Thursday, June 18, 2009

I need more strength training

I can't believe it's already Thursday! This week is flying, which I consider a good thing. Last night was a pretty good night at work. I was with a new preceptor, and she pretty much just let me do my own thing. While slightly terrifying (what if I mess up??), it's really the only way to learn how to be on your own. She jumped in if I was falling behind (everyone wants pain meds or needs a new bag of IV fluids...ALL AT THE SAME TIME), but in general I felt pretty good about how the night went. I spotted an infiltrated IV and restarted it on the other arm...on my first try! I was a bit worried because it didn't look like the patient had any other veins to try for, so I was hoping I'd get it on the first stick otherwise I'm not sure what we would have done. Afterward, my preceptor confirmed my thoughts! Good thing it went it...I was super nervous.

I have a different preceptor tonight, who I've been cautioned about by multiple nurses. They say she's a good nurse, but very intense, knowledgeable, and in your face. Should be an interesting night! Tomorrow I'm supposed to go to "Arrest Day" where we learn all about codes and such. It's during normal day hours...hopefully we don't get out too late tonight!

I'm heading to Princeton this weekend for my BIRTHDAY! I'll be the big 2-5 on Saturday...even though I still look 17. Oh well. I don't really have many friends out this way, so James is planning something that will hopefully involve some of his friends. :)

I had a good morning! I feel accomplished when I get things done, so I made myself get out of bed before nine. I'm hoping to make 8-8:30 more of my routine, but I'm still adjusting. It's a little drizzly out, which actually made for a really nice run! I was only going to do four, but then I decided on five, and once I got running...six was the magic number!

Thursday, June 18
6.09 miles in 48:57, avg pace of 8:02

I'm hovering right around an eight minute mile, but I still freak out slightly when my garmin says 8:10 or something like that. I've definitely lost a little fitness since marathon training since I haven't been running as much, and I got used to dropping 7:30 miles without noticing. I probably sound like a broken record, but I need to remind myself that I'm base building (of sorts...marathon still yet to be determined!) and the time on the clock doesn't matter that much. I should write that on my hand or something...that would be fun to explain to patients!

As for the title of this post, nursing is a very physical job, in which I lift very large people on a regular basis. I am not a large person, which makes moving people difficult! Good posture and technique only goes so far when the patient is twice your size. Therefore, I really need to work on being consistent with my strength training to help reduce the risk of injurying myself. I kind of feel off the bandwagon when I got my massive allergy attacks, so I hopped back on today, and it felt great! I need to find some exercises to strengthen my back...that would definitely be beneficial as a nurse and as runner for a strong core. Any suggestions??

Still catching up on blogs...hope everyone is having a great week!

9 comments:

  1. Happy Birthday this weekend!

    Strength training for nurses: tons of core work for sure. Don't forget biceps & quads for day-to-day lifting. And you'll be surprised how sore your pecs & triceps get after some long bouts of chest compressions.

    :)

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  2. Glad work is going so well for you!! I agree that the best way to learn is for you to just do it! Yay for another successful IV stick!! Arrest Day sounds fun! I live for that adrenaline stuff:)

    25 is a big birthday!! I will be 25 in December so I'm not that far off! Hope you have fun!

    I am totally with you on strength training for nurses!! I thought working in the PICU would be less physical, boy was I wrong! Even the kids are heavy to me!! Some days I go home and my arms are so sore from moving, lifting, holding, etc. Plus we get some pretty big 18 year olds!! Haha

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  3. Good luck at work, and that is a great pace on your run, drop off or not.

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  4. Check my blog under the core section and it has the workout I do. It should help!

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  5. Wow, nursing sounds intense! And Happy early birthday!

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  6. Happy early birthday!

    Sounds like you are really getting the hang of it at work. I hope it goes well tonight!

    You know I am jealous of those 8:00 min miles ;)

    I ignore strength training (BAD!!!) so I have no advice :(

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  7. Oooh back exercises! Back extensions on a stability ball or on machine at gym. Birddogs:
    http://www.acefitness.org/exerciselibrary/exercisedetail.aspx?exerciseid=14

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  8. have a great birthday!!!!!!!!

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  9. be careful lifting the large people! maybe you need to switch to peds :)

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