tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-92124803141403786542011-07-28T15:04:34.827-04:00You know that old butchy charge nurse with the big square butt and the scowly face who marches around and gets results? A weird melding of Edna Garrett, Viola Swamp and House? Deep down, she cares, but she's also No Nonsense. She'll bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan and doesn't give a rat's ass if you're a man. That's the kind of nurse I want to be, but I didn't dare say it that way on my admissions essay.kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.comBlogger821100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-82241877431307288952008-11-25T10:00:00.002-04:002008-11-25T10:13:29.882-04:00

I will never sign another chart or note with SN - I am done with clinicals! It's crazy - I feel such relief, and not as much nervousness as I thought that I might. I guess because I still don't have a job or even an application for a license... so, today, instead of going to work as an NA, which I desparately need to do because I have approximately $80 to my name, I will:go to the DMV and update

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com46tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-84441328082579116092008-11-02T23:10:00.002-04:002008-11-02T23:13:17.745-04:00

So, seriously, I'm going to be taking the boards when? And I'll be passing my own meds when?! Because wow oh wow, I do NOT feel ready. I feel like I do an EXCELLENT job of watching my preceptor work. I think I'm an OUTSTANDING nursing assistant. I can write a paper and blow your literary socks right off. Nurse?! Like, Hi, I'll be your nurse today?! oh my. can I just work as an NA for a

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-35222080153091897832008-11-02T22:31:00.002-04:002008-11-02T23:06:52.022-04:00

Oh boy. I'm at the point in the time management cycle where I have enough awareness of what I've committed to do to be pretty upset and hopeless about getting it all done - which is perfect motivation for pruning the schedule and prioritizing. Unfortunately, I usually want to assess before I prune, and when I say assess, I mean "Make a list of everything I have going on, with lots of notes

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-4274774820935536132008-10-21T11:43:00.002-04:002008-10-21T11:48:21.736-04:00

Thanks to the presence of No Impact Man on my google reader (who apparently shares a love of Pablo Neruda), I saw this quote today:from Edward Abbey, who has been described as a "cranky environmentalist/mystic of the desert southwest": "One final paragraph of advice: do not burn yourselves out. Be as I am — a reluctant enthusiast... a part-time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic. Save the other

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-91437898322857151112008-10-21T11:25:00.003-04:002008-10-21T12:07:46.268-04:00

The writing process:Gather information on the assignment/audienceBrainstormResearchOutlineDraftWail and Cry (repeating as needed)ReviseComplete assignment.At lunch yesterday, I asked for advice on the level of overwhelming-ness I'm experiencing right now. One option is to ditch the Honors project - and I teared up just asking the registrar how I would go about doing that because I'm so attached

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-87942345258684610462008-10-21T11:22:00.002-04:002008-10-21T11:25:42.837-04:00

tears for the first two weeks of the externship - because I was lost, because I didn't feel I could trust the folks I was supposed to be learning from, because I was not convinced that the patients were safe, nor that any of us were able to provide good nursing care. But dammit, if I didn't learn a hell of a lot.

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-61404887630625042702008-06-04T19:35:00.004-05:002008-06-04T20:05:36.076-05:00

PT: You have to do those ankle pumps, so that your right foot won't continue to drop.amazing patient: I DON'T HAVE TO DO ANYTHING. I'M THE PATIENT.PT: Oh. Goodbye, then.me (turning J.D. style to the camera in my mind): Yes! That's it! That's what I've been pissed at you about! And you don't, you don't have a do a flippin thing. You and your fistula and your ostomy and your graft sites and

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-87826226745575736502008-06-03T19:52:00.005-05:002008-10-21T12:03:20.770-04:00

friend: no assholes = good daymakes sense to meme: well, as unpleasant as emptying an ostomy bag can be, wiping an adult's anus is worse. friend: I can't believe you've actually done that.me: Dude. Get ready for a I've had the shittiest (literally!) day ever story. Settled in?friend: uh ohme: I have had this one patient for six days straight now. He is,hands down, the neediest, whiniest,

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-3012307413394776452008-06-02T20:57:00.002-05:002008-06-02T21:12:20.598-05:00

This video is totally unrelated to nursing. Except. New nurses are getting plunged into the most challenging settings, just like first year teachers are. Duh. The units that regularly have 6 patients per nurse, routinely at least 3 of them on tubefeeds, with trachs or on oxygen, incontinent of stool and urine, and with some sort of fluctuating critical lab value* - those are the inner city

