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Feb 28, 2008 07:56 PM

Tips For Student Nursing

36 comments 10825 views
by angelchick
Premium Member
Updated Feb 29, 2008 at 08:34 AM by Joe V
I looked at the Competition Title and thought... Hmmm I can't comment on this one and
then all of a sudden I thought, 'What about all those out there pondering the idea of going
nursing', so here are my tips for "Student Nursing/nurses".
Certainly this is based on my own experience, some has been great and some not so great,
my philosophy is "take what you like, and leave the rest".
Firstly it feels fantastic to be able to write from my heart and my own feelings rather
then having to quote, paraphrase, reference and worry about plarigism!!
First tip, learn how to write essays before going to nursing school, this will save a lot of
heartache, sanity, paper, and middle of the night redo's! Know when one has written an
assignment or essay that they are proud of and feel is a good peice of work, that the tutor
wont necessarily agree! Note also that one tutor may like it and another may fail you.
There is ment to be some kind of marking system in place. but this has proven wrong
many times for myself and other class members. Tutor Z may give you a B, and tutor X
may give you a D. My advice around this, is go to your tutor and get it proof read before
handing it in!! If thats not an option, go to your campus education centre and get them to
proof read it. And remember reference's, reference's and references!!!
My second tip would be to never pretend or say you 'know' something when you don't!
Because it will always come round and bite you in the butt eventually, and it's truely
easier to just say, "sorry, I don't know".
Make friends with your tutors! They are the God's while you are doing your degree, they
pass or fail you, and Im sorry all you tutors out there, but they DO have favourites, I use
to be so proud of standing my ground and speaking my truth and questioning questions,
but this year I have learnt how to Kiss ****!! So not in my personality, but whatever it
takes!
I love hearing all the first year students all motivated and excited, but it does sadden, but
not suprise me when a week down the track I see frowns and tears, a month down the
track 2 or 3 have left, 6 months down the track everybody is stressed and grumpty and
tired from late nights of study! Hey but on the bright side! It is awesome meeting new
friends ( great girls nights out)!! and learning all about the human body, and mind.

The best part is being with the patients and testing out your new found skills on
practicum, a word of caution for practicum, beware of preceptors, make friends with
preceptors, and agree with preceptors!! At least that was my experience I hear others who
have wonderful preceptors, unfortunately I was not so lucky, however this all makes one
stronger and wiser in becoming a nurse. Oh I almost forgot when you enrole or are
accepted onto the nursing programe you must become an "angel", no being silly in
public, definitely no drunken foolish pub crawls! No skinny dipping in the ocean! And a
soft spoken voice is prefered.
I have had so many experiences in my short nursing career as a student nurse, yet I have
learnt so much about human nature, and politics!! This has certainly made me a stronger
more assertive person. I love what I am doing, and for those of you that are considering
going nusing, GO FOR IT! It's not easy, but if you are passionate about becomming a
nurse and helping others it is certainly worth the rollercoaster ride!!
P.s I love the way I have written this with no thought or concern of spelling, punctuation
or proper paragraphs!
Oct 23, 2009 07:38 PM

My Papa, why I am the nurse I am today.

10 comments 3246 views
by learning4life
Updated Oct 26, 2009 at 08:30 PM by sirI
My grandfather whom I have always called Papa was a loving, generous, happy,
intelligent man. He got colon cancer. He fought with everything he had for two years
then decided; but not before considering the thoughts of his wife; my grandma, only
daughter; my mom, and his only granddaughter, me; his body had taken all the
chemo it could and he was tiered. He said if we thought he should keep trying he
would. We told him it was ok and if he was tired we would find the best place for him
to rest.
His journey began two years prior. He received the diagnosis of colon cancer and
began chemotherapy. All of the nurses at the treatment center would fight over who
got to take care of him. I cannot think of a person who did not love this man or at
the least enjoy his company. Papa got a little better than much worse. It began to
spread. The man I grew up with who always bought me the most beautiful winter
coats, threw me in the biggest pile of raked up leaves I had ever seen, and always
had a big smile, hug and kiss for me suddenly became very human. His weight
began to wither; at one time he was a little more than a regular size man with a
large belly. The belly looked like a pregnant womans would and whenever a family
member or close friend would get pregnant they would take a picture of the bellies.
He eventually withered down to a very thin man.
The hospital trips were becoming a little more frequent at this time. He eventually

