Bedpans and Broomsticks: A Photobloject

2009-11-20T12:18:00.003-06:00

I was hired into a medical/surgical unit at a hospital on the North side and I am thrilled. It is a really tough market for new graduates. Despite a nationwide nursing shortage, it is difficult for new RNs, which require a significant investment of time and money, to compete with experienced nurses. I am extremely fortunate to have gotten this position.

And that's it. Fears: explored. Life: shared. LCD television: purchased. Rectal suppositories: inserted. Pigeons: admired. Manikins: respected. IVs: started. Patient death: experienced. Colostomy bags: emptied. Medications: administered. Babies: held. Bedsores: gross. Patients: cared for. People: helped.

Blog: completed.

2009-07-10T12:15:00.000-05:00

Matthew Meador, RN

2009-06-10T21:09:00.004-05:00

We are the fourth (and best) cohort of students to go through our program. I made a lot of good friends over the past year plus. With minimal sentimentality, I will say that I'll miss everyone, and trust that we are going to do some amazing things for the people we serve.

I take the NCLEX on June 24th, the final hurdle to overcome. The woman who taught the Kaplan review course called it "the ultimate feel bad experience". Awesome, can't wait.

2009-05-02T20:41:00.003-05:00

We had our RN Licensure Completion Program today. Can't rightly call it a graduation, as no actual degree was conferred. But as I said in the welcome message (I was asked to emcee the event; I give myself a B- for this assignment), "today is a rite of passage more important than the degrees that come later". Now I just have to pass a test that will determine if I am competent enough to care for your loved ones.

2009-04-25T20:58:00.002-05:00

We have a nursing museum on the fourth floor of the College of Nursing, complete with old uniforms, photos, a couple letters written by Florence Nightingale, and trashy nurse romance novels. The place is creepy and awesome.

2009-04-21T20:48:00.001-05:00

Ugh, I did so well on this blog for a good amount of time. Then I got busy, and got bored with it, and my life was kind of weird for a while, and keeping up on this was the last thing I felt like doing. But it would be shameful for me not to bring closure to something that I had promised myself I would finish. So here is the abruptly constructed, somewhat disappointing and anticlimactic third act and denouement of the last 16 months of my life.

Unrelated to anything, we decided to be Three Men and a Baby for Halloween 1998. This picture was recently sent to me, and it seemed a shame not to share it.

2009-04-19T14:51:00.001-05:00

The graffitist added more credentials.

2009-04-17T14:38:00.002-05:00

Probably the best book cover I've ever seen, although most people would consider a lightning bug about to devour their eardrum a major emergency.

2009-04-16T14:32:00.003-05:00

We took a class picture today to be hung on the wall of the College of Nursing. I was asked my opinion about which of the ten photos should be selected, and while the one with Joanna grabbing Katy's boob was hilarious, I didn't think it appropriate for posterity.

2009-04-13T14:24:00.001-05:00

We tested the slipperiness of a banana peel during lunch. Some slippage, but definitely not enough for a serious pratfall.

2009-04-11T14:19:00.002-05:00

I found this Mini-Breast in a College of Nursing closet. It has little lumps in it to teach people how to give themselves breast examinations. This picture doesn't give much scale; it is about the size of an Oreo.

2009-04-10T13:57:00.001-05:00

We have a graffitist in the ER who likes to mess with the flyers in the employee bathrooms.

2009-04-09T14:58:00.001-05:00

Even though I stopped watching ER after Mark Green died, I felt I owed it to the show to tune in for the finale. Now that I know a thing or two, I have to say that the medical language they use is pretty accurate.

2009-04-04T14:55:00.001-05:00

These wooden flowers totally faked me out today. The false lily and bird of paradise led me to believe that Spring was really here.

2009-04-03T14:46:00.001-05:00

After a grueling twelve hour shift, I stopped by Arnie and Sarah's new place to find everyone playing Mall Madness. What a dumb game.

2009-04-01T14:42:00.001-05:00

Mike Pitts at the Capitol. He has given me a lot of shit recently about not updating my blog. Maybe this will shut him up.

