tuesday. Cyndee said I did a really good job blah blah blah. I really enjoyed it. Monday is my first research for med-surg and I must say I'm really looking forward to it. My client this week had stuff wrong with her that wasn't just having a baby and I enjoyed that. Learning about it and everything. It was great. I was sent some of the pictures from the IWK telethon so I'll post them up now. The first one is Hector and I, then it's Judy showing us the proper way to put a bandaid on a bear, and the last one is Duncan, Hector and Judy. And someone I don't know. A funny story, all the kids kept asking for ballons so we gave them away. At the end there were none left and the lady came looking for them! I let Judy handel that one.

Dots?

Yup. It seems no matter what I always go back to this background...just like I always go back to my aqua theme on the computer.

With Halloween coming up I need to start thinking about costumes. David wants to go with Cowpokes which is workable, but I have to get out there and actually get the costume SOON. We're going to this thing in Sydney River that supports the paramedics...my friend Jeannie from school...her husband is a paramedic so we're all going from school. Should be a good time anyway, and an excuse to get dressed up for this wonderful occasion. As you can see from the picture, I was ... nurse...last year. My aunt made that costume and I bought these ridiculous shoes that were white but had a heel. I'm not really sure how I managed to get around on them though. I also swore I'd burn every picture I had in this outfit, but this one here turned out pretty good so I kept it. Seems really strange that a year has gone by already since that time.

In other news the animals went to the vet yesterday. Susie came home with ointment and pills for her eyes. Lily came home with the same instructions for her foot. Alex came home with a booster. Not too bad anyway. I have to take Louie on Tuesday. Fun times!

Bubbles?

I tend to get very stressed about the bubbles in my syringe when I'm giving an injection. It's not AS bad as if there are bubbles in the IV (for obvious reasons) but I still tend to lose my head over it. Luckily I'm quite good at getting them out of the Syringe...but there are still some fun things that happen "behind the scenes" when preparing a needle. They can be a little bit comical after the fact, but not so much when you're in a drug room drawing up medication with an instructor breathing down your neck.

My favorite story will always be of my very first IM injection which was a combination of Gravol and Demerol. Fine and dandy. I could handle filling out the narcotic sheet by now, as well as drawing up the medication...or so I thought. Gravol and Demerol are compatible medications, which means they can be mixed together in the syringe and given as one needle. What they don't tend to tell you is that when you're drawing up the second med, you have to get it right on with no bubbles because you can't prime or flick bubbles out...it'll mess up the amount of meds in the needle. Soooo I had to draw the gravol very slowly so as not to get any bubbles and whatnot. And I had to do this with both Willena, Judy, and another student IN THE ROOM. Yikes. Then of course I got there and all I had to put on my hands were large gloves, so I went and got some mediums but I felt bad for making the lady wait.

So when I went to do this IM the first thing I did was to go for a search for medium gloves. All was going well until I realized I didn't have enough in the syringe to do my measurement (I needed a ml.) so I had to stick the darned thing back in the vile. Argh. And Cyndee was all "I won't watch" which was cute but I actually don't mind them watching and said as much. Anyway we got in there and the girl couldn't lay down so I had to do it while she was sitting, and let me tell you it's some hard to landmark when someone is sitting instead of standing. I wanted to make sure I got a good spot. Cyndee was like "well you can use vastis lateralis if you want" but I don't like that spot so I used the one I had. It went well in the end.

Now I just have to get over the bubbles in the IV phobia

Hockey's Back

No More Browser Blues + Thanksgiving + Clinical

Hurrah! My blog is finally letting me post pictures again! Yesterday we had the MacKillops over for thanksgiving turkey...here's my dad cutting the turkey while we're waiting for them to come over. My mom made Yams, which I never had before but got really excited when I found out she was making them because they spell "thanksgiving" in all the books. Turns out they're sweet potatoes with brown sugar/water/butter in them. YUMMY! Here's my mom making the yams...checking to see if they're done.


After supper my uncle Ron decided he needed to sleep it off in front of the TV and my mom and aunt Sharon went blog looking on the computer while we all sipped our coffee.







Susie and Lily decided they needed special thanksgiving neckers for the occation as well. There's susie modeling with Heather on the sofa, and lily outside with her necker on to greet the visiters. When dinner was over I had to go upstairs and continue the homework I had been working on all weekend: my major careplan that was due today. I finally got it finished at 9:00 last night and passed it in today. I had a pretty busy weekend either working at seaview or working on that project so I'm going to have a nap after I end this and then get up to study for my Obs. test next week. I am also finished on the Obs. floor because next week I go to the mother/baby clinic where I will help do assessments on babies who went home and are coming back for check ups. Today I gave my second ever IM to an adult...benadryl. It was just as scary as the first, but just as easy to do as well. When I was done, as we were walking back to the med room Cyndee looked at me and said "Nice Needle" I was very impressed with that. I also got to do the discharge on a client. I had a really good time at Obs. After next week I start Med-Surg.

More Lazy Boobs 

Pictures Of The Boat

So there's the pictures of the Carnival Trimph. My computer still won't let me post pictures directly from the blog site, and I've given up. Last night I couldn't even get the darn thing to open at all so this is a bit of an improvement anyway. I'm really looking forward to getting on that boat in February.

Anyway for some other news, my week this week is going to be insane, as is my weekend coming up. I have to finish my major assignment, do the preconference for monday and try to finish psych. And look up stuff for med-surg and start studying in there somewhere too. YIKES! I'm not sure where the time went. I've already been in school for a month.

Front Of Boat 

Back Of Boat