Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Akin and Politics
This may not be directly related to my life as a nursing student but I really need to say something. I am individual who believes in women's rights and it was actually this belief that led me to wanting to pursue midwifery. Since then my believes in the rights of women has only grown. I now know more than I ever did about women's rights as it relates to their health care. It is no secret that I am pro-choice. I understand that you may not be and I accept that we can disagree. But to say something as ridiculous as Akin did about rape is disgusting and appalling. Eve Ensler, one of my heros, wrote a beautiful piece in the Huffington Post to Mr. Akin about his statement. She ended with this eloquent tidbit:
"I am asking you and the GOP to get out of my body, out of my vagina, my womb, to get out of all of our bodies. These are not your decisions to make. These are not your words to define.
Why don't you spend your time ending rape rather than redefining it? Spend your energy going after those perpetrators who so easily destroy women rather than parsing out manipulative language that minimizes their destruction.
And by the way you've just given millions of women a very good reason to make sure you never get elected again, and an insanely good reason to rise."
Amen. To read the entire letter click here.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
The End
I am entering my final semester of undergrad and am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I have been able to reflect about my time as a nursing student and what even more time to think about the next step - grad school (more to come). I entered nursing school knowing that my ultimate goal was to become a midwife. I cannot believe how naive I was and how lucky I am that it has all worked out. I thought casually that I would just get my nursing degree, you know, no big deal. Well, it kind of is a big deal. Nursing school has not been easy. Over the past 18 months I have had so many wonderful/horrible/scary experiences that have really made me appreciate the nursing profession and the wonderful people who are a part of it. I never thought of myself as a nurse but as a midwife but as I enter my final semester I am proud that in about 6 months time I too will be a nurse. It is not something I thought I would enjoy or be good at, to be honest, I never really thought of it at all.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
What's on my mind, now.
It has almost been one year since I started nursing school and it has been a really exciting, interesting, irritating, fast wonderful year. Aside from being somewhere and doing something I never thought I would do, our family has also had many changes.
Jerome graduated from school last December, spent four months looking for work, spent the next four working for a firm downtown, was laid off, and now, two month later has been employed for the past two weeks.
Today, I started building a box for compost and asked myself, "What am I doing?" So I thought I might take this time to write down where I am and what my goals are.I am happy to say that though I may not be kicking ass in nursing school I am happy and still striving to making changes in my life that will bring me closer to my goal of becoming a midwife. In my last post I discussed wanting to get my CNA license, yoga training, and learning Spanish. Well, I did get my CNA license, I did find a yoga training that I am interested in, not the one previously mentioned, and I still want to learn Spanish. I've spent some time talking to the admission counselor at Bastyr and she encouraged me to get involved in my homebirth community, to improve my chances of admission. I know it seems obvious but how might I go about doing that?
My first new goal is related to one of the requirements for Bastyr that I need to fulfill. The first: take a doula certification training workshop. It is not required that we become certified doulas, but I am doing a lot of the work, so I might as well go all the way. And by the way, this might be a way to become more involved in my homebirth community. There are not many doula certification classes but one instructor I found that offers classes, is a midwife, and is based in Albuquerque, just a short drive south (and my in-laws live there). She is one the same page about birth as I am and am looking forward to taking her class. So that is part one of one, take the doula class, the other parts are: get certified through DONA, become a member of the CO Doula Association, apply to become a doula apprentice. And finally, donate my doula services in an exchange for homebirth experience.
My second goal is studying abroad/learn Spanish. I am still interested in CFHI. There is a language immersion program in Mexico that I am interested in and another that focuses on Reproductive Health in Ecuador. I would be up for either but am hoping that wherever I end up that I can increase my Spanish language skills, expand my cultural awareness, understand health disparities at a higher level, and maybe catch a baby or two :) I plan on applying in December, and start fundraising at the beginning of the year.
Finally, I am still interested in yoga, the power of yoga and the power that yoga can have one women during pregnancy, labor, and postpartum. I found a local yoga training center that I feel pretty good about. It is a little more laid back. It is also more in tune with my budget. After completing my 200 hour yoga training, I would like to complete my prenatal yoga training from Yo Mama Yoga in Boulder. Though, yoga is not necessarily a goal that is directly related to being a midwife, I feel as though yoga is something I can do while in school, and will be able to add to my midwifery practice.
So right now I am working on my doula certification, I have an interview next week for an ACP position at University hospital. An ACP is a position created to help nursing students get experience and skills in nursing. If I get the job I will be required to do one 12-hour shift a week. It would be pretty awesome.
Jerome graduated from school last December, spent four months looking for work, spent the next four working for a firm downtown, was laid off, and now, two month later has been employed for the past two weeks.
