Went to see my doctor today. Let me say the I LOVE my new doctor. She listens, she has a sense of humor, and she’s not pushy.
Got my blood drawn. Got a flu shot…first one in 10 years.
Told her about my recurring migraines that are period/hormonal related. Have one today, actually! Since I cannot take triptans, she gave me something called Epidrin. I took 2 tabs an hour ago, and my headache is almost gone. It feels sort of like an opiate, though and makes me feel woozy.
I had the day off from school today, and boy has it been nice.

Lots of important stuff coming up.
Clinicals start in a week, so I am looking forward to that. I don’t have a preference for what hospital I go to, so that’s easy. Just do NOT put me with “Bossy”. Speaking of, in lab yesterday she asked me to guide her through setting up a sterile field. I guess the second time around isn’t the charm for her. As she’s picking up a hemostat with her “sterile” hand from the sterile field, she puts the hemostat down on top of the patient’s leg and proceeds to put the hemostat back into the sterile field to get sterile gauze. I told her that since she had contaminated her instrument, she cannot put that back into the sterile area. “Noooo! Nooo! yes I can!!” she insisted. I stared at her and just had to leave and go work with Carly at the other end of the room. To think that this woman could be a nurse scares the shit out of me. She’s the most incompetent person I’ve met thus far in all my classes for nursing. I seriously hope she fails, only because someone like her will get lazier and end up hurting someone badly.
Took nursing exam #3 today. 50 questions in 30 minutes. Much bitching ensued per usual from certain students. “that wasn’t in the book!”"What the hell was THAT on the test for?” “Why do we have to memorize THAT kind of stuff?” “it’s all the teachers fault. I don’t learn shit from her.” I just drank my coffee and stared at the ceiling, wishing that everyone would just spare me and shut the hell up. Gee! Only 2 more years with these complainy complainsters.
I have the day off from school tomorrow, though I do have a doctor’s appointment to see about getting my medication adjusted and check the ferritin levels for anemia. I am feeling better in that department, thank goodness.
I’ll be going to So Cal on Dec 18th-24th, to see friends and see my brother. I have to spend a couple days in Los Angeles to take pictures in some cemeteries there. I got to the Hollywood Forever cemetery but didn’t get to the other old ones in that area.

When we were practicing in lab yesterday, the subject of weight got brought up for some odd reason. There were 2 youngish guys practicing blood pressures next to us and inquired as to how much we weigh. Not being weird about revealing our weight, we both told them. For the record, I weigh 145 lbs and Carly weighs 150.
Both guys made comments about how, wow, that is  a lot…really? 145? They looked us up and down. It felt almost…I don’t know, like they were trying to tell us that we weighed too much or something. It bothers me, only because I doubt they would be saying this if we were male. Granted, I have gained 15 pounds in the last couple years. Not critical, and doesn’t affect my health or self esteem. I like myself, and 15 pounds isn’t a big deal if I got really ambitious to lose it suddenly.There is that pressure to be thin when you are a woman, and it is so wrong and irritating.
I guess it bothered me more yesterday because Carly was just telling me about her best friend who has since become bulimic since summer. Her friend has been constantly harassed by her parents about “being fat”. Carly showed me a picture of her friend. She weighs as much as Carly and myself. Carly took her to eat out on Wednesday, and her friend threw up all of her $20 dinner in the restroom. Her esophagus has started to bleed, and she no longer gets her period.
So, when people make seemingly innocent comments about people’s weight, it can have grave consequences sometimes, depending on the person’s state of mind. For me, I just find comments like that irritating and move on.

I found out today that the student who is REALLY into bossing everyone around, including myself, is in round two of nursing 220- meaning that she flunked out last semester.
I didn’t find this info out from her. Let’s just say a certain faculty member told me when I was troubleshooting how to best avoid this person and her irritating behaviour.
Yeah, I don’t think so, telling me how to do things. Nope.
Pretty hilarious.

