I haven't posted anything for a while! So it's my day off and I thought I'd update on how things are going. The census has been up at the hospital and thus we are BUSY. But things have been good. I feel like I've really been learning a lot lately. I think several things have been contributing to this. After I returned from vacation, I had a long stretch of 6 days of work. Six days in a row tends to take a toll on me and I dread it, but I think that during my long stretches, I actually learn more and develop my big picture planning skills. I generally have the same patients for most of my long stretch so I get to see a weeks worth of change (good and bad) and help the patient plan ahead. It's pretty cool, especially when I take care of patients who are admitted for scheduled chemotherapy. I see the patient full circle through their treatments, as sometimes I am the one to admit and discharge them, as well as take care of them during their treatments. It's pretty cool for me, and I think it helps the patients because they have consistent care throughout their hospital stay. Anyway, this has happened several times and I really enjoy it.
There was one other exciting thing that's contributed significantly to my learning of oncology patients. I attended a workshop about BMT (blood and marrow transplant), which was so cool. I learned SO much that applies to our patients and the big picture view of their care and (hopefully) cure. Many of our patients will need a BMT and understanding the process, the timeline for transplants, the indications, medications, risks and side effects is a HUGE part of being an oncology nurse. I feel like so many of the dots were connected after this workshop! It's amazing what a difference feeling knowledgable in one's work place can do for self confidence. I still have SO much to learn, but it's slowly coming together.
That's it for now! I have been spending most of my free time enjoying working in my yard and playing around with photography. If you want to check out some of my pictures, click here! You'll probably see more photography updates than nursing blog updates in the next few months. :)
There was one other exciting thing that's contributed significantly to my learning of oncology patients. I attended a workshop about BMT (blood and marrow transplant), which was so cool. I learned SO much that applies to our patients and the big picture view of their care and (hopefully) cure. Many of our patients will need a BMT and understanding the process, the timeline for transplants, the indications, medications, risks and side effects is a HUGE part of being an oncology nurse. I feel like so many of the dots were connected after this workshop! It's amazing what a difference feeling knowledgable in one's work place can do for self confidence. I still have SO much to learn, but it's slowly coming together.
That's it for now! I have been spending most of my free time enjoying working in my yard and playing around with photography. If you want to check out some of my pictures, click here! You'll probably see more photography updates than nursing blog updates in the next few months. :)
