ER!

January 2012 is my month to work in the ER. I am at McKay Dee Hopsital following Dr's Brian Smith, Karen Bossler, and Amber Mounday. In the beginning I was really overwhelmed by the speed with which patients are seen in the ER. But now, 23 days into the rotation, it doesn't seem quite as bad, but definitely still faster than I would be able to do it. I have worked in the EDx, which is like the "now care" section of the ED. I like it over there, as there is more minor trauma patients and less severely ill patients. This is more my speed. I have gotten to perform some new procedures in the ER! These are a shoulder dislocation under conscious sedation (propofol); this was neat because I felt the shoulder "clunk" back into place! I have also performed some quick caths, my first on an infant that didn't go so well, then 10 minutes later on an older lady which I got my first try. I have done a few of these cath's since and feel fairly competent with this procedure. I have helped relocate a displaced lower leg fracture and a displaced radius/ulna fracture. I saw a "blood bath" from a little old man who pulled the IV out of his arm and sprayed blood all over the exam room. I watched Amber perform a lumbar puncture on a lady with encephalitis. I got to do 7 stitches by myself - completely by myself with no doc even near the room - on a guy who was stabbed in the back 3 times with a screwdriver after being hit in the head with a cinderblock by his girlfriends son and his friends..... glad they are not my kids. The doc, "burkules", was dealing with the family of a 93 year old non responsive man, and came in to check on me as I was finishing. He said they looked good and gave me some tips on how to make it pretty for the patient, as that is how they judge just how good of a job I did. I have also done a nasal cautery on a young man for an anterior nosebleed, placed an NG tube, and removed a J tube. I have really liked working in the ER so far, and have enjoyed getting to know my preceptors a little better! I have worked some crazy shifts like 10 pm-6 am and 6 pm - 3 am. Lets just say there is a lot of sleeping going on after these shifts!
I got a sinus infection over Christmas that is finally cleared up.....One month later I am finally feeling "normal".
It has finally started snowing this season. I have been up 2 days for control work, and trained a couple of new patrollers - Lisel and Dickie - on control route in Sunshine bowl. We are on control alert for tomorrow, and since I don't go in to the ER until 2pm I might try to go to control.

The Toe Nail !

so i got to do something cool this last week! I got to remove an ingrown toenail! Some people think its gross, but it was neat and Dr. Ellie let me do the whole thing by myself :) First i did a local - digital block - using 1% lidocaine without epinephrine and let that get numb. Then i inserted the tool underneath the nail to make a tunnel. Then i cut down the tunnel with a pair of surgical scissors, and finally i grabbed the nail and pulled up and out and pulled the nail off. It went really smooth. The pt was a 13 yr old boy who weighed 188 lbs and cried alot. I mean more than a girl, ha ha ! Then i wrapped it up and sent him home for the weekend. Overall it was a good procedure and I learned a lot by being able to do it with Dr. Ellie supervising me.

OB & Peds happenings!

Hello again! I have finished my first rotation - OBGYN - and really loved it! I was able to see 2 C sections and 1 natural birth (on my last day :) ) I have started my Peds rotation and it is a bit overwhelming to work with the little ones that can not tell you why they are feeling bad. The babies are fun to see when they are well, and they have so much energy and love for life! M
My Avi dog Zena passed away this week :( She had her front leg amputated a couple of years ago and has not been feeling well for the last couple of months. Dan decided that she did not need to be in so much pain anymore so he let her go. I wish i could have visited her one last time before she left us. But i think that she knew that i would love her forever..... oh teeny zeeny! you got so much love, teeny zeeny! you will be missed.
Shadow has been so playful since i got home from school. She carries around her little feather toy and asks you to play with her. Then when she is tired she goes into the bedroom and sits on the bed and waits for me to come to bed. And at night she is so cuddly. Last week there was a huge windstorm and both Willow and Shadow came in and slept with us in the middle of the night because they were scared. The wind was around 80 mph and ripped a small piece oc siding off our house. There were so many pine trees and other trees and car parks and other items that got blown around the neighborhood. There were semis tipped over on the freeway and they were not letting the semis travel for a day or two. We lost power for almost a whole day. I had to shower by flashlight on the first day of my peds rotation. But we had hot water and the fireplace was still powered (gas) so that was not so bad. We ended up goin to Taco time for dinner then came home and went to bed early. It was super cold with the wind and only little cat was running on the mtn. Ben was super tired frfom trying to stay warm all day working on the lifts.
I am getting to see kids at my rotation, and I think i am doing OK. I have to see the child, Dx their symptoms, make a plan and tell the preceptor so it is kind of nerve racking, but i think it is helping me learn. i have to decide what Rx I would give, if any, and in what dose. That is the tricky part.....knowing what dose of what med to use for each situation. but everyday it gets a bit easier the more i see and do it. and my preceptors are good about teaching me and not making me feel like i'm a dummy.
Well thats all for now! :)

