Have I really not written anything since January?

Oooooops, I haven’t updated this blog for a while, have I? Since January in fact. I recently received that comment on this very blog! It was very well timed… the day I received it I had just been mentioning how guilty I felt that I hadn’t updated my blog for a loooong time and how  I just needed to find the time from somewhere to write. Well….I got the time and the motivation that I needed and here I am!

So, in reference to whether I really really haven’t written anything  since January the answer is both yes and no. I really haven’t written this blog since January but that’s because I have been super super busy writing and doing all these other bits and bobs!

– I had to finish my last placement in A&E and with District Nurses – after spending endless hours writing patient notes, care plans, referrals, handovers, discharges etc.. my motivation to write blogs goes walkies! That’s understandable isn’t it? I know that my intention when I started writing this blog was to update it weekly, or more frequently than that.. I can’t really remember to be honest but I must have been deluded,  just cannot manage that at the moment.  I hope that if nothing else, my blog is an online record of all the opportunities that are available to student nurses if they are able and willing to grab them with both hands…and well.. I’m sort of too busy doing that to have the time to write about it all!! I really didn’t expect that the world of nursing would be so flipping exciting and full of wonder! I want to make the most of it all whilst I still can.

Anyway, back to my list of things I have been writing and doing!

– Writing a 3000 word assignment whilst also in placement – imagine all of the above, plus having to muster the energy to also research, read and read and read and critically appraise (contrast and compare) evidence and write an essay. Sounds like hard work, doesn’t it? It was, it was tedious and it took over my life for a good few months.

– In addition…I have also been writing approximately 25 x 1000 word reflective essays for my portfolio – this is in addition both to placement and to my assignment! That is a loooooot of words! It hurts my brain writing reflections…having to be open and honest and self-aware of your own feelings and behaviours is a lot more difficult than you would think! Ignorance is bliss as they say but alas, not in nursing! For good reason too.

– Writing, reviewing, modifying and re-writing my first ever journal article! Watch out world! Author Ruthie has landed! I originally submitted my article in November last year, and it has been updated every time I had feedback for reviewers, sub-editors and editors which equates to around 10 re-writes in total. Frankly, it looks nothing like the original article now but I hope someone enjoys it nonetheless. I am so super proud and cannot wait to be able to reference myself in an article – because I am sad like that 🙂

– Writing notes, reading, watching videos and revising for my one ginormous exam of the year. “That’s all you have?” I hear you say! Yes, that was all I had…one single exam that covered 18 hrs per week x 9 months of work, on any part of the human anatomy and physiology, on anything on major chronic and acute conditions out there. Easy peasy lemon squeazy. No? Exam was actually ok, although I did have a few head scratching moments but it wouldn’t be an exam if it wasn’t a little challenging!  Will find out in the next week or so if I did enough to pass!

– Oh yeah, there is the small matter of attending uni full time too! And also working, I have two part time jobs…which reminds me! I work so so so so hard that guess what? I am the best super hardest worker at my uni:

So you know….sorry that I haven’t written my blog in a while. I have been a little preoccupied! I will try my hardest to do better.

Sometimes I wonder how I will cope doing all this when I qualify – working full time, shifts, having a life, sleeping, eating (though incredibly I always find the time to eat, several times a day, every day- my weight is testament to that!). But then I realise that when I qualify I won’t be working full time, studying, volunteering, writing journal articles and working another 2 part time jobs at the same time. Having a full time job may actually be a little easier – plus I’m sure the pay will soften the blow somewhat 🙂

Chat soon! I promise 🙂

 

Has it been that long?

It has been nearly 10 days since I last wrote a post – sorry!

I am really enjoying my nursing course and everything that comes with being at university…the people, the lifestyle, the socialising…everything!  It is so much better than I ever thought it would be and definitely soooo much better than what I remember from my first time at university. Everything has superseded my expectations. I have fully submerged myself into as many things and aspects of student and university life as possible – that doesn’t mean that I am out all night every night. What I mean is, I am fully committed to making the most out of the next 3 years…that is, both academically, clinically (when the time comes) and socially.

