Posted by Sean on March 27, 2011
Apparently I’m not on the up-and-up on what healthy is:
This is an actual case study for one of my graduate classes. A fellow classmate pointed this one out to me. It seems that Tom is in good health huh?
They made a funny.
Heh heh.
Sorry, this is how my brain works after a weekend full of cramming.. err… I mean studying. Yeah, studying.
Posted in health, humor | Tagged: health, humor, school | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Sean on March 27, 2011
I rang in my birthday this year curled up on the couch in the fetal position trying to survive one of the worst sinusitis infection I have ever had.
I think the source of my illness jumped across the bacterial / viral line quite a few times over that 10-14 day period! One minute I felt it was viral with the body aches, generalized pain everywhere and that energy-zapped life-less body movement thing. I swear it took everything in me just to get out of bed and fall onto the couch. I mean my eyeballs hurt to blink and the hair that I don’t have on my head hurt!
Then it transitioned to the gravity-dependent, my head is going to explode sinus-focused terror. My head felt like a 100lb dumbbell and I reveled during those very brief moments of breathing through both nostrils.
I missed a whole week of school – and that was AFTER spring break. Thankfully I didn’t miss much other than class time.
-WHEW-
Fast forward about 14 days and a wonderful Z-pack later. I still have some sniffles lingering -nothing like when I was down and out – but annoying none-the-less at times. I’m back at school, back to the gym, back to feeling my humanish self again.
I just wanna know where the heck did I catch that darn bug? What did I do wrong? Do differently??!!
I haven’t had a ‘head-cold’ in over 3 yrs. I quite honestly I cannot remember the last time I was ever that sick?? If I had lost my appetite I surely would have been hospital bound. Thankfully I could consume soup on a daily basis and I forced the fluids as much as I could tolerate.
As a side note – I never, ever realized how dehydrated one can get just from oozing and blowing mucus from their nostrils??!!
Sorry – overshare.
Anyhoo.. Back to me and my immune system. What the heck happened? I mean I work in a hospital. Cross many-a-paths with the sick and ill. My poor wife has battled through a couple dooozy’s of a illness over the past couple years. I’ve been exposed to H1N1. I have had my flu shot annually (including the H1N1 vaccine).
I wash my hands too much in my opinion – since my hands get so dry they crack and split at my fingertips at times.
I don’t use nor abuse the darn hand sanitizer gels (no antibiotic resistance here).
I take my vitamins. I eat right. I sleep a ‘decent’ amount (not great, but decent).
???
The only thing that was new in my ‘equation’ of life has been school. Or should I say Graduate school. I started NP school this past fall.
The only real difference I can postulate is the fact that I’m ‘burning my candle at both ends’. I took a heavy load of classes this semester. I definitely bit off more than I could chew with multiple assignments from different classes pelted at me as if it’s target practice. I commute 4 days a week to class. So my day is choc-full of deadlines on a weekly basis. I do things in ‘chunks’ since I’m either in my car or in class most of my week.
Stress.
I think the self-induced wallop of stress definitely knocked my immune system down a few notches.. And with the right combination one of those damn ‘bugs’ got me.
Ahh well. Live and learn.
Lessons learned:
Posted in health, random | Tagged: health, sick | 2 Comments »
Posted by Sean on March 25, 2011
Be sure to not slip and fall out there.
A well written police report
Orville Smith, a store manager for Best Buy in Augusta, Georgia, told police he observed a male customer, later identified as Tyrone Jackson of Augusta, on surveillance cameras putting a laptop computer under his jacket. When confronted, the man became irate, knocked down an employee, drew a knife and ran for the door.
Outside on the sidewalk were four Marines collecting toys for the “Toys for Tots” program. Smith said the Marines stopped the man, but he stabbed one of the Marines, Cpl. Phillip Duggan, in the back; the injury did not appear to be severe.
After Police and an ambulance arrived at the scene, Cpl. Duggan was transported for treatment.
The subject was also transported to the local hospital with two broken arms, a broken ankle, a broken leg, several missing teeth, possible broken ribs, multiple contusions, assorted lacerations, a broken nose and a broken jaw… injuries he sustained when he slipped and fell off of the curb after stabbing the Marine.
Now that was a well written Police report.
Posted in random | 3 Comments »
Posted by Sean on March 24, 2011
I thought I’d share my most recent post over at Scrubs Magazine on what it’s NOT like being a male nurse. Comments always appreciated.
Urban legends. That what they are.
Some like to refer to them as ‘stereotypes’. Public opinion is generally not in sync with reality when it comes to the world of nursing.
This website and many others have discussed all the discrepancies before. Well, being a male nurse is no different. I’m here to tell ya those stereotypes are not what’s in store for ya.
Here is what being male nurse is NOT about:
- We don’t always get accused of being gay. Sorry. In my entire time as a nurse I’ve never once been confronted with this gem of a myth.
- We don’t get a job simply because we can lift the heavy patients.
- We are not singled out as the go-to free-labor nurse on the unit, simply because we’re men and we might have muscles.
