Monday, 4th April 2011

And another month has flown by! I have finished my rotation in Clinical Hypnosis, which was very enjoyable seeing as I had a lot of time off to do shifts for the nurse bank, and during this time I also practised hypnosis on anyone willing to be a victim... ummm... volunteer! :)

I did one more shift on the ENT outpatients department ward, one on neurology at the Royal Victoria Infirmary (a very long day looking after patients with horrific brain injuries – mostly from car accidents – which was NOT fun!), then did all my other shifts in the Freeman hospital on either elderly care or orthopaedic rehab wards. Most of my shifts ranged from 13-14 hours in length, with 2-3 half hour breaks dotted throughout the day. I honestly thought by the end of the shift that my feet were going to fall off they were so sore!

I don’t know how nurses manage to be on their feet day in and day out... I was grateful to have a few days in between some of the scheduled shifts to rest! But I am now an expert in giving bed baths, changing linens on beds with the patient still in them, feeding patients while chatting on in an “entertaining” monologue, etc. And on elderly care you also have the added bonus of getting lots and lots of hugs from all the patients. One gentleman even kissed my hand, the old flirt!

Though many of the patients (especially the ones suffering from dementia) are escape artists that would put Houdini to shame! The wards are locked wards to prevent them escaping, so all visitors needed to be buzzed in and out of the ward. One lady put on her coat and shoes and went to stand with some of the visitors who were leaving the ward and managed to sneak out. Luckily one of the nurses spotted the pyjama bottoms peeking out from under the coat before she got too far and returned her to the ward! She has now had her outdoor shoes and coat confiscated until she gets discharged!

Though there are hazards to the job too... another lady who I was bathing took exception half way through and punched me in the face! Luckily she was such a frail thing that it didn’t do any damage, and she was known to be a bit aggressive so I had been pre-warned, but its still a shock when a sweet looking little white haired granny does that! And when I reprimanded her she grinned at me and told me “not to fuss”!

In March it is also Red Nose Day and this year Fiona wanted to raise some money for charity and hold a bake sale at the medical school. I offered to help and we ended up making about 150 cupcakes, banana bread, flapjacks, chocolate cake and some chocolate hobnobs. We started selling at 9am and by 2pm we only had 1 cupcakes and 3 slices of banana bread left. We had raised £150 at the end of the day, which was divided between Comic Relief and the Medecins Sans Frontieres Tsunami aid fund.

Fiona & I get into the spirit of Red Nose Day!

The table is full of goodies to sell

Cupcakes with faces

I also flew down to visit Mandy for 3 days, which was so much fun!!! It is always amazing how much we are able to chat about, even though we speak on the phone at least once a week! And I got to meet the new man in her life too and am very pleased to see my friend so happy and with someone who treats her so well! And since it was Mandy’s birthday just after my visit, I made her some teddy cake pops too (they were hardier than cupcakes for travelling purposes).

Teddy cake pops – cake inside and covered in chocolatey goodness, all on a stick!

Mandy and me!

And thats all my news for now, except that I have just gotten over a horrid cold that kept me in bed for a few days. I also started a new rotation in integrative oncology last week, with a lovely GP who incorporates diet and lifestyle advice into her treatment protocol while patients are undergoing their conventional treatment. And tomorrow and Thursday I sit in with a local acupuncturist for the day too, which will be quite interesting.