End of Semester

The end of the semester is coming soon, and I want to take this time to first wish everyone success in the final examinations, and also to thank all the people that have helped me go through this semester. I hope that everyone reading this post will do well in our exams so we can go into clinical next semester and use all the skills we have learned. I know that each one of us will be a great nurse and we will be a great asset to the health care system. I also hope that I continue to work along your side so that I can have a pleasant clinical practice as I had a pleasant study term. Thank you all, and God bless.

Happy Nursing!

Dia de muertos... The Day of the Death

The day of the death is a Mexican celebration where death is actually seen as a natural and expected event. Death is satirized in this celebration and portrayed through figures, poetry and altars to be a joyful celebration. In most cultures death is seen as a sorrowful event and is perceived as a taboo. But in Mexico, every November 2nd the cities are covered with flowers, altars, and ornaments to represent death. I like this celebration because in a way it shows that death is part of life and it will be a part of our nursing career. We will be faced with death every instant in our practice. Sometimes death will come unexpectedly, and sometimes it will just be a matter of time before it arrives. I believe it will be our duty to give comfort to those patients that are expecting their death, and to make them believe that death is part of the cycle of life. I hope that we all see the life in every death situation, so that we can transfer that life into our patients.

Happy Nursing!

Picture from: http://library.thinkquest.org/05aug/01280/Mexico/mexicanhistory/Mexican_Customs.htm

Technology Aids in Nursing

With the increase in technological advances, the nursing field is taking advantage of devices like PDA's, mobile computers, and electronic charts to improve communication. The communication between health professionals has increased with the use of these devices. Instruction from physicians or other health care professionals can be implemented immediately with the use of electronic alerts through charts or mobile devices. Also, standards can be established with the documentation that nurses input into patients’ charts so that therapeutic interventions are not implemented again on the patient. As with any new technology, there are some flaws with electronic documentation that need to be improved; but in the end, electronic communication will help remove the barriers of communication.

Happy Nursing!

A Drive to Curve Lake...

This is highway 115 in our way to Peterborough. It was a bright, sunny day, but instantly we hit a wall of fog and all you could see was this. Our road trip took us to the Curve Lake Ojibwa Community. We visited a First Nations community to learn more about their healing practices. We visited a cultural centre and a store where the museum of the community was located. In the cultural centre we were assisted by Gary who told us the different practices they use in the Curve Lake community and shared some stories with us. This experience emulated a therapeutic visit to a remote area and showed the challenges that some communities may have to receive health care services especially when they are remote to the bigger cities.

Happy Nursing!

My First Post

My name is Jaime Verastegui and I have just started the journey in the nursing career. Every day is so exciting; I learn new theories, techniques, and concepts. I would never have imagined that nursing entails the different concepts that we are learning: from the relationship with the patient, to the normal blood pressure values for an elderly patient. It is not just a career, nursing is a life style. So far, studying nursing has been very demanding and the sacrifices that I have had to do are great, but the rewards that will come from this learning experience will surpass the sacrifices.

Happy Nursing!