For example, as if my course didn’t give sufficient opportunity to keep busy with homework and background and additional reading, I have also joined a writing class. I’m not sure if it comes across that I love writing but I really do! I have done ever since I was little. I remember writing a story once at primary school about the Eiffel Tower needing blanket to keep warm…it was part of an international project at school and I won a prize – I think I won a set of books, which I’m sure my mum still has! I probably don’t need to go to a writing class, but I don’t think anyone should ever take for granted to opportunity to learn and improve. We are so lucky to have these options available to us, and for free, who wouldn’t want to grab them with both hands?

I was about to write that life is too short to not give anything and everything a try, but Billy Connolly once made a good point of saying that life is actually the longest thing anyone will ever do. Which, when you think about it, is actually a lot more accurate!  So worded differently, I think most of us are lucky enough to have plenty of time to do anything and everything we want to do, but time does go quickly, so we should take the opportunity when it arrives. A bit like Jim Carrey in the ‘Yes Man’ – it’s a fascinating film! It’s amazing how many doors can open and how many new and exciting opportunities can land on your lap when you are open-minded and willing to try new things! For the first time in my life, I had a crisp sandwich and went to a pub quiz last week. This may all seem trivial stuff to most people, and some may wonder where I have been all this time…but you know..I’ve been doing other stuff, like travelling the world and working and going for sophisticated meals instead! But I actually really enjoyed the crisp sandwich and have eaten one nearly every day since (which is probably not so good for my health!) and I discovered I’m actually not too bad with general knowledge. Though it has to be said that I don’t have a clue about anything to do with shipping or haulage. Not my forte. But I gave it a go! And that’s what counts.

Talking about little things that count, you may remember in my last post I talked about the Together Trust who I volunteered for. I  went back again this weekend and this time we actually packed people’s shopping! Supermarket Superheroes it’s called. I was amazed for a number of reasons:

1. Supermarkets apparently go through around 10,000 plastic bags every day. I’m sure I have at least 100 in my cupboards. What a waste of resources! Biodegradable or not there are many more environmentally friendly ways to pack the shopping. I think all supermarkets should charge for bags, and from now on, I promise to always carry bags with me to the supermarket. Obviously if I make an impromtu purchase I may have to get a bag, but then, I should have to pay for it!
2. People will always stop and talk to you if they feel safe and you are friendly, courteous and smiley. I know because every single person I said hello to during fundraising stopped and talked to me and were all incredibly nice (and generous) in return. I should remember this when I’m on placement. Patients are not likely to feel safe initially, but it is important to keep communicating. The likelihood is that the patient will eventually feel sufficient secure to open up.
3. Packing shopping for 3 hours is very tiring!
4. Till staff are amazingly thoughtful – they are like grocery nurses! They ask customers how they are, have they had a nice weekend, do they need any bags, do they want a separate bag for their cooked chicken/ raw fish/ fresh fruit, have they checked their eggs are not cracked, do they not want to swap their brown bananas for newer ones, do they need more bags,they congratulate customers how much of a bargain/gorgeous/useful/delicious their purchases are and so on. So…in geeky student nurse terms…what the till staff are doing is assessing the customers needs, planning the safekeeping of their shopping (and giving them responsibility to check it for themselves), evaluating the customers response and then empowering their decision making. Isn’t that amazing? The nursing process can be applied anywhere!

They warned us at uni that over the next 3 years we would change dramatically. I hope I do change. Not the the point where I’m unrecognisable but definitely change for the better into a great person, not just a good person. Everything we learn at uni, I try to apply to every day life, such as the nursing process above.

Something we have also discussed in class, which I have mentioned previously, is treating people like humans, or individuals, whichever way it’s easier to understand. I watched a film called ‘Wit’, with Emma Thompson acting as a terminally-ill cancer patient. It is a heart breaking but incredibly touching film from the perspective of the patient. Definitely not one to watch if feeling a little low but so worth watching – with tissues – if you are curious on what compassionate, humanised care vs. dehumanised and at times cruel and undignified care looks like. Interestingly enough, it shows the doctor and nurse relationship with the patient and it is narrated from the patient’s point of view which is at times funny, bitter, sarcastic, sad, angry etc… but always utterly heartfelt. If any student nurses out there do not watch any of the other films I have mentioned throughout my blog, please watch this. Don’t forget the tissues!

If anyone had any doubts or concerns with regards to me leaving full time employment to do nursing, let me assure you that not only have I most definitely made the right decision, but that there is nothing more that I want than to be a great person and nurse.

Parting thought: