K, my previous name for this blog was Vampire on Call: Life in the Phlebotomy Scene. Now, it's The Adventures of Nurse Purple. The purple comes from the color my hair used to be....oh I will miss it <3 but I shall purservere.
Christmas was yesterday, as in the day I opened my books and read em. Well, a little bit here and there, there's at least a dozen of them and one of them is thicker than my arm. Ok, maybe more than one is thicker than my arm, my arms isn't very thick, but there's alot of big books on my shelf right now and they're all about nursing.
It's all rather scary and exciting...nursing school. I already have some idea of what to expect because of my interning as a phlebotomist, but it will probably be much more intense. People's lives are gonna be in my hands even more so than last time...it's more than just a little poke. It's time to clean butts, instert IV's and what looks like a whole bunch of other stuff.
Well, here we go..........
Don't forget your sphygmomanometers.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Done Done Done and Done
Yep, emailed my final application to be accredited and all. All done and did good :)
Now this blog is going to be about nursing school.......which makes the title a bit of a problem...hmmm.
Now this blog is going to be about nursing school.......which makes the title a bit of a problem...hmmm.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Doneish
Sorry I haven't posted in awhile..had some down time.
Anyway......some neeeews....
All sticks are done and all hours are done!!! No more clinicals!!!! I got an 81% on my review for my clinicals..which although it's a B I'm still dissapointed I didn't do better :(
However I....did....get.......93% ON MY FINAL TEST!!!
That's right. 93%. I'm thrilled.
Combine that with the 86% on the first test and if I get credit for attendance I might have an A...but attendance was mandatory anyway so I don't know if it's counted. My professor is adding up the final scores right now, so hopefully it looks good.
All I have to do is go back on June 9th and take the offical exam to get accredited. Then I can work as an official Phlebotomist!!
I may even apply to the hospital I was an intern at..perhaps to work the night shift. Yeah, I'll do a 9 to 5....am.......vampire indeed.
In the meantime I'm an alternate for the nursing program...that means if enough people drop out of the program I can get it...it's like a waiting list. There are 50 spots in the program itself and last I checked a week ago there were somewhere around 20 alternates left, so hopefully things will turn out well :)
Anyway......some neeeews....
All sticks are done and all hours are done!!! No more clinicals!!!! I got an 81% on my review for my clinicals..which although it's a B I'm still dissapointed I didn't do better :(
However I....did....get.......93% ON MY FINAL TEST!!!
That's right. 93%. I'm thrilled.
Combine that with the 86% on the first test and if I get credit for attendance I might have an A...but attendance was mandatory anyway so I don't know if it's counted. My professor is adding up the final scores right now, so hopefully it looks good.
All I have to do is go back on June 9th and take the offical exam to get accredited. Then I can work as an official Phlebotomist!!
I may even apply to the hospital I was an intern at..perhaps to work the night shift. Yeah, I'll do a 9 to 5....am.......vampire indeed.
In the meantime I'm an alternate for the nursing program...that means if enough people drop out of the program I can get it...it's like a waiting list. There are 50 spots in the program itself and last I checked a week ago there were somewhere around 20 alternates left, so hopefully things will turn out well :)
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Yaay
Today was a good day...I didn't get any sticks but it was a good day. Everyone was a hard stick. And those who were supposed to be easy sticks I missed. But it was still a day of happyness. There were kindly patients and good vibes. Still wanted those sticks though. Some patients I've become aquainted with are getting alot better, which I'm glad to see. So yes, downgrades for all :)
Friday, April 3, 2009
We carry on
This post is important too, but decided to add it separately. Before I even started in my phlebotomy class, I prayed for skill. I wanted to be a super-phlebotomist from the very start. Every stick painless and perfect, no hematomas, no redraws, just pure sanguine-savvy genius. Then I started clinicals.
I still hold those high stardards, but they're harder to attain when I thought. I miss. I hold pressure in the wrong places sometimes and cause bruising. Sometimes the tech has to take over. And I sit there, deathly embarrassed, ashamed and questioning of my own abilities. Thank God for the techs. They are very reassuring that it happens to everyone. Still, I want to do better.
It has taught me something very important though...instead of being a super phlebotomy student I should be a humble phlebotomy student who is aware of her shortcomings and that she is capable of making mistakes. Therefore, the work must be taken seriously. I joke and act all happy with the patients, but inside, I want things to go right. To make the perfect draw. To inflict as little pain as possible. To protect the patient. Phlebotomy is dead serious because you can kill someone.
