Little Girl in the Big City

G and I are sooo drunk right now. And she has imparted some words of wisdom for me. She says, and I quote:

Did you know if you were born in 2000, you’re 18?

I told her, “G, if you were born in 2000, you’d only be 8.”

We are sooooooooo drunk right now. LOL!!!

It hasn’t hit me yet. I submitted my final paper on sunday, completed my clinical hours on monday, and my class semiformal is tonight. It hasn’t hit me that I am finally done. Six years of post-secondary education with the last two years being 24 months straight has really been a tiring experience. At least with my first undergrad, I had summers off to attempt to make an income. The second undergrad was just one term after another full of papers and clinical experiences. Now, school is over. Let summer vacation begin!

Lots are planned for the month of August. Going back and forth between home and Toronto, then I’m spending two weeks in Vancouver!

Had some ideas about this blog of mine. It’s been fun giving random tidbits of school life, but now school is over. So it’s not really going to be musings from a nursing student. Been toying with the idea of sharing a work blog with two of my other friends, G and M, who are also new nurses. Should be interesting…

I was skimming through the care plan summary the other day when I saw something that just didn’t make sense. I turned to my preceptor and said, “can you actually say this on a care plan history? ‘Off CRAP in June 2003′ ???” My preceptor gave me a weird look and took the care plan from me. She laughed out loud and pointed to it. It actually said “Off CPAP in June 2003″ (CPAP stands for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure).

The past week has been somewhat of a renewal period for me. Got a haircut, tried a facial for the first time, got a job for September, planned a vacation for the end of August… all that’s missing is to finish my final paper and be done my clinical placement!

Haircut was a little scary. For the past I don’t know how many years now, I’ve had fairly long hair. I have a love-hate relationship when I have long hair because although I think long hair is beautiful, mine is so straight and flat, there’s no volume to it — even if I blow dry it to give it some volume. Ten minutes later, that volumous fluff is straight again. And then there’s the issue that my hair is really fine, and not as numerous as I hoped it to be. This makes volume difficult because there isn’t much to begin with. So I figure I’d try going short again, possibly mid-length to get rid of some of the weight and to get some bounce in it again. I got a gift card in the mail from the Marc Anthony hair salon so I thought I’d give it a try. I’d never been there before and the gift card entitled me to $25 off any hair treatment. I’ve been paying around $50 for a haircut in Toronto anyways, so with this $25 off, I’ll be paying around the same (it normally starts at $75 there).

When I first went in, they took me to a small waiting room where I filled out a new client information form. Then my hairdresser guy came and introduced himself to me and brought me to a chair. We discussed for a few minutes what we were going to do with my hair, then off to get a robe and have my hair washed. After being seated at my chair again, he went into a scalp massage while another guy came and give me a hand massage. At first, it felt really awkward because there are two guys whom I don’t know who were touching/feeling my head and hands in, what felt like, a very sensual manner. It felt rather good, don’t get me wrong, but just very very awkward at the same time.

My hairdresser guy asked me if I was ready and I told him just to do it before I change my mind. In a flash, he grabbed a bunch of hair at the back of my head, snipped it off, then dramatically tossed it off to the side saying, “there goes 7 inches!” I turned my head and stared. My previously long locks were now lying on the ground like… hair on the ground, but in clumps. The rest of the time, we made small chit-chat. He is an remarkably charming guy, very intelligent, and personable too. I have to admit, I have a crush on him, but since he was gay, I don’t stand a chance. Oh well, at least I could say that he gave me a scalp massage and was quite entertaining to talk to. It was the intelligent conversation that really did it for me. Love it.

Part way through the haircut, the guy who gave me a hand massage, showed up with a flavoured coffee and biscotti on a plate. He brought the wrong one, my hairdresser scoffed at him, and the other guy left to get the right coffee. Hairdresser (whom I will call Fred — not his real name) laughed and said, “he’s SUCH a guy! But oh well, at least he’s charming.” I am LOVING Fred. Sooo funny.

After the hair cut, he blow dries and styles it to his liking. It looks amazing. I am super excited. He takes the robe off, brushes the little hairs off my shoulders and exclaims, “now stand up and give me a hug!” while holding his arms out. I stood up to hug and thank him, all the while giggling like an idiot because not only am I in love with my new hair, his mannerism are just too cute. He brought me over to another back room where the makeup artist was to touch up my makeup for free (it’s complimentary with every haircut you get there).