Today, I started building a box for compost and asked myself, "What am I doing?" So I thought I might take this time to write down where I am and what my goals are.I am happy to say that though I may not be kicking ass in nursing school I am happy and still striving to making changes in my life that will bring me closer to my goal of becoming a midwife. In my last post I discussed wanting to get my CNA license, yoga training, and learning Spanish. Well, I did get my CNA license, I did find a yoga training that I am interested in, not the one previously mentioned, and I still want to learn Spanish. I've spent some time talking to the admission counselor at Bastyr and she encouraged me to get involved in my homebirth community, to improve my chances of admission. I know it seems obvious but how might I go about doing that?
My first new goal is related to one of the requirements for Bastyr that I need to fulfill. The first: take a doula certification training workshop. It is not required that we become certified doulas, but I am doing a lot of the work, so I might as well go all the way. And by the way, this might be a way to become more involved in my homebirth community. There are not many doula certification classes but one instructor I found that offers classes, is a midwife, and is based in Albuquerque, just a short drive south (and my in-laws live there). She is one the same page about birth as I am and am looking forward to taking her class. So that is part one of one, take the doula class, the other parts are: get certified through DONA, become a member of the CO Doula Association, apply to become a doula apprentice. And finally, donate my doula services in an exchange for homebirth experience.
My second goal is studying abroad/learn Spanish. I am still interested in CFHI. There is a language immersion program in Mexico that I am interested in and another that focuses on Reproductive Health in Ecuador. I would be up for either but am hoping that wherever I end up that I can increase my Spanish language skills, expand my cultural awareness, understand health disparities at a higher level, and maybe catch a baby or two :) I plan on applying in December, and start fundraising at the beginning of the year.
Finally, I am still interested in yoga, the power of yoga and the power that yoga can have one women during pregnancy, labor, and postpartum. I found a local yoga training center that I feel pretty good about. It is a little more laid back. It is also more in tune with my budget. After completing my 200 hour yoga training, I would like to complete my prenatal yoga training from Yo Mama Yoga in Boulder. Though, yoga is not necessarily a goal that is directly related to being a midwife, I feel as though yoga is something I can do while in school, and will be able to add to my midwifery practice.
So right now I am working on my doula certification, I have an interview next week for an ACP position at University hospital. An ACP is a position created to help nursing students get experience and skills in nursing. If I get the job I will be required to do one 12-hour shift a week. It would be pretty awesome.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Pathologies of Power
Wow, it has been a seriously long time since I have posted. I have completed my first OB clinical and now in Med/Surg (working on a post to recap). I will start clinicals next week. Right now I am starting to do some research for the independent study abroad I am planning on doing next summer. One of the books recommended by CHFI (the organization that I am doind the study abroad with) suggested a few books to read. One, Pathologies of Power is one I am reading now. I just read this last night and it really struck me and I wanted to share:
In this increasingly interconnected world (the world that is satisfying to us is the same world that is utterly devastating to them"), we must understand that what happens to the poor is never divorced from the actions of the powerful. Certainly, people who define themselves as poor may control their own destinies to some extent. But control of lives is related to control of land, systems of production, and the formal political and legal structures in which lives are enmeshed. With time, both wealth and control have become increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few. The opposite trend is desired by those working for social justice.
Image from Amazon.com
In this increasingly interconnected world (the world that is satisfying to us is the same world that is utterly devastating to them"), we must understand that what happens to the poor is never divorced from the actions of the powerful. Certainly, people who define themselves as poor may control their own destinies to some extent. But control of lives is related to control of land, systems of production, and the formal political and legal structures in which lives are enmeshed. With time, both wealth and control have become increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few. The opposite trend is desired by those working for social justice.
Monday, June 13, 2011
OB Week 1
Week 1 of OB was awesome. I mean I know that I want to be a midwife and am already interested in birth, but seriously I had a good time this week. My professor is really awesome. Her name is Jenny, she is really accomplished, really honest and really funny. Even one of the guys in my class started researching male OB nurses. We have one more week of intense class, then we start rotations. I am excited/scared/anxious. We had a med calc exam that I didn't pass, they are pass/fail and I failed. We get to try again, thank goodness. The bummer is, my calculations were correct, but my ability to read the question was off... I retake it tomorrow and then on Friday we have our first exam.
This weekend we went to Santa Fe for some family obligation stuff. We did get to go to the Bio Park in Albuquerque, and Tent Rock at Cochiti Pueblo, both were pretty awesome. I didn't get a chance to study but I'll get there. My vegetable garden is booming. Apparently I am quite the gardener. However, I am really bad at harvesting... I guess I am really surprised that things are growing, I never thought I would get the chance to actually harvest.
