Desktop Blooms 
In clinical each week, we are assigned to a patient whom we work with for one or two days. On our patients from the last week of January, we had one week to complete a detailed nursing care plan. Nursing care plans consist of:
· A report on the pathophysiology of the condition affecting the patient,
· A bibliography,
· A complete head to toe physical assessment,
· Detailed information about the medications used,
· Detailed information about the diagnostic tests and labs done,
· 12 nursing diagnoses, and
· 4 nursing diagnoses written up with short and long term patient goals, intervention strategies and evaluations of effectiveness.
This care plan was due Thursday morning. I worked all week on it. On Wednesday night, I taught a portion of my childbirth class curriculum for a Human Growth and Development class at the college. It was hard to give up the 3 hours that I could have worked on my care plan to teach, but I put it in God’s hands to help me complete the work. I literally was up all night working on it on Wednesday. By 5:30 a.m. Thursday, I realized I couldn’t do anything else but that I had to get ready to go to clinical and that I had no choice but to print it out and turn it in, incomplete, for better or worse.
Saturday evening, the instructor called and wanted to know where the rest of it was. I explained to her that I just hadn’t been able to get it done. She asked if I knew how much it was going to hurt my grade and with what was probably a sob in my voice, I said, yes, that I did know. She was silent a moment and then said, could you get the rest of it to me by 6:00 p.m. tomorrow? I had it turned in by 2:00 p.m. The amount of time it took me to finish? Almost exactly 3 hours. God is gracious.
One of my joys is forcing hyacinths and paperwhites to bloom indoors on cold winter days. Back in October, I filled one vegetable bin of the refrigerator with hyacinth bulbs in forcing glasses. By December, the glasses were filled with pristine white roots but the tops of the bulbs showed no growth yet. By the end of January, the papery tunics form a ruffled collar around the pale yellow cones of leaves that have pushed up an inch or two. In order to provide a steady progression of blooms over the next month, every few days I bring another hyacinth out from the refrigerator and put it on my desk where I can watch it change and grow daily. Leaves turn from pasty yellow to chartreuse to deep green. Sculptural flower stalks rise, released from the protective cocoon of leaves. Each waxy bud tips outward until it springs open, spilling fragrance into the room.
Paperwhites are much easier. I simply nest the bulbs in a glass container filled with fine black gravel, add water and wait. First the white roots snake down through the gravel in every changing patterns and then green shoots begin to telescope skyward from the rich papery brown tunics. Paperwhites grow so quickly, that the growth is nearly visible to sight. When the leaves are about three inches high, the blossom sheaths begin to rise between the leaves, swelling each day. The sheath turns translucent and embryo buds can be seen within, growing, changing day by day. Now the bud sheaths are so pregnant with blossom that I anticipate being able to watch them split open any moment into bloom. Then, while occupied with something else, I hear a quiet snapping pop and look over to see infant blossoms bursting forth. What a miracle of life to be witness to.
So while my family and friends are taking February visits to places like the Cayman Islands, Aruba, Florida, Paris and Costa Rica and another is enjoying blossoming cherry trees in the San Francisco area, I have my own little Eden, my own bit of spring growing on my desktop. Such grace God gives us, to bring such joys into our lives.
Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in all ways. The Lord be with you all. 2 Thessalonians 3:16
One week down, fourteen to go! The new semester is off to a good start. Classes are a little more intense than last semester, but more focused on detail rather than general concepts, which is easier for me. I’m amazed at what we’ve already learned in just one week. Here is a sampling.
- Injections (Dart that needle in! I’m grateful that we haven’t had to puncture other students or patients at this point, just oranges!)
- Nursing cares for people with stomach and upper gastrointestinal illnesses.
- How to write Nursing Diagnoses and create Nursing Care Plans. (And here I thought I’d seen the last of legalese upon leaving the Colorado Dept. of Law!)
- Medications ~ Memorized a list of 60 medications. Not just the names, but also the drug class, their use, what we need to assess as nurses prior to and during the course of therapy and their side effects.
- Proper administration of medications. We reviewed this in the fall, but were tested on it today. I, patting self on back, passed with flying colors!
There have been things I learned outside of class as well.