2009-03-31T14:40:00.001-05:00

A busload of nursing students went to Springfield today for Nursing Political Action Day. Every year student nurses from all over the state gather to listen to nurse leaders and learn about our responsibilities to our profession, then march to the Capitol building.

During the lunch break, Jenny and I visited Abraham Lincoln's house. I definitely appreciated the history more than I did in seventh grade, when I was more concerned about a chaperone finding out about the Bowie knife I bought at the New Salem Historic Site and confiscating it. Seriously, who sells a knife to 12 year old?

2009-03-30T14:33:00.001-05:00

I wonder if the passenger who sat here completed the sudoku before or after urinating everywhere.

2009-03-29T14:04:00.002-05:00

Draft Day. Kuta hoists the Jeremy Hernandez Memorial League trophy above the city. He threepeated this year, much to the annoyance of the nine other general managers. Bastard.

2009-03-27T14:25:00.001-05:00

Every year me and Bill and Trupe and Nick get together for ribs flown up from Rendezvous, a famous rib joint in Memphis. Vivian joined us this year, and as it would be irresponsible to let a one year old chew on a rib bone, she ate fruit and cheerios as we dined on our annual delicacy.

2009-03-26T14:09:00.001-05:00

I went to see The Eagles tonight with my family. The tickets said "No Cameras", so I took this picture in the parking lot of the Sears Center and then left my camera in the car. Once the show started, Glenn Frey invited everyone to take no more than three photos per song. Oh well.

I grew up listening to a lot Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, and Journey. There was a period of time in college where I thought I was too cool for the Eagles, but that has passed, and now I enjoy their music again. Don Henley and Joe Walsh played a lot of their solo material. "The Heat Is On" did not make the setlist; I wonder if Glenn Frey was pissed about this, or is willing to accept the nerdiness of his solo career.

2009-03-21T14:29:00.002-05:00

I made a flyer advertising focus groups being conducted for ER nurses. Jeri, Debbie, and Deborah were kind enough to let me use their likenesses. I titled it "Looking Bravely Forward", which was the name of a sketch show I was in a couple years ago.

2009-03-20T14:19:00.002-05:00

Beer garden season approaches.

2009-03-19T23:22:00.000-05:00

I think the apartment building next to my building was recently condemned. I think this is a strange way to tell people to stay out.

2009-03-18T23:17:00.000-05:00

The smell in the first floor men's bathroom at the College of Nursing has been bothering me for a while, not because it's nasty, but because it smells like food. I finally figured out today that it is either pancakes and syrup or waffles and syrup.

2009-03-17T23:11:00.002-05:00

Can someone please explain why there is an apostrophe in the phrase Drunk Again?

2009-03-16T22:23:00.004-05:00

When patients are admitted to one of the upstairs units from the ER, we have to call report to the nurse that is receiving them. This task causes me an incredible amount of anxiety, as the faceless nurse on the other end of the line is often kind of mean.

I have always had trouble talking on the phone with strangers, which I believe stems from when I was three and told my grandma that I was going to call my mom. She said, "Okay", not realizing that I didn't know that in order to reach someone you had to dial a particular sequence of numbers. I picked up the phone and hit the buttons until it rang, and had the following conversation.

Woman: Hello.
Me: Hi mom!
Woman: (in terrifying witch voice) I'm not your mother! [click]

Then I crawled behind the couch and cried until my dad came and picked me up.

2009-03-15T22:45:00.002-05:00

I made my triumphant return to the Southside parade today with Nick and Katie. Katie's mom lives a couple houses from the parade route, so there's always a refuge from the throngs of drunken turds that overrun the neighborhood every year. In my opinion, it's never okay to be a disgusting animal; the thousands of Northside idiots that get dropped off there by the busload do not share my convictions.

2009-03-13T23:03:00.000-05:00

Tonight I shadowed Airn, the Family Nurse Practitioner that works in the ER Fast Track. Nothing pithy to say about it, other than I learned a lot.

