Monday, January 28, 2008 – 12:40 PM:
All right, well it is no longer 68° F here in Baltimore. Today isn’t that bad actually, around 40° and not much wind. We have had some traditional winter weather around here lately, nice and cold and even a little snow – just enough to go sledding with the kids (what fun…I think they were ready to go home before I was).
A few things to bring you up to date on my experiences here at JHU SON: First and foremost let me say that last Friday was the best day of nursing school so far for me. I was working in maternity at Johns Hopkins Hospital and I had one of the best experiences of my life, really, never mind nursing school. I do have three children and watched all of them as they made their passage into this world and that is the most profoundly stirring experience I think a person can have. To be around this process as a nursing student is amazing in another way, more in terms of rounding a corner in the learning curve, like light switches in your mind getting turned on and certain things suddenly making a whole lot more sense.
Thursday was an introduction and orientation to the unit we will be working on over the next seven weeks , but Friday, our second day of clinical time this semester, was the first hands on day and we were literally put right to work. None of us felt like we knew anything and we were introduced to the nurse we would be working with as they were getting the report about their patient from the off-going shift. The next thing I knew I was being asked to do a head to toe assessment on the new mother and vitals on the newborn who was less than 24 hours old. So much happened in the next 8 hours I cannot begin to write it all down here, but before the end of the day I had given my first IM injection, assisted in a circumcision and fell in love with nursing on a whole new level. Every step of the way I was right beside either my clinical instructor or another RN with a wealth of experience. What a way to start providing bedside care!
This semester our clinical rotation is divided into two parts, each seven weeks long. One half of the class started in the maternity setting, as I have, while the other half has begun with psychiatric nursing. After seven weeks we all switch. The other two classes this semester are pharmacology and Pathophysiology (both of which are very dense and the reading required is a mountain’s worth, but all very fascinating and exciting).
On a cultural note, some things my family and I have discovered lately in Baltimore:
- The Baltimore Museum of Industry (www.thebmi.org). This place is just absolutely amazing. The best part of it, in my opinion, is the exhibit on how the city of Baltimore has played a part in the evolution of the printing press. Most unique about the exhibit here in Baltimore is that it is not a static exhibit, but a living history display where people who have had their career in the printing business are operating a press that is a close cousin to the Gutenberg press (developed by Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg in Germany in the 1400’s). The machine is known as the Linotype machine that was invented in 1884 by a German clock maker, Ottmar Mergenthaler, who emigrated to America in 1872. When you see this marvel of technology (keep in mind it was invented in the late 1800’s) you will see why a clock maker came up with this design.
- The American Museum of Visionary Art. All I can say is this is one of the best art museums I have ever been to (and I have been to a few).
- Carma's Café in Charles Village - home of the meatball rocket and pink Dalmatians, two of the tastiest food items in Baltimore.
More on the meatball rockets and pink Dalmatians later; y'all take care now...ya hear!