Passed my first phlebotomy competency!!

I didn't know we were going to be doing a skills check-off tonight, but we did! I was apprehensive about it, because I hadn't tried doing the procedure without looking at the page before tonight, but I practiced a couple times (and let someone practice on me a couple times), and then went for it, and it was fine! She said I was very thorough and did a great job.

My partner, however, barely passed. She got out all her materials, and was going to swab my finger with alcohol, and I didn't want to say anything, but she didn't have any gloves on yet, and that's IMPORTANT with a capital I; our observer apologized that she should have caught it too. Then, after she used the lancet on my finger, she went straight to collecting blood into the tube instead of wiping away the first drop. THEN she didn't know the last steps about what to write on the requisition and double checking the spelling of my name. She was probably just nervous, but she hadn't done it well when it was just the two of us and no observer either.

The person checking us off made her go through it orally a few more times without the actual stick, and she still wasn't getting it right without some serious coaching, but finally the lady passed her. I couldn't believe it. I wouldn't have passed her. We get a second try after all, if we don't get it right the first time.

I really, really, REALLY hope I can do my externship at the hospital that I volunteer at. That would be ideal.

Called 911 twice tonight....

The first call was a woman who lost her balance, fell, and cut her head. Lots of blood, probably needed stitches, but otherwise fine.

The second call was a lady who said she felt really "panicky"...and was otherwise fine, but wanted to get checked out. I think she was just feeling anxious due to making the final move to our facility (and selling her home), and because her family left to go home today.

Now that everyone's been taken care of, emergency contacts have been notified, incident reports written, I find it really interesting that the lady who cut her head open adamantly did not want to go to the hospital while the lady who had no real medical issues (at least not that the paramedic could measure) definitely did want to go.

While I was waiting for the emergency personnel to come for the second woman, the 911 dispatcher told me to just talk to her and keep her calm. We've talked before about my backyard chickens, so I told her about one of my "hens" recently starting to crow, and she was delighted. I also told her that I am hoping to start nursing school soon, and she told me that her granddaughter is a nurse, and that she thinks I will make a very good one. She said that I'm very patient and caring and I have a nice smile. I know it will take a lot more than that, but that's a good start at least :-)

I do have one regret about how I handled the fall and head laceration; I was in a hurry and I didn't grab any gloves to wear, so I couldn't help her hold the gauze to the back of her head. I did help support her back though, so she could lean against my hands instead of holding herself up, because she was getting tired.

I was very impressed, especially watching the lady paramedic communicate with the resident with the cut on her head (and convincing her it would be a good idea to get some stitches). She also took the time to interview me about the second lady's normal behavior and communication, which was relevant to her complaint tonight, and I was glad she asked.

Emergency Page

I've gotten several emergency pages so far at my new job but none of them have been real emergencies. Once it was a lady who was lonely and wanted to chat, a couple of times it was someone who got locked out of the building by accident, or someone who didn't have any hot water in their apartment.

Tonight, it was a lady who had fallen down in the bathroom. She was wearing a chamise and underwear, and couldn't get herself up to hang on to her walker again. She wasn't hurt, but she was helpless. She begged me to just help her up myself, tears in her eyes that she was so ashamed. I had been warned of this. That they would ask me desperately to help them myself, or that other residents would try to intervene and help them up. I was told that I was not allowed to help physically in any way, except for giving the heimlich if they are choking. I explained to her the policy and put in a call to 911 for a public assist. Three policemen came, assessed her, and helped her up.

While they were on their way, I sat and talked with her. She was very ashamed that she needed to ask for help. She said she has a big family, and that some of them are local, but that she feels like they are too busy for her sometimes. Most of her friends went somewhere tonight so she didn't bother going to dinner; she thought she'd just go to bed early. And then she fell.

When they helped her up to her walker, and it was clear she was fine, the police left and she got in bed right away. I brought her a glass of water and tucked her in. She patted my hand.

When the on-call night staff came over at the end of the day, I told him what had happened and he said she falls like "once a week", and made a sign with his hand indicating that she's a drinker.

I never would have guessed that, and didn't smell alcohol on her breath.