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-83462865754294363092008-03-05T00:31:00.000-05:002008-03-05T00:31:07.979-05:00

Powerful Domestic Violence Awareness Ads at Street Anatomy

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-2622989063234329082008-03-02T22:03:00.001-05:002008-03-02T22:06:23.837-05:00

Google Reader (77): "First of all, your average student is scared to death of your average patients. They're not people to the nursing student; they're huge bundles of foreign problems who are likely to die suddenly while gasping out that it was all the student's fault. Having an experienced nurse at your side makes you a much less scared student (unless the nurse is Peevie McGripersons, that is)

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-24132663144548088272008-02-21T23:38:00.001-05:002008-02-21T23:38:37.787-05:00

Technorati Profile

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-34409567030590329872008-02-20T09:14:00.003-05:002008-02-20T09:55:30.301-05:00

I find myself giving test-taking tips at every tutoring session lately. Five tips for taking tests in nursing school: *Read the question. Seriously, read it. Stop, don't look down at the answers yet. Read the question once more, looking for these words or phrases: LEAST LIKELY, MOST LIKELY, PRIORITY INTERVENTION, NOT, FIRST. Underline them when you find them. You absolutely must know what

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-65591419082704900992008-02-19T01:53:00.003-05:002008-02-19T02:14:34.928-05:00

i just left six hours of watching a first time mother labor. 2cm, 50% and -3 when I arrived. 3cm, 80%, -3 when I left, with membranes ruptured, epidural and foley cath in place. Foley so that when they 'went to the back' it would already be in place. fuck. just go on now, why not?Pitocin running except when everyone in the nurses station decided those were late decels on the monitor and

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-32426460223335555572008-02-19T00:58:00.001-05:002008-02-19T01:00:02.062-05:00

But yet I soldier on. Here is the epistle that I have constructed for a recent assignment re: professional socialization (which means how nurses learn to become nurses from other nurses, I think). The Hinshaw-Davis Model of Professional Socialization really fits my experience of nursing school so far, and it relates directly to defining nursing.Initial innocence is the definition that I entered

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-47110806654242741872008-02-12T18:04:00.000-05:002008-02-12T18:11:48.858-05:00

I am so excited! One of my top two picks for faculty advisors said yes to working with me for an Honors project! Full speed ahead! Here's the proposal: I am interested in looking at the cultural competency of BSN students. The rationale for increasing cultural competency among nurses is obvious (but would be fully outlined in my final paper of course), but the logistics of doing so is much

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-87942062806232033772008-02-12T00:58:00.000-05:002008-02-12T01:00:05.852-05:00

I swear, this man, I love him. I get teary every time I watch this.

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-35287853075290179772008-02-12T00:12:00.000-05:002008-02-12T00:13:22.536-05:00

On Ash Wednesday, as we're getting ready to leave for school, the kid asks what happens on Ash Wednesday. I said it's a religious holiday, a pretty serious time for many Christians, and Catholics often make some sacrifice for the next 40 days before Easter to show how serious things are. (I tried to tackle the concept of sin and redemption and then let that one lie. There are some things that a

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-13037102228564740572008-02-11T23:12:00.000-05:002008-02-12T00:12:20.111-05:00

Quick run-down:Maternity - test this week on labor and delivery, extrauterine transition of the newborn, newborn care and teaching. take home points: Babies should be warm, pink and sweet and labor hurts a lot. Aforementioned clinical drama. Excellent patient interactions for two weeks running now.Public Health - 92.1 on last week's test. Proud of the studying I did - in small chunks, used

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-40210676550392726582008-02-11T22:14:00.000-05:002008-02-12T01:24:06.307-05:00

I have a story.At the beginning of the semester, I sent a note to the course coordinator, saying that my son's birth was traumatic, and that I was a bit nervous going into the setting again, although it had been several years. She said nervous is normal, and maybe I should let the clinical instructor know how I was feeling. Done, with conversation from course coordinator attached for history and

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-40436672032083352902008-01-25T22:42:00.000-05:002008-01-25T23:06:43.911-05:00

After meeting a friend for coffee this morning (what, like an adult? with disposable income and free time to just chill at the coffeeshop? who am i!), I careened into the park-n-ride lot, got the last spot in the next to the last row away from the bus stop, and got to campus by 10a. Stopped by the Academic Counselors office to sign for being a Patho tutor again (I am certifiably insane.

