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Friday, October 28, 2005

 

maybe I spoke too soon.

In a classic case of getting frustrated before the results have actually happened, I got a call less than an hour after my last post from an assisted-living facility that wants me to come in for an interview. Oh. Um. Heh heh. Sure, I'd love to.

So I have an interview on Tuesday. This is the same place that hired one of my classmates even before she'd finished her clinicals, which makes me a tiny bit nervous - why are they hiring a bunch of people who don't have any experience? But hey, I need the experience, so I'll go and smile and agree to work crappy shifts if that's what it takes. Stay tuned!

Locals, if you want to know where this place is, feel free to email me - emily at emilyskinner dot com. I just don't want to post it publicly for searchability and stalkability reasons.

 

new tactic

Okay, R* and I had an idea. Since the purpose of me getting the CNA training was to improve my chances of getting into nursing school, not to make a career out of working at a nursing home... there are other ways to get the same outcome. At Shoreline, there's this complicated point system that determines who the best candidates for the nursing program are. I was trying to get my CNA license and work a minimum of 192 hours before applying in January, because that would be worth 12 points. However, proof of holding down a non-medical job (i.e., spam shop job) is worth 7 points. And 100 hours of volunteering is worth 3 points. I could practically accomplish that in two weeks if I pushed! If I rack up 192 hours of volunteering, that is worth 6 points. Even with the 3 points for 100 hours, I believe I would be accepted, based on how many points were necessary to get in last quarter. There are several hospitals nearby where I could volunteer, although most of them request one four-hour shift once a week, so I may need to pick up 5 or 6 volunteer gigs, haha. This just might work.

Wednesday, October 26, 2005

 

now what?

So, I've finished my clinical training, I've mailed off the forms to the state and the testing company so I can take the certification exam next month, and I've filled out a form at my local hospital indicating that I want to volunteer there as soon and as much as possible. Now I guess I just have to wait for things to happen.

I'm scouring the newspaper and various websites looking for jobs to apply for. The frustrating thing is that they all want 6 months of experience. Oh well. Someone will have to hire me eventually, right?

Friday, October 21, 2005

 

clinical finished

Well, I made it through my clinicals! I have officially completed training as a nursing assistant, and now I need to take the state exam to become certified.

After the first couple of days of feeling nervous and useless, I think I caught on really fast. Just because of the way my brain works, I think I will be able to do a good job keeping track of a batch of residents... although I might need to write more stuff down at first. I am so grateful to the other CNAs who taught me - I think the school owes them a debt of gratitude for putting up with students all the time!

I'm surprised that after only 6 days I left with a round of hugs and good wishes from some of the CNAs. I even got some nice words from some of the residents - my new friend who shares my last name has a lot of trouble speaking, but he managed to get out something that I think was "I wouldn't be surprised if you wound up here" after I told him today was my last day. So sweet! And another resident who is very sick, but is the model of gracious kindness, actually kissed me and wished me good luck.

So yeah, I did spend a lot of time wiping butts and other stuff that might be construed as weird or gross... but what I learned about myself is that I really love taking care of people. I feel sure I'm on the right path now, which is so reassuring I can hardly describe it. Part of my nervousness before clinicals was that I feared I might hate giving care once I was in the thick of it, but instead I like it more than I thought I would. I feel so grateful that I was assigned to a facility that encouraged me, and that my dear husband is so supportive to allow me to quit my job and follow my heart!

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

 

too funny

I just had the funniest email exchange with the sysadmin at Old Spam Job, who we can call Mordac.

I sent him a link to this.

And his response was:

"And this most accuratly describes whats been going on since you left:"

http://www.despair.com/meetings.html

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Did I mention I don't miss my spam job at all?

Friday, October 14, 2005

 

babies? none for me, thanks.

I spent the whole day yesterday with my friend J* and her new son who we will just call Fish for the purpose of this blog. That's not his name or even anything close to his name, so there, potential Internet stalkers! She asked me to come over because her partner had to go into work one day this week, and I was available yesterday before the final exam in my class, but then busy for the next 6 workdays with clinicals. I wasn't sure why J* wanted me there, but when I asked her that after I arrived, she said it was just for reassurance, in case Fish screamed his head off or she needed a nap or whatever.

