IV Master

if you need an IV, i’m your girl

Instead of working a normal shift tonight, I went to the hospital’s pre-op area to practice starting IVs all day.  People who are having outpatient surgery show up about an hour and a half before they’re scheduled for surgery, and a nurse starts an IV, draws any necessary labs, goes over the pre-op checklists, etc.  Basically, I got to start IVs on a bunch of people.  Let’s just say I was at 100% for the day!  I got each one on the first stick…woo!  However, I must say that these people have much better veins than some of the people we see up on the floor.  Since they’re coming and going from surgery in the same day, they’re generally a little bit healthier.  My confidence is still up, however!  This area of the hospital is MUCH less stressful than the floors, and it’s easy to see why older nurses work there after working at the bedside for so long.  I could see it getting old day after day, but it was definitely a nice change of pace.

mercy

As I blog, I’m watching the new nursing/medical show Mercy.  While I was slightly annoyed that the first five minutes of the show included a patient yelling about “stupid nurses,” I haven’t really seen enough to form a real opinion.  I identify slightly with the new grad nurse, who one review says she looks like she’s never been in a hospital.  For the record, I looked like a deer in the headlights for at least the first two weeks of orientation!  It doesn’t help that I look twelve.  I may not watch the show on a regular basis (since, you know, I’m usually working now!), I may tune in now and again.  I think that the media plays a huge role on how the public views nurses and the medical profession in general, so I think it’s important to tune into shows that have a nursing emphasis.  One of my patients today asked if the three little bubbles in her IV tubing would kill her like she saw on TV last week.  (The answer is no.)

i love me some leftovers

Over the weekend, I made some a Black Bean Tortilla Casserole, compliments of allrecipes.com.  (Love that site!)  Anyway, this is a quick and easy recipe and makes for awesome leftovers…especially when you’re cooking for one.  :)  I probably should have halved the recipe, but I’ll be happily eating it all week!

Mmmm fresh out of the oven!

My slice with some tomatoes and green onions on top!

injured reserve

Took another day off from running.  It hurt while walking around at work and going up and down stairs, so i figured another day would be a good idea.  Maybe tomorrow…

I’ve thought about getting a foam roller…maybe that would help loosen me up a bit?  No clue.

randomness

Sorry about the randomness of my posts lately…I kind of like the variety, and I hope you do too!