Since I work with nurses and I get to see all the awesome things such as needles. I just wonder how I will do when I get to stick a vein for the first time. Will I be nervous? or will  I think " Oh this is a piece of cake"? Who will the person be that I stick for the first time? What will they be thinking? The nerves that come with becoming a nurse.
Some nurses make it look so easy while others still struggle to find that vein. I believe older people are easy to find veins on because of their thin skin but can also be scary cause they are so fragile. I can't imagine how many times I will have to poke a person with stubborn veins. I know some people that have veins that are tougher than Ford itself..( Ha!) and their arms are so bruised! Oh! Just writing this blog post is making me more anxious and nervous at the same time. I just know that I want to be the best nurse I can be and stick the needle in the vein the right way the first time so I don't hurt anyone.

I enjoy doing patient's vitals. I think it is so awesome to see their o2 stats go up if they are having a hard time breathing and they are automatically put on oxygen. (That is the geek in me) Did you know a person's normal o2 (oxygen level) should be around 90%. I see a lot of patients where I work drop in their 50's. Its CRAY CRAY how fast a person's health can drop if they aren't properly hooked up to their proper machine.

Another part of taking vitals is temperature. Of course, everyone's temp should be close to 98.6 and anything

higher than that is considered a fever.  The correct way to find a temperature is sticking the thermometer under your armpit (brachial), orally or sticking it in your rectum (OUCH!)

 

 

 

Cancer Sucks!

  The reason I want to  be a nurse is so I can take care of people as I mentioned in my introduction. I believe you build relationships with the patients you have and gain the trust they deserve. I have met numerous people that have battled a tough journey. These people inspire me. One person that has inspired me the most is my grandma.

 My grandma Alice was a waitress for the majority of her life. She waitressed at our family restaurant in Mooresville, Indiana. She was well-known throughout the community. She loved taking care of her customers by serving them the best.

Top picture is grandma at work. Bottom picture is her with my son, Karter.

In the year of 2013, grandma started not feeling well. She was already tired from working all the time at the bakery making sure her customers were satisfied to their fullest extent. Her fingertips were blue and her legs would swell. She just simply thought it was because she was on her feet all the time. In May 2014, her life changed forever. She was told by the doctors she was in stage 4 of colon cancer. When I heard the news, I was devastated. I fought so hard to hold the tears back but I knew I didn't have much time with her. Working in the medical field already, I had already learned the basics of stages of cancer.  I was around people who had it and who died in front of me with it. I didn't want to accept her being sick.

Grandma started chemo and just kept getting weaker by the day. I had seen a lovely and happy lady fall in to this sad and depressed lady I didn't know. It hurt my heart. I spent some time with her and it was hard. I always told her when we were by ourselves to not give up. She fought to her fullest extent but cancer may have taken her body but it didn't take her spirit. Grandma passed away October 2014. She knew I was going to school to pursue my dream of being a nurse and because of her, I wanted to be better.

As you can see the difference in this picture, she was not happy.
This was when she was going through her chemo.



Grandma and I hanging out. This was
exactly 1 week before she passed.

She loved her make-up. It was just

the simplest thing I could do to

make her feel better.

As my grandmother battled cancer, I was always googling the stage she was in. I wanted to know more what this cancer did. I couldn't change her life, but maybe one day I can someone else's. Below I have attached a video about what cancer is. Please take a few minutes and watch. One day, I hope someone finds a cure.

WELCOME!

 

 

My name is Krystal. I attend Ivy Tech Community College. I plan to pursue a Bachelor's degree in the RN program. This blog is setup so others can see the amazing and yet stressful journey I am about to go on. I know it will be worth it at the end. Right now, I am gaining experience to see what nurses go through on a daily basis by being a nurse aide. I have been an aide for 3 years now. I have inquired some great things and I have also some bad. I know my passion is in the medical field because I love taking care of people.

 

In this blog, I plan on to write about the basics of being a nurse. I will interview nurses that I work with and those who I don't. The knowledge I gain from them, I also want to share with you. I will post different instruments used by nurses and what they do.  The background of this blog is to know what kind of struggles nurses go through on a daily basis to keep their patients healthy and happy and yet sacrifice their health and time to care. I hope you will find my blog to be interesting. I am now ready for this incredible journey ahead of me!

 

LET THE JOURNEY BEGIN!!!!