Semester 6 Wrap-Up, CPE IV begins

The last weeks of semester 6 were so busy and involved that I honestly didn't feel like blogging.  I was tiiiiiiiiired  :)

Here are some notable things that happened:

I Got Hired!
I didn't have a very successful first interview, but I got better at it and got hired at my second interview for a different hospital.  I was so happy!  Yay!  The question that stumped me at my first interview was "Tell me about a conflict situation and how you handled it."  I rehearsed that question so much afterwards and I was actually DELIGHTED when they asked me that question at my second interview.  I hope the interviewer didn't notice how excited I got when she popped the question this time, lol...

I will be working on the same medical ward that I did one of my clinical rotations at.  It was one of my favourite clinical placements so far so I am really happy.

I Will Miss The Kids
I was teaching children health topics with a classmate at an after-school program in the community for this rotation.  At first the kids were difficult for me to work with.  I didn't really know how to handle them, and I thought they were intentionally or unintentionally mean sometimes.

However, something magical happened towards the end of my rotation and I got the hang of things.  The kids actually looked forward to the lessons and they were disappointed when we didn't teach them a lesson.  That was something we had never expected.

They also grew to trust us and I grew comfortable around the kids too.  During quiet time, little kids would come find us and read to us or ask to be read to.  They asked us to help them with homework assignments, and they would invite us over to play games with them or eat together.  When we arrived, some of the little kids would come hug us and tell us about their day.  We felt welcome and rather loved  :)  They would even lean on us and sort of snuggle up during reading time.

Needless to say, I was sad when the last day came.  We brought the children a cake, had an extra fun lesson planned, and the children gave us a good bye card.  One of the little kids cried when she realized we were not coming back.

Sweet Teacher
I wasn't sure about my teacher this term.  She was new, she seemed kind of intimidating... I braced myself for the worst.  Surprisingly, she turned out to be really sweet.  She even gave me a hug on the last day.  I guess I wasn't the student-from-hell she expected either  :P

This Summer
I was looking forward to a leisurely long holiday, but it somehow is over already.  I start in a new semester tomorrow.  Aagh!

The good news is that I will be working in the local public health units.  For some reason, I am really looking forward to more community-based nursing.  I am hoping I might get to give some vaccines and weigh babies or something!  I don't actually know what I'll be doing yet, but I am hoping for the best.

I'm kind of scared (as usual) of what the teacher will be like. I feel like the teacher can really make or break how well a semester goes.  Fingers crossed that she will be nice.

Okay, I better get ready for tomorrow now.  I'll keep you posted on how things go!
 

Heads or Tails? The Only Two Faces of Poggy.

When Poggles is your study buddy, it's like flipping a coin.  Heads or tails?

Heads!  Aww... cute little face.  What are you looking for, Poggy?

 Tails!  Pink bum and leetle pink tail...

Heads!  I don't see any cookies in your house.  Are you looking for cookies, Poggy?

 Tails!  Okay, you have lots of cookies now.  Maybe too many cookies lately...

Heads!  You look grumpy.  I guess you didn't like my comment.  Oh, you're complaining about how service is too slow.  I should have guessed...

Tails!  Awww... so much pink!

 Tails!  Did I mention I love this side of the coin the most some days?  It's just too cute!

 Tails!  There are not enough hedgie bums in this world!

Heads!  Okay, Poggles is tired of you staring at his bum.  He wants you to leave the cookies and go back to studying.  No more gawking allowed!

I hope you enjoyed the pictures.  Have a great week!

Week 6 - They Say Pregnant Ladies Shouldn't Drink

I had a paper due this week and that ate up most of my time.  I learned a LOT about drinking alcohol during pregnancy though.  I'll summarize the gist of what I thought was really interesting.

Drinking While Pregnant?
So you go out to a great party, drink a lot and, oops, you find out you're pregnant a few months later.  Meanwhile, you've been to lots of other parties and you've been drunk a gazillion times.  Suddenly you feel like crap because a) you didn't mean to get pregnant and b) you were drinking alcohol while pregnant.

No Drinking While Trying
So what's the moral of story?  Don't drink alcohol if you are trying to get pregnant OR use protection/birth control if you are drinking and you don't want to be pregnant.  For some reason, I never thought of quitting alcohol when trying to get pregnant, but it makes sense.

No Drinking While Breastfeeding
The same applies to breastfeeding.  Apparently poor Junior can get some unpleasant side effects if he gets alcohol from your breast milk.  So, I feel bad for mums that love to drink.  It's a looooong haul when Junior's involved.

What does Alcohol Do?
But why does it matter anyways?  Well, alcohol affects the placenta which is responsible for providing your baby with everything he/she needs during pregnancy.  Alcohol can make the placenta smaller, and not work as well.  So your baby ends up getting ripped off.

Sometimes this means that you'll miscarry; sometimes it means that the baby will die in the womb; sometimes it means a smaller baby or earlier (preterm) birth.  At the same time, the alcohol affects how your baby is growing and he/she might end up having problems growing the brain, the heart, and proper face features.  It's kind of scary (well, I thought so anyways).

If your baby ends up coming out perfectly fine, he/she might still end up more irritable or having learning problems later on.

Not So Easy
So basically, mum has to suck it up and stop drinking.  Otherwise, bad things happen to Baby.  Is it really so easy though?  Of course not!

If mom loves to drink, this is a very difficult situation.  She will want to drink, but feel guilty about drinking.  Plus she might worry about what people will think of her if she drinks.

They Need Your Support
So mums going through pregnancy need a lot of support from their family and friends.  They need to know that you care about them.  Also, suggest alcohol-free activities to do together so she doesn't have to worry about saying no to alcohol.  Try to understand that it can be hard for her to say no even if she knows what's right.

Don't Judge!
Also, don't judge her.  She might make mistakes and she might need a lot of practice before she gets it right.  It's hard to give up something you are used to doing and enjoy doing.  Just imagine being forced to give up your favourite hobby suddenly.  Do your best to be encouraging and praise her for doing a good job when she is trying.

Find Help!
If she is struggling, see if she needs extra support.  She might benefit from joining some community groups of other moms trying to do the same thing.  Also, there is always Alcoholic Anonymous.  They can be very inspirational and help a lot.

Getting Help
Here are some websites with resources and some contact information on who to call for help:
Here To Help
MotherRisk Resources
Healthy Families BC

I hope that learning all this information will help me to be a more understanding and supportive nurse, and I hope that you have found this information useful too.

Take care!