trying to stay motivated....in spite of school

As my blog attests, the last few weeks have not provided much fodder. What I had hoped would be an experience replete with wild stories and interesting people has instead devolved into 16 hours a week in a clinical that leaves much to be desired. Instead of being involved in any nursing activities, we spend our hours playing Sorry and Uno with the patients and try to eat big chunks out of our days. We spend the first two hours of each day in meetings, the first hour with our group and the second hour with the staff on the floor. We then meander out onto the floor around 9:15 or thereabouts and, at 9:30 the patients have their first group. We can attend or not at our discretion, but if we dont attend we have to go sit in the back conference room and, ostensibly, read their chart for the 100th time. The group lets out at a quarter past 10 with the next commencing a half hour later. They lunch at noon and we often leave. When we return to the floor we try to soak up the last remaining hours chatting with our patients or writing our daily SOAP note (not worth explaining). Sure, there are a few colorful characters, but none on our floor.

Unfortunately, the classes are no better. The psych class is just as dull as the rotation, only it only takes up 6 hours (though it seems like so much more). The instructor is very fond of the sound of her own voice. It is unfortunate that I do not share her interest in it. Unlike some classes where you find the instructor reading from the powerpoint slides, she reads around them. Both kinds of instructors have their disadvantages, but neither imparts much knowledge.

The research course, which I had been looking forward to, has been a BIG disappointment thus far as well. It has been more focused on how to look up an article than how to read and evaluate research. I evidently mistook the title. I thought we would learn not how to understand research and better evaluate it......instead we are learning little more than how to use the library's computer system. To quote my roommate Krista, "Boo."

We also have a lab course that has proven, thus far, to be quite disjointed and uneven. We spent an hour today learning about ABG lab values and then the second hour practicing sterile technique while we removed a bandage around a PICC (peripherally inserted central catheter) line on a dummy. Think changing a bandage only with sterile gloving and a mask.

I am sure this whole blog post will come off negative.....and that wouldn't be inaccurate. The reality is that this will change in the coming weeks. I have another 2 1/2 in psych and then it is back to acute care (which will be another round of wiping ass and changing bed linens, but at least it will be a bit more medical than anything we are doing presently). In spring, we get into OBGYN and pediatrics, which will likely prove much more interesting. Until then, I will keep slogging along and keeping the end goal in mind.