Failures and Triumphs

So much has happened!

Let me try and remember what has transpired between last Wednesday and today.

Let's begin with last Thursday:

I got up and went to lab knowing I had to check-off Trach care. It wasn't a big deal and wasn't that hard to do (at least I didn't think it was at the time).

I was in the first group to go and I walked over to an open CI (clinical instructor) and began.

Within the first 3 minutes she stops me and tells me I'm doing it all wrong. I'm thinking in my head that this was the way I was taught and began to freak out. She tried to explain to me what I was doing wrong, but it all went in one ear and out the other. I was still trying to get over the fact that I had "failed". It is very frustrating to be taught something by one person and told by another that what I was taught is all wrong. Did I waste an hour the previous week being taught the wrong way? Blerg!

She let me start over, but by then I did not have enough time to finish.

I came out of the room feeling pretty down on myself thinking I was the only one who "failed".

Nope

I was wrong.

Just about half the class didn't pass the first time. We were all taught wrong =(

I know that this was a big misunderstanding and the school did a good job to get us back on track. Several of the girls got very upset. We are all very driven and smart and are not used to "failing". Thus panic kicked in for some.

We were taught the right way immediately afterwards.

This was followed by the rest of lab where we learned how to insert/remove nasogastric tubes.

Stesha, Nicole, and I decided to drown our sorrows with a burrito from a new place.

We tried the Cosmic Cantina that claimed to have the "best" Mexican food on the planet. I didn't have high expectations.

This is what I spotted as soon as we walked in the door.

This was followed by a walk up these stairs that creaked and wobbled.

The burrito was average.

This is a local hotspot and you can tell by the people in there.

People walk in wearing their fancy business suits to eat Mexican food by hand.

Just watching this phenomenon made my day a little better.

I forgot to mention that before lunch we got to pick up our uniforms.

I refrain from using the word "scrubs" because our professors hate the word.

I give you my business "suit".

Yes, the tags are still on and I have bags the size of the moon under my eyes.

I think I'm just going to have to get used to it.

I spent a chunk of the day watching TV and enjoying the sound of rain on my windows.

Alley enjoyed it too.

Later that night, Stesha and I had a pity party. We had both "failed" our trach care and had to re-do it the next day.

We decided to open a bottle of wine, warm some queso, and practice sterile technique while tipsy.

Apparently, this worked!

We both redid our check-off on Friday morning and passed with flying colors.

We celebrated at Noodles and Company.

I tried a new dish this time and it was yummy!!!

I was originally going to stay in, but was forced in to being a social butterfly.

We all went to the Fed (bar), grabbed a table, and had great conversations.

Stesha and I called it an early night and headed home around 10:30.

Saturday's agenda included watching a stats lecture and getting our next Applied HW assignment done.

I found this HW assignment to be 1000 times easier than the last. It was on regression which deals with intercepts and slopes. All those years paying attention in math really paid off.

Not even 10 minutes after finishing stats, I get a call from Nicole telling me to come out to Ashley's birthday/barbecue.

It was in Cary, which I was told was a 20 minute drive.

It took me 38 minutes, but it was worth it.

Our team won flip cup 5 times in a row (every game).

This was followed by Stesha coming over to watch Duke lose to Virginia Tech/eat more queso/eat cookies.

This morning, I planned on running 3 miles.

After the first mile I was a hot mess. It was 80 degrees and my body just wasn't having it.

I decided to walk 4 more miles for a total of 5.

The trees are starting to blossom and there are smells of pine in the air.

oh, and I found dead animal #3

Dez needed someone to take her to her car, so I volunteered.

As we were driving, I noticed more blooming trees and snapped a shot.

It also gives you a good view of the Duke Hospital.

I invited Dez over and cooked us dinner.

We stuffed our faces and watched some TV.

After she left, I watched the Patho lecture on cancer.

Here I am, 5 days away from Spring Break!

Hallelujah

Cake and Sushi

It's hump day again!

