Lemon Water....Ewwwww.

Bouncing Off the Walls Like a Crazy in an Asylum

Are you smarter than a Pickler?

I love Kelly...She was my favorite by far.

Kitchen Fire

Busy...Busy...Busy...

Mmmmm......

Cheetos for breakfast and Mambas for lunch is not a good idea.

Bronchoscopy...Intubation...Seizures...Oh my!

Today was another eventful day in the RICU.
I got to see someone get intubated. For those of you not up to date on your medical jargon, this is basically a procedure that involves sticking a big tube down someone's throat and into their lungs so a machine can breath for them. It was pretty cool...very quick actually. I've seen it before at the U Hosp but I wasn't actually in the room then.
I also got to witness a bronchoscopy on the same patient. The whole reason we had to intubate the patient in the first place was a significantly large mucus production that had occurred in the left lung. The chest x-ray in the morning showed the whole left lung as a white, dense mass...this basically means that there is something other than air in there (whether it be an "imploded" or collapsed lung... as was the case with my oat lung or some sort of fluid). So after he was intubated, the attending stuck a scope down the tube and suctioned all the mucus out...it was disgustingly awesome.
I also had the pleasure of witnessing a seizure today. It was a very 'soft' seizure if you can describe a seizure that way. Very interesting. They called it a "Pseudoseizure" meaning there were no abnormal brain waves on the EEG.
Fun times....

No comment necessary....This is me.

Unspirational...Thanks Bruce.

Nostalgia

I was thinking about all the songs from my past that I never hear anymore...I decided to play them for fun. Enjoy.
~S

Chest Compressions Are For Sissies

So, I had an awesomely interesting experience on Monday.
I performed chest compressions on a guy that was coding (heart not beating). It was way exciting! I still can't believe it....that is not something a pharmacist usually does but I was right up in there. Cool huh! It really wasn't as hard as I was expecting.

Anyway, I am loving my rotation. The people are really nice and we joke around a lot. It's a ton of fun. I am learning so much and feeling a lot more comfortable with everything. I am also feeling more confident about what I do know.

Cooking Shower for Charlotte

Yesterday, I co-threw a bridal shower for Dane's (my brother's) fiance, Charlotte. It was a cooking themed shower and was a ton of fun. We had everyone bring their favorite recipe to give to Charlotte and a cooking themed gift. We had a Sushi Rolling demonstration by my uncle Ron, sushi chef extraordinaire! We got to taste different types of sushi and sashimi. It was so delicious! I got stuffed on sushi! We also had a hands on spring rolling station where they could stuff and roll their own spring rolls! For the main course we had a build your own asian chicken salad where we provided the goods such as lettuce, chicken, water chestnuts, snap peas, chow mein noodles, bamboo shoots and more with a choice of different asian sesame dressings. For the party favors I dipped fortune cookies in vanilla and chocolate and put them in "To Go" chinese food boxes. My friend, Sonia, and I also made a bookmark for them to use in a cookbook. It turned out really cute. I had Sonia draw and emboss the name of each guest in chinese characters on the bookmark and then she wrote their English name on chopsticks. I have a picture below as an example. It was way cool. I had fun making them. The party turned out great!

Completely Uncalled For

Wow...

A whole week is already done. It seemed like just yesterday was my first day.
My rotation is great. I am in the Respiratory Intensive Care Unit (RICU) at the new Intermountain Medical Center in Murray.
My typical day includes:

1. Waking up at 5:30 in the morning (unless I need to shower, then it is 5:00)
2. Being to rotation by 7:00
3. Printing out the 24-hour ICU reports
4. Visiting all the patients (usually 12) to say hello and record the IV medications they are on
5. Working up the patients to provide recommendations on changes to medications
6. Rounds that last anywhere between 1 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours
7. Fixing problems as they come about
8. Eating lunch
9. Topic discussions with my preceptor (Sepsis, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Pulmonary Hypertension, Community Acquired Pneumonia, etc)
10. Attending Inservice Presentations, Journal Clubs, and Staff Development Meetings
11. My day ends at about 3:30
12. ...Then I usually head to work until 11:00 pm...
13. And repeat for 5 more weeks

I will be responsible for presenting an inservice and a journal club as well.
They feed me a lot too. Monday was employee appreciation day and they provided lunch for everyone. Tuesday I went to a vendor sponsored lunch meeting consisting of some sloppy joe style taco that was difficult to eat gracefully in front of my preceptor (but still oh-so delicious). This week is also "Happy Nurse Week" so Wednesday we had waffles, bacon and fresh fruit for breakfast. Thursday we had home baked chocolate chip cookies during rounds. Friday we had bagels and pastries during rounds ( I had a delicious churro drizzled with a rich creamy icing...breakfast of pharmacists) and an ice cream party for a pharmacist that is leaving. Plus we get free fountain drinks! So...I'm happy when I'm fed!

Emily's Graduation

Camille, Me, Ben, Rand, Emily, Dave (bottom), Marla, Steve and Aspen.

My very own "Grey's Anatomy"...

Tomorrow is my first day of rotations....Wish me luck! ~S

Graduations Galore

All the graduations make me wish I was graduating this year!

Congratulations to Dane Falkner, Emily Phillips and Dave Phillips for achieving such a great accomplishment!