This weekend we went to Santa Fe for some family obligation stuff. We did get to go to the Bio Park in Albuquerque, and Tent Rock at Cochiti Pueblo, both were pretty awesome. I didn't get a chance to study but I'll get there. My vegetable garden is booming. Apparently I am quite the gardener. However, I am really bad at harvesting... I guess I am really surprised that things are growing, I never thought I would get the chance to actually harvest.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Semester Recap, Refinement of Goals and Outlook
Ahh, yes my blog. Hi, how are you (as Daniel Johnston would say)? It's been a while and a weekly recap seems inappropriate. But I did wrap up the first semester of my nursing school career and am looking forward to starting my second next weeks. So how about a semester recap?
Unfortunately, like many of my other entries I didn't quite rock nursing school as I would have liked but that's life. I did learn a lot about who I am, what I want and how me and my goals fit into the nursing world. Over the course of the semester I had a lot of difficult weeks, that almost always involved three quizzes (one in each of my classes). This was a pretty difficult setup for me. I just felt like I never was able to catch my breath. As soon as one test was complete, another was on its way. But it is over, for now and I have different professors, will their own teaching style, and test schedules. Not to say that I didn't like my professors or that they weren't very good, I just wasn't crazy about the testing, every week, every damn week. The other thing that probably contributed to my overall funk of spring semester was my lack of exercise. I seriously did not exercise. I mean not at all.
One of the best things that I discovered during the semester was lunch lectures. Although I go to the University of Colorado, the health related programs (dentistry, medical school, nursing, etc.) are on a completely different campus - the Anschutz Medical Campus. If you look hard enough I bet you can find a lunch lecture every day of the week, most of which include a free lunch. This may be shocking to you, as it is shocking to me, there are not a lot of people that attend these lectures. I guess I am mostly attracted to them because I am not the biggest fan of the "Western" model of medicine and am looking for alternatives to "traditional" nursing roles. Many of these lectures address research, rural health care, public health, diversity within the healthcare setting, LGBT community, etc. The best lecture that I attended was by an old doctor who started practicing when an American journalist went to China and had to have his appendix removed. The used acupuncture to numb the site and he was completely awake during the procedure. This doctor was really interested in the whole process and quickly became certified in acupuncture and continued to practice medicine. He now does a lot of political advocacy. He talked a lot about complementary and alternative medicine. It was by far the best lecture I have heard. There was one thing he said that really hit me, "Where the truth is, is where we'll go."
There is so much about that statement that means so much to me and my journey to become a midwife. I am really struggling with how my view fits in with the medical model and how I can accomplish my goal of become a "traditional" midwife. A midwife that practices in a birthing center or assists in home births. After much contemplation and research I have decided that I really don't want to go to a traditional University for my Masters in Midwifery, and that I would rather go to a program that is more in line with my beliefs, despite my American need to have "qualifications" and be employable. Rather that pursuing my Certified Nurse Midwife degree, I will be pursing my Certified Practical Midwife certificate. I know such subtleties. But CPM is based on the apprentice model and will not allow me to work in a hospital. The CNM is more in line with the Western model of medicine and will allow me to be a midwife in a hospital.
Another goal I am working on is to get my CNA certificate. Despite what I just said, I do think that it is a good idea to build my nursing skills. I am one of the many people in my program who have no experience in health care and have no clue what goes on in a hospital setting. I would like to expand my knowledge base while I am in school. I hope to have my certification by the end of the summer, and start looking for part-time jobs.
Another goal of mine is to go through a yoga teacher training. Along with being a midwife I would really like to be able to teach prenatal yoga. CorePower has opportunities to clean the yoga studio for trade of free yoga, and to also get a discount for the yoga training program. I have been out of practice for a while and would like to practice for a while before going through the teacher training. Within the next year I would like to be done with teacher training or in the middle or maybe even on my way.
-Another, for a while now I have been wanting to learn Spanish. I should know it and I don't. I have taken classes but really don't feel comfortable with the language. Next summer I am planning on doing a study abroad in Mexico, that requres that we have conversational Spanish. My goal is to get to that point by next summer.
Finally, I would like to volunteer for Planned Parenthood. I don't know how possible this is. I have already given notice to my boss in preparation for my CNA job that I don't have. I hope to have more time in my future. I really want to be involved in Women's Health as well as Reproductive Health and PP seems like a great fit. There are probably a lot of other women out there thinking the same thing... We'll see about this one. No time frame, I just hope to get it done. All of it
So that's that. Next block starts on Tuesday. I am really excited, and happy that my first semester is behind me. Happy summer!
Unfortunately, like many of my other entries I didn't quite rock nursing school as I would have liked but that's life. I did learn a lot about who I am, what I want and how me and my goals fit into the nursing world. Over the course of the semester I had a lot of difficult weeks, that almost always involved three quizzes (one in each of my classes). This was a pretty difficult setup for me. I just felt like I never was able to catch my breath. As soon as one test was complete, another was on its way. But it is over, for now and I have different professors, will their own teaching style, and test schedules. Not to say that I didn't like my professors or that they weren't very good, I just wasn't crazy about the testing, every week, every damn week. The other thing that probably contributed to my overall funk of spring semester was my lack of exercise. I seriously did not exercise. I mean not at all.
