The OR and ED

So, for most of the many readers of this super popular blog, me being in nursing school is no surprise. I entered this new kickass journey in June, and I am currently undergoing my first ritual rite of passage in the form of Med/Surg I. Within this class, I must go to clinicals: real world experiences at real hospitals with instructors looking over my shoulder going "oh shit you idiot" in their nervous-for-their-license kind of way. My Med/Surg I clinical is on an orthopedic unit, but the sign spells this orthopaedic...I wonder every day if I am stupid or if my hospital is in some way trying to look smarter by spelling stuff all British-like. In any case, there are a lot of hips and knees getting bionic on my floor, and I spend approx 12-24 hrs per week being disorganized and pretending to be competent. Usually this is not the most exciting healthcare environment, but this last Wednesday proved different...mostly because I left the unit and headed to the more active areas of the hospital. I spent the majority of the day in the OR watching BRAIN SURGERY, sweet. Cut, cut, saw, saw, zip, zap, whoop there's that tumor, close to Patsy Cline, whambam, thank you ma'am. Believe it or not, it was boring. Cool for about the first hour, then I was about as "Crazy" as good ol' Patsy. It wasn't until I ventured into the ED (Emergency Department, for all you people who watch too much tv and think it is called an ER) that things really got goin. As soon as I put my bag down I struck gold, trauma. Patient confidentiality is a big deal, so I won't say so much, BUT the patient had overdosed on diabetes medicine and stabbed themselves in the chest. I witnessed the real deal, CPR, tubes, lines, epi, the whole bit. I nearly audibly growled when they made the EMT student do the chest compressions...because yes I wanted to do it...pick me I say! Nevermind the person lying there, dying, it's my freakin turn damn it. Anyway, after all that went down and the ODer stabilized a bit, I got to go attempt a straight catheterization on a larger, somewhat hairy, non-english speaking woman. This was difficult and I felt like a moron when I was unable to get the darn tubey up the pee-hole. Luckily, four other experienced nurses couldn't do it either and the poor woman bled before they stopped trying...so I guess not lucky for her, but lucky for me and that's what we are focusing on here, me. In addition to this, I got to start my first two IVs (I almost asked to take the first one out and bronze it, but I'm sure that wouldn't have gone over well with the "broken arm and jaw guy"), draw some blood (don't worry I left my vampire fangs at home, but I was thinking "What would Buffy do?" the whole time), and irrigate a nasty chin wound. I also met a nice homeless veteren who was pretty much veinless due to years of drug abuse. He had cool tattoos. Also interesting was the large psychotic man who I happened to see bashing into a wall and then a door held closed by 5 ED security and staff members. He wanted everyone to praise Jesus OR ELSE. And so we did, believe me you would too (especially after hearing how he put a nurse in the ICU only a week prior). And so, skipping some boring stuff and less exciting things, three hours later my ED trip concluded...that is until I walked toward the waiting room to get my belongings and happened upon a man having a seizure and vomiting blood right there in the triage area. I followed him and those taking care of him into one of the rooms and got some seizure pads, but once again the EMT student stole my thunder and took the IV stick. What a bastardo. Anyway, I then took the opportunity to leave when my homeless vet somehow downed an entire bottle of pills that no one had seen stashed in his bags...I know, it seems heartless to just walk out on someone who served our country and paid the price, but I'm pretty sure he was fine...totally fine, and afterall my feet hurt and I was totes beat.

P.S. This was not the best first blog, but I am still totes beat and my sense of humor is only at 50% right now. Consider this my first nursing reflection, ooyah.