This week was so stressing. As it gets closer to the end, instructors are trying to get every little thing in that they possibly can before you leave, and the students are counting down the days until the end. This was our first week on the new clinical floor. I had two patients this week. The one was experiencing some symptoms that got increasingly worse throughout the day and we were unable to find a cause. Later that night, they realized that it was a GI bleed. The nurses were trying to get a consult and something done for this patient, but were unable to get a doctor to pay attention until late the next morning when I was there.

I am glad this week is over! I was glad I finally made it one day without tears. There is also a lot of pressure for me to get my resume and application in at different hospitals. A lot of places have already hired for the beginning of the summer. Our nursing graduation pictures were this week. It should be interesting to see how those turn out! We also picked up our caps and gowns this week! Graduation cannot come fast enough!!!

until next time =)
bre knapic

Posted by Bre Knapic at 4:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

“Things may come to those who wait...but only the things left by those who hustle.” -Abraham Lincoln

Last week was the respiratory exam, and I studied a lot for it and thankfully, I did really well =). I had two patients in clinical this week. I did a case study on one of those patients. She was diagnosed with cancer that had metastized to multiple organs and a DVT (deep vein thrombosis) that has migrated to a PE (pulmonary embolism). For my case study, I tried to focus on the correlation between cancer and DVT/PE. I was surprised to find that cancer is a very larger contributor to DVT/PE. People with cancer often have a higher number of platelets and clotting factors in their blood. Platelets clump together to form a plug to stop bleeding and give out chemicals to help the blood clot. Cells also release substances that increase clotting when killed by chemotherapy. Surgery and chemo damage the vessel walls, also increasing risk.

Only a few weeks until graduation!
until next time =)
bre knapic

Posted by Bre Knapic at 8:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Spring Break is over and there is only half a semester left! Break went really fast, and I can not wait for graduation! Classes are becoming very overwhelming and I was very thankful for the break. I wish there was another break coming up soon, because it’s starting to get exhausting again. Waking up @ 4:30 a.m. is not my favorite thing to do.

Last week in clinical, I was able to spend the day in the OR (operating room). I was able to see two hysterectomies and a C-section. The first hysterectomy was done with a scope and no incision was made. The second began as a laparoscopic hysterectomy where three incisions were made in the abdomen and scopes and tools are inserted and the surgeon uses a camera to cut the uterus out and remove it. Unfortunately, in this surgery, the surgeon was unable to separate the uterus because of scar tissue and fibroids causing a significant size increase, so it became an open abdomen hysterectomy.

The C-section was a little more exciting because, of course, there was a baby involved! It was a planned C-section and the mother and baby boy were both fine. It was basically the exact same in real life as you see on TV, a lot more blood, but that is basically the only difference. It was exciting to get to be a part of that special day for that family.

until next time =)
bre knapic

Posted by Bre Knapic at 6:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)