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-66075325643295817972008-01-17T23:27:00.000-05:002008-01-17T23:35:00.667-05:00

Dammit if this Public Health Nursing class hasn't started out exactly like Fundamentals of Nursing, which was the bane of January 2007. I just shake my head when I read the syllabus. Whenever I bravely pick up the text and attempt Chapter three, I am greeted with pages of seemingly impossible distinctions between terms which mean NOTHING to anyone but a dictionarist or a nursing textbook

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-28145380209188945342008-01-15T23:46:00.000-05:002008-01-17T23:40:19.705-05:00

Last night at 130am, I was very busily filling in my week's schedule, and looking for the chunks of time to get groceries, write up the scripts for the Nursing Student Outreach project, and buy puzzles for our upcoming SNA conference. I realized that I had yet to find the chunks of time before class on Thurs that I could skim the material. I get very attached and almost proud of how

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-59339922453210927152008-01-15T23:45:00.000-05:002008-01-15T23:55:46.018-05:00

This semester looks tough, but I'm feeling quite calm about it so far. Maternity – I’m going to have to really work on checking myself in this course. Angry notes on the first Powerpoint like when the prof said quite cheerfully that “the lithotomy position is essentially pushing uphill” and that it’s really designed to help “the provider deliver the mother”. Oh. Ouch. On one hand, thanks

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-88627360738063336302008-01-15T23:14:00.000-05:002008-01-15T23:56:58.558-05:00

I've been attending Quaker meeting for a couple of Sundays, and tonight I went to a yoga class that used bolsters, blankets and eye pillows to create poses that one essentially laid in for several minutes. All in dim light and silence. Very odd. It's a nice contrast to the chaos of the first of the semester. When I laid down into the first pose tonight, it felt like my body was ratcheting,

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-69351177622929556562007-12-19T13:06:00.000-05:002007-12-19T13:06:38.055-05:00

sigh. instead of writing a resolution on diversity or safe patient handling for the NSNA convention, I'm researching hairstyle pictures to take to my stylist this afternoon. short bob hairstyle

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-76391501197712933612007-12-16T22:23:00.000-05:002007-12-16T22:50:07.648-05:00

Sparkly! Brilliant! Mysteriously beautiful! This has been truly a lovely weekend. Saturday, I got to spend a pleasant hour discussing my son with his father. This is surprisingly pleasant, and although I was brusque when he started to wax squarmily poetic about the joy of parenthood, we had an excellent parenting meeting. Then, I took my Lane Bryant coupon and presented myself at the mall to

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-6729674127836100132007-12-13T12:43:00.000-05:002007-12-13T13:19:26.362-05:00

hmmm. not christmas, for sure. While I expect a certain amount of disruption in the normal routine of life because of my academic calendar, it seems the normal routine of life itself has been fundamentally altered lately. First, there was the whole - late Daylight Savings Time / early Thanksgiving - debaucle, and now, autumn weather in mid-December. I'm ready to watch that black balloon

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-41934284476654194612007-12-11T22:23:00.000-05:002007-12-13T13:20:36.986-05:00

My final final was this morning, and my final paper was turned in at 4:48pm, just under the extended 5pm deadline. amazing.I have had a weekend full of vomiting and lethargy, anorexia and fever. I crammed for each of these exams. I have things to say about each of them, in turn. But I really feel I have to say these things in the course evaluations first and foremost. It was a semester of

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-29690416826521202372007-11-27T16:48:00.000-05:002007-11-27T18:54:19.126-05:00

It's not going to be pretty folks. Not pretty at all.First off, tis the season to begin calculating what I'll have to get on my finals to maintain or improve my current grade in each course. And then, because there's still time left in the "fart around" block on my calendar, I can calculate exactly how far the 5 credit hours of a B in Peds is going to sink my GPA and if there's a way to recover

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-15450371347749797642007-11-20T00:10:00.001-05:002007-11-20T00:10:41.992-05:00

Leo Horoscope for week of November 15, 2007 Stories interest me more than beliefs. I'd rather hear you regale me with tales of your travels than listen to you recite your dogmas. Filmmaker Ken Burns agrees with me. He's worried about the increasing number of people who love theories more than stories. "We are experiencing the death of narrative," he told the San Francisco Chronicle. "We are all