had an operation to remove part of his colon and needed a colostomy. He took it in
stride. One of the things that hurt him the most is that he was unable to attend my
high school graduation. Before the event my mom, dad, grandma, then boyfriend;
now husband, and I went up to the hospital to visit him. He and my grandma gave
me my graduation card. When I opened it I saw a cut out picture of a Chevy caviler.
Behind the picture written in the card, among other things was Lets go beater
shopping. There was a running joke between all of us that I would use my
graduation money to buy my first car. The mood was light but it became very heavy
when we were all leaving my papa to go to my graduation.
Fast forward I do not even know how many months. My family is one of the closest
families you will ever meet. When he started getting really bad my mom moved in
with my grandma and papa full time to help take care of him. He had a hospital bed
in the house. Their family room was converted into a bedroom for him, everyone
helped, and he showed much appreciation. I believe this was around the time he
stopped eating enough. His doctor prescribed marinol as an appetite stimulant. This
worked for about the first week or so and then did not. The first time he took it he
said, I could eat the whole house. My mom had to call 911 on three different
occasions, because my papas blood sugar plummeted to 32 and below. Before
treatment he did not have problems with his blood sugar. He was getting weaker and
weaker. This is when he brought up whether to continue treatment or not.
This decision was made in the hospital with my grandma, mom, and me. He asked us
if we thought he should keep trying. This was a very tearful and difficult
conversation. The end result was where we meet earth angels, at a Hospice. When
we arrived my papa said you checked me into the tajhmahal. This was an inpatient
hospice, the unit was beautiful, one would never know that is was attached to the
regular part of the hospital. The hospice center was one hallway with no more than
12 rooms; if I remember correctly. The unit was dim but very much adequate, the
rooms looked like real bedrooms, no one had to share a room, the family/ patient
lounge looked like a regular living room with a kitchenette off the side. The nurses,
aids, social workers, and any staff on the unit were magnificent. I truly believe God
handpicked these people to be there. My mom and grandma were there every day. I
visited as much as I could; I was in LPN school at the time. This devastated me that
I could not be there as much as I wanted. My papa had so many visitors however
they were all respectful to his needs. There were times where he just wanted to
move around but could not due to lack of energy and deteriorated condition. My
mom would wheel him around the hallways of the lobby and quiet parts of the
hospital he really enjoyed this. I would come in and he would get a sparkle in his eye
and my papas smile not the big ear to ear grin of the past but it was still his. One
time I brought us both raspberry milkshakes from Dairy Queen. Whenever my
grandparents and I would stop there that is usually what he got. He said he was not
hungry at the time so I put it in the freezer; but he watched me have mine and we
all could tell this made him happy.
He began to go downhill fairly quickly after this. He went into a semi coma state; he
sat in a chair and had his legs out in front of him in another chair. My papa was in
this state for about 30 hours. He woke up and was hungry, which he had not been in
a very long time. He asked if my uncle Jim*, his wifes brother-in-law, would make
him a perch dinner. My papa ate all of the dinner. Three days before he died he asked
my mom if she wanted to take a walk, which meant her pushing him in his
wheelchair. She asked where he wanted to go and he said outside to the garden. The
hospice grounds had a beautiful garden that was dedicated to all the current and

past patients that stayed there. The garden included flowers, trees, grass, benches,
and a large brick patio like area. Many of the bricks had inscriptions on them from
families who had their loved ones there. After my papa passed we bought two bricks
one with his name, birth, and death date, as well as one with a poem I wrote for him
on it. My mom took him to the garden and she said he just stared at everything; he
touched everything: the grass, leaves, flowers, and trees.
The day he died I had the privilege to be there all day and night until he passed. I
knew he was going to die that day. The room had a smell to it and he just had that
look. None of us had the it is ok to die talk with him. I went to the nurses and asked
them how he was; they knew from my tone what I meant. She asked me if anyone
had told him that it was ok to go, I said no, and she suggested maybe today was
that day. I thanked her and went back to the room where my papa, grandma, mom,
and dad were. The nurses asked if we had told him it was ok to go and everyone said
no. They said we needed to tell him it was ok and that he needed to know we would
be ok. I went in to talk to him first. This was the hardest most painful conversation I
have ever had to have. I sat next to him and held his hand, looked up into his eyes
and tears began to fall from my eyes. He looked at me with a knowing look. I asked
him, How am I suppose to tell you it is ok to die. He looked at me with a little
smile. I told him it was ok; I loved him very much and asked him some questions
that will stay between us. I told him that we would take care of B, what I call my
grandma, and that she would move in with my parents and I and we would take care
of her. I talked about all of the things I remember doing with him, how he was such
an important part of my life and that he always would be. I gave him a kiss and we
hugged we both just sat for a little looking at each other then I held on to the top
part of his arm and rested myself up against his side and let the silent tears fall. He
brought his other arm around his front, put it on my arm, and lightly rubbed me. I
wanted to stay but I knew everyone else wanted to talk with him. I told him
everyone else would come in and talk to him just him and them; he said ok I love
you I said I love you too papa. One by one my mom dad and finally grandma went
in and talked to him. We already knew we were going to spend the night. After
everyone was done we all went in together. I sat with him on the bed he was sitting
up but a little hunched over, he said he back hurt, I asked if I could rub it; he nodded
yes. My mom was sitting on the other side of him. He held his arms away from his
body very stiff and began rocking back and forth while trying to stand. We stood him
up and then helped him sit back down.
We all got ready for bed my grandma was coming out of the bathroom from taking
off her makeup, my papa was sitting in the recliner, my dad was in the family room,
my mom was sitting next to him, and I was sitting up in my sleeping bag at his feet.
He looked at all of us. My papa took a big breath and three little breaths and was
gone. This was, I believe, around 3am. We got my dad and told the nurses. They
gave us some time with him and asked us to wait in the living room while they got
him into bed and cleaned up. When we all came back into the room my grandma was
crying heavily and kneeled by him with her hands on him saying, oh Charles* my
Charles* my lifeline. I could not look at him laying on the bed dead it was his body
not my papa. I had never seen a dead body before. It was my papas body but he
was not there. I did not know how long to stand there and stare at it. I went into the
garden sat on the bench and cried and cried. I talked to him saying I know you are
not hurting anymore, I know you are free of this, I am hurting I need to feel you, I
want to hug you one more time, talk to you one more time, hear your voice and
laugh one more time. I know your wife needs to feel you more but please help me
too. I closed my eyes heard the leaves blow and even though it was the very end of