The girl who did my make up was also very personable and nice, and didn’t mind explaining to me what all the brushes were, what kind of makeup she was using and what/why it was used since I didn’t have a clue about the art of makeup. She made it very neutral for me with a bit of highlight for the eyes. I am now on the hunt for the same brush she used to put on eye liner/shadow and smudged it for my own use at home.

Overall, the experience was AWESOME and I would love to go there again. Just make sure you have enough money saved up for it as it is a bit pricey, especially on a student budget.

The next day, I tried out Shizen Spa. Andrew got a gift certificate from work and he gave it to me to use. I tried their Classic Facial. Now, I’ve never been to a spa before, and never really knew what I was supposed to be doing. The experience was great, with the exception of the woman who worked reception. Very snooty. Heck, it’s probably the reason why I didn’t end up tipping a lot.

When I got there, she brought me to a back room, opened up a locker and gave me the key, explaining that I need to remove all my clothes and change into a robe. After all that, I was to go wait in the main room. So, after deliberating with myself as to how much clothing I needed to remove, I settled in my robe (with underwear and bra still on), and walked into the room. A woman asked me if I would like to have tea and I said yes. I stood there while she poured the tea and offered some mini croissants/danishes/nuts to which I politely declined. I thought I was going to take the tea from her and walk further into the room but she picked up the teacup and saucer, walked further in and asked where I would like to sit. She suggested a chair on the other side of the room so I agreed and followed her. There’s a hot tub in the middle, lots of cushioned benches and large comfy single seater couches all around the room. I sat and sipped tea for a while, flipping through magazines.

A woman came down the stairs and introduced herself to me. She was the one who would be doing my facial. She led me up the stairs where there’s a long dark hallway with dimmed ceiling lights and candles lit on the floor against one wall. Scattered amongst the candles were all sorts of flower petals. I might add that this spa is very zen. We went to the backroom where she instructed me to remove my jewelry, the robe and bra, and climb into the “bed” (for lack of a better word). She left the room, I climbed into “bed”, and she returned.

I lost count as to how many times she rubbed lotions and creams into my face, removed them with a hot towel, and rubbed little circles all over my face in massage. At some point, there was this huge hose hanging above my face, pumping hot steam out. She then proceded to pinch out my whiteheads and blackheads. It didn’t hurt, but just felt a bit uncomfortable. She massaged my neck and shoulders and even at one point, moved down to my feet to rub lotion on. My first instinct was to tell her that I was only getting a facial, not a package of some sort (I’m such a student — I don’t want to pay for anything I didn’t order!) but she was only there for a short period of time before she washed her hands and went back to my face, rubbing in lotions and wiping it off with a hot towel.

It really was a dream lying there while getting pampered. I could have fallen asleep but I was so excited that I was listening to everything that was going around me. I got confused at one point because I could hear two different kinds of music playing. There were sounds of water running like a waterfall, which made me want to pee at some point. But the lady was very nice and talked to me about what kind of facial products to use and what I should be doing with my skin (she wasn’t preaching; I asked and she responded).

Afterwards, she led me back out to the main room where she poured me some more tea and got a little cup of nuts and dried cranberries for me to snack on. I sat in one of the large comfy lounge chairs and had my little snack. After 10 minutes, I wasn’t exactly sure what I was to do, and ended up asking one of the other girls who worked there what I should be doing. She smiled and said I could stay for as long as I wanted, if I had a bathing suit I could go into the hot tub, or I could just sit and relax until I was ready to go. I stayed for another 5-10 minutes, lying there with my eyes closed, just listening to everything around me. Then I went back to the change room, changed back into my regular clothes and went out. The snooty reception lady was still as snooty as ever, but was even MORE snooty when I presented my gift certificate. She asked how much I wanted to add on top of the bill (it came out to $99.75 and the gift certificate was for $100) and I said $10. I probably should have tipped $15-$20, being that it really was a nice spa, but that reception lady… seriously, get a new one or give her customer service training. Just because I don’t dress in ritzy clothing does not mean I don’t have money to spend. Heck, I did make an appointment to the spa, right? Obviously I have money to pay for it, otherwise I wouldn’t even be there. I don’t really understand it.