WINTER! I didn’t really know what winter was. Winter in Colorado is days of sunshine, punctuated by a handful of cloudy snowy days now and then. You need nothing more than a sweater sometimes. The snow melts in 2 days. It gets really cold only a few days a year. Winter in Iowa? WEEKS of DARK gray clouds sitting low, punctuated by partly cloudy days where it is LESS GRAY. Once in a rarity, the sun actually comes out. I crave those days and find myself basking in the sun like a cat! It’s COLD. FREEZING. WINDCHILL BELOW 0 for days on end. ICY. There is ¼” or more of freezing rain on every surface, followed by snow, followed by more freezing rain, followed by… you get the picture! It’s SLICK! I need studded snow boots!
But in the cold and ice, there is AWESOME beauty as well. Ethereal frosted fern patterns on every window. Forests of barren trees shining in the late afternoon sunshine like a forest of Venetian chandeliers, every twig and branch coated in ice, gleaming, and sparkling, reflecting light. Landscapes in muted tones of white and lavender with every blade of grass or pine needle frosted and standing out in relief. Horses in the pasture wearing thick white blankets of snow. And in my apartment, pots of brilliant amaryllis the color of rubies, paperwhite narcissus filling the air with fragrance and a monstera philodendron, a souvenir from my working days at Lam-Wood threatening to take over Creston. There is beauty everywhere. Our challenge is to find it, where ever, whenever we are, even when the wind chill is well below 0.
The Lord bless you and keep you: The Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you: The Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.
Numbers 6:24-26
Christmas Deer
Christmas is over and the New Year begun. I enjoyed a lovely two weeks in Colorado over the holidays visiting with family and friends. Highlights of my trip were sitting in church on Christmas Eve with my parents, all my kids and the girlfriends and two of my closest friends. How wonderful to spend the holiday surrounded by everyone. Another highlight was New Year's day when I got to spend time alone with all my kids. Great laughter and lots of fun! I also enjoyed spending time with several friends. In the mornings, I enjoyed the mountain views from my parent's house and watching the deer and birds in the yard. Nice to have time to just sit and talk with my parents as well. It was very hard to say goodbye to everyone this time around. I do miss everyone so.
School starts up on January 10. Purchased my books and have gotten a start on the homework assigned before we left on break. I’m excited about my classes this semester as we get to study some of the areas of Nursing that I’m really interested in!
Medical Surgical Nursing (aka Med Surg)
Maternal Child Health
Human Growth and Development
Science of Nutrition
We also have three clinical rotations this semester as well as a Medications lab. My first clinical rotation will be at one of the hospitals in an adjoining county. I’m looking forward to that and think it will be a better fit for me than the nursing homes.
Oh, and the official report card for last semester?
Fundamental’s of Nursing, I & II ~ B
Pharmacology ~ B
Anatomy and Physiology I ~ A
Feel pretty good about those grades!
In a little over a week, finals will be over and the first semester of nursing school completed. Wow!
This has been a test heavy week that isn't over yet. Never knew that brain work could be so physically exhausting! I wake up in the middle night pondering words such as erthropoieten and glomerulus and trying to remember the intricacies of how B and T cells function, which leukocyte rids the body of parasites which one phagocytizes invaders and the chemical reactions that take place to make muscles contract and whether its the sympathetic nervous system or the parasympathetic nervous system that activates the fight or flight response... Along with about a million other pieces of important information I should really know and understand in detail by my first final next Tuesday!
And that's just Anatomy and Physiology!
Next semester is just around the corner and I'm looking forward to taking Maternal Child Health and being able to focus on my area of interest for a while. Also have classes in Human Growth and Development, Nutrition and the biggie, Med/Surg. Looks to be an intense semester, but exciting and interesting!
Before I get there though, a road trip home to Colorado for Christmas will provide a nice break. Looking forward to seeing my kids, my folks and hopefully a number of my friends over the holidays. And sleeping. Sleep would be a very good thing!
Nursing Fundamentals ended today with our last regular test of the semester. The final question?
You do know it's Christmas don't you? If you do, fill in answer A on the answer sheet.
Blessings of joy and peace to all,
Lisa
