kapachino

Author: Kathleen

  • The Extent To Which I Will Go For A Little Cash

    I go to school full-time and I support myself by loans, but I was not able to get enough loans to comfortably cover all my expenses. Thus, I got myself a part-time job but it pays $9/hour and I only work about 6-10 hours a week – not exactly enough to pay the rent. All of the money I have in my account at this time must last me until the end of August, and I have some expenses coming up (i.e. $150 for a dental visit due to my lack of dental insurance and $300+ for a plane ticket to Kansas for my best friend’s wedding) that are causing me concern. So when the following flier showed up in my mailbox at school, I jumped on it:

    ————————————————————————————————————–
    SUBJECTS NEEDED
    TO PARTICIPATE IN A BIRD FLU (INFLUENZA A/H5N1) VACCINE STUDY

    Eligible subjects are invited to participate in a research study being conducted at Baylor College of Medicine to determine reactions and antibody responses to an experimental vaccine against influenza A/H5N1 (‘bird flu’).

    Study requirements:
    -Healthy adults 18-49 years of age
    -No known allergies to flu vaccine
    -Available for study procedures for 7 months

    Study procedures:
    -Eight study visits
    -Two vaccination visits, one month apart
    -Collection of blood samples on 4 occasions
    -Complete a diary of symptoms and signs for 1 week after each vaccination

    Compensation: $400 for completing all procedures
    ————————————————————————————————————–

    Despite the fact that I HATE getting needles stuck in me, especially when they are taking my blood OUT of me, I am going to do this because that $400 looks pretty good. And anyway, it’s for a good cause. And I’m sure there’s only a slight chance of actually contracting the bird flu.

  • Spring Reading Thing!

    Whenever I get the chance I try to search around the worldwide web for new blogs that I might enjoy reading. There is a whole huge blogging world out there and it is kind of intimidating, but fun. I haven’t yet gotten too extremely involved in that world because I believe it can become quite time-consuming, and I already have a lot going on. But then I came across this:

     

    A blogger named Katrina at Callapidder Days is hosting a spring reading challenge, and this is just my kind of thing. So I am going to participate, and you are invited also! All you do is make a list of books that you want to read between March 21 and June 21, and then try to read them. The list can be as short or as long as you want, and there’s no pressure to finish it. If you want to participate via your blog, just go to Katrina’s site on March 21 and add your post to the bunch.

    As for me, I am involved in a book club that reads one book a month, so I will have to take that into account (i.e. my list will have to be shorter). But one thing I always tell myself is, “I’m going to finish all the books I own before I go buy more!” That doesn’t usually work out (in fact NEVER does), but I’m going to have a go at it once again. So I’m going to start working on my list, and I encourage you to do the same. I’ll post it on March 21. Read away!

  • Spring Break 2007!

    It’s Friday of the week of my spring break, and even though I really do need to spend most of my time today working on school assignments, this is the first day that I actually don’t have anywhere school or work related to be, and this fact causes me to rejoice. This is how I have celebrated:

    >I slept in until 10 a.m. This means that I got almost 12 hours of sleep! Wow!

    >I have not changed out of my oh-so-comfortable-and-cute shorts and shirt that I slept in.

    >I guess it goes without saying that I have not taken a shower, although I DID wash my face. But what doesn’t go without saying is that I have absolutely no intention of showering today AT ALL.

    >Also, not one speck of makeup will be applied.

    >All of my schoolwork will be done from my bed.

    >Lunch will consist of a Hot Pocket and probably some ice cream.

    That’s about as far as I’ve gotten. Later this evening, around 6 or so, I will get myself together and mosey on out to my parents’ house for our weekly dinner, where we will watch “Monk” and I’ll have some more ice cream. I tell you, if I can’t have a proper spring break, I’m going to make the best of what I get.

  • What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?

    Whenever I get to talking about school with anyone, one of the first questions they ask me is, “What kind of nurse do you want to be?” So I just want to go on record here and say that as of right now, the answer is “I don’t know.” But I can tell you that I have had some experiences lately that have me leaning in a way I never thought I would.

    Last week I had a patient who was 84 years old, hospitalized for a severe urinary tract infection that got into her blood. She was very confused and helpless. She could hardly do anything for herself. She was wearing diapers because she could no longer control her urination or bowel movements. She also had two pressure ulcers (bedsores) on her middle and lower back. That day, during her bed bath, the nurse’s assistant called me and my preceptor in to evaluate her sores because while they were cleaning her she had begun to have a soft bowel movement and it had soiled the dressing. When we entered the room there she was, lying on the bed, naked, scared, confused, and embarrassed. She wasn’t much of a talker, but she kept looking at her daughter (who was there with her) and at us with a pleading look in her eyes, saying things like, “What am I gonna do? Are they going to kill me?” My heart broke for her, and I can tell you that it was one of the most satisfying experiences I have had yet just to clean her up and get her settled comfortably in her bed.

    That day my preceptor, Kay, told me a similar story. She had an elderly patient who had had an aneurysm in her brain which had been operated on. Unfortunately, she had progressed to the point where she was no longer responding to anyone around her – not quite in a coma, but almost. During the operation they had shaved half of her head and a portion on the other side, so that she had a tuft of long hair coming out that was matted and crusted. Evidently no one had washed it for awhile, because the short hair had already grown out some. Kay decided that she was going to wash it and brush it. Then while she was doing this, she got the idea to cut it. She cut it into that kind of cute and spiky look that you see some grandmas wearing. During the whole process she sang Christian songs to her, and she noticed that when she sang, her patient’s eyes focused directly on her, a sign of awareness that hadn’t been shown since the operation.

    Experiences and stories like this are what is making me think that I may want to be a geriatrics or hospice nurse. We all grow old, and we all die, and it usually isn’t pretty. It happens all the time, but it’s a new experience for every person when they go through it. This is a time of great need for those people, and they are frequently overlooked.

    Nursing school is hard, and it has really been stressing me out lately. This is my spring break, but I have more schoolwork to do than I can handle, almost. But I am not doubting my chosen profession for a minute. It’s a wonderful feeling to know that you’ve found what you want to do with your life, and you are doing it.

  • Music Anyone?

    I got my Nickel Creek ticket in the mail today (which is not the point of this entry, although I am very excited about that) and along with it there was an advertisement for emusic.com saying that if I only sign up for a subscription I will get a 14-day free trial and 50 free downloads! Well, turns out that there’s only 25 free downloads, but I did it anyway. Reason being, I have realized that I am so out of it regarding new music lately, and I don’t want to be. So far I’ve only used up one of my free songs. Please give me suggestions! I have no idea what to pick! Leave me a comment with a specific song or two that you suggest, and perhaps a little description of what it is like. I will be ever so grateful!