2009-03-11T10:47:00.010-05:00

Had dinner with the dudes tonight at The Full Shilling in Wrigleyville. Midway through dinner, a creepo guy came over and sat behind us and started drawing us while having religious conversations with himself. It was the same guy who drew a caricature of Trupe and Hansen a few years ago, and then told them that their words would turn to ashes in their mouths. As I was leaving, he stopped me and gave me the picture.

Creepo: Hi, I'm [Lester?].

Me: Hi, Matt.

Creepo: Repeat after me: I had a vision, in the green grass, of Yeshua.

Me: repeat

Creepo: There, now you are a Hebrew. Hahahaha!

Me: Uh, thanks?

It was a coincidence that we were sitting in the appropriate order at Gingerman afterward. If you couldn't tell, I am the one on the far left.

2009-03-10T10:26:00.002-05:00

Nick teaches at The Latin School, where each year students participate in Project Week. During past Project Weeks, Nick has taken students on a theater trip to London and a desert vision quest in the Southwest. This year he stayed in the city and did a week of competitions based on reality TV shows. For The Amazing Race, he asked me to pretend to be an Italian bocce pro in Arrigo Park in Little Italy.

Nick: It'll be easy. The kids have to beat you at bocce, then you give them their next clue. I've even got a hat and a little vest for you.
Me: What if a real Italian walks by and beats the shit out of me for using a bad Italian accent?
Nick: We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

It was really fun. You could tell the kids weren't totally buying the fact that I was Italian, but were too polite to call me out on it. Nick told me later that the last place team ended up winning the whole thing by being the fastest to solve the puzzles at the National Museum of Mexican Art in Pilsen, which made me happy as they were clearly the most cohesive.

Me: What are they doing tomorrow?
Nick: Top Chef. We were supposed to get actual Top Chef contestants to judge the competition, but they weren't able to do it. Bummer.

2009-03-09T22:02:00.003-05:00

I went to an open house for Illinois Masonic this afternoon. They have a residency program for new graduates that aims to retain nurses by providing an extended orientation program and multiple forms of support for nurses in the transition from school to hospital floor. It sounds like a pretty incredible program, and I think the hundreds of other soon-to-be nurses jammed into the room would agree with me.

It's kind of a scary time to be graduating. Nationally, there is still a nursing shortage, but that shortage is not very prevalent in Chicago. In this economy, nurses who were going to retire may be putting that off, nurses working part time are bumping themselves up to full time, and a couple notable hospitals in Chicago have implemented hiring freezes. I think we are all getting used to the idea that our first and second choices for employment may be impossible, and anything after that marginally difficult to acquire. I know everything will work out, but am still a bit nervous.

2009-03-06T16:49:00.000-06:00

Today was Research Day at the College of Nursing. While getting coffee before the first research presentation, a woman stopped me and told me that I look like William Shatner.

Me: Thanks. I'll take that as a compliment.
Woman: You should. I am a huge Star Trek fan.

Other celebrities I have been told I resemble: Patrick Swayze, Andy Richter, Philip Seymour Hoffman, John Daly, and Sean Astin (kids at Taft High School used to chant "Rudy, Rudy" when I walked down the hall.) Here I am showing off my Patrick Swayze eyes.

2009-03-02T16:45:00.001-06:00

I still love Chicago, despite repeated attempts by the city to make me hate it.

2009-03-01T16:42:00.000-06:00

Sometimes I feel like an ER Star. Most of the time I don't.

2009-02-28T23:17:00.001-06:00

Julie and I went to St. Al's for a Trivia Night fundraiser. As one who used to frequent pub quiz at various bars, and who has run one, I think they did a great job. Our team, St. Know It All, was victorious. Julie's cousin Bridget was so excited about winning I thought she might cry.

2009-02-27T22:53:00.001-06:00

A bunch of us went to a conference today about health disparities. Some of the talks were good and interesting, some were good and boring, some were bad and boring, and the keynote was just plain bad.

