I have...

A pretty funny nursing story to tell. It was on my first day of work at the hospital, in fact it was within the first hour of my first day of work there. All my previous CNA experience had been in long term care facilities so going to acute care was quite a change, so we get our patient assignment for the day and are going around introducing ourselves to our people and one of our patients wasn't looking so hot.

**Oh I should let y'all know that I'm excited to share stories of my nursing encounters, but according to HIPPA there are things that must be kept private...such as patients names and other personal information. So I'll leave the private stuff out**

Anyway, I go and find the nurse for this patients and she is quite a joy to be around on this morning, she obviously LOVES new people, pah. So she walks into the room and this woman, no joke projectile pukes ALL over the place, she literally pukes all the way across the room onto the wall, this also included the oh so nice nurse (she got what she deserved, promise!) The oh so nice nurse turns to me and SCREAMS, "Get me a Yankauer, get me a Yankauer NOW!!!" Me being a very new CNA there didn't know what the hell she was talking about, and conveniently my preceptor was on one of her MIA episodes (probably taking one of her too many extra smoke breaks for the day...) So I'm running up and down the halls attempting to yell quietly because it's 6:30 ish in the morning at anyone that will listen to me and tell me what an F'ing Yankauer was and where to find one!

I learned a few very important things on this morning...1: what a Yankauer is 2: how to find one quickly and 3: Nurses can be very bitchy after getting puked all over at the beginning of there 12 hour shift.

Needless to say, our patient felt much better after hurling her guts out...my precepting CNA eventually made her way back to our floor and honestly looked shocked that something 'eventful' happened (after working with her I cant believe she's still employed!) And I have yet to ever work with that oh so nice nurse again, thank God!

As I think of this first experience in the hospital, I kind of hope that nursing school will be like this. Scary at first, because every thing new is scary...a really good learning experience that I will never forget, because I'm sure not going to ever forget what a dang yankauer is!!!...and then something that I can look back on and laugh at, because that nurse really needed a good puke covering!

I'm looking forward to sharing more nursing experiences with you! : )

ps. a yankauer is the mouth piece of a suction tool hospitals use, thanks Lisa...I should have added that in the first place!

Introductions...

All first meeting should begin with an introduction, so here's mine...I'm Michelle. I'm a 25 year old daughter, sister, wife and mother. I've been married to my husband Arin for almost three years and have two pretty amazing kiddo's, Hailee and Henry. Hailee is my sassy three year old, who's curiosity of life inspires me everyday! Henry is my sweet baby boy, he's almost 5 months old and is so calm and observant, watching my children grow and learn about life and the world around them is such a blessing! I want the best for them, which is why I'm here, at this point in my life...just about to start nursing school.

I just recently finished the prerequisites for Clark College's nursing program, which I want to add in is VERY challenging as it is one of the most competitive programs in our area! So getting my acceptance letter, I remember the exact date and almost the exact time-December 8, 2008 around 2:30, is one of the most remarkable times in my life. At orientation a few weeks ago the faculty said something that I find very important...it's not only us as student's going through nursing school, it's also our families and our friends. So I'm here right now creating this blog to share with you...my ups my downs throughout nursing school. I know this is going to be the challenge of my life and by sharing my experiences I hope to gain added strength and support from my loved ones.

So please, keep your arms and legs in the car, buckle up and hold on tight because this is going to be the best roller coaster of my life, I'm excited to share it with you!!