For that reason, I'm glad that God has taught me humility with that horrible day I had yesterday (see previous post) because instead of being super and at risk of becoming one of those students who "knows it all" and being God's ultimate gift to the phlebotomy world, I know what I really am. A student with alot to learn. And once I learn, I can be a better phlebotomist in the long run.
Funny how these things work out.
I still hold those high stardards, but they're harder to attain when I thought. I miss. I hold pressure in the wrong places sometimes and cause bruising. Sometimes the tech has to take over. And I sit there, deathly embarrassed, ashamed and questioning of my own abilities. Thank God for the techs. They are very reassuring that it happens to everyone. Still, I want to do better.
It has taught me something very important though...instead of being a super phlebotomy student I should be a humble phlebotomy student who is aware of her shortcomings and that she is capable of making mistakes. Therefore, the work must be taken seriously. I joke and act all happy with the patients, but inside, I want things to go right. To make the perfect draw. To inflict as little pain as possible. To protect the patient. Phlebotomy is dead serious because you can kill someone.
For that reason, I'm glad that God has taught me humility with that horrible day I had yesterday (see previous post) because instead of being super and at risk of becoming one of those students who "knows it all" and being God's ultimate gift to the phlebotomy world, I know what I really am. A student with alot to learn. And once I learn, I can be a better phlebotomist in the long run.
Funny how these things work out.
Oh no...
Yesterday at clinicals was horrific. It was a day full of admonishment for everything from my demeanor to patient interaction to protocols to etiquetts I'd never been informed of. I'd rather not talk about it since it's still reeling in my soul. A few things I will mention though...
I forgot how to do tournequets right in the middle of a venipuncture on a patient. It blew me away. I'd been doing them for so long and then to just forget them like that. I did have a theory though. Yesterday when I was watching a lady's kid I leaned just right on my shoulder with my neck and cut of some blood flow to my brain. This is actually more fun than it sounds. Things start going dark and the world around you seems pointless and funny. This time things just went dark and I forgot where I was and why I was there. It is like getting high, except the chances for brain damage might be higher so, for the sake of phlebotomy, I'm gonna avoid it from now on. Mom things I have a lack of sleep but that's her excuse for everything that goes wrong in my life.
Anyway, it was all downhill from there. One of the techs probably thinks I'm incompetant and she's very well justified in that thinking if she is. I was feeling a bit funny in the head after, so I was thinking about calling it quits and going home. And possibly never coming back. If I blank out like that in venipuncture, I don't want to be a danger to my patients. I love my patients more than I thought I possibly could and I adhere to that medical saying "first do no harm." How selfish would I be if I put patients in jeapardy because of my incompetance? I was about to say I wanted to go home when I saw a sticker for a new draw. It was my favorite patient. I decided to stay just because of that patient. Patient M is awesome. I think it was God who caused that. Of all the patients in the hospital M's name was the one on that paper and the only one I would stay for. So, I decided to keep going.
Had etiquette problems once I got there. Apparently, you're suppost to go the moment a patient's doctor enters the room "his time is a hell of a lot more important than yours" my preceptor told me. And she's right. You're also not suppost to tell the patient they'll be going home. That's very sad. Because you don't know if they really will. The only reason I said it was because he wanted it so bad and I believed it would happen. I still believe that. No matter how sick he is. I may not have a Ph.D, an RN degree or even my official phlebotomy liscence, but I do have faith. When my patients have a will to keep fighting, I have faith in them. Even if I don't say it, I'll still maintain it, and want it communicated in the way I deal with the patients. Normally I do look upon the doom side of things and am a pessimist by nature, so I hope said faith means something.
Irregardless of the mistakes I make, which are numerous, I want them made only because I care about my patients. Whether it be looking up when a patient winces to ask them if they're ok and the needle slip out or staying too long to tell them it'll be ok, I'll make those mistakes because of ignorance and caring. Once I've made them and learned from them, I'll be a better phlebotomist because I will be able to use the proper knowledge in conjunction with that caring. When they wince I won't look up when I ask so that they won't need to be poked again and when it's time to go I squeeze their hand and look at them right in the eye because I won't need words.
