Clinicals= finished

I just got home from doing my clinicals at the Idaho VA.
I have done alot of tough things in the last 2 months; I said goodbye to my closest friends, to my family, started EMT school, moved in with a stranger, started working two jobs ( one about full time the other part time), and as hard as it is to believe these clinicals were
probably the hardest. First I was given really terrible directions by which I was supposed to find the place. They told me to take roads that werent posted, then told me to follow a certain road as it curved slightly left; the road actually curved right. They used North, East, South, West references and my car doesn't have a compass in it. I was soooo frustrated. I finally just parked somewhere and was going to ask the first person I found where to go. I luckily stumbled into the right building and just had to walk down the hall. A lady in the hall found me and asked if I was from Guardian, and she got me started.


It was kind of ridiculous though how shaky I was at first. I had this tote full overflowing with my blood pressure cuff, a thermometer, a pulse oximeter which reads how much of the blood's hemoglobin is bound with a gas and also takes a pulse, my stethoscope, plus I had a clipboard I was carrying around too. Super awkward. When I was putting the blood pressure cuff on the first two times I was all over the place. I am surprised I was able to even get a blood pressure on these men and women because I had to take it through a long sleeved shirt or sweat shirt.
I picked up speed though and got all of it done in way less than 2 hours.

Taking vitals on 10 people is not hard at all. It only took a few minutes with each patient.
It was more emotionally hard. I had to fight back tears a few times.
These poor men and woman just sit around all day. Some of them are so out of it they don't talk they just zone out and then fall asleep before waking up and repeating the cycle.
I took vitals on some people who were so out of it that they didn't really even move or acknowledge that I was there.
There were some very nice men who would talk to me, but yet barely moved in their bed.
It was just sad to see. I can't really explain why, but it was.
I guess just seeing these people that were pretty much staying in a place to be monitored until they die. SO sad..
One of the men was super cute though and told me about his family and how all his brothers were in the forces too. He pointed out the picture of his family hanging on the wall. I told him that I was from a navy family myself.
It was just a tough place. I don't know how the people working there keep so cheerful.

I am glad I am done with clinicals though I will tell you that.
Once I got home my stomach started killing me. I was wishing that everything in my GI track would just get out by whatever mean necessary. I slept it off though and feel fine now. I think it was due to drinking coffee on an empty tummy. Not a good idea. I did tip my barista though, which is a great thing to do.


Well I am going to go exchange that skirt and then get ready for work.