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-48465495730022193102007-11-19T23:45:00.000-05:002007-11-20T00:05:58.975-05:00

I have plans for t-day break. Big plans. I'll be in the car for 12 hours total with my stepfather, who wants to always be the driver, and my mother, who doesn't like music in the car, and my son, who has been a little surly, and my own head, which is spinning at usual nauseating speed. I'll be spending 12 hours a day assessing or avoiding the assessment of my grandparents, who don't want to be

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-21392626363883911032007-11-05T10:07:00.000-05:002007-11-05T10:44:29.256-05:00

Peds is still kicking my affective ass. After the shower-sobbing reaction to my shifts in the PICU and NICU, I then had a series of less intense but recurrent crying jags last week after my first 12 hour shift on the unit. I am SO good at dissociating that I can't even really tell you what triggered them - but it was akin to the med-surg crying, based loosely around the idea that during those

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-53307159113673394892007-10-24T09:46:00.000-05:002007-10-24T10:54:03.249-05:00

PICU kids were:one month old boy with hypoplastic left heart, adorable smile, and hard swollen breasts (they were doing an MRI to find out if there was something on his pituitary?) Ventilator, central line in jugular vein, continuous infusion of fentanyl, methadone q6h. Mom and dad cannot come to visit often, and are a little checked out about this child. The nurse I was following (who I had

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-77731865011170625372007-10-24T09:44:00.000-05:002007-10-24T09:45:41.075-05:00

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-45378656705462113752007-10-21T00:46:00.000-05:002007-10-21T01:22:07.665-05:00

Why is Blogger offering to type in Hindi for me? Did I select something or is this some sort of blog worm? ah, never mind. I can't be bothered.i have a headache. likely because it is in fact quarter til two and my ass is not yet in my ridiculously comfortable bed, with the window open to ridiculously cool air.my tonsils hurt. like i've been smoking american spirits, which i HAVEN'T and so

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-20964276250096022892007-09-28T22:41:00.000-05:002007-09-28T23:23:43.082-05:00

My friend told me that I was very distractable today. I didn't really listen to her because I was trying to figure out how to get one of those cute little KEEN shoe keyrings... I also wasn't listening because I'm jealous that she gets to take her Master's degree in Research and roll out at noon on Fridays, whereas I have to remain on campus for at least three more hours, and possibly as many as

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-21747193222294422262007-09-25T01:08:00.000-05:002007-09-25T01:20:38.390-05:00

Minority Midwifery Student's got me thinking again. Our Research prof was talking last week about how she had this radical discovery after her first focus group in the Latino church. She wants to know if cardiovascular interventions for Latino folks like education on risk factors and exercise and whatnot are more effective if they are sponsored by the church. The church members interviewed said

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-77342026116025023112007-09-24T17:46:00.000-05:002007-09-24T16:27:50.223-05:00

Currently I have the following fiber arts projects started:one shawl, aforementioned in this blog, for which I have begun the far shoulder and have one cake of yarn left. We shall see.pads, knitted and crocheted from kitchen cotton, flat and in the round. These are in an attempt to use up the bags of the stuff that I bought at Michaels last summer, when I was just learning to knit and thought

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-70971046668107509442007-09-24T14:49:00.000-05:002007-09-24T15:34:22.282-05:00

I've been working hard to drag myself out of a trip to the sucking thought-spiral of despair for the past couple weeks. I had been feeling sad and lonely, and sort of on the verge of tears - the kid wouldn't go to sleep, I was being a raving angry shrew anytime we were together, and then teared up when he told me he wanted to go spend the night with his dad. That's the first time he's said that

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-4740198541724801402007-09-14T18:22:00.000-05:002007-09-25T01:30:39.095-05:00

My people are busy sucking again.Listened to report the other day about how a patient was noncompliant with the Kwell shampoo. I perked up because this is the new admission that I saw coming in, a 30-something AfAm male with 5" dreads. What is Kwell shampoo, I wonder? And why are they trying to wash his head? And why are they confused that he would be noncompliant with this plan? The report

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-38258008645272462892007-08-28T20:29:00.000-05:002007-09-24T15:35:11.553-05:00

I was soooo about to do my nursing note for the day's shift, practicing my SBAR format and then start to type some of my IPR (Interpersonal Process Recording - a word for word account of what he said/I said with notes about what I think he meant and whether I think I did a good job of responding/redirecting). I also planned on getting physically ill thinking about what in god's name I will talk

