These last three years have been the most difficult and happiest time of my life. If I had the chance to go back in time, I wouldn’t do it any different. It feels like we just started this semester, but the time has flown by so quickly and this week we are all getting pinned! I remember starting this program and sitting in class wondering if I was cut out for the work and the challenges I would face. It is still crazy to think about all the hard work I’ve put in to get to this point in my life, but I have managed…somehow! BUT we are all living proof to future nursing students that getting through a nursing school is possible! We all came into this program as strangers, but now we leave as a family. As graduation is just next week, I have to say that this is bittersweet time. It will be sad to be saying goodbye to the class I’ve seen every week since this program started. However, I believe the education and experiences we’ve gained in our nursing program has prepared us to be great nurses in whatever specialty we choose. I am excited to see where all of us end up in our nursing careers. I will truly miss our class, our faculty, and our school! It has been one amazing journey and I am excited to begin my career as a RN! We have finally made it!

Late post! Check out our groups Once Upon A Time story below!

Once upon time there was an old superstar, queen named Bae Yonce. She lives in Miami and had always wanted to ride her surfboard; unfortunately she couldn’t because she was always cold and kept getting leg cramps when she would get in the water. She also couldn’t wear her favorite bikinis because she had gained weight around her stomach, she had developed cankles, and her flow was too heavy – she never knew when it was coming, it was too irregular. Due to these unfortunate events she wrote her international hit song “Drunk in love” to get through this hard time in her life. She always used to sing, but now when she sings she just sounds drunk. All of which furthered her depressed feelings. The nurse assesses the patient and determines that she is experiencing the classical symptoms of hypothyroidism and begins to prepare her for a radioactive iodine uptake test and a thyroid scan. As a result of the actions the patient can’t eat for 8 hours! The nurse suspects that Bae Yonce has to take levothyroxine for the rest of her life. Bae Yonce thanks her nurse and hopes to return to riding her surfboard.

Similar to the medication education we provide to our patients, when it comes down to our families and friends, we especially want to make sure they are fully informed about prescribed medications and over-the-counter (OTC) medications they take. Within my immediate family, my father is the only person that is taking prescription medications. Most of my family comes from a medical background. My father grew up with siblings in the healthcare field. Additionally, my father is a veterinarian technician and he has experience administering similar medications prescribed to dogs. My father has hypertension so his physician prescribed him valsartan which is an ARB. When I was taking pharmacology, I asked my father what he knew about the medication he was taking. As I expected my father knew about the classification, action, side effects, generic, and brand names of the drug. As for my mother and sister, they do not have prescribed medications, but they do use over-the-counter drugs such as Tylenol, Ibuprofen, Zyrtec, Nyquil, and Robitussin. My father usually advises my mother, sister, and I  to purchase generic names over the brand ones for pricing reasons. My mother and sister have some knowledge on identifying brand name OTC medications and their respective generic names. When my sister has any questions about medications, she usually comes to me for information and I direct her to what sources she can use to find medication information if I am not able to answer her or advise she discuss the medication with our cousin who is currently a physician. Overall, I believe that my family as a whole has a pretty good idea about the medications they often take. Whenever we don’t know what a certain prescribed medication is, we go to one another for any questions and concerns we may have as well as utilize technology.

Picture Reference: http://www.pbinstitute.com/how-to-know-if-youre-alcoholic/

Article: 2015 to ring in advances in prevention, interventional procedures, heart repair

The article highlighted on a couple different areas related to advancements in cardiovascular health in the 2015 year. One of the areas highlighted on wearable technologies such as watches with heart rate monitors (Polar, Garmin, Fitbit). Although some of these products have been around for several years, its use within the health care setting is minimal. The article discusses how wearable technology will allow individuals to monitor their health outside of the physician’s office. Apple for example has recently created a watch that can measure pulse rate and use sensors to track the duration and type of exercise being done. Paired with an app, the individual can combine various wearable devices and share it with their physician.

Personally, I own a TomTom GPS watch that can track my heart rate, calories, pace, and distance when I run. Additionally, I have a Fitbit that tracks the amount of steps I take, the calories I burn throughout the day, and it also allows me to track the food I have eaten. I think that these devices should be promoted by physicians. These wearable technologies don’t track everything about an individual’s health, but it can be a useful tool during a doctor’s visit. It provides insight into how much activity an individual participates in each week, what their diet may look like, how their heart rate is when they are exercising. It provides a wealth of health information as well as allows individuals to keep track of their progress and goals they set for themselves.

Reference:

American College of Cardiology. (2014). 2015 to ring in advances in prevention, interventional procedures, heart repair. Eurekalert. Retrieved from http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-12/acoc-2tr122214.php