Haircut, facial, new job… lots of new beginnings. I cast off the old me and step into a new me. And with a bit of luck, leave behind all the “bad” for good.

I have only 4 more shifts until the end of my consolidation. In some ways, the summer term has gone by REALLY fast. In other ways, it is going agonizingly slow (ie. there’s always another paper to write). That being said. I still have one more paper to write to hand in. It’s worth 30% but the amount of apathy that has built up this term is really getting to me. I just don’t care anymore! I mean, in the beginning of term (and all throughout the past two years of this program), it has been stressed that the point of consolidation is to consolidate. Basically, to bring together all the knowledge and skills you have acquired over the years, practice them so that you will be comfortable with them, and to integrate everything with your critical thinking in developing your practice. Hell, you can even draw from an endless list of nursing theorists whom you want to base your practice on. To be honest, I can’t even remember some of that stuff. The basic gist of everyone’s theory is to care for your patient in a wholesome and selfless manner, and to treat them not as a disease, but as an actual human being. Don’t lose sight that they are as human as you are.

I have to say that in the past three months, I’ve learned a lot. It helps that my preceptor is really encouraging and supportive in letting me practice my skills, questioning what I’m doing and helping me understand what my patient has. She’s let me make mistakes (within reason) and then talk me through what I did, did not, or just plain forgot to do. I’m a bit better now, and slowly getting the hang of it. I’m a student, and there are limits, but I still want to do as much as I can.

So just some anecdotes of work to throw in here. Afterall, it’s the humour and entertainment factor that keeps me going.

I was in my patient’s room, bottle feeding my little baby patient. I heard another baby crying out in the hall way. The mom rushed past my room with the wailing baby in her arms. All I could hear (aside from the crying) was, “shhh! You’re embarrassing mommy!”

Another nurse on the unit is pregnant and due in a few months. She was sharing with the rest of us how inappropriate some of the comments she’s gotten. Remarks written are ranked from a mild to WTF factor.
- “Wow! You’re HUGE!”
- “Are there twins in there?”
- “Do you have stretch marks?”
- “Can I see them?” (in reference to above)
- Someone actually came up to her, lifted her shift above her belly and exclaimed, “There’s a baby in there!”

Four more shifts… it can’t be done soon enough!

I had this 15 month old boy today. He was so adorable! When I took his first set of vitals this morning, he was a little apprehensive and would cringe and cry out whenever I touched him. However, all it took was for one look at my stethescope while I was listening to his heart beat. You see, I keep one of those Winnie the Pooh toys latched onto my stethescope (you get from those toonie machines). Mine was Winnie the Pooh in a pink bunny suit. The little boy looked at it, reached out and grabbed it! This kept him occupied for the whole minute I needed to count his heart beats (so as to account for any irregularities and to note any possible murmurs or extra heart sounds). I had just started counting my next minute of respirations when all of a sudden, he leans forward and pops the bunny into his mouth! I tried not to laugh when I tried to tell him that it’s probably not a good idea to try to eat the bunny. I pulled back on my stethescope and the bunny popped out, dripping with saliva. I ended using a Viroxx wipe on the whole thing and then used several alcohol swabs for good measure.

G and I took a nice long walk today after dinner. We headed over to Yonge street, then walked all the way down to College. The nice thing about living downtown is that you’re in the heart of a lot of things. And you get to see a lot of things too. Lots of men in business suits (yum!), really odd fashion, and a whole bunch of other things. The best had to be when G and I were waiting on the subway platform, waiting for the subway to arrive. There was this girl next to us, wearing earphones, and dancing by herself to the beat of the music. This wouldn’t have been too bad to see but it was the way she was dancing that made it such a spectacle. First of all, she was quite large in all dimensions, and her fashion sense was on the questionable side. But when she started gyrating to the air and doing what G called, “booty bouncing”, the small crowd of people who were also waiting for the subway couldn’t help but stare and hold back suppressed giggles. The subway eventually arrived, with G and I hurrying to enter the same car as this girl. Like a train wreck, we were so fascinated with her we just couldn’t stop watching! Her dancing continued in the subway car until we had to get off to transfer. I kind of wonder how the rest of her ride was. I think I’ll just call her “booty bouncer.”