2009-02-26T23:05:00.000-06:00

In May, we will be the fourth cohort of nurses to graduate the pre-RN portion of our curriculum.

2009-02-24T22:34:00.001-06:00

Nobody showed up for tutoring today. It made me kind of sad.

2009-02-23T22:50:00.002-06:00

I tried to make the breadfruit tonight. I don't know if it wasn't ripe enough, or I prepared it incorrectly, but it was really gross. At one point I was actually concerned I might be poisoning myself.

2009-02-22T21:54:00.003-06:00

Julie and I saw The Seafarer today at Steppenwolf. I really should go to more plays.

2009-02-21T23:12:00.004-06:00

For some reason I find DEFPOTEC amusing. He's probably the Aztec god of something, maybe pumpkins.

2009-02-20T22:39:00.004-06:00

I found this pulse oximeter sensor in the stairwell of the parking garage. I see a surprising amount of medical garbage strewn about.

2009-02-19T22:26:00.002-06:00

My Thursday team now plays pool at Goldie's, which is just an okay bar with a very dangerous beer special.

2009-02-18T23:06:00.002-06:00

My 9-ball team moved from Ten Cat to Cy's Crab House. It's weird playing pool next to a lobster tank.

2009-02-17T21:34:00.003-06:00

I bought a breadfruit from the Rogers Park Fruit Market. I have no idea how to eat it, and fear that it may be full of baby spiders who will erupt from its leathery hide and crawl into my mouth while I sleep.

2009-02-16T23:24:00.001-06:00

There was a Black History Month potluck in the ED today, which meant I didn't have to go to the cafeteria to get food that was bad for me.

2009-02-15T21:17:00.005-06:00

We had dinner tonight at Ruth's Chris in South Barrington to celebrate my dad's 60th birthday. Terrible picture, great food, awesome family.

2009-02-12T20:42:00.003-06:00

After running an Info Session at the College, Jenny and I went to the Marriott on campus for a job fair sponsored by some nursing website. The invite said to drop in any time between 5 and 9, and that there would be food. We got there at 8:15 as most of the recruiters were packing up, so we talked to a couple places for whom we'll never work, gazed at the empty buffet table, and then left.

It was a colossal waste of time, but on the way home we discovered that two people can fit through a CTA revolving door turnstile.

2009-02-11T21:30:00.002-06:00

A few of us watched a documentary at the College of Medicine called Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick? It was a fascinating film, plus they gave us popcorn and Dots. I wish all independent learning activities were as interesting.

2009-02-10T21:41:00.002-06:00

Heimlich?

2009-02-09T20:56:00.004-06:00

Blood!

2009-02-08T21:25:00.004-06:00

Morphine!

2009-02-07T20:27:00.000-06:00

I found this picture of my preceptor, Debbie, at the College of Nursing. As much as I was tempted to poke fun at her enormous perm, I went to middle school near the end of the Big Hair Era, and was fascinated by the hairsprayed high school girls who rode my bus.

Debbie: My husband LOVED that hair.

2009-02-06T14:48:00.002-06:00

We went to The Latin School last night to see Nick's musical. The kids did Bye Bye Birdie this year, a fun show aside from the weird death ballet. I don't think I've ever seen Martin happier than during "Honestly Sincere", definitely the highlight of the show.

2009-02-05T14:58:00.000-06:00

There's a model of the College of Nursing in the conference room in a glass case. In a different glass case behind it, you can see a state of the art update of the building that will probably never happen.

2009-02-04T12:13:00.004-06:00

In an effort to improve my confidence, speed, and proficiency at drawing blood and starting IVs, Debbie has gotten us into Triage 2 a couple times. This is where patients go to start getting lab workups and EKGs done while they wait to get a bed in the back.

Debbie is a great teacher. I am getting better at blood draws, but I'm far from perfect; having to stick multiple needles in elderly women is not fun for anyone.

2009-02-03T14:36:00.002-06:00

Our first big paper is due Thursday, and I finished it Tuesday night. It is a rare thing for me to get a paper done more than a day before I have to turn it in.

