Happy Sunday!

Good morning (or should I say good afternoon) from sunny San Juan!

Last night we dressed up in ridiculous outfits and went to the electric daisy concert. It's like day glow but it's 12 hours long and is more of a carnival with three stages and rides. We only went for a few hours but it was a lot of fun. Techno music isn't really my thing but it was still a lot of fun to dance with everyone. I managed to take another tumble and cut up my leg pretty bad. Katie and I went to the first aid station to get it cleaned up. It was empty in there, which is a good thing I guess. I probably would have been fine without going but we figured we'd give the EMTs something to do. I slept till 11 today and I'm having a little trouble finding the motivation to start studying. Puerto Rico is still a magical place where bad hangovers don't exist and I am so thankful for that. It must be something in the rum :)

All I have been doing for the past few weeks is med-surg, med-surg, and more med-surg. We've already had two exams and everyone in the class did well. I really believe that the format of class is helping us succeed. We are forced to go to class, can't use our laptops, and have to pay attention since there are only 14 of us in a little room. Mondays and Fridays are grueling, with class from 8:30-3:30 but like I said, it's improving everyone's grades. I also like only having med-surg. Even though I spend most of my time studying, I like only having to study for one class at a time. We also have leadership, but Juan (aka John, our professor) doesn't take it seriously and there is minimal work for it. I don't think any of us have opened leadership textbooks.


Overall, clinical has been a disappointment, but that's how it's always been. Being in the ER was boring. All the patients came in with chest pain and the triage nurse did vital signs and ECGs then assigned them to a doctor and nurse.  The other nurses gave meds. The nurses were really nice but they treated me like I was a freshman in nursing school, not a senior. For example, the nurse told me that when someone has hypotension they are at risk for falling so we need to get them into bed.... DUH! It's very frustrating to not be challenged. I don't think I have learned one thing since stepping foot on the hospital floor. I am so grateful for my internship over the summer because I learned so much on the med-surg floor by having a preceptor. One of the nurses last week was awesome and let me give all her meds with her but it wasn't anything I hadn't done before. I was thankful that she took me under her wing. Another problem with clinical is not being able to speak spanish. Most of the staff can speak english pretty well, but when the doctors and nurses are talking to each other and doing rounds, I have no idea what's going on. I'm not getting anything out of observing and feel like I'm not going to take much away from this experience. Clinical back in CT sucks most of the time too because the nurses usually aren't receptive to having us on the floor. Don't they remember that they were once in our position? I wish nursing school today was the same as when my mom went back in the 40s (hahaha kidding). The school was at the hospital and she got so much experience right from her first year. She said the college girls would come on the floor and would be so book smart but wouldn't know how to do anything. It's crazy that this time next year I'll be working in a hospital (hopefully) with peoples' lives in my hands! I kind of can't wait (Juanism)!

Well enough procrastinating. I didn't get much done yesterday so I can't afford to slack off again today.

Until next time!