I have glass embedded on the bottom of my right foot. I didn’t sweep good enough in the bedroom after I broke something last weekend.If I step just right, it feels like being shot in the foot.
I’ll be going to my PA tomorrow for various reasons, and hopefully she can extract the offending shard.
Nursing School today: someone got yelled at for FALLING ASLEEP in class; lots of talk on “digital removal”-I’m sure you can guess what that pertains to (unfortunately, not something that can be delegated, darn..), me wanting to throttle student “S” for acting like she knows every fucking thing as usual, and a 2 hour test at 7am this morning. I hate driving in the dark.
Salad for dinner.
5 mile jog in 15 minutes.
Beautiful day outside.
I am craving sweets.

I got an 80% on Exam 2, Nursing. Whoo Hoo! Considering half the class got C’s and D’s, I am estatic!
I also passed my dosage calculation exam with 100%.
This will be another busy week. Up at 5am tomorrow for 700am testing, lab. Clinicals start in 3 weeks…very exciting! Clinicals will be in Tacoma, at teaching hospitals. It will be interesting.
Thinking about going to So Cal in December to see my family. My brother wants to see me. I might see my dad; we’ll see. I definately want to spend more time in Los Angeles- such an interesting city.

life is good…and I sincerely mean that.
I am studying all day today, and taking a short break to write in here. I’ve been reading a lot but not writing.
Anyway- we also learned the “dreaded” peri-anal care, whoo hoo! Actually, I have experience with that-way too much experience.I wish I could have taken a photo of the looks on people’s faces when Brenda was demonstrating on the 1 foot torso on the table for this particular endeavor. Not my favourite thing…

We went to a “transfer class” at another college on Thursday night, taught by students and professors at the Doctor of PT school. It was enlightening. I learned that I help clients too much (ie lift too much when I should be encouraging them to do it) and I have some limitations when it comes to moving clients. I’m going to work on these things.

<u>Things I learned this week</u>

Students generally dislike one of our instructors because she’s “too quiet”.
My (often) lab partner is getting on my nerves. She’s a typical ‘I know it all because I am older than you, a mother and a CNA, so do this….and you’re doing that WRONG” PLEASE.SHUT UP AND LET ME MAKE MISTAKES BECAUSE I AM STILL LEARNING.
I crave candy when I’m tired.
I am reminded of how much I love and adore my family-Matt and Theo.
My son seriously wants to be a stand up comedian and has started going to comedy shows.
John McCain irritates the FUCK out of me more so than before.

I spent the weekend studying; well, trying to study. It’s amazing how much I get interrupted. I was thinking today that I would probably be a straight A student if I didn’t have a family. I did get everything done, though.
Nursing school has been interesting lately. Today, we learned to give bed baths. We had to practice on each other, which was both funny and sort of weird. I also think that playing the patient is important, because as students we need feedback to do better.
Last week, we took the drug calculations test once again. Did I mention that I got one question wrong last week, which put me in the running to take the test over again? I missed the question because I didn’t WRITE out “intravenous” and put “IV” instead. (!!!!!) Oh well- gotta get it right. So, the 2nd test was 2 pages longer and I didn’t finish it in the 1/2 hour allotted time frame. That means I have to take it again on Thursday, because we all need 100% to pass.
While we were taking the test last week, all hell broke loose. Students started protesting aloud that the test was too difficult, too long.I didn’t say anything; I was hurrying to finish and was unable to. My only frustration was that I didn’t complete the test. I turned it in and went to lab. I guess the protests and bitching continued, because our instructor sent out this email to everyone yesterday:

Students

Brenda

I think that our instructor is being incredibly fair about this. People are still pissed off, can you believe it?
I’m staying in Tacoma for 2 nights, since I have back to back nursing events to attend on Thursday. Not complaining- just want to be 4 miles away if I have to be up at the crack of dawn Thursday.
eagerly anticipating the debate on Wednesday…
Big huge test tomorrow.
Wish me luck!