June 1978 - Nurnberg, Germany - 9 p.m. The train slowly rolled into the station as it passed the sign which read "Nurnberg". After arriving from the USA in Frankfurt yesterday, I slept last night in the quaint village of Rothenberg at a luxurious hotel I reserved in advance. I toured the walled city this… Continue reading The Golden Arches in Germany
Civilian Nurse Abroad?
April 11, 1978 Amazingly, I have now completed my required one year of general hospital experience before one can specialize. The Lord continues to lay upon my heart a desire to reach the German-speaking people with the Gospel in some way, so I decided to book a flight there in June for three weeks. I'm… Continue reading Civilian Nurse Abroad?
S-O-A-P Notes
March, 1978 - 11:30 p.m. After finishing walking rounds with the night shift nurse, I clocked out and sat down beside the chart rack to write notes on each of my five assigned patients before I went home. I usually completed some of my assigned five patient charts during my shift, but with the nonstop… Continue reading S-O-A-P Notes
State Nursing Boards – Zzz…..
July 1977 - Midwest, USA Since my graduation over three months ago. I have learned so much while working on the evening shift with my diabetic patients. I'm comfortable now with my skills and organization. The most difficult decision is if I should call the doctor at home, or if the matter can wait until… Continue reading State Nursing Boards – Zzz…..
Graduation from the College of Nursing
March 1977 - Winter Quarter - College of Nursing The final few weeks in nursing school have flown by with work in the Intensive Care Unit, sending out resumes, and interviewing for jobs. I wanted to work in home care because that was my favorite quarter. I met with the director of nursing at the… Continue reading Graduation from the College of Nursing
Graduate Nurse Banding Ceremony
February 1977 - Senior in College of Nursing By God's grace, I have begun my final quarter of nursing school before I graduate in March. During my clinical rotation in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at University Hospital, I finally feel like the past four years are coming together. While spending hours making my care… Continue reading Graduate Nurse Banding Ceremony
Home Care in the Cemetery
Fall Quarter, 1976 - Senior in College of Nursing I had a wonderful quarter of working in Public Health with the County Board of Nursing. They assigned me to care for a family of ten Laotian refugees and a pregnant lady who needed prenatal care. My RN preceptor showed me how to assess them, watched… Continue reading Home Care in the Cemetery
Exhaustion
Summer - 1976 - Midwest USA I started out the summer working as a Nursing Assistant at Children's Hospital where I had my clinical assignment last summer. They floated me one day to the burn unit and the nurse asked me to watch her do the dressings on a 2-year-old so she could watch me… Continue reading Exhaustion
Behind Locked Doors in Psychiatry
Senior Student Nurse in Psychiatry - June 1976 I drove through heavy iron gates and parked my car at the large state mental hospital campus on the edge of the city. After I studied the campus map my professor had given me, I walked toward the locked men's' ward where I was assigned for the… Continue reading Behind Locked Doors in Psychiatry
School of Nursing Begins
Autumn, 1974- College Sophomore I finally began studying at the School of Nursing with my 200 classmates. The lecture hall is huge where we had our nursing theory class (5 hours) and Growth & Development class (3 hours). My most difficult class by far was Physiology (5 hours). They split our class so one half… Continue reading School of Nursing Begins