Introduction

2006-09-20T15:03:17Z

I've recently decided I need somewhere separate from my regular journal to keep my reflections on nursing. Most of the time these reflections manifest as rants on the stupidity of my patients. But sometimes I also wax philosophical on ethical dilemmas, consider what my learning goals are and provide an uncensored glimpse into some of the nursing interventions I perform on a daily basis - what I find both easy and difficult, and why and all that other jazz. I would expect that eventually, I'll ship over entries from when I was in school, as well as entries from the last 7 months. And after the baby is born, and I am on my maternity leave, I expect a lot of my writing will be about past experience, and learning opportunities.

Some background: I am a pregnant, 31 year old, married woman living in sorta-northern Alberta. I work on a surgical floor at the local hospital. It is my first nursing position. I am a Licenced Practical Nurse. A lot of people seem to think this means I wipe a lot of asses "because LPNs aren't real nurses, are they?". While I wipe my fair share, it's not any more than the Registered Nurses do. In Alberta, and particularly at my hospital, LPNs have a very broad scope of practice. One of the few things we don't do is hang IV meds, and give IV push medication. I (theoretically, anyhow) start IVs, perform nursing assessment, take vital signs, hang IV fluids, insert catheters, bond wth patients, (theoretically) insert NG tubes, assist with blood transfusion... the list is long and distinguished. The surgical floor provides team care, which means there is an RN on the med cart and (sometimes) 2 LPNs on the floor. On heavy med days, sometimes the RN is completely dependant on the LPNs to watch for and recognize change in patient acuity. I became an LPN not because I wanted random strangers to ask me why I hadn't become an RN, but because when I finally decided to become a nurse I was in my 3rd year of a Bachelor of Arts degree. I simply could not afford another 4 years of university after completing my BA. I also don't think I could have handled being 'in school' for another 4 years. The ultimate goal is to return to school to get my Bachelor of Science in Nursing, but that will be a while still - my husband needs to finish his education first, as his is the wage that pays the bills. Eventually, I would like to combine my 2 loves - nursing and teaching, and teach in a nursing program. While I grumbled a lot about teaching/tutoring/study groups while I was in my nursing program, on reflection, it was one of the more rewarding experiences I'd had.

The next few entries will probably be background as well, so that I provide a well rounded picture of who I am, why I became a nurse, what motivates me, whether I really care for these people I'm always calling idiots. If I ship over entries from my other journal, they'll be backdated, but I will provide a link to them. There's a reason for that too. Part of my on-going registration responsibility is to maintain a learning log and goals log, and I would like to use this journal to track my progress. Sure, if my licensing body ever wants my 'proof' of current learning, I'll be doing a lot of frantic editing, but at least it will all be in one place.

For the record, I am a good nurse. I have had excellent performance evaluations, all through nursing school and since I have started my nursing career. I am valued by my unit manager and by the charge nurse on my unit, despite being a 'novice' experience-wise. I think I am considered a good nurse because I take accountability for my actions and am not afraid to ask experienced nurses for assistance where my knowledge or practical skills are weak. I was very fortunate to be oriented by an excellent nurse, and I am equally fortunate to have spent my first few months on the floor working with excellent nurses - LPNs and RNs alike. I know where my knowledge is weak and I know where my knowledge is strong, and that makes me a safe nurse. Finding assistance when I need it makes me a prudent nurse. And being both safe and prudent, combined with my knowledge base and increasing experience makes me a good nurse. It's not an ego thing. I have finally, after struggling for almost 30 years, found an area I excel in. I fumbled around being 'good' or 'acceptable' in a lot of things before I hit on nursing, and so I think I have the right to admit that I am good at my job without it being a huge ego issue.

The Adventures of NursePickles

Introduction