One of the best things that I discovered during the semester was lunch lectures. Although I go to the University of Colorado, the health related programs (dentistry, medical school, nursing, etc.) are on a completely different campus - the Anschutz Medical Campus. If you look hard enough I bet you can find a lunch lecture every day of the week, most of which include a free lunch. This may be shocking to you, as it is shocking to me, there are not a lot of people that attend these lectures. I guess I am mostly attracted to them because I am not the biggest fan of the "Western" model of medicine and am looking for alternatives to "traditional" nursing roles. Many of these lectures address research, rural health care, public health, diversity within the healthcare setting, LGBT community, etc. The best lecture that I attended was by an old doctor who started practicing when an American journalist went to China and had to have his appendix removed. The used acupuncture to numb the site and he was completely awake during the procedure. This doctor was really interested in the whole process and quickly became certified in acupuncture and continued to practice medicine. He now does a lot of political advocacy. He talked a lot about complementary and alternative medicine. It was by far the best lecture I have heard. There was one thing he said that really hit me, "Where the truth is, is where we'll go."
There is so much about that statement that means so much to me and my journey to become a midwife. I am really struggling with how my view fits in with the medical model and how I can accomplish my goal of become a "traditional" midwife. A midwife that practices in a birthing center or assists in home births. After much contemplation and research I have decided that I really don't want to go to a traditional University for my Masters in Midwifery, and that I would rather go to a program that is more in line with my beliefs, despite my American need to have "qualifications" and be employable. Rather that pursuing my Certified Nurse Midwife degree, I will be pursing my Certified Practical Midwife certificate. I know such subtleties. But CPM is based on the apprentice model and will not allow me to work in a hospital. The CNM is more in line with the Western model of medicine and will allow me to be a midwife in a hospital.
Another goal I am working on is to get my CNA certificate. Despite what I just said, I do think that it is a good idea to build my nursing skills. I am one of the many people in my program who have no experience in health care and have no clue what goes on in a hospital setting. I would like to expand my knowledge base while I am in school. I hope to have my certification by the end of the summer, and start looking for part-time jobs.
Another goal of mine is to go through a yoga teacher training. Along with being a midwife I would really like to be able to teach prenatal yoga. CorePower has opportunities to clean the yoga studio for trade of free yoga, and to also get a discount for the yoga training program. I have been out of practice for a while and would like to practice for a while before going through the teacher training. Within the next year I would like to be done with teacher training or in the middle or maybe even on my way.
-Another, for a while now I have been wanting to learn Spanish. I should know it and I don't. I have taken classes but really don't feel comfortable with the language. Next summer I am planning on doing a study abroad in Mexico, that requres that we have conversational Spanish. My goal is to get to that point by next summer.
Finally, I would like to volunteer for Planned Parenthood. I don't know how possible this is. I have already given notice to my boss in preparation for my CNA job that I don't have. I hope to have more time in my future. I really want to be involved in Women's Health as well as Reproductive Health and PP seems like a great fit. There are probably a lot of other women out there thinking the same thing... We'll see about this one. No time frame, I just hope to get it done. All of it
So that's that. Next block starts on Tuesday. I am really excited, and happy that my first semester is behind me. Happy summer!
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Sampsonisms
I have a really great professor of Pharmacology named Jim Sampson. He gives us lots of helpful, what I like to call Sampsonisms. Some are pneumonic devices, some not. Here they are:
"Prone is on the bone."
Anticholinergic side effects:
No see,
no pee,
no spit,
no shit,
tachy..
Point and Shoot, erection is controlled by the Parasympathetic Nervous system, and shoot, or ejaculation is controlled by the sympathetic nervous system.
I have more... I will update when they come to me.
This week marked the end of the first four weeks of the second block. I passed my CPE by placing a catheter. Exciting, right? We went out on Wednesday night, as usual but this week we won first place. It wasn't a "real" win because we pinched a powerhouse player from the team that usually beats us but hey, at this point I'll take what I can get.
More good news next week!
"Prone is on the bone."
Anticholinergic side effects:
No see,
no pee,
no spit,
no shit,
tachy..
Point and Shoot, erection is controlled by the Parasympathetic Nervous system, and shoot, or ejaculation is controlled by the sympathetic nervous system.
I have more... I will update when they come to me.
This week marked the end of the first four weeks of the second block. I passed my CPE by placing a catheter. Exciting, right? We went out on Wednesday night, as usual but this week we won first place. It wasn't a "real" win because we pinched a powerhouse player from the team that usually beats us but hey, at this point I'll take what I can get.
More good news next week!
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