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-56220389980908246832007-08-24T14:44:00.000-05:002007-09-24T15:36:54.640-05:00

She refers to herself in the third person in a very not-annoying way. She is not afraid of the well-placed f-bomb. She provides excellent insight into the aspects of practice that my lecture professors are not even hinting at.Go read. Really.She reminded me of the importance of diction when talking with patients -It took me the entire med-surg rotation to recognize that the reason that I was

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-18061110352593202162007-08-22T21:10:00.000-05:002007-09-24T15:39:39.475-05:00

my friend reminded me of that paula poundstone bit recently.Yesterday was tough - orienation for psych clinical, which I hadn't realized I was nervous about. Additionally, my usual clunky awkwardness was exacerbated by the fact that I spent four hours sitting in a room with Ponytail Perfect Priscilla and her flawless-skinned sister Elizabeth and their five friends, Polly, Perky, Baby Spice, Paris

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-5884843547085461602007-08-22T21:08:00.000-05:002007-09-24T15:45:47.662-05:00

cross-posted at the SON's new blog, of which I am a contributor! Kay Supreez!One of my favorite nurse bloggers recently did a post on his toolkit - the bits of debris that he intentionally fills the 85 pockets of his cargo scrubs with. At one point during this summer's rotation, I realized that I needed to learn to either tie sturdier bows with my drawstring pants or carry less stuff. The

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-46922857338338406902007-08-19T20:47:00.000-05:002007-08-22T21:48:50.851-05:00

I had an excellent chance to use my Pharmacology this week while visiting my octogenarian grandparents. I stumble into the kitchen where Grampi has already made coffee since he’s been up since dawn. I mumble good morning and he pounces. Grampi: What do you know about Prilosec and Coumadin? kati: Wow. Um. Can I get my coffee first? Let’s see. Prilosec is cimetidine, yes? Over the counter

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-26743078430265940802007-08-15T09:56:00.001-05:002007-08-15T10:43:39.934-05:00

Every year, I signed up for the summer reading program. There was always a silly theme. I had a clipboard to hold the list of the books I'd read, and I got a bookmark if I read 25, a certificate for a free balloon for 50 books, and a gift certificate for $5 at McDonalds if I read the top end of 500 books. I was always on track for the 500, with multiple mimeographed copies of the

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-5789669554500224542007-07-04T07:35:00.001-05:002008-02-20T17:32:30.049-05:00

Scene - the work area (formerly known as the nurses station) , a triangular collection of counterspace, computers, three chairs that bang into each other, a Dyno-Map Parking Area, the antibiotic fridge, med Pyxis and narc Pyxis.Characters - patient, invisible, three doors stage left, one RN entering from stage right to pull something from the med Pyxis, two physicians' assistant students at the

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-65581190403713694582007-06-23T22:54:00.000-05:002007-06-23T23:44:40.098-05:00

Last Wednesday, I had my OR experience. It was awesome, and I would like OR nursing. All about the gadgets and the gloves and the tools. Not so much with the sick folks peeing on me and whatnot. But then, I would have just done the surg tech program at the comm college if I wanted to pass instruments and listen to surgeons measure their various appendages all day.Seriously, ortho surgeons are

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-76197272268556654812007-06-17T15:56:00.000-05:002007-06-17T16:14:52.949-05:00

dude. sunday afternoons suck.Reasons I'm lonely:1- I have time to think about the fact that I'm lonely. I don't have an exam tomorrow, or a patient to prepare for at 6am in the morning, or anything else allcompassing that must be done in the next 24-48 hours.2 - I won't see the kid until Wednesday afternoon. I didn't realize this until I was driving away from dropping him off this morning. I

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-34103137885002661662007-05-28T13:56:00.000-05:002007-05-28T14:18:07.096-05:00

Hi, Diety. I'm getting ready to go back onto the unit and I'm feeling scared shitless again. I would like to remember to breathe, and stay in the moment. I would like to remember that I have resources available to me when I feel over my head, and that I don't have to know everything or do everything - I only need to stay present for the patient, and provide kind competent care. I can cry when

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-2777819060388791412007-05-23T14:21:00.001-05:002007-05-24T11:54:02.793-05:00

