Classes!

So I just wanted to show everyone, cause I think it's so awesome, the future classes I am going to take if I manage to get a 3.0 or above this semester.

Summer: 16 units

Adult Med Surg (5)- aka Nursing of the Adult Client

Pathophysiology/Pharmacology II (3)

Mental Health (5)- icky, get er done quick!

Gerontology (3)

Fall: 16 units

OBGYN (5)- aka Nursing of the Childbearing Family

Pediatrics (5)- aka Nursing of the Childrearing Family

Perioperative Nursing (2)- this was the elective I got to pick =)

Nursing Research (3)

Spring: 17 units

Nursing of the Client with Complex Health Situations (5)- which is basically every pt. in the hospital!

Nursing in Community Health (5)
Nursing Leadership and Management (4)

Nursing Seminar (3)

Anyhow, I know its's only Monday, but you folks have a great week =)

The countdown to graduation is now 443 days. 

Being Open and Honest with Myself (Proceed with Caution)

Today I had a lovely clinical day and our instructor, Cindy, is so nice. I am actually really thankful that I have her as our instructor. It is so nice to end the day (and I think for all of us) with positive feedback and compliments on the things we did well. Clinical can be stressful...and so it is really great to have a positive resource involved in that learning process. 

I want to write more, but I have been thinking about something a lot lately on and off, and today I just wanted to get if off my chest. I know that I am risking borderline inappropriateness, but all that matters to me at this point is being open and honest with people. With patients....thats another story...the bottom line there is honesty and neutrality. So, here it goes:

Jaimes, I wanted you to know that I am no longer angry at you. In fact, I cried today....not for you, but for me. I miss the relationship I had with my brother. I know you like to be dramatic, and so this behavior suits you. However, today I thought of something perfect on how to describe your behavior so it makes sense to me. You know when you're a kid and your sister pinches you and it hurts? That sucks, right? Well, normally, kids try (because of their anger) to hurt the other sibling much worse in return (like punching them out). This is known as revenge. Adults, you know, they know how to overcome this (their emotions) and get one living their life and still loving that sibling. Anyhow, my point is that in the long run, I would like for you to know that you are only hurting yourself. I realized that I can live without one brother...even one who was dear to me, but how long can you live without your whole family?

The countdown to graduation is now 450 days. 

Dentist Trip!

So I got the most adorable pictures today of Landon and Alivia and their first trip to the dentist, so I had to share them!

Aww...oreo cookies and all! =)

UV information

So I was reading about UV radiation in my books, and a lot of this stuff I did not know about, so I have decided to share it with you guys.

First of all, I think all you guys know that there are 2 types of radiation, UVA and UVB. UVA is the one that can go deep in the skin, and cause all that fun stuff like photoaging (massive wrinkling, breakdown of your elastic fibers, and yellowing/thickening of the skin). UVB is the one that goes into the epidermis but no deeper.

BOTH UVA and UVB can cause DNA damage leading to basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, both types (malignant and benign) melanoma, and actinic keratoses.

UVA can penetrate glass, UVB cannot.

There is no clear evidence that sunscreen protects against melanoma or basal cell carcinoma!

So, the big question is now...how do you save yourself from UV rays?

There are 2 types of of sunscreens, organic and inorganic. Organic sunscreens absorb UV radiation and then disperses it as heat while Inorganic sunscreens act as a barrier by scattering the radiation before absorption into the skin.

If you buy an organic sunscreen, it has to contain a large mixture of compounds in order to be effective against the UV spectrum. However, it MUST CONTAIN avobenzone or the product is basically dysfunctional. The only products on the market that have this compound in it are Aveeno (continuous protection), Neutrogena (ultra sheer dry-touch), Coppertone (sport), and Sea & Ski.(advanced sunscreen).

If you buy an inorganic sunscreen, it HAS TO CONTAIN titanium dioxide AND zinc oxide in order to be effective.

Ok, so now some info about the SPF factor. SPF is like an indicator of the protection of radiation from UVB only. It does not include information about protection from UVA rays. SPF is basically determined by shining UV light on someone's skin on a protected area (with sunscreen) and on an unprotected area (without sunscreen). Then the time starts ticking. The time is stopped per area when redness of the skin is noted. For example, if your skin gets red after 10 min w/o sunscreen, and your skin gets red (on the other part) with sunscreen after 150 minutes, then you would divide 150/10 =15. So the SPF of that sunscreen would be 15. So you can see, SPF is not precisely analyzed. Since the methods are so diverse that companies use to determine the SPF, products with the same SPF do not provide equal levels of protections!

Also about SPF. SPF and amount of protection do not have a linear relationship. What I mean by this is, SPF of 30 does not provide twice as much protection as an SPF of 15. Instead, if you really want to know, as SPF increases, the increment of protection decreases. For example, SPF 15 specifies 93% block of UVB, while SPF 30 specifies 97%, and SPF 40 indicates 98%. 

More about sunscreen...and the water/sweat resistance:

If a sunscreen advertises for water resistant, it means that it must retain its SPF for at least 40 minutes of water activity. If a sunscreen says it's very water resistant, it means that it has to retain its SPF for at least 80 minutes of water activity.

Why don't they tell us these things?!


*Infomation obtained from Pharmacology for Nursing Care, by Richard Leyne, 7th Edition

Recipe for Deliciousness

To all <3

I had dinner with a friend (yeah, i can make them up here) after helping to paint her living room a beautiful green. Actually, its kinda like mum's house, just a bit lighter. Anyhow, she made the bestest salad (besides taco salad) that I have ever tasted (oh, you know, the glazed walnut strawberry one prolly compares too...). So here's the recipe so you and I don't forget!

1 giant bowl

fresh spinach

1 can of corn

1 cucumber

1 container of roma tomatoes

1 container of chopped mushrooms

1 pkg of fresh ref. chicken tenderloins

a lil of honey, and a lil of bbq sauce

1...as much ranch as wanted/needed
if you wanna make it even more delicious, add avocado!

Cut the chicken and cook them...or you can cook and then cut them. Whatever works for you. Anyhow, when you cook them, put a lil honey on each one and in the pan and then let it sit for a few and then put a lil bbq sauce on top until they are thoroughly cooked. Take out the chicken (and cut it up in medium small pieces if you haven't already). Oh, I like the chicken in medium pieces cause I like chicken. >.>

So then throw in the chicken, a cut up cucumber, all the mushrooms and tomatoes, heat up the corn in the microwave and throw it into the spinach greens too. Then add ranch and stir (but not too vigorously). Eat and enjoy!

Btw, one giant salad serves me....twice.