Can You Take the Pressure?

You better believe I can! One of the first things we learned in nursing school clinically was how to take a blood pressure manually. It's funny how a year and a half ago taking a blood pressure was so "hard." Placing the cuff and listening for the sounds took all my focus. Now I could do it with my eyes shut and music blaring. Ahem, that MIGHT be an exaggeration ;) [Below I am sitting in my super cute uniform -that also might be an exaggeration -studying before clinical at the beginning of the semester.]

In all seriousness, I am sitting at the end of my junior year thinking back over the last two years and it's kinda crazy how far we've come. Many days it doesn't feel like I have learned a thing and then I think back to some of the first things I did and how scary they seemed (i.e. walking into a patient's room and introducing myself).

I should be studying for my pharm final tomorrow evening but I decided to take a break and reminisce a little bit. It helps keep my mind off the fact that people are leaving to go home and I will be stuck here for another three weeks taking a summer class....

I remember standing in my patient's room sophomore year getting ready to slide the bed pan under her when she asked me what her name was. I said "Miss Soandso" to which she replied "NO, what is my first name?" I could not remember what her chart said (granted when we do our patient profiles we only get initials and room numbers - I say that trying to give myself an excuse) for the life of me. I stood there slightly embarrassed and tried to guess based off her initial (can't say I didn't try, right?!?). What I learned that day was the importance of knowing my patient's name. They are people, not just a room number, and the decent thing to do is know their name!

This past year I was checking in on patients on my hall during lunch. You know making sure they were all sitting up and didn't need help opening anything. Well I poked my head into an elderly man's room (there is just something about elderly people that I find so darn cute so I love checking on them). I asked him if he needed anything to which he replied with "oh that was very nice of you. I think I'm just fine." As I went to leave he said in his sweet old man voice "actually darling if you don't mind handing me the phone and telling me the cafeteria's phone number I'd like to order dessert." Without thinking I handed him the phone and spouted off the number. Ten minutes (or so it seemed) later I saw the woman from nutrition services come up with his piece of cake. I finished what I was doing and then went in his room to check on him. The nurse was already in there asking him how he'd gotten the cake. Don't worry she wasn't yelling at him, rather astonished that this 90 year old had gotten around the system (me and the dietary services) and had himself some cake. You see he is a diabetic and was on a no concentrated sweet diet. What I learned that day was I should always check a patient's diet before becoming an accomplice and sending them into shock! Luckily his blood sugar was fine. Sneaky old man! I have a weak spot for cake so I totally understood and I couldn't help but smile as he flashed a big grin as I left the room.

I learned people can throw up feces. Yes you read that right, feces. My assessment skills told me that the foul smelling brown chunky stuff I was catching in my hands (don't worry they were gloved) was not typical throw up. I did not know what it was until a charge nurse came in to help the poor old woman who was in respiratory distress and looked at me and said "you know what that is right?" My eyes must have said it all because she responded quickly with "feces" and called for back up. My heart went out to the 94 year old who was on her way out of this world. My shift had ended but I couldn't leave her throwing this stuff up by herself so I stayed until the real deals came in and took over. I'm not sure what happened to this sweet woman who apologized to me for having to clean her up. I kept reassuring her that it was not her fault as I tried to hide my gagging. My heart broke for her though - can you imagine? Throw up is bad enough but fecal matter coming up through your mouth?!?!

I realized that I have been in school way to long and need a break when I told a story about my friend and referred to her as my patient. Or when I look at my electric mixer box I always translate "bowl rest" as bowel rest. Or when someone is talking about going to the bathroom and instinctually I want to ask the color (ha, I know gross). Or I start to tell a story at the dinner table only to realize it probably isn't much of a dinner table story. Or I wash my hands before going to the bathroom (even at home!). Or how about when I look at a member of the opposite sex I immediately look at their arms and check out their veins! (God gave men some great arm veins, that's all I'm sayin'!!!) My list could go on but I really should get back to studying. All I know is that I am READY for summer.

I'll leave you with this; one of my professors used the ever so quoted Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" on the first day of class this semester. I wrote it down on a notecard and hung it on my missionary prayer board even though I thought it was a little cliche. I cannot tell you how many times I laid down at night starring at that silly notecard this last year repeating to myself that I could get through this because God had my back. Such a comforting thought eh?