- We do not lose our ‘man card’ when we become a nurse.
- Critical care and emergency nursing are not the only place that hires us or employs male nurses (it just happens to be the popular choice).
- The last time I checked I did not get a higher rate of pay just because of my gender. You earn every penny you get as a nurse, be it through experience or education.
- Male nurses don’t have it ‘harder’ working as a nurse. Yes, just by the percentages we are the minority. But the job itself has never been gender specific.
- And lastly, no you don’t get to tell a patient they have to accept you being their assigned nurse just ‘because’ or some cockamamie explanation about gender blindness. In the end the patients comfort is part of their care. Get over yourself. It’s not a stereotype, it’s just a patient preference.
Just in case you were wondering, here are a few things on what being a male nurse IS about:
- You have to earn everything you think you deserve
- You will have patients who are just not comfortable having a male nurse take care of them. It’s not a conspiracy against you are the entire male nurse working force, it’s just the patient not feeling comfortable. Try being the patient once. You’ll understand it more clearly.
- Due to society’s traditional legacy, yes, you will be mistaken for a doctor. Be sure to correct them and explain why.
- No one who comes across your path cares about you being a male, what they do care about is how you care.
- The minute you stop acting like a ‘male’ nurse is the minute they stop treating you as such.
Any questions?
Posted in health | Tagged: male nurse, nurses, scrubsmag | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Sean on March 24, 2011
I got a new car at the first of the year. Cobalt black exterior.
It seems that the birds like my car.
Posted in random | Tagged: car | 2 Comments »
Posted by Sean on March 23, 2011
This brings to light that stressing’ your body once in a great while has not benefit, and could quite possibly be detrimental to your health by increasing your risk of cardiovascular incidents.
The key here is to be consistent.
Sporadic Exercise, Even Sex, May Boost MI, Death Risk
But the risk drops with regular physical activity, according to Issa Dahabreh, MD, and Jessica Paulus, ScD, both of Tufts Medical Center in Boston.
The triggering effect of such episodes was muted for people who were more active on a regular basis, the researchers found.
They also cautioned that the findings should not be interpreted “as indicating a net harm of physical or sexual activity.”
Instead, they concluded, the results suggest that such exposures are associated with a “temporary short-term increase in the risk of acute cardiac events.”
Posted in random | Tagged: death, health, risk | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Sean on March 22, 2011
Posted in random | Tagged: fight | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Sean on March 22, 2011
Like a pebble thrown on a calm lake. It only takes one ripple.
Posted in random | Tagged: change | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Sean on March 21, 2011
Posted in random | Tagged: life | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Sean on March 19, 2011
This is a blog post reaching out for some suggestions. A fellow nursing student will be sitting for her NCLEX soon and is looking for some how-to/ how-not-to tips.
Visit the original post and help a soon-to-be nurse out!
To review or not to review
Posted: March 18th, 2011 | By Ani Burr | one comment
With NCLEX exams drawing nearer and nearer, everyone is getting anxious. Passing the ATI exit exam for our school, and then the NCLEX means a lot more studying without the structure of a classroom curriculum. So then the question boils down to: do you take a review class first, or not?
My first instinct is YES! Take 3 review courses! Anything to get through the madness and pass the test! Why not, right? It can only help. There is really no way that studying in a classroom can hurt your score on the NCLEX, right? I’ve heard Kaplan has a course that’s most similar to NCLEX style questions, but there are other companies out there who offer great course as well. No matter which class, here is my list of PROs for taking a review class:
- It CAN’T hurt!
- I’m a very un-structured studier, and so being in the classroom and studying might force me to FOCUS.
- A lot of the classes focus on test-taking strategies, which would be great to know since I’ve heard that SO MUCH of the test is about how you read the question.
But then, I don’t know. I did pretty well on my school’s predictor ATI… and I studied test taking strategies for that on my own. That’s actually ALL that I studied for the test. There wasn’t enough time for me to be studying what the practice tests told me that I needed to review before the test (ok, so maybe I procrastinated in studying… I couldn’t review all of the systems the night before!). I definitely think that was helpful in studying. So if I could study for that and do well, do I need a review class? Here’s my list of CONs for taking a review class:
- It costs an arm and a leg. I know it can’t hurt, but if it’s not 100% needed, then, is it worth the moolah? I am saving up for wedding goodies here!
- I’ve heard the classes are very repetitive, and long, and boring. So maybe they’re structured, if they’re boring, it’s not going to help.
- The predictor exam says I have a good chance of passing at this point… and I studied for that on my own, I think I can handle it.
So… I don’t know. Any suggestions out there? I definitely think it could be helpful, but is it really something I want to invest money in? Do I want to spend my first few weeks of freedom in another classroom? What do you think? I am open to your advice!
Tags: NCLEX, Nursing School
By Ani Burr
Ani Burr has survived her years as a nursing student at CSU, Los Angeles. Sh started college as a creative writing major, and then moved on to major in graphic design when a job at a dialysis unit…
Posted in health | Tagged: NCLEX, new grad, new nurse, nurses | 3 Comments »