2009-02-02T14:04:00.004-06:00

This is the aftermath of the job fair held today at the College of Nursing. I stopped by for a little while and chatted with some recruiters about their hospitals or healthcare systems, but it's a little too early to be dropping off resumes. I don't think they really care that much about us until we have passed the NCLEX.

2009-02-01T13:52:00.003-06:00

Watched the Super Bowl at Riverview with Tobin and a bunch of the softball dudes. And thanks to James Harrison and his 100 yard interception return, my 2nd quarter 7-7 square gave me a nice little payoff.

Mr. Harrison, your fruit basket should be arriving any day now.

2009-01-31T14:43:00.003-06:00

This is Kevin, a nurse in the ED. Apparently, we look just enough alike for both patients and coworkers to have called me Kevin on numerous occasions. I doubt he has been called Matt yet because I don't think anyone knows who the hell I am.

2009-01-30T14:12:00.004-06:00

This statue of either Asclepius or Hippocrates stands in front of the hospital. It always makes me laugh seeing the head of his snake-friend peeking above the column on his right.

2009-01-29T14:49:00.004-06:00

During our lunch break, we met with the new class. It was after their first Pathophysiology test, so they were a little surly, but overall seemed like a good group. Last year, the class ahead of us took the time to meet with us, talk about what was in store, and tell us that everything would be okay. They really put my mind at ease; I hope we did the same for the new kids.

2009-01-28T15:07:00.002-06:00

Today Debbie and I had lunch/dinner with a friend of hers in the Radiology Department. It was nice to get out of the ED for a little while.

We spent the last four hours of the shift in Triage 2, where patients get EKGs, IVs, and blood drawn. I clumsily, but successfully, drew blood from three people. It was awesome.

2009-01-27T14:42:00.004-06:00

I attended a talk today on the potential use of parathyroid hormone to reduce organ rejection in transplant patients. Pretty interesting.

We are responsible for fifty hours of independent learning/leadership activities this semester. One down, forty-nine to go.

2009-01-26T15:38:00.003-06:00

Katy and I conducted an information session tonight for prospective students. With the approaching application deadline, we have been getting a lot of people, each with about a thousand questions.

Two weeks ago there was a guy who was a doctor in another country, and wanted to be a nurse here in the U.S. He kept telling me that since he was already a doctor, he should be exempt from all of the pre-requisites for nursing. Then he went on to ask if he could just take a test and become a nurse. When I answered "No" to both of his ridiculous questions, he disgustedly started explaining again why he thought he should be able to do this. I cut him off, and politely told him to make an appointment to see me if he wanted to discuss the differences between doctors and nurses, and exactly what he needed to do to become the latter. His attitude toward the profession and the process to get there was totally insulting; it took everything in my power not to call him an asshole and ask him to leave.

2009-01-25T17:10:00.002-06:00

Somebody took Debbie's lunch from the fridge today. It is amazing to me that people have the audacity to steal other people's food, and that it is a common crime in public refrigerators across the country. Northtown had a similar food thief that targeted the same person every day. I don't think we ever figured out whether it was a long term passive-aggressive manifestation of hatred, or just a matter of someone sharing similar tastes with an amoral coworker.

2009-01-24T17:54:00.004-06:00

Last night on my way home from the hospital, I got on the last car of the Pink Line at Polk. As I was walking down the train car, a college kid came running up to me in a panic and said, "I just got robbed. They had a gun." As the doors closed and the train started pulling away, he pointed out the two guys on the platform. I called 911, then hit the button to contact the train operator. The train stopped at Ashland, and I stayed with him while he waited for the police. I told him he was lucky, and he did the right thing by handing over his iPhone, cash, and debit cards. The police showed up, and he started crying as what happened hit him. We parted ways, and I got back on a train.

Luckily, I have never been the victim of a crime greater than a hit and run, and in general, I feel safe. I think I am sufficiently vigilant, and try not to put myself in precarious situations. Last night is a reminder that bad things happen quickly, and to make sure never to get caught alone on my midnight commute back to Rogers Park. And to buy a machete.