TEAS date

I've been assigned a TEAS (test of essential academic skills) date. September 10th. That's only about 2 weeks away. I haven't studied as much as I planned yet, but I'm going to do some more practice, and I am sure I will do fine. I just need to be well-rested and calm on test day. Focus, execute, move on. Try not to get tired or distracted. Maybe have some espresso before I go :)

Finger Stick Blood Collection

Tonight was our first skills portion of the phlebotomy class I'm taking. Okay, well, I guess technically we already had one, but that was just how to wash our hands correctly :)

We partnered up, 8 at a time, and went through the procedure of doing a blood collection from a lancet poke in the finger tip, collecting to a capillary tube. I got to practice twice, on two different people. Both said I did a very good job. I was a little nervous going into it (both on the patient side and on the phlebotomist side) but it went pretty smoothly. I think the part I will need to practice most for is not the actual hands on stuff but the best things to say to the patient and being sure to come across warmly and with confidence rather than nervous and new at this. But tonight went well.

I can see that my worlds are starting to collide a bit. The girl I carpool with to phlebotomy class is neighbors with the woman who is out on maternity leave form my new work. So my job is going to know eventually that I am taking a phlebotomy class. Which means that I am thinking of moving on. But maybe that's not necessarily a bad thing. Maybe they will offer me a full time gig if they are keeping in mind that I have other options open.

Phlebotomy book still hasn't arrived

Ugh. So I decided to go online and comparison shop for my school books, because, after all, I've been underemployed for a year now. I end up buying my phlebotomy text from a seller on half.com, superbookdeals.com. They state that it takes 1-4 days to ship the order and a maximum of 14 days to arrive after that. I ordered it August 7th, now it's the 23rd, so 16 days and counting, and I still don't have the book. I'm in the second week of class, I've already had homework assignments due, and I have a quiz tomorrow. I've been getting by, borrowing a book from a classmate, but I'm running out of patience for this book seller. :-/

Friends (of friends) in high places

So my carpool buddy had mentioned that her mother in law (I think that's the relationship) works at the local hospital that I have my heart set on working at some day. I found out when I was volunteering yesterday that she's very far up in the ranks, in administration. That's got to be a good contact to have.

Cathy (the carpool buddy) wants to work at the local prison after she gets her RN though; she says an RN with a 2 year degree clears 100k there, and that a good friend of hers works there and is really happy. Somehow I don't think that would be the best fit for me, but I guess if I needed to for a while, I would do it.

I'm feeling much more settled at my job in the retirement home. I got to check in our newest resident this afternoon, and show her how our emergency pager system works. Sunday is the best day ever to work, because there's very little going on and I can catch up on all sorts of projects.

Fall 2011: school has begun.

Recap: I'm midway through the first week of Fall Semester, 2011. My nursing school application is in, but I won't know if I'm in until maybe March. I'm working almost full time as a receptionist at a retirement home, volunteering 6 hours per week at the hospital, and taking 4.5 units at the local community college.

New news: I decided to quit my tutoring job. I looked at how everything was shaping up, and I went to the first meeting of my phlebotomy class, and I put everything on the calendar. I wasn't going to have any days at all left when I wasn't working in some fashion. Maybe a Saturday here and there when I trade hospital shifts with another person, but no time for studying really, no time for social life, no time to keep up my garden, or lounge with kitties. So I'm giving myself one day back. Wednesday. I will still have class that night but the rest of the day I'm going to take a mid-week pause, to catch up on errands, studying, hang out around the house, and take a deep breath.

I have a carpool buddy to get to the other campus where my phlebotomy course is held, which is a huge relief. And she's very nice, outgoing, and talkative. She's had some crazy experiences...geez. At one point she was working for a dollar an hour in a nursing home about 20 minutes away, as an illegal Filipino immigrant. I have always thought of that kind of situation as something that happens in big cities, near the Mexico border maybe, but not here, not in my county. She's doing a lot better now and has a real (albeit low paying) job but now she's got a little girl and a semi-deadbeat husband to support. She's one tough cookie. Been working since she was 12.

Phlebotomy is good. The teacher is laying down some very hard and fast rules with serious consequences right off the bat, but I can also tell that she's friendly and has a sense of humor about stuff. We watched a video of all the things that can go wrong if you mess up in a lab drawing peoples' blood (and the consequences), and have been taking care of beginning-of-semester administrative stuff, and starting to go through book chapters. Today we went through that exercise where you rub fake germs all over your hands, then wash your hands like you normally would, and check under the UV lamp to see what you missed. I need to pay a little more attention to my wrists, but I was pleasantly surprised at how well I did, because I really did follow directions and wash my hands like I normally would after going to the bathroom or something (some students were doing an intense scrub down!).

I haven't been working through my TEAS studies like I planned. Things have felt so hectic, all day, every day. The test could be as early as next month so I need to get going again.

