Long Time No Blip

Long time no blip!
I haven't blipped since before I started my uni course at QUB in February!
Bad me!
My course is going really well so far!
I've completed phase 1, gaining 90% in my first Nursing Practice exam, and I'm still awaiting the result of my Nursing and Society taster assignment.
I've also been out on my first Clinical Placement. I was in ward 6B in the Royal Victoria Hospital Belfast, which is a General Surgery ward specialising in colorectal surgery! I got to practice my clinical observations lots, practice care planning and evaluating, dress some simple wounds and assist with dressing some more complex wounds, including VAC dressings and wounds that required wound drainage bags. I also got to learn more and practice a lot of stoma care, mostly with ileostomies, learn more about IV fluids and administering them and learn more about Total Parenteral Nutrition. I was also allowed to remove clips from a patient's abdomen and aspirate an NG tube! I did however have a few mishaps, which included tipping a bottle of (red) Hibiscrub down my (white) tunic on my first day, and getting blood on my uniform on my last day which has meant the tunic had to be binned because the stain wouldn't come out! All in all I had a wonderful experience and met some amazing nurses. Even the doctors were nice, a consultant praised me for the way I had handled an emergency (involving a patient in immense pain and no good veins to administer IV pethidine) and one of the FY1s showed me how to take blood!
I'm back at Queen's 4 weeks now and Monday begins week 5 of 6. Then we have two weeks off again then out for two, four week Clinical Placement with one placement being an enhancement placement (a branch of nursing that isn't your own). My first four weeks will be spent on Ward F in the Mater Hospital in Belfast. This ward is my medical placement for first year and it is the Admissions ward for the hospital. My second placement is my enhancement which will be Learning Disability. I'm going to the Martin Residential Trust for the Loving Care of those with Profound Learning Disabilities. The MRT is two minutes from my house so it's really handy and I can't wait to go there!
Doing some revision today as we have a class test on the 6th July for our Human Life Sciences for Health Care module. This module is all anatomy and physiology, but I'm really enjoying it so far as the lecturers are really good!
I'm still working in the Nursing Home, one night shift (Saturday) a week. I'm still loving it, though I can see it far enough tonight, as I have so much work to do!
That was one long entry! I will blip more regularly, and I'm going to try doing it every day again!!
Love to your mothers!
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