2009-01-23T17:37:00.004-06:00

Today I learned how to do a 12-lead EKG, a common test performed in the ED. I don't think M.E.O.W. is an official acronym for Mobile EKG On Wheels, probably just an EMT having a little fun.

2009-01-21T17:29:00.003-06:00

For some reason this car and its snow toupe really irritated me.

2009-01-19T14:38:00.002-06:00

Me after my first 12 hour shift. That's going to be hard to get used to.

2009-01-15T21:04:00.002-06:00

Julie talked me into getting acupuncture with her. I didn't really have a specific complaint, so I chose headaches because I get them somewhat frequently. I am pretty skeptical when it comes to complementary therapies, but open enough to try them as long as they aren't totally weird and painful.

2009-01-14T22:51:00.000-06:00

Dear Man Without Hat or Gloves Waiting for Train,

During today's commute, you loudly proclaimed to no one in particular, "It's not that cold. This is Chicago!" You are an idiot; I'll see you in the ER when your ears turn black and fall off.

Sincerely, Matt

2009-01-13T14:22:00.002-06:00

A year ago I was sitting in the lounge, sweating over being tested on basic nursing skills, worried that I wouldn't be able to make a bed properly or empty a catheter bag.

The new class of former lawyers, social workers, salespeople, and teachers started this week. I wonder if they'll be as awesome as we are.

2009-01-12T13:59:00.003-06:00

In an effort to kickstart this blog again, I'm going to skip the last few weeks of my break for the time being, 1) because nobody except maybe my mom really cares how I idled away my vacation, and 2) if I don't start to catch up now, I'll be behind the rest of the semester. So here we go.

I'm in the final semester of the pre-RN portion of my program, which means I've been in school for a year now. Crazy. For my last clinical placement I am in the Emergency Department with a dedicated preceptor. I'll be working in the ED 16 hours a week until May, then I take the NCLEX exam, and then, pending success on the test, I'll hopefully be working by July or August.

I met my preceptor today, and she's great. I am very excited about the next few months.

2008-12-28T18:04:00.001-06:00

I have been part of various improv groups in Champaign and Chicago since 1998. It has been a major influence on my confidence, my personality, my interpersonal skills, and above all, I have befriended many amazing people I otherwise never would have known.

Last week I made the difficult decision to quit improvising. Something had to give, and this was it. I'm not sure if I'll ever set foot on stage at iO again, so thanks to deBono, Swiss Family Robots, Smarthorse, The Moustache, Solid State, Concept Album, Toast, and The Diplomat Motel, for all the hilarious callbacks, belabored sweep edits, awkward openings, weird initiations, and most of all, the laughs.
And...scene.

2008-12-27T18:57:00.000-06:00

For a small town, Arcola has a lot going. Arcola, the Broomcorn Capital of the World, is home to the Hippie Memorial, the Raggedy Ann and Andy Museum, and the World Famous Lawn Rangers, who were chosen to march in the Inauguration Parade in a few weeks.

2008-12-26T18:43:00.000-06:00

Julie's family likes to wrap up household things and give them as gifts. I was the happy recipient of this Christmas decoration, which I promptly hung back on the wall from whence it came.

2008-12-25T18:34:00.002-06:00

Chicago is such a wonderful place in the summer, and an infinitely frustrating place to live during the winter. It would have taken multiple pickaxes and a jackhammer to free Julie's car for our trip to Arcola, so we had to leave it and pray for a thaw.

2008-12-24T18:28:00.000-06:00

Christmas Eve at Aunt Darla's. Appetizers, poker, and a dog that could easily kill all of us if she wasn't such a sweetheart.

2008-12-23T18:14:00.001-06:00

These back porch icicles are just waiting to murder me.

2008-12-22T16:01:00.000-06:00

2 degrees, -13 windchill = coldest Bears home game ever.

2008-12-21T15:43:00.001-06:00

We went to the Anvil Club in Dundee to celebrate Coach's birthday and his recent Ph.D. For years I have been hearing how amazing the lobster bisque is. Indeed, delicious.