For now though, it's time for sleep.

Near the end

There's a little old lady that came into the management yesterday at my receptionist job to let us know that she's getting near the end, and remind us that she is DNR and what to do when she goes. If she presses the emergency pager button during my shift, my instructions are to go and sit with her while she passes, and then call the emergency numbers. She has gone off of all of her medication (with her doctor's consent) and is ready to go. I hope I am able to face death as bravely when my time comes.

Sad little old ladies :-(

Last weekend when I was at the front desk by myself, at my job at the independent living community, there was a little old lady there sitting in the lobby by herself after a circle of friends meeting. She struck up a conversation with me; she did most of the talking. She told me how much she still missed her husband, who had died several years ago, and how this isn't how she imagined living in old age. She told me she had grown up on a farm, and she always thought that when she was old, she would sit out in the woods and paint pictures, or something like that. Be outdoors more. I felt bad for her.

Tonight at work, one of our new residents who is having a hard time settling in set off the emergency pager system and when I ran up to her apartment, she was okay physically, but mentally was having a really hard time. She's been here over a week now, and still doesn't have any furniture to speak of. A bed, and a little table to sit at in the living room. The other residents complain about her, and she is having a hard time making friends. "What did I do to deserve this?!", she cried to me. She's lonely and bored, and doesn't know what to do with herself. I tried to comfort her, but there's only so much I can do. I offered to call her son for her, which she declined, but I ended up calling anyways when I got back to the office, because I was pretty worried about her.

It has to be hard, getting old, not being as independent as you once were, feeling ignored by family. Even if you live in a really nice spot, with all the amenities, activities all day, and plenty of people to socialize with, there's no way around it; it's just hard.

Positive feedback...

There's a lady that comes into my work regularly to take care of all of the indoor plants. I don't know why the normal maintenance crew/gardeners don't do that. Anyway, she's friendly, but mostly stays to herself and just goes around and does her job. This afternoon at work, when I saw her, she said that, "Wow, you've learned the job fast. You are really good with the residents!" Which was great to hear. I think I do a good job with them. I'm still working on learning all of their names, but they like me, and I think a good relationship with them is one area that I can shine in at work, even though some of the other secretarial type duties are a little off my radar (it's all getting easier though).

Beginning the scholarship search process

As nursing programs go, the community college here is a very good deal. Only around 5k for the whole 2 year program (plus normal living expenses), versus more like 60k for those accelerated bachelor's programs that they offer in the bay area. But I still have to find a way to finance it.

I do still have some $ socked away in my retirement fund that I started in my early 20s, but I've already had to withdraw some from it this past year to get by and I'd rather leave it be.

I'm not eligible for federal financial aid or loans at the community college level because I have way, way, way too many units already. I looked at a private loan through my local credit union, and it appears their floor rate on an educational loan is 5%; not too bad, considering, but still I'd rather find another way. I don't think unless something big changes in my work situation, soon, that I'm going to be able to save enough cash up by the time I (hopefully) start nursing school in Fall 2012 to just front the money myself.

So in the mean time, I'm going to keep the private loan idea on the back burner, and look into a bunch of scholarships. There's also something called a board of governors fee waiver that may cover part of the cost for me since I'm low-income. I had to provide evidence to the school to change my state residency in order to be eligible for that at all (which I did today). Again, that's another thing I need to look into.

I got a photocopy of a list of websites to check on for scholarships and aid from the college financial aid office today. And I know there is another list specific just to nursing students on the nursing program's website. So I've got a good starting place. Here's hoping!!

P.S. I'm trying a new background theme for this blog. The tan with birds flying through it wasn't working for me anymore ;-)

Nursing School Application...Turned In.

I think I forgot to mention here that I turned in my nursing school application a couple of weeks ago. Things have felt so busy since I started my new job. But I guess it's worth mentioning.

I hand-carried it to the admissions office. I got a former teacher of mine to verify my proficiency in a second language, I had a previous community college where I took a music class send my transcripts (they already had my other ones on file), I included copies of my paystubs from the time when I was taking pre-req classes, and checked and double checked that all blanks were filled out correctly. I wrote a cover letter, not required or even suggested, but I thought it would make it come across as more professional.

When I handed it to the guy behind the glass window, he looked through all my documents I had included...I guess to check that the necessary stuff was there, and although it's not common practice, I specially requested that he write a signed note and date/time stamp it that he had received my application. This would not be the time to have the college lose my paperwork!

I probably won't hear anything for a while. But it's in!