Isn't frank red blood sort of redundant? Isn't the joy of using lingo that you don't have to explain what you mean within the lingo?As of yesterday, I have spent exactly 21 hours providing patient care. I'm still terrified, and I'm amazed at how much I've learned in those 21 hours. Keep stethoscope with me at all times, unless my patient of the day is on contact precautions, then leave steth in

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-80341995929762099352007-05-07T21:29:00.000-05:002007-05-07T21:43:56.361-05:00

I can study!? It's shocking! I've spent days in the library, with folks coming and going from the room, but we've methodically plodded through exam blueprints and powerpoint slides. We've gone off on tangents, and yapped about meaningless stuff, but to a relative minimum. We've made up songs about antibodies, and interpretive dances for drugs, and I can tell you that our mnemonic for the

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-7458697104718096892007-05-04T12:25:00.000-05:002007-05-04T12:30:02.066-05:00

But apparently, not a B+. And this is something that I have never worried about before. It seemed a little snooty to be all about the A+ or the B+, because I thought that GPA was just based solely on the letter grade, not the plus and the minus parts. But now I'm all sad and pissed because I should have been wavering between an A and a B in that class, but after losing points on four skills

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-16960626163350922062007-05-01T12:10:00.000-05:002007-05-01T12:33:07.695-05:00

finals week. two down, four to go. the past two days I've been studying in groups, which is not something I've done a lot of this semester, and eating on the strip of this college town, again not a common occurrence. I've been avoiding that pile of laundry in the hallway that threatens to eat me (and the kid's bike parked nearby) and the pile of dishes in the sink that have been there for 9

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-4343855175801083492007-04-19T10:34:00.000-05:002007-04-19T11:10:58.857-05:00

worked all weekend last weekend. skipped class this morning because I stayed up all night watching a disk of House. had a mini-crisis (almost entirely self-created) last week because I hadn't done an assignment that was worth 50 points of a 1000 point class average. At the same time, it was a 6-8 page care plan for a stroke patient - you know, integral skills to have for the field! The stuff

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-35922887740404845802007-04-13T14:30:00.001-05:002007-05-02T19:41:40.339-05:00

The kid and I have been having this lovely conversation about God the past few days. It started as a bit of a stand-off about diety gender, when he said He and I said She, and he said god's not a girl, and I said, God is both and neither. There's nothing you can think of, or see, or feel that's not god. The kid chewed on that and agreed and that's where we've been for days, pulling out the

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-42251862062718027252007-04-04T12:18:00.000-05:002007-04-04T13:17:46.052-05:00

I attended a lecture today hosted by the Christian Pharmacist Fellowship on campus about right of conscience and Plan B.Two things were striking to me.The lecturer spoke briefly about independent practitioners vs dependent practitioners. This is very interesting to me in light of the recent lecture in our Disciplines of Nursing course on negligence, beneficence (doing good for a patient -

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-15647229984247619982007-03-31T23:15:00.000-05:002007-04-04T14:44:40.950-05:00

This is an email I decided not to send. I think it's more of a journal entry. I'm tempted not to even post it here. I seem to have lost my internal editor lately. I wish I could speak in declarative sentences more often. My friend actually had to stop me the other night, and say - Is this still parenthetical to the story you wanted to tell? Because my attention is waning.I really have been

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-72565599598171026232007-03-27T21:14:00.000-05:002007-03-27T21:39:46.611-05:00

still burnt. applying aloe liberally. wincing each time I reflexively swing my backpack onto my shoulder. today, i managed to pull off the cute swingy shirt with crocheted sandals, but the sandals made little blisters on the inside of my heel and by the end of the day, I was carrying my shoes in my lunch bag and both of my bookbags in the other hand. These blisters were invisible compared to

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-22895540616918627962007-03-25T21:13:00.000-05:002007-03-25T21:55:10.803-05:00

We had a lovely day today! The kid and I spent all day outside, first having a picnic brunch delivered by some friends, and then the kids played and my friend and I talked and laughed at the ridiculous shit on the internet and looked for clovers. Friend's kid got picked up by her dad, my kid moped for a bit, and tried to get us (and any visible neighbors) to come play whiffle ball with him, and

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-40252983757271469432007-03-25T21:12:00.000-05:002007-03-25T21:13:01.328-05:00

mental blog topics:All my dreams seem to be social nightmares. full of complicated situations to be navigated, characters that have long since dropped off the map for me IRL, but with whom I apparently have Unfinished Business. I wish for the kinds of dreams that Dumbledore talks of in Goblet of Fire - soar to the highest heights, and plunge to the depths of the ocean. But most of my thinking

