Talk Cancer

Question:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – personally I don’t care what my dose of dexedrine was 14 years ago, or at least not enough to go dig up that info, even if I did remember which pharmacy I went to then, which I don’t.  But it is always lovely to hear from you. I _have_ been missing this group more than I realized…. and I hadn’t really _been_ here very long, either… I just finished finals on 5/5, and I am (drum roll please) O’Fishelly halfway done.  A year from now I’ll have graduated and will be studying for boards.  <Does a little anticipatory happy dance. Again, congrats. I can just imagine what shape you all were in comin’ outta that last exam… Hope you didn’t get too sick… …and for the spring semester 2007, I get to choose my precepted clinical.   ??? precepted clinical ???? Vas ist das?

A preceptor is a nurse you shadow.  You work your clinical shifts when she works. I’ll probably go with oncology/solid tumors because I did hem/onc first and didn’t get enough med/surg skills to feel really comfortable with them.  Wise nurses have counseled me to start out with med/surg to gain skills; solid tumors is essentially med/surg.  I’ve developed an interest in oncology because I love caring for vulnerable patients and they love me. ‘Least you know what you like. ‘Gotta wonder ’bout those who still don’t at your stage in the game.

Well, I haven’t done peds or psych yet.  Theoretically somebody built for one of those may still be wondering.  Only half of us did OB and public health nursing last semester, so half of us haven’t done those yet.  It seems like everybody wants to do peds or OB.  OB bores the crap out of me, and peds nurses have to stick sharp things into sick children on a daily basis. ‘You gonna leave your online course to the last minute or you gonna do it in chunks?

I turned in my first assignment early, but I’m guessing I’ll turn into a slacker here pretty soon. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – <oops….. Here, I’ll say it _for_ ya: MINDYOUROWNBUSINESSYOUGODDAMNSNIVELLINGPIECEOFUSEDDENNILFLOSS… I did a hospice rotation this semester, which I loved …  and I think I’m really built for patient care. Is anyone surprised to hear this?????? So I could maybe do in-house hospice, but I like oncology better because there are some happy endings.  (Okay, there are some happy endings with Hospice too, in terms of "a good death," but I witnessed some dying that was not comfortable, and I’ll admit it did begin to take an emotional toll on me by the end of the rotation.) <…the Pipe considers, throws the right end of his white scarf over his left shoulder, puts his left foot on The Thinking Rock, stares out onto the horizon and prepares to wax Physiolgic…. …. Maybe if Tumors isn’t a full time job for you, you could do _some_ hospice. Maybe you could follow some of the Tumor patients who are not going to make it and care for them to the end in Hospice. If you think about it, that might be a good wedding of both worlds. I’m sure your patients would appreciate it.

I would really love to make that happen, but unfortunately I don’t think the jobs are set up to make that possible, although I could volunteer for Hospice in that capacity, or visit just as a friend.  That would rock though. ‘Nother thing you might wanna try is to go get out that old cassette tape recorder and buy a few cheap tapes. Give ‘em to your patients in the Hospice and in Tumors and let ‘em record some words to say to their families; things they would say on a tape, in private like that, that they wouldn’t be able to say face to face. Then give the tapes to the family while tellin’ ‘em where it came from… So when Grandpa finally lets go, the grandchildren have an oral record of him.

The Hospice chaplain does actually help patients do that very sort of thing.  Sometimes they make a book, or tapes, or videotape.  Whatever the patient feels best about.  Sometimes families save things in a memory box that are special to them and help them remember, things with the scent of their loved one, etc.  Things that bring back intense memories.  Sometimes it ends up being a very odd collection to an outsider. Just a thot…..

An excellent thought.  I would love to work in a healthcare system that made something like that possible. So that’s where I am.  :) ~Patti Thanks for the update. So glad it went well this year for you!… Yes, really…. no sarcasm…;-) Cheers SP

I wasn’t being sarcastic really, just emphatic.  They do tend to torcher us in nersking skewl.  It riles us up a little.  It’s always lovely to hear from you. ~Patti

Response:

??? precepted clinical ???? Vas ist das? A preceptor is a nurse you shadow.  You work your clinical shifts when she works.

Great… ‘long as she don’t try to use you as a ‘gofer’ ‘Least you know what you like. ‘Gotta wonder ’bout those who still don’t at your stage in the game.   OB bores the crap out of me, and peds nurses have to stick sharp things into sick children on a daily basis.

Kind-a curious if you’ll still feel the same after Psych and Pedo rotations… ‘You gonna leave your online course to the last minute or you gonna do it in chunks? I turned in my first assignment early, but I’m guessing I’ll turn into a slacker here pretty soon.

Maybe you could coast into the other assignments on the residual study inertia you had built up during the end of term blitz. I would really love to make [following oncology - hospice] happen, but unfortunately I don’t think the jobs are set up to make that possible, although I could volunteer for Hospice in that capacity, or visit just as a friend.  That would rock though.

…. or propose that as a Masters’ thesis…. ‘Nother thing you might wanna try is to go get out that old cassette tape recorder … blah blah blah…. The Hospice chaplain does actually help patients do that very sort of thing.  Sometimes they make a book, or tapes, or videotape.   Just a thot….. An excellent thought.  I would love to work in a healthcare system that made something like that possible.

again… maybe a part of an eventual Masters’ thesis….. But there’s no rush, Patti O’Hush. Cheers; gotta go put the rabbit to bed. SP — Take out the TRAASH to reply

Response:

No!  … sarcasm.  … emotional lability.  … compassion thang, … *bad* research re:  nursing compassion, poorly written, … memorize this bullshit … and throw gum at your … ability to …enhance your diagnostic skills or help you … emit steam from ears

OK… so maybe you wanna save this post for when the compassion doohickey has calmed down a bit… like in 2010…. … ‘Can lend you two [kids]: eight year old dancer who thinks she will be the next Britney, and an eleven year old who is fixin’ to be the next Tony Hawk, or die tryin’…. Sold! I’ll take both.  For a weekend.

Weekend? They’d never wanna come back to IglooLand   …unless you want to provide the very last straw and make me go farking apeshit on your Cajun-Canadien derriere. Oui, Madame….. comme vous voulez…. Merci.

Il n’y a pas de quoi, ma Ch