2008-12-20T15:29:00.000-06:00

Somehow today was the only day that both sides of the family could get together for the holidays. It was a good double Christmas, especially for my mother, who was fortunate enough to get the ShamWow during the white elephant.

2008-12-19T18:26:00.001-06:00

Tonight me and the dudes went to DeLaCosta for our annual Holiday Meatscursion. We usually go to Fogo de Chao, but decided on a new location this year.

Trupe: I love Fogo, but after eating 90 lbs of beef I sort of hate looking at your stupid faces and want to sleep for 11 days.

Martin gave me 30 Rock Season 2 for our gift exchange. I drew Jeff, a difficult person for whom to buy a present. I got him a square foot of land in Lochaber, Scotland; now he can officially call himself a Lord.

2008-12-18T17:27:00.001-06:00

On really cold/rainy days, I cut through the Medical School to stay warm/dry on my way to the College of Nursing. I know they can't tell I'm not one of them, but sometimes I fear that a medical student is going to look at me and start screeching like a Bodysnatcher.

2008-12-17T17:09:00.002-06:00

I've been sitting on a Pompei gift certificate for a while, so me and some of the other Graduate Assistants went out for lunch. I am really lucky to have gotten this job, as I work with wonderful people, it reduces the debt I am quickly incurring, and it allows me to feel like a productive human being a few days a week.

2008-12-16T17:03:00.000-06:00

Bowling with OAP. It took 2 hours of snowy driving to get to Diversey River Bowl, something that should only take 30 minutes, but it was worth it.

2008-12-15T14:02:00.000-06:00

A little Christmas shopping in Lincoln Square.

2008-12-14T13:49:00.003-06:00

Sara threw a surprise party for Liz Friday night. We all did a really good job not talking about nursing.

2008-12-13T13:55:00.000-06:00

I stopped by the Northtown Holiday Party last night to see my teacher friends.

Julie: You're not a teacher anymore. When are they going to stop inviting you to their functions?
Me: Never. I'm awesome.

2008-12-12T13:35:00.000-06:00

A couple groups of high school kids came in today to learn about careers in nursing. They worked on reading blood pressure, listening to heart and breath sounds, and even drew "blood" from the manikins. Not that I regret my career path, but I wish I would have recognized nursing as an option when I was in high school.

2008-12-11T14:59:00.006-06:00

The long-awaited date with my couch, The Shield: Season 6, Disc 1, Angel: Season 5, Disc 2, three weeks worth of The Office and 30 Rock, and the Chicago Bears v. the New Orleans Saints.

Oh couch, how I have missed you.

2008-12-10T19:58:00.000-06:00

After our last test Monday, a bunch of us went to Small Bar for food and drinks. I stuck around for a little while, but bolted before anybody could make me do a Carbomb, arguably the most delicious and dangerous shot there is.

2008-12-09T14:15:00.003-06:00

Pub Quiz at O'Shaughnessy's with Julie and Walt. We finished in third place, and did surprisingly well in the movie lines category.

2008-12-08T13:41:00.001-06:00

Goodbye Fall semester and your endless assignments. So long babies, mommies, and crazies. Hello month of doing whatever I want, whenever I want. In moderation, of course.

2008-12-07T18:12:00.001-06:00

This is the cafeteria at the hospital. The Chinese food is terrible, the salads are pretty good, and at 45 cents an ounce, the fried food bar is totally dangerous.

2008-12-06T18:02:00.001-06:00

Poker night/Troy's birthday.

2008-12-05T17:58:00.002-06:00

The last day of pediatric nursing. When people ask me which rotation I liked most, I truthfully tell them that I have liked them all equally. I guess this speaks to my adaptability and overall positive attitude, but makes the idea of choosing a practice setting difficult. Or really easy.

I am spending my last semester in the ER, which is going to be awesome, maybe.

2008-12-04T17:54:00.001-06:00

Laura used her artistic abilities to bring some holiday cheer to the unit.