I had halfway expected to go over there and spend the day with them and come home thinking, "MUST HAVE BABY NOW!" but that's not really how it went. I was actually surprised by my mixed reaction - most of the day I thought "Aw, how sweet, I want to cuddle him, I could totally have one of these for myself...." but I also had this strange realization while J* was nursing him for the third time after I arrived, that Fish is barely anything other than a parasite at this point in his life and being the parent of a tiny infant is completely unrewarding, in the sense that they need your attention and care and boobs 24 hours a day, but you really don't get anything back from them at this point. They're not very interactive at all. Also, Fish peed on J* during a diaper change for the first time while I watched. :)

I hope I don't sound too negative, though, because I *really* enjoyed being there. I love that J* was completely open with me about how she was feeling and what birth was like, and let me watch her breast feed without any modesty whatsoever. It was a very good woman-bonding time! And I held Fish and let him sleep on my chest for an hour, which was the sweetest thinng ever. Being an auntie is like the best of both worlds!

 

first day of clinical

Well, I lived through the first day of my clinical. It was not difficult, in the sense that nothing I did today was hard or super-unpleasant, but it was emotionally challenging on a lot of levels. It was hard to see some of the most incapcitated residents - although they are cared for with skill and kindess (more on that in a minute), it's kind of a shock to see people who are too out of it to sit up or open their eyes or feed themselves. I suppose that says something about our society!

Also, I felt like I was all thumbs today following the NAC that I shadowed - just as I feared, I didn't know ANYTHING. But it wasn't what I expected not to know, if that makes sense. The skills that I learned in class were all completely useful! But I still felt like I was all thumbs because I didn't know where to get supplies or throw out trash or open doors with coded locks or where to find the dining hall or a million other things. Monday will go much better now that I know a thing or two!

I'm not going to talk at length about the specifics of what I did, both to preserve the residents' privacy, and because most of my readers would probably be grossed out. :) But there were a couple moments that felt good... one was when I sat and chatted with a retired lady who lives on a less-assisted floor, and she told me about her previous job and stuff. Another was when I helped a man eat lunch, and he read my nametag and told me my last name was the same as his, and then I was able to coax him to eat all his vegetables. The woman who came around and wrote down what everyone ate was surprised - apparently he'd insisted he didn't want a vegetable.

One thing that made me glad that I'm headed down the nurse career path was that I was hugely intrigued by what the nurses were doing. Of course I'm not shadowing them because I am learning to be an *assistant* not a nurse at this time... but all their charting and med-passing and care-planning looked so much more interesting than what I was doing all day! That is good affirmation that I'm doing the right stuff.

And finally, now it's official - I honestly would rather wipe butts than work at my old spam job!

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

 

clothes

Forgot to mention that when I was at the mall earlier today, I discovered quite my accident that I am old. I was casually window shopping as I went from the uniform store to Starbucks to Payless Shoes to Rite Aid. Gap? Yuck. Limited? Yuck. Cache? I would never need to wear clothes like that in my life. Victoria's Secret? I can't stand undies that go up my butt on purpose. Ann Taylor Loft? Why yes! I liked everything in their window and could imagine wearing all of it.

Now I just need a big bucket of money!

 

book forty-eight

Small Gods
by Terry Pratchett

I love the Discworld books. They're funny and clever and easy as pie to read. Like candy for my brain, really.

"Small Gods" is about Brutha, a kid who is a novice at a monastery. He's not very bright and spends his free time working in the garden. Which is where he finds a turtle who speaks to him and turns out to be the Great God Om, who all the monks are supposedly worshipping. However, Om's lowly status as a turtle makes it painfully obvious that no one except maybe Brutha is actually worshipping Om at all. On Discworld, gods gain their power from the worship of humans... so when no one worships a god, it ceases to exist. This same concept was put to use in "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman - probably not a coincidence, since Gaiman and Pratchett have collaborated in the past.

Like the other Discworld books, this is a quick and entertaining read with just enough intellectualism and satire to keep your brain engaged. I'm sure I'll read all of them eventually.