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-66513107188246374732007-03-15T21:45:00.000-05:002007-03-15T22:18:49.855-05:00

I hope that I will go to bed early tonight - which would mean as soon as I finish this post. I have been keeping my usual early morning schedule this week (well, sort of, since I reset the alarm yesterday and took the kid to school an hour late. what! fuckit.). but I've been up into the wee hours. Apparently, treating myself on my vacation means sleep deprivation. Interesting.took the cats

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-28219140248812269202007-03-14T21:44:00.000-05:002007-03-15T22:31:05.975-05:00

Didn't post anything to blog.Read about General Pace, his foot, and his morals.Played with this face thing for a while. the text is the best part to me - it's like personals mad libs.

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-48328422298175596752007-03-13T21:01:00.000-05:002007-03-13T21:23:23.480-05:00

On my second day of spring break:The campus bus drivers, as a group, were the most talkative that I've ever experienced. Usually, the drivers that serve my route are pleasant, but in a sharing-an-elevator way, with a nod and smile and sliding eye contact that doesn't demand anything else. I feel comfortable NOT making small talk with someone who is responsible for mine and many other lives.

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-80936869548680472212007-03-12T21:35:00.000-05:002007-03-15T22:26:25.154-05:00

Starting at midnight-thirty this morning, I have:played on the computer for hours and hours. I've learned about balut from john patrick (something I wish desperately that I could un-see) and injera (which inspired my dish created for my Food Sharing Assignment next Tuesday) and seen incredible works of art like the one above (which looks like I feel right this second, a thousand things swirling

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-52232626328745778672007-03-12T11:50:00.000-05:002007-03-12T12:40:07.082-05:00

I was up till 4am reading at Obama's site, watching his YouTubes and typing a letter to him (which was embarrassingly autobiographical, and will need heavy editing before anyone but me and my cats see it). I finally got my copy of The Audacity of Hope from a long hold list at the library, and the library clerk told me that Obama is on her friends list on MySpace. How bizarre. It reminds me a

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-47324821137259551732007-03-12T11:10:00.000-05:002007-03-12T12:42:04.567-05:00

The kid and I were getting ready for work. He and I were both going to an elementary school to teach that day - the kid was subbing in one class and I had another class across the hall. We taught in the morning, and then around lunch we went to the gym for a training session. People were set up in pairs all around the edges of the gym, one "teacher" and one student. At one point, my kid had

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-48906498381236445152007-03-10T11:04:00.000-05:002007-03-10T11:17:01.837-05:00

In my rush to get started on getting behind on my concurrent movie subscriptions, I ended up with Hitch twice. Will Smith would be my boyfriend if I was interested in having a boyfriend. Cliches? yes. Not enough nakedness? Of course. As feel-good as Pretty Woman was to me the first time? Indeed.It also reminded me that for a couple years now, I've been aware of my pathetic music

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-75021098499576849592007-03-08T20:46:00.000-05:002007-03-13T21:01:31.699-05:00

Wow.I arrived late to the screening of All My Births, and was graciously ushered in by the woman in charge. She said, I'm so glad you came, and you haven't missed the birth! The bit that I missed apparently set up the story of this rural midwife, practicing in Ga. in the 1950's. Part of the story (it's a scripted documentary, which is apparently pretty rare) was to follow one woman, who was

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-76097923987903675722007-02-26T15:50:00.000-05:002007-03-07T21:11:57.989-05:00

I had my first tearful scene in a lab today. I was trying (and repeatedly failing) to draw normal saline into a tuberculin syringe with a vanishing needle. The needle doesn't actually vanish, it just pops into the body of the syringe when you push the stopper hard enough. Twice, I pushed it hard enough while I was only trying to push the saline back into the vial to remove a stubborn air

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-73309455278281896012007-02-25T19:09:00.000-05:002007-02-25T21:06:09.925-05:00

At the park yesterday, I was trying to study Patho while the kid was playing on the big slide. I wasn't having much success. There seems to be a cloud around this particular park - I can't relax and let the kid play here. I'm always watching the other kids, sitting on my hands, and biting my tongue to keep from yelling at kids that aren't mine to stop jumping on their little brother's head.

