COWman's Corner of the Web

This weekend was the first weekend of my preceptorship. 12 hour night shifts on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Not exactly my idea of a good time, however, it is something I need to do.

All in all, it was a pretty good weekend. My preceptor is an amazing nurse, and is extremely good with his patients. Not only that, he seems to honestly enjoy his job and has fun while at work. What an unusual concept! It is a very different experience being precepted versus the normal clinical group. Being the only student around (there was another student nurse from another school in town there Saturday and Sunday night, but her preceptor was on the other end of the hall, so I did not get to talk with her), the nurses are much more open with their opinions and attitudes (or maybe this is a function of being on nights). I was able to see a lot more of the dynamics among the nursing staff. The unit I am on is fairly large (it can take up to 35 patients), so the staff is pretty large. Typically, there are 9 to 11 floor nurses, 4 to 6 techs, a unit clerk and a charge nurse. (Of course, a low census means that people will be floated out or reassigned to other jobs if needed). Needless to say, there are LOTS of interpersonal dynamics at play. Welcome to the real world.....

On a much more fun note, over at Emergiblog, she posted a really cool link: Create your own South Park Character. The picture above is an example of my handiwork from that site. I call him Student-Nurse-On-Night-Shift-With-Day-Job. Note the double handful of caffeinated beverage. Nno, that is not a beer in his left hand (alcohol and patient care do not mix, no matter what my psych clinical instructor may think), it is some kind of triple shot, high fat, high chocolate espresso drink. I have decided that caffiene and chocolate are proof that there is some sort of kind and loving higher power, and that she might actually like us!