Saturday, February 11, 2006

What I would say to him



First off, read me bio.

I can relate.

Never make any huge, life-changing decisions, good or bad, when you are in the midst of reinventing yourself. You will think things are fine, you are strong. It will fool you sometimes. You will have great days..."This is is, this is what I want. This is the new direciton I search for." Then, it will pass. It will take time.

You will be depressed. Whatever form depression takes in you, it will come in waves as well. Revinvention is a death within you, so you must mourn. It will take longer than you think. My sports career 'officially' ended in the Fall, 2003, and I still have days, especially when you decide to stay close to once was. Then it is my theory it takes longer.

You will find your way. You have people close to you willing to support you and be there when you have your "moments." You don't always have to be strong to Livestrong.

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

Clinical Data

This from a study done on nursing students regarding their clinical experiences:

"Results
Four themes emerged from the focus group data. From the students' point of view," initial clinical anxiety", "theory-practice gap"," clinical supervision", professional role", were considered as important factors in clinical experience.
Conclusion
The result of this study showed that nursing students were not satisfied with the clinical component of their education. They experienced anxiety as a result of feeling incompetent and lack of professional nursing skills and knowledge to take care of various patients in the clinical setting."

The full link is here:

Comments on this study?

Now I am off to a clinical.....

Sunday, February 05, 2006

Weekends

Weekends are not "special" for me as they are for many. I do not awake on a Sunday morning, walk to the curb to get the paper in my robe and slippers. Sip my coffee while the cat intertwines in my legs, begging for his a.m. feeding.

The alarm (perfectly-named. it "alarms" my system) jolts me awake at 0450. If I do not arise in the next 30 seconds, I am apt to fall back to sleep. Especially day 3:3 of 12 hour shifts at the hospital. If I have not been concientious, I must do some ironing of my scrubs, shower, make a lunch, and leave by 0610 to stop at McD's for an egg and cheese sandwich and a greasy beginning to my day. I am punching in as the East Coast is awakening. 6:53am. If I am really lucky, I get a second jolt of coffee and a snack mid-morning. If I am not, it is IV's and foleys before my eyes are truly open. An occassional code at 0730. Yesterday it was a poor person with all his belongings from some West Coast town, schizophrenic, explaining all his ailments to us. It starts to rain outside. I am thinking about my kitty in my lap, lying in bed, drinking hot cocoa now. Or, was it moving bowling equipment to my practice pair for practice session beginning at 0700? Preparing in some state which still allows smoking inside, and having a fan (a chain smoker) at 0745 following you with a smile-me with my nose covered and trying not to breath between shots. Signing autographs at 0800. Changing ball surface in the locker room on the ball spinner, hands covered in acetone and sandpaper grit.

Then, I realize I have never really slept in on a Sunday in my adult life. But, Sundays have always been special for me....