I forgot how to do tournequets right in the middle of a venipuncture on a patient. It blew me away. I'd been doing them for so long and then to just forget them like that. I did have a theory though. Yesterday when I was watching a lady's kid I leaned just right on my shoulder with my neck and cut of some blood flow to my brain. This is actually more fun than it sounds. Things start going dark and the world around you seems pointless and funny. This time things just went dark and I forgot where I was and why I was there. It is like getting high, except the chances for brain damage might be higher so, for the sake of phlebotomy, I'm gonna avoid it from now on. Mom things I have a lack of sleep but that's her excuse for everything that goes wrong in my life.
Anyway, it was all downhill from there. One of the techs probably thinks I'm incompetant and she's very well justified in that thinking if she is. I was feeling a bit funny in the head after, so I was thinking about calling it quits and going home. And possibly never coming back. If I blank out like that in venipuncture, I don't want to be a danger to my patients. I love my patients more than I thought I possibly could and I adhere to that medical saying "first do no harm." How selfish would I be if I put patients in jeapardy because of my incompetance? I was about to say I wanted to go home when I saw a sticker for a new draw. It was my favorite patient. I decided to stay just because of that patient. Patient M is awesome. I think it was God who caused that. Of all the patients in the hospital M's name was the one on that paper and the only one I would stay for. So, I decided to keep going.
Had etiquette problems once I got there. Apparently, you're suppost to go the moment a patient's doctor enters the room "his time is a hell of a lot more important than yours" my preceptor told me. And she's right. You're also not suppost to tell the patient they'll be going home. That's very sad. Because you don't know if they really will. The only reason I said it was because he wanted it so bad and I believed it would happen. I still believe that. No matter how sick he is. I may not have a Ph.D, an RN degree or even my official phlebotomy liscence, but I do have faith. When my patients have a will to keep fighting, I have faith in them. Even if I don't say it, I'll still maintain it, and want it communicated in the way I deal with the patients. Normally I do look upon the doom side of things and am a pessimist by nature, so I hope said faith means something.
Irregardless of the mistakes I make, which are numerous, I want them made only because I care about my patients. Whether it be looking up when a patient winces to ask them if they're ok and the needle slip out or staying too long to tell them it'll be ok, I'll make those mistakes because of ignorance and caring. Once I've made them and learned from them, I'll be a better phlebotomist because I will be able to use the proper knowledge in conjunction with that caring. When they wince I won't look up when I ask so that they won't need to be poked again and when it's time to go I squeeze their hand and look at them right in the eye because I won't need words.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
A good start
Awoooooooo! I just got the results of my first exam in my phlebotomy class and I got the second highest score. Now, an 86% may not sound too reasurring if told to a patient about to be drawn, but the hightest score was a 89% and there are some smart people in that class. The teacher even warned us that the scores would probably be on the low side since most people don't do well on first exams. Still, I feel comfy. Just gotta continue to study my butt off since it's gonna get harder and my future is riding on this class.
I forgot to mention this earlier but I got a lot at stake here.
1. I'm dying to get out of the house, but not stupid enough to leave without a solid financial foundation. My parents get pissed off if I'm out past 11pm and dangit I'm a night person. I prefer not to meander about in the day because of the sun. I don't want to be a tan goth or get a melanoma when I'm 40. Plus nightime is so pretty and less people are out and about so it's quieter.
Anyway, 11pm is no bedtime for a 21 year old, it's stupid and has been getting stupider for years. I need independence! I'd feel more guilty about it except I know people even more behind in life than me, at least I'm doing something. I'm not worried about living with my parents until I'm 30 because I'll be educated enough for a well paying job to support myself.
2. I'm gonna have a party!!!! Yes, a party. Whether my parents like it or not. It's going to be a phlebotomy themed party. No, we're not drawing blood. There will be an appropriately themed cake. I want to model it out of human tissue, strawberry maybe, I dunno. But I want to decorate it with clean equiptment like needle-less syringes and hubs or something. Plus there will be a game of pin-the-needle-on-the-arm with a picture of an arm on the wall and we gotta stick it with pins on the right spot on the vein. Maybe other things, like fake cups of urine in the bathroom, but my mother has protested that idea.
3. PURPLE HAIR!!! I WANT MY HAIR BACK!!! I let it go natural for the clinicals just to avoid problems, but when that's over I'm dying back to the color it really is suppost to be. I won't be looking for a job immediately after and the dye is temporary anyway. It needs matinence. Besides, for when I do get a job and the work/life world collide, I plan on having a compromise of a wig. No, not a purple wig, a normal hair color wig. My hair is gonna be purple and that's that. There's a wonderful high-quality wig store down the street and I think the investment is worth it. They also have clips so if an irate patient trys to pull my hair it'll stay on but just hurt my head, which would happen anyway.