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ready to roll

I went to the mall today and got the last couple things I need to be ready for my clinical starting FRIDAY! eeek! I got some non-skid white tennis shoes, just in case my fancypants Danskos don't show up today or tomorrow, a gait belt for totin' old folks, and some heavy-duty hand lotion and some liquid bandage for my hands that are about to be washed more than they've ever been washed in their lives. I'm worried that my skin will crack, or my eczema will flare up and cause me agony. The scrubs I ordered last week are not here yet either, but I have one set I can wear Friday for starters. Eeek, so nervous. I'm sure it will be fine but I feel like hyperventilating whenever I think about. I would really like to take Xanax, but a) I don't have any and b) they probably frown on coming to work under the influence of prescription medications.

Sunday, October 09, 2005

 

my new nephew


Okay, so he's not really my nephew, he's my friend's new son. He was born at 1:30 Saturday morning. I went to see him this morning and he slept in my arms the entire time! Isn't he precious? I'm tickled that there's a baby in my life who I can cuddle and coo over, without having to commit to having one of my own right now.

Friday, October 07, 2005

 

book forty-seven

I'm Not the New Me
by Wendy McClure

I checked this book out because I've been a reader of Wendy's site Pound for quite some time. I was a little concerned that the book would mainly recycle material from her website, but happily, it was not like that at all. "I'm Not the New Me" has a pretty coherent narrative rather than being a blog-like series of snapshots. Plus Wendy is FUNNY.

This isn't much of a review, is it? Regardless, believe when I say I recommend the book.

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I'm going to be an auntie!

My friend J* just called to tell me her water just broke. Her baby wasn't due for another couple weeks, but it looks like he's decided to arrive early! It's funny, I was just shopping today for prezzies for him for the baby shower that was scheduled for Sunday. I suppose now I'm going to get to meet him in the hospital instead. I'm very excited, in case you couldn't tell - J* is my closest friend to date to have a baby.

 

no sport clogs

So apparently the white Dansko sport clogs that I want so very, very badly do not actually exist any longer. I knew Dansko was phasing them out, but now it seems that everyone in the whole world is out of them. I suspect that Dansko is sitting on a warehouse full of sport clogs and will sell them on the black market to desparate klutzy nurses... but that doesn't do me any good, now does it?

So now I'm going with plan B, the Dansko Jette. I hope they're as comfy as they look.

Wednesday, October 05, 2005

 

book forty-six

Mrs. Kimble
by Jennifer Haigh

I have to start by saying that I really didn't like this book. It's well-written and I would definitely try other books by Jennifer Haigh, but I couldn't get over the fact that I hated all the characters. Kind of like the movie "Closer" - it was well-made and the acting was good, but I hated all of those people!

Anyway, "Mrs. Kimble" is about three women who are each married at different times to Ken Kimble, who I thought was a shiftless loser who made his living mooching off of women who didn't know any better. The first is Birdie, a college student who Ken meets when he is her choir director at school. At the beginning of the book, Ken has already abandoned Birdie and their two small children, and she is rapidly spiralling into an alcoholic stupor.

The second Mrs. Kimble is Joan, a Jewish woman in Florida who is recovering from breast cancer. She meets Ken when he shows up as the fiance of one of Joan's friends' daughter, another college student that Ken met on the job. Ken dumps the girl for Joan.

The third Mrs. Kimble is Dinah, who had been his children's babysitter when they were small. She has a large port-wine birthmark on her face and is flattered by Ken's attention.

The thing that drove me nuts, though, is that all three of these women were total suckers. I found it sad and frustrating that they were so desparate for a husband that they were willing to overlook Ken's obvious flaws and the holes in his story. Also, I understand the story is about the women and not about Ken, but I wish we'd gotten some insight into how he turned out to be such a conniving jerk.

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Monday, October 03, 2005

 

time flies

Holy crap, here it is October already, and I only have two more weeks of housewifing before my night class is over! Following that, I'll have six days of clinical training at a nursing home, then it will be time to register for the state exam to complete my certification. I can't believe how fast it's gone!

I haven't gotten nearly enough done around the house. The house is much cleaner and running more smoothly, but I haven't done very many of the projects I wanted to do. I intend to start looking for a new job as soon as I've completed my clinicals, but I suppose there may be a decent amount of downtime before I actually start working. I need to crack the whip at myself!

I went ahead and ordered the Dansko sport clogs I'd been hemming and hawing over. Spendy, but probably worth it. Now I need to haul my butt over to the uniform store and buy some dorky white pants and some scrub tops. At least I can pick whatever top I want as long as I wear it with dorky white pants!

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