It is getting harder and harder to sit in the same classroom for hours on end, day after day.

To our surprise (and Beth's), there was cake after class.

It was our professor's birthday yesterday and we all quickly became part of a birthday surprise!

We waited for her to exit the classroom and shouted "surprise".

...she was very surprised

Beth is also my advisor and I'm glad we all got to do something special for her birthday.

After our lunch break, we had a lecture on ergonomics.

We don't wanna go and break our backs so we get to play with fun machines like these:

Time for a ride

congrats, it's a baby girl

I did a quick rundown of trach care in open lab to be prepared for tomorrow's check off.

I gave Dez a ride home and made it back to my place.

Time for a 5K run!

a bit slower than the last run, but I was having issues

my calves kept tightening up and I blame yesterday's squat session.

For dinner, I gathered the girls and we returned to Sushi Love.

It was wonderful and I have a happy belly right now.

I just finished up the list of things I need to get done this weekend and I'm watching Duke kick Temple's butt.

goodnight

Life is good

Today's lecture began with one of our professors sharing this video with us:

I found it to be incredibly moving.

This eased our way into our lecture on ethics.

We had a pretty open discussion on our own views and were able to share them with each other.

The class seemed to fly by and it was break time!

It was spent finishing up both of my stats assignments once I knew what I was actually supposed to be doing.

There were pages and pages of charts and whatnot and the values we needed were on the last 2 pages of this 20 page assignment.

For the next hour we had lunch with our advisors. It's a time to have a laid back conversation between our advisor and our peers. The time was mainly spent talking about our patho exam (because it was all we could think about this past weekend). Many people felt that it was a lot more challenging than our first exam.

I was just happy for a free lunch....and I love listening to my advisor. She has this calming affect.

Patho was cut short today because they needed to use our classroom for an "important' seminar. I don't know what could be more important than patho? I'm joking.

We went over 2 cancer cases and called it quits an hour and half early.

I used my free time to grab some groceries and clean up a bit around the house.

As for now, I've been laying on the couch the last couple of hours de-stressing.

Stats HW is done and so are my ATI modules for the week.

Life is good.

more springy buds

oh the weather outside is....delightful

I was able to sleep in (gloriously) until around 12:30 on Sunday morning...um...afternoon.

I packed up and headed to school.

I had some Stats homework that needed to be done and the library was the place to be.

Being on campus on a Sunday is strange.

...and it's more crowded than during the week.

Only at Duke, right?

I made it to the library to meet with Nicole. We (I) didn't get much done. The time was spent freaking out about how crazy our Stats assignments are. I figured I should head back home and watch the last lecture before I attempted to work with her.

As I was walking back to my car, I spotted this little thing:

a bud!

Spring is so close. =)

I made it back home just in time for the second half of the Duke lacrosse game. It was the first lacrosse game I had ever watched. Since my boyfriend is really into the sport (...obsessed), I thought I should see what it's all about.

I kept it on mute while I watched an exciting lecture on correlation...haha...not.

I spent the rest of the evening doing ATI modules (videos on how to do skills). This was done while DUKE basketball was on.

We are now ranked #1 again =)

I slept in again today.

I needed to be in the CND (center for nursing discovery..aka...lab) by 1 for a simulation run.

It was so warm again, I wore shorts and flip flops.

For this being our first simulation, it went....okay.

I, of course, was put in the primary nurse position.

Such is my life.

Stick ME in the hardest position....ME the one who knows nothing =/

Yes, I made mistakes.

BUT

did I learn something?

You bet!

In the debriefing I was told I was chosen because I seemed like the most chill person....

Thus, if I made mistakes...I wouldn't be rattled by it and go home and cry.

Yes, this is true.

I am chill.

Did I freak out a bit? yes

I came home and read 31 pages worth of Cancer in my Patho book.

I HAD to do this outside.

It was just so pretty.

Welcome to my new office

I still have around 17 pages, but I might just rest.