So there you have it. My reasons. But they really aren't all of them.
I love my patients and my dreams are pointing to the medical field. Phlebotomy will be helpful in nursing school (the ultimate goal) and give me some financial sustinence until I become a nurse. And, guess what, IT'S FUN!!! I actually enjoy it. From the patient interaction to the lab to the blood, the chance to give compassion to the suffering and the exercise!! You have to walk all around the hospital to collect those samples and the elevators suck so we use the stairs most of the time. Yes, it is awesome and I relish the opportunties for learning.
There's still more, but, that's for another day I think. It's more cerebral than that.
To anyone out there thinking about phlebotomy, go for it. The education is worth it, and it goes beyond your textbook.
I forgot to mention this earlier but I got a lot at stake here.
1. I'm dying to get out of the house, but not stupid enough to leave without a solid financial foundation. My parents get pissed off if I'm out past 11pm and dangit I'm a night person. I prefer not to meander about in the day because of the sun. I don't want to be a tan goth or get a melanoma when I'm 40. Plus nightime is so pretty and less people are out and about so it's quieter.
Anyway, 11pm is no bedtime for a 21 year old, it's stupid and has been getting stupider for years. I need independence! I'd feel more guilty about it except I know people even more behind in life than me, at least I'm doing something. I'm not worried about living with my parents until I'm 30 because I'll be educated enough for a well paying job to support myself.
2. I'm gonna have a party!!!! Yes, a party. Whether my parents like it or not. It's going to be a phlebotomy themed party. No, we're not drawing blood. There will be an appropriately themed cake. I want to model it out of human tissue, strawberry maybe, I dunno. But I want to decorate it with clean equiptment like needle-less syringes and hubs or something. Plus there will be a game of pin-the-needle-on-the-arm with a picture of an arm on the wall and we gotta stick it with pins on the right spot on the vein. Maybe other things, like fake cups of urine in the bathroom, but my mother has protested that idea.
3. PURPLE HAIR!!! I WANT MY HAIR BACK!!! I let it go natural for the clinicals just to avoid problems, but when that's over I'm dying back to the color it really is suppost to be. I won't be looking for a job immediately after and the dye is temporary anyway. It needs matinence. Besides, for when I do get a job and the work/life world collide, I plan on having a compromise of a wig. No, not a purple wig, a normal hair color wig. My hair is gonna be purple and that's that. There's a wonderful high-quality wig store down the street and I think the investment is worth it. They also have clips so if an irate patient trys to pull my hair it'll stay on but just hurt my head, which would happen anyway.
So there you have it. My reasons. But they really aren't all of them.
I love my patients and my dreams are pointing to the medical field. Phlebotomy will be helpful in nursing school (the ultimate goal) and give me some financial sustinence until I become a nurse. And, guess what, IT'S FUN!!! I actually enjoy it. From the patient interaction to the lab to the blood, the chance to give compassion to the suffering and the exercise!! You have to walk all around the hospital to collect those samples and the elevators suck so we use the stairs most of the time. Yes, it is awesome and I relish the opportunties for learning.
There's still more, but, that's for another day I think. It's more cerebral than that.
To anyone out there thinking about phlebotomy, go for it. The education is worth it, and it goes beyond your textbook.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
The Great Irony
K, I realized I just have to get this out there.
I don't like being stuck with needles.
In fact I used to be kinda needle-phobic. I've wondered why I chose to be in phlebotomy for that very reason. Well, I guess it's because when you know what it's like to have your own apprehension about needles you are better able to sympathize with patients who are afraid too.
I haven't had a patient afraid of needles yet or a needle-phobic patient. I differentiate between the two because there is a difference. Someone who is just "afraid" or "has a strong dislike" for needles is just that. They seriously don't like them and try to avoid them when they can, but when they have to have one they just turn the other way and look forward to the end. That's the category I'm in.
Then there's another category. My grandpa is in this category. He passes out at the sight of needles. Unfortunately, this means he has to get another needle just to revive him, so it works out to his detriment. Someone who is phobic of needles has a deeper fear than most people without phobias can understand. They even avoid essential medical care just to not get stuck. There have even been cases of people going into cardiac arrest upon being stuck because their fear is so great! It's not a condition we can laugh about.