I’ve finally started my last clinical rotation in the beginning of May. I was pretty nervous because I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I am loving it so far and am learning so much. I never thought I would see so many cases that aren’t discussed in textbooks. Now that was really cool.

In addition to practicing skills that I supposedly learned during school (vital signs, assessments, dressing changes, etc.), I’m also getting the hang of being patient with my patients. There’s a fine line with being stern and being impatient, and I’m getting the hang of knowing what’s what. I work with kids and their families, so it’s not just one person I’m dealing with, it’s usually around 3 or 4.

Work does have it’s perks though. One of my patients gave me a little gift towards the end of my shift one day. She and her mom got some coloured play-doh from the playroom and her mom swiped a kidney basin from somewhere. They used both to create a 3D The Little Mermaid diorama. I could not believe how incredibly detailed it was. It completely made my day. I felt like I was doing something right despite constantly fearing that I could be doing something wrong. It’s sitting on my desk right now and serves as a constant reminder of why I went into this profession in the first place.

Sometimes, you never know what’s going to be thrown at you during your shift. Sometimes you have really good days and sometimes you have really challenging days. And the patients really are something else.

The good ones:
- sweet little girl who helps you with everything — even assessments!
- cute little babies who stop crying when you cuddle them
- really laid back teenagers who just want someone to talk to
- adorable Down Syndrome baby who constantly reminded me of my little brother, and the conversations I had with the mom about my own experiences

The not so good ones:
- whiney, attention-seeking boy who thinks the call bell can be used for everything, including passing the phone over to him from the bedside table
- over-protective parents who won’t let students touch their kids
- kids who are on a restrictive fluid diet, and tries to sneak ice chips and freezies (they melt and become fluid!!!)

I’ve had the chance to work with several other nurses when my preceptor wasn’t working. Each person has a different style and I’m really happy to work with all of them so I could learn from each. I think my nursing notes are improving and becoming more detailed. I’ve actually spoken during rounds (those are so intimidating) and I’m getting the hang of receiving and giving report to the next nurse.

Only another month and a bit to go and I’ll be finished! Time has really flown by this term. And I still have to get my resume finished so I can start applying for jobs!

I came home earlier in the week for some R&R before the next term starts up. I opened the fridge to find this tiny little bottle with a neat white label with the words, “[insert chinese characters that I can't read] 13 - For Jessica”. I asked my mom about it and she told me it was saved for me to drink.

Apparently, mom and dad finally opened this bottle of Louis XIII Cognac that was given to them as a gift many many years ago. I took miniscule sips and wow, this stuff goes down smooth.

My mom said to savour it, as it costs $3000. My sister, claims she went to the LCBO and it was being sold for $4000. Well, I find that both my mom and sister has a habit of blowing things out of proportion (usually my sister more than mom) so I looked it up myself. $2081.25 for a 700mL bottle! Wow… expensive!!!

Unfortunately, if they really did have a 700mL bottle and that’s all that was left of it, they left me very little — too little in fact. I think they only left me about 20mL. Hardly even 1/4 of a glass if you ask me. Oh well, I did get to enjoy some damn good cognac. My throat didn’t even burn. Now THAT’s good.

Seriously. I leave home without my camera for just *ONE* day, and something major happens.

I took my little brother to the barber shop for a haircut. Shortly after sitting, a swarm of cars appeared on the road in front along with the SWAT team and at least half a dozen unmarked cars. Officers in camouflage gear and holding really large guns came out and standing behind their car doors, ordered a man to come out of his car with his hands up. Everyone in the barber shop was on their feet, peering out the window to see what was going on. The atmosphere was tense.

Unmarked cars blocked traffic so no one came or left. Other unmarked cars pulled into neighbouring parking lots to keep an eye on the scene. It was insane! Eventually, the guy was handcuffed and taken to the back of the SWAT car. Then the camouflage guys approached the car and checked the inside of the car, including the trunk. It looked like something out of a movie, except in broad daylight and in the middle of a busy road. Better check the news tonight to see what all the fuss was about.