CLASS!! yeah!!!

Class has finally started, and actually I am really enjoying it! Fortunately, I do not have to ride my bike to class as Riley does, but the shuttle suggestion is very true one indeed! I have met some great people that I will have a great couple of years studying and hanging out with. The instructors are quite fun, and oddly I look forward to homework and spending countless hours studying, I won't be saying that long, but right now I really do feel that way! Not too much else is going on, but Riley was saying I haven't blogged for a while so here it is. I will come up with better stuff next time...but I am looking forward to this long weekend of family reunion fun so yeah!!
Until next time
~Kt~ :)

Classes Begin

So summers over. Mine was kind of a bummer so im glad to be back in school. Ive been biking to class which is making me feel great, and hopefully soon look great too. Classes have gone just swimmingly. My teachers are all great and nice and fun! The best part is that I get to see all my friends again! Like mike, jessica, kayla and of course everyones favorite Allied Health person KT!! But what puzzles me is that even though i work with her, and i goto school with her, I hav not seen jenna since orientation for working here. Anywho, Im so happy that im working at the school so that my schedule never conflicts. It's the coolest. And for all the students that have to travel from east to west, might i suggest taking the shuttle? its free, you save gas, help save the enviornment, and it goes every 15 minutes. I know I'll be taking the shuttle every monday and friday. So until next week
everyones favorite nursing person
Riley B- Admissions

Go Big Red! Countdown to Nebraska Football 2008

Cyclops Knee

So I had my knee finally scoped this past thursday, and I chose my favorite 2 pics of the bunch. Originally they thought my meniscus was torn, but in fact this lovely 'cyclops lesion' was found instead, which for those of you who have never heard of it is,

"a complication of anterior cruciate ligament surgery, where the new replacement ligament slowly strips away and bundles into a knot, jamming up the 'intercondylar notch' and preventing the knee from fully straightening. The lump sometimes looks like the central eye of a mythical 'cyclops' monster, hence the name." http://www.kneeguru.co.uk/KNEEnotes/cyclops-lesion

I did have an ACL reconstruction about 2 1/2 years ago so this buger has been harvesting inside my knee ever since, hence the reason I couldn't straighten my knee (now I finally can!!) yeah and why it was hurting (from it indenting on my cartilage)! As for my luck, this only happens 1-9.8% of those who have ACL surgery...go figure haha. But I have felt great from the moment I woke up from surgery, so that was wonderful and I am already up and walking pretty normal only 4 days later! :) I'm glad to be back, and yes Riley, I have been watching the Olympics non-stop, is that even a question? haha!

~Kt :)

Guest Post - When Nurses Earn More than Doctors

The medical profession is normally seen to be altruistic, what with doctors and nurses coming across as saviors who eliminate pain and suffering and help cure diseases and ailments. Nurses have always been viewed in the supporting role and never as part of the main act, helping to carry out the treatment rather than providing it themselves. Of late though, the spotlight has shifted to nurses in some specialties, and there’s been a lot of bickering and arguments doing the rounds about the fact that some kinds of nurses are now earning much more than some kinds of doctors.

Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNA), who are qualified to anesthetize patients during surgeries, are now earning an average of $185,000, a figure that’s much higher than the $172,000 earned by family practice physicians and the $176,000 taken home by internists, according to data released by recruitment and staffing firm Merritt Hawkins & Associates.

Are doctors, by virtue of having gone to medical school and completed four years of intense education coupled with one year of residency, deserving of a higher salary than nurses? Are there not nurses who have a similar level of educational and practical experience? Advanced nurses including clinical specialists, nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives and nurse practitioners are certified and hold at least one graduate degree. Their experience in the medical field is also advanced and long standing.

But because of the perception that a nurse is just a nurse and never will be a doctor, there is always the discrimination that a nurse cannot do the things a doctor does with the same amount of effectiveness. There is still a raging controversy going on about the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree open to nurse practitioners who have completed a graduate degree and which qualifies them to provide fully accountable patient care across all settings, with some doctors arguing that no amount of training or education is enough to prepare nurses to practice medicine without the supervision of a licensed medical practitioner.

Amidst all these advancements in education and the corresponding arguments, there’s just one thing that remains constant – the prejudices that rule, and ultimately ruin us.

thanks to Sarah Scrafford for this guest post.

This article is contributed by Sarah Scrafford, who regularly writes on the subject of Online Geriatric Nursing Programs. She invites your questions, comments and freelancing job inquiries at her email address: sarah.scrafford25@gmail.com.

Olympics part II

I, jenna, have been watching the olympics and i have got to tell you I am IN LOVE!!! when ever america is in an event i am on the edge of my seat screaming at the tv. I can't get enough. Some of the greatest are swimming becuase apparently america has the best swimmers in the world (I have watched the 4 X 100 about 8 times, because I hate the french swimmers). I also have come to like water polo. I would love to play some water polo some day. I've also been watching some tennis even though there arent any americans in that event. Our basketball team is doing just splendidly as is our easy to watch beach vollyball team. and gymnastics are also fun to watch. Im excited for the track and feild events to start though. I also wanna see a lot more biking going on, I love the biking event so much I started biking to work (or maybe its because i got in a car accident). When my roommate comes back on the 17th i think we are gonna try to play as many olympic sports as we can in one week. In conclusion I would like to say USA...USA...USA!!!

Riley B- Admissions

PS katie im glad your knee doesnt hurt and i hope you get to watch lots of olympics this week

2008 Bejing Olympics

I don't know how many of you are interested in the Olympics but it is really catching my attention this year. I don't ever remember there being so many events, so of them I have to wonder if they are really a sport. Yesterday I was watching a man trout around on a horse not doing any jumps or anything. I found a really cool site were you could see all the country's and the number of gold, silver, and bronze metals they have received. China currently has the most with 14, then USA with 12, and in third place is a tie with South Korea and Italy for 8 metals. But they are nowhere near the end so a lot can still change.

Check out this website to find all the updates and information on all the Olympic events. http://www.nbcolympics.com/
http://www.nbcolympics.com/medals/2008standings/index.html

Yeah!!!!

So I am now officially done with all my pre-reqs for school, so I can sit back and relax until school starts! yeah! I am kind of excited to be officially a "cna" or certified nursing assistant, or aide...I won't ever actually use it, but it was a pre-req and I ended up really enjoying the class, we at least the people in it! :) I also had to get the BLS healthcare provider CPR done as well, and that was a breeze also, thank goodness! I am getting very excited for school to start on the 25th and meet all the people I will be spending the next couple years with! :) Next week I won't be blogging as I will be off getting my knee scoped boo. At least it won't be as bad as my first surgery (ACL, meniscus, cartilage etc) so that is good news!!
So until next time!!
~Kt~ :)