So, I guess my aversion does come in handy. I know other students who have absolutely no fear or even hesitation about needles at all. I have no idea how they do it. One student even egged me on to stick her during practice even when I couldn't find her vein. If that had been me, I'd have developed a pallor and recommend they find an easier arm to practice on (Although I actually have really good veins, I often find myself admiring them <3). You don't want to make students anxious by making them think you have no confidence in them, but then there's something to be said about too much confidence. But, when you have no fear, you don't worry about that I guess. It's just a little poke.
I don't like being stuck with needles.
In fact I used to be kinda needle-phobic. I've wondered why I chose to be in phlebotomy for that very reason. Well, I guess it's because when you know what it's like to have your own apprehension about needles you are better able to sympathize with patients who are afraid too.
I haven't had a patient afraid of needles yet or a needle-phobic patient. I differentiate between the two because there is a difference. Someone who is just "afraid" or "has a strong dislike" for needles is just that. They seriously don't like them and try to avoid them when they can, but when they have to have one they just turn the other way and look forward to the end. That's the category I'm in.
Then there's another category. My grandpa is in this category. He passes out at the sight of needles. Unfortunately, this means he has to get another needle just to revive him, so it works out to his detriment. Someone who is phobic of needles has a deeper fear than most people without phobias can understand. They even avoid essential medical care just to not get stuck. There have even been cases of people going into cardiac arrest upon being stuck because their fear is so great! It's not a condition we can laugh about.
So, I guess my aversion does come in handy. I know other students who have absolutely no fear or even hesitation about needles at all. I have no idea how they do it. One student even egged me on to stick her during practice even when I couldn't find her vein. If that had been me, I'd have developed a pallor and recommend they find an easier arm to practice on (Although I actually have really good veins, I often find myself admiring them <3). You don't want to make students anxious by making them think you have no confidence in them, but then there's something to be said about too much confidence. But, when you have no fear, you don't worry about that I guess. It's just a little poke.
I stirr...
Yes, the time has come to start this blog. I've scoured other medical blogs in blogspot and knew that I too would need a place to specifically write about this new journey.
Basically, if you couldn't tell from the description I am currently in a program at my college to become a phlebotomist. I have been doing my internship at my local hospital for about three weeks now. So far, it seems like a pretty fun career and many of the younger phlebotomists there seem to kinda agree with me. I asked an older woman if the job was fun and she said "noooooo." I'm guessing that you do have to spice things up after a few years, but for now I'll stick to learning the ropes. I hope to become a nurse someday so phlebotomy should be handy for that.
For those of you who are not familiar with the field (I wasn't until I read about in the colledge catalogue!) phlebotomy is the art of taking blood. It literally means "to cut vein." Not that I'm slicing people open, it's just a needle people, it's a poke! We also work in the lab running samples of basically any fluid that can come from the human body including, but not limited to, blood, urine, stool (that's poop to nonmedical folk), pus, bile and cerebral spinal fluid.
Being a vamire isn't as romantic as Twilight makes it out to be, eh?
Anyway, you see the good and the bad in this field. From people just passing through to those who will probably never leave. This field can bring you up, stimulate, challenge, sadden, enlighten and ultimately force you to grow. And those are just things I learned from a three week internship!
Hope you enjoy the ride with me...
Basically, if you couldn't tell from the description I am currently in a program at my college to become a phlebotomist. I have been doing my internship at my local hospital for about three weeks now. So far, it seems like a pretty fun career and many of the younger phlebotomists there seem to kinda agree with me. I asked an older woman if the job was fun and she said "noooooo." I'm guessing that you do have to spice things up after a few years, but for now I'll stick to learning the ropes. I hope to become a nurse someday so phlebotomy should be handy for that.
For those of you who are not familiar with the field (I wasn't until I read about in the colledge catalogue!) phlebotomy is the art of taking blood. It literally means "to cut vein." Not that I'm slicing people open, it's just a needle people, it's a poke! We also work in the lab running samples of basically any fluid that can come from the human body including, but not limited to, blood, urine, stool (that's poop to nonmedical folk), pus, bile and cerebral spinal fluid.
Being a vamire isn't as romantic as Twilight makes it out to be, eh?
Anyway, you see the good and the bad in this field. From people just passing through to those who will probably never leave. This field can bring you up, stimulate, challenge, sadden, enlighten and ultimately force you to grow. And those are just things I learned from a three week internship!
Hope you enjoy the ride with me...
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