Halfway through fall

It's been awhile since I've updated about how school has been going, so I guess it's time! I am a little over halfway done with this semester...phew! I'm halfway done with my adults clinical and three-quarters of the way done with my psych/mental health clinical. It's been busy, but I am always surprised when another week is over so quickly. Overall, I'd have to say that school is not actually hard, it's just very time-consuming. I am doing well in all of my classes, and the things I don't do as well on are simply due to the fact that I have other (more pressing) things that need to get done, rather than thinking about the test I've got to take next week. I just don't have the same amount of free time to dedicate to school as I did when that was the only thing going on in my life.

Working in a hospital makes you very thankful for your health. Due to advances in medicine, so much can be taken care of now in doctors' offices or through out-patient surgery, so unfortunately the people we see on our unit pre- and post-surgery tend to be really sick or have a lot of complications. I knew going into this clinical that I would be seeing people at some of their lowest lows, but I have been surprised by many of my patients' optimistic and cooperative attitudes despite their circumstances. One of my favorite patients is a lady in her 80's who has been there for weeks, but every time I come in, she is making brisk laps around the unit with her IV pole in tow. She told me her goal now is 5 miles/day (I have no idea how she measures this or if she even comes close to it) - but due to her commitment to recovery, it sounds like she will be going home this week!

Next week I will be in the operating room (just for observation), so cross your fingers that I don't do something silly like pass out. I wouldn't put it past me, but I'm hoping for the best. We rotate through the OR in shifts, so two other people in my clinical group went last week and their stories of the surgeries they sat in on were pretty interesting. I hope I get to see something equally interesting, and if I do, there will be a post to follow!