Christmas in November!

No, it didn't snow (I am still nervously waiting for the first snow storm of the season). And I did not get a gift...

I GOT MY FIRST CLINICAL ROTATION ASSIGNMENT!!

After what seems like years of anticipating getting my first clinical assignment, the day finally came! Beginning in January, I will be going to Brigham and Women's hospital and working on a burn/trauma floor. I know my clinical instructor already, and I love her. I think she will be a great influence and her teaching style matches my learning style.

I know I will be a nervous wreck the first few clinicals, but I am looking forward to the learning experience!

Adventures in Nursing School: Part 1

I never believed nursing school would be easy. I knew it would be a challenge, and I looked forward to meeting the challenge. I have decided to document my "progress"as I go from being a new nursing student and working toward getting my RN license in just 18 months!

Yesterday was my first day of Simulation Lab, which is meant to mimic a hospital environment and give us  an experience as close to the "real thing" as possible. The "sim man/woman" is a high-tech dummy who has a pulse and gut and lung sounds, among other things. He is equipped with speakers which are connected to an adjacent room where a Simmons nursing instructor plays the voice of the patient.

Our first scenario was this:
A Jewish woman has a tibular/fibular fracture and has just had surgery. The nurse is to assess the patient's vital signs, begin IV fluids, and assess the patient's pain level and administer morphine through an IM injection (as ordered by the physician) if necessary. Three students "played nurse," one played the part of the patient's irritating sister, and another observed and took note of everything we did. Our other classmates watched us on a big screen in the next room.

I was one of the nurses, and we agreed before-hand who would be responsible for each task. I was to assess the patient's vital signs. We walked into the room and were immediately confronted by the sister. She let us know that she was irritated and her sister was in pain. We became side-tracked and although I managed to take all of the patient's vital signs, we NEVER LOOKED AT THE PATIENT'S BROKEN LEG. We were suppose to look at her bandage to ensure she could still move her toes and that there was adequate circulation to the wounded leg.

Major FAIL. Luckily this was not a real patient and the instructors were very helpful in giving a 30 minute discussion meant to help us go over any mistakes we made, in addition to what we did well. I will say that it was an extremely helpful exercise. We go again next week and I hope it goes much more smoothly. Maybe I'll even pay attention to the reason the "patient" is in the hospital!

Very similar to our set-up. The one way glass allows the instructor to see us but we cannot see them.

Roughly what the sim lab looks like from the inside

Walden Pond

Nick's mom and her friend Wendy have been visiting this weekend. We had an excellent Italian feast last night on the North End (where we had the most entertaining waiter I've ever seen), walked around and then got some dessert. This morning we went to our favorite brunch spot for a jazz brunch, which never disappoints. We decided to head to Walden Pond where Henry David Thoreau wrote his famous book, Walden.

It is the coldest day we've had so far this season, but lucky for us, the sun was shining. It was about 42 degrees, but it was perfect once we bundled up.

Homemade Pasta Sauce

Nick and I have enjoyed cooking together lately, so last night we made this delicious pasta sauce.


Fresh basil, fresh oregano, chopped onion and fresh garlic, mushroom, tomatoes, red pepper... with penne pasta and a side of San Francisco style sourdough bread!

Fresh basil

The yummy end product

Time Flies

Pure craziness is the only way to describe the past week. Nick's birthday included making swordfish for dinner and being lazy at home, and that weekend we headed to the North End for an incredible Italian feast. We ended the night by going to a little pastry shop and sipping hot chocolate.

Last weekend I was busy preparing for two big exams. My first exam was "medication calculation"which was the morning of my birthday, but at least I passed-hooray!! I have 4 more weeks left of the semester and I should be getting my first clinical assignment within the next week. I feel ready to be working in the hospital and applying the skills I've been acquiring in class and in lab.

Nick also had a big exam Tuesday night, followed by an interview Wednesday morning. We also had a friend from high school come stay with us Tuesday night.

In an effort to keep us on the edge of our seats and keep life exciting, Nick is currently applying for a job and trying to decide whether or not to pursue his phD. He attended an information session a few weeks ago for a company based out of New Hampshire. They are a small company but they have projects that are well-aligned with some of Nick's favorite subject areas and they are involved in almost every step of their projects, from design to actually building what they have designed. Nick submitted an application and was contacted about coming for a preliminary interview. His interview went well and they will be contacting him again in a few weeks regarding a second, more intense interview in New Hampshire. I haven't blogged about it previously because it was a whirl-wind, and although it is still "up in the air," I know I'll regret not keeping track of the little things that make our day-to-day lives so interesting.

Nick has no idea which direction he wants to go at this point, but we both think it's a win-win situation. We drove 3,000 miles on our own to move to Boston, so I think it's safe to say we are both easily adaptable to different situations. New Hampshire would be a drastic change of pace and a very different lifestyle than the one we have in Boston. There are pros and cons to both and no matter what, we will be happy with where we are. New Hampshire would mean more hiking, snow boarding, camping and outdoor activities, while we'd be sacrificing the fast pace of Boston and the proximity to a lot of great friends we have here. We've met great people here and it would be hard to leave them, even if it is only a 2 hour drive from where we'd be.

This is what happens when I don't blog for over one week...there end up being long paragraphs instead of short descriptions of what's going on. Life is always exciting around here!

Going out to celebrate our 24th Birthdays

The Big 2-4

Today my love turned 24! It feels like we just turned 19 yesterday, but there is no one else I would rather spend these years with.

Happy Birthday, Nick! I love you more than words can describe!

Our 19th Birthdays