I just finished my first week of my first rotation. I have been working with Dr Swift in OBGYN. I have done some pap smears, fetal heart doppler monitoring, fundal height readings. He doesnt work on thursdays so I went to the maternal fetal monitoring and watched some ultrasounds. That was pretty cool. Then Friday was quite a day! THe morning started out with a psych pt who was 4 wks post op for hysterectomy and had re-opened her incision and was bleeding. profusely. So we cleaned her up and the Dr put in a stitch and then I bandaged her up. After that we went to surgery. Dr swift did 2 laparoscopies with laser. I got to put 1 stich in each of 2 pts. I was nervous because it was my first time stitching a live person. But it went well. He only had 2 pts so I stayed after and observed surgery w Dr. Lindsey Deschamps. She is close to my age and goes to our church. She did a cone biopsy and a D&C w endometrial ablation. Then I watched a toe amputation.
All in all it was a good week, and I only got pimped out a few times when I did not have a decent answer. I am definitely going to learn alot this next year of rotations!

woah! it has been forever since i wrote on my blog. Since i have a little time this weekend....here goes. I have been in Henderson NV going to PA school since last july. I am so glad that this time has gone as quickly as it has, although there are days that seem to last forever, and some that go way too fast. The quick days are usually either when i have a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it, or when i am out having fun and exploring in the mountains around here.

I have a couple of pretty good roommates who are in the PT program.
I am excited that there is only 5.5 weeks left to be here. i am definitely glad that i can go home to do my rotations :). I am ready to leave this place behind!
In October one of my friends from school is getting married in Minnesota so Ben and I are headed out there for a few days. Then a week of home life until I start my first rotation. It has been a long road, but i am glad that i am getting closer to getting to go home.

It's been a while!

shadow loves the Christmas tree!

Woah! I think that is has been almost 2 months since i last wrote. Things have been busy, then not busy, and now just picking up again. Last semester i got a 4.0! yay! I also found out that I was not accepted to either the University of Utah or to Washington State's PA program. Not what I wanted to happen, but i guess God has other plans. On a happy note about PA school......i have 5 interviews scheduled between now and the end of February. I am going to Portland Oregon on Jan. 20th to interview at OHSU. That would be a cool school to go to. Due to the way the flights are scheduled i will be spending 2 nights there, so i can explore a little bit. I am also excited about my interview at Idaho State, cuz it is so close to home that i could come home for the weekends! That interview is on February 12. I am also working full time, and believe it or not I have signed on for 17 hours of school this semester. YIKES! 2 day classes, 2 online classes, and 1 night class. So far things are OK, but i know it is going to pick up the pace soon. So my life will be another whirlwind for the next 3 months. But by the middle of March I should know where I will be going to go to PA school, that will help alleviate the stress a little bit.
Things at work have been OK, people always have some sort of drama though. Most everyone waits until the last minute (or way past the last minute in one case) to ask for help with their EMT recertifications. I try to accommodate them which makes me super busy! But i signed on for this so it is all good and something that i enjoy.
Christmas was nice! Dani and Kelly came home from Baltimore, Eric and Keri and new little Liam were there at the Ahern family sleepover on Christmas eve, and I was the only one who had to work :( But at least i was able to talk my boss into letting me come in at 9 instead of 7. We spent the Christmas Eve evening with my family at my Mattson grandparents house, and my dad came over Christmas night for a visit. It turned out to be a nice holiday.

Good Golly!

Well, this last weekend was a sort of fun sort of stressful one. I had my interview at the University of Utah, for admission to their PA program. The interview was 2 days long and consisted of a test covering anatomy, physiology, medical terminology, and a little chemistry, 4 individual interviews, and 2 group interviews. There was also the obligatory financial aid talk, as well as a current student panel, and a Friday night social-luau! That was pretty fun to be able to let down the guard just a fraction in front of all the faculty...hmmm. Maybe I did not let it down at all. Not even one bit. I am somewhat relieved that the interview is over, but now I am left to await their decision. Not too much worry as they will give their decision on November 23rd, or November 24th at the latest. So only about 12 days to think about it positively. I might just wear a hole in God's ear by then! ha ha.
In other news.........Good news that is! I received a letter from Touro University in Oakland (Vallejo) CA that they have accepted me into their program and want me to send them $500 to reserve my seat. I am thankful to be accepted into any program, but am also stressed out about making this decision as I am really really really wanting to attend the U's program. Which will let me know a day or 2 before Touro's deadline on my status there. So do I give them the money and hope to lose it? Possibly. Do I not give them the money and hope I did not make a mistake by not doing it? I don't know. I do know that I will be praying pretty much nonstop until I hear from the U. I am praying even this second as I write. I hope you are too!
More good news includes 2 more interview offers. November 30 I will be in Seattle for the University of Washington, unless I get accepted to the U!!! And January 30 I amy be back in Oakland at Samuell Merritt University.
SO......................................Please do me a HUGE favor, Please? Please pray that I get accepted at the U!