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-46978333709431299592007-02-24T01:57:00.000-05:002007-02-24T13:15:00.537-05:00

so. still awake. now, instead of blaming the quart of coffee I had today, I'm staying up to keep an ear out on the kid. (he is breathing much more regularly and quietly now. regular is good but quiet is not, since it makes it harder to know if it's regular, for fuck's sake.)the mania i was whining about a week or so ago - thinking I was signing up for too many things, setting myself up to

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-55651106913532413022007-02-24T01:05:00.000-05:002007-02-24T01:22:05.747-05:00

I'm very happily in bed, staying up way too late to go to that silly walking tour of the wildlife preserve tomorrow at 8am and comforting myself by calling it silly and whining in advance about how early it starts. I'm reading about scrotums and books and the controversy when the twain shall meet at bitch, ph.d. good stuff. reminds me that i need to actually get a hard copy of a wish list

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-54579910794535533142007-02-23T23:00:00.000-05:002007-03-25T22:05:48.126-05:00

I work as a server. I have achieved a level of proficiency that may be termed "expert" within the Dreyfus Model. I'm good at waiting tables, and most days I enjoy it. However, after 11 years of restaurant experience, I am still startled when I receive an 11% tip from a table that did not exhibit any signs of dissatisfaction during the time we spent together. It violates my sense of fairness

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-14385256778758836102007-02-21T13:21:00.000-05:002007-02-23T23:56:44.293-05:00

I feel a bullet blog entry coming on!My test this morning in Fundamentals was hard. More than one question about the formatting of nursing diagnoses, which I am not so clear on, and less than one question on the risk factors/outcomes/interventions for the specific nursing diagnoses covered in these chapters. I feel like my studying wasn't very effective for this test, and I'm not quite sure how

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-81133177337361811922007-02-19T13:50:00.000-05:002007-02-19T14:47:12.537-05:00

the kid celebrated his birthday, not with a hippy ritual in the gazebo of the rose garden walking around the sun and talking about what he's learned in his seven years on earth and hearing good things from whomsoever had gathered, but hanging out in the bedroom with me, watching movies with the humidifier running non-stop. The good news is that we only had one episode of really scary barking

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-34939524402502943662007-02-12T11:14:00.000-05:002007-02-12T12:23:59.437-05:00

One - Cut a hole in the box. (Come on, you know this isn't work safe!)Two - Put your junk in that box. (Gay Love Rocks My Sea Goat Testes)Three - Make her open the box. (found at Bitch, Ph.D.)Seriously, this computer (and more importantly, the wireless connection I seem to be able to find everywhere) have been blowing my mind lately. I racked up a huge bill on my DSL account - didn't pay the

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-59918017205269520342007-02-08T16:50:00.000-05:002007-02-12T12:02:56.689-05:00

So, I'm starting to feel like I'm in nursing school. I went to my second nursing student association meeting today, and beyond promising myself to expunge 'um' from my public speaking if I ever decide to run for an office in this organization, I was shocked to figure out that I've been here a month already!I still have no clue what the prof in Fundamentals is talking about (nursing diagnoses all

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-68992703585343611112007-02-01T16:54:00.000-05:002007-02-01T17:41:11.169-05:00

Bouncing around this afternoon, trying to gather a shitty day into a tidy package to be thrown away later tonight. belly is empty, head is full of all the stuff I should get done and thinking of N.'s advice to do something after class to de-stress before I try to study. sounds good - like get out of bed if you can't sleep within a half hour so that you won't associate the bed with tossing and

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-55573345958001859512007-01-28T16:35:00.000-05:002007-01-28T16:52:02.355-05:00

The sum total of my academic work this weekend was reviewing my flashcards once, deciding that half of them are silly, printing out the stuff for my Skills lab on Monday, and covering my hard-backed textbooks in paper bags, ala eighth grade. By far, the most satisfying was the book covers.I remembered how to make the little pocket to slide the book's cover into. I was tempted to get out my

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212480314140378654.post-42962375716009072382007-01-25T17:14:00.000-05:002007-02-04T00:49:30.737-05:00

Dear Mom,Remember how hard I cried the first week after I went away to college fifteen years ago? Remember how I said that I never would have come if I had known how hard it was going to be? Shouldn't fifteen years which encompassed an entire life span of a marriage, the birth of a child, the death of a father, and countless years of accumulated successes and failures have mitigated some of

kati bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01102662494014957419noreply@blogger.com0