October, felt a light warm breeze. I knew it was going to be hard but I also knew he
was there. I still feel him from time to time and talk to him. I miss him so very much
and always will.
I knew in that moment this is why I am in nursing school and why I will. One of the
core beliefs in nursing is help those that cannot help themselves. I fully am prepared
to continue to do this. This took place in October of 2005. Right now I am a working
LPN as well as a RN student. I will graduate in May of 2010, I will pass my NCLEX,
and I will push to be a nurse I am proud of.

*name or names changed for privacy

Yesterday 02:54 AM

Dr. Cures Baby's Brain Condition with Superglue!

by elprup
From The Daily Mail UK 12/3/09 via nursinglink.com (link to story at bottom)
I thought this was very cool.
'Toddler Dafi Evans owes his life to nothing more than a blob of glue.
Using a revolutionary technique hours after his birth, doctors used Histoacryl similar to
superglue to plug a leak in his brain that would otherwise have killed him in a few days.
He was suffering from Vein of Galen malformation, in which missing capillaries between
arteries and veins in the brain quicken blood flow, so that the brain is not given enough
time to absorb oxygen and nutrients.
It can lead to water on the brain or enormous stress on the heart with fatal results.
Now 16 months old, Dafi is developing normally and his parents describe his recovery as
a miracle.........
The procedure involves inserting a catheter into the childs groin and using it to squeeze
glue into the affected part of the brain.
Dafi improved straight away and was able to go home. He is now a lively toddler,
although he has needed further treatments and expects his sixth in January......
Not all the stories have such a happy ending but Dr Brew said around six out of ten
children treated go on to live a normal life and another two in ten are left with only a mild
disability. A further 10 per cent will be left severely disabled and one in ten will die......
Babies with the condition usually die within four days of birth without treatment". quoted
from
http://nursinglink.monster.com/news/...1204_superglue

Amazingly interesting.
**********************************************
"Vein of Galen Malformations
The Vein of Galen malformation is a congenital communication between arteries and
veins. In this case the communication specifically occurs between a set of deep arteries in
the brain called the choroidal arteries and a deep midline vein, the Vein of Galen.
Often a Vein of Galen Malformation will present with symptoms in early infancy or in
childhood. In early infancy these symptoms can include congestive heart failure.
Symptoms may occur somewhat later in childhood and the child can manifest
enlargement of the head (macrocrania) or a neurocognitive development delay.
In general, the treatment of this disease depends upon the size of the Vein of Galen
malformation and the symptoms experienced by the patient. Endovascular therapy is
often a mainstay of treatment. This usually involves embolization, often with liquid
embolic material (glue) or platinum coils to help occlude the abnormal communications
between the arteries and the veins". quoted from
http://stanfordhospital.org/clinicsm...dDiseases.html
Bummer, I could not cut and past pictures of the before and after, which you can view at
standford site.
Vein of Galen Malformation pretreatment:
Angiogram of a young child who presented with enlarging head size shows a large vein
of Galen malformation.
VOG post treatment:
Angiogram following treatment with embolization shows obliteration of the
malformation.
elp