So today wasn’t sooooo bad, but still a lot of HR stuff. Today we covered more technical type stuff like infection control, microbiology, handling codes and the Rapid Response Team (RRT). Naturally, we covered good body mechanics, as you can imagine moving patients around can be difficult. Apparently, Good Samaritan had one patient at over 700 pounds…uh that lady needed to stay off the Twinkies. So as any good demonstrator will do, our presenter asked for a volunteer to help demonstrate patient transfers….all heads bowed down. Just then, Jennifer leans over to me and says, “You know you REALLY want to play patient.” No sooner than she said that, I was being called to the front of the class to be the “BIG” guy who can be moved by the “little” nurse. FUN, FUN, FUN…I was pulled, pushed, moved, manipulated, strapped with a gait belt, slung with bed sheets…my participation lasted, like ohhh, an hour. So thanks Jennifer….argh. Oh well, someone had to do it and its important to know.

I ran into a couple of people who took care of my mom when she has problems and had to stay at Good Samaritan. First, I saw Debbie Kleppe, RN who is a charge nurse who took exceptional care of my mom. She was a great inspiration for me to get into nursing, and is a nurse that I aspire to be like. My first clinical rotation in nursing school was at Good Samaritan and I got to do rounds with her, which gave me the opportunity to tell her how she impacted me. It was a nice experience, she remembered my mom (even two years later) and her situation, etc etc. Overall, very cool. When I saw Debbie today, I couldn’t stop to talk and all we did was that passing glance. For me, I knew exactly who she was, when she looked at me there was a definitive look of, “I know this guy” but it didn’t register immediately. I’m sure I’ll run into her again.

Later, I ran in Dr. Julka who is the head of the nephrology (kidney) department. Dr. Julka, I remember was extremely mild mannered and considerate. I remember, he answered all our questions and didn’t rush his visits. When my mom was in Good Samaritan, he was in charge of her case. As many of you can imagine, I can be slightly over the top on things when I comes to my loved ones. When my mom was alive, I had all sorts of compiled charts, reference info, etc…if a doctor needed information on my mom, it was very likely that I had the information at hand or even before the staff. Dr. Julka encouranged me to get into the medical field…although he was prompting me to get a medical degree not a nursing degree. So, it was nice to chat with him for awhile, again he remembered mom and her case, which is something being several years later.

Pretty much that was the day…tomorrow I am assigned to the skills lab for more orientation, so hopefully the day will be more enjoyable.

ta