So cute

Nursing School Stuff

There are a couple of things going on in school right now that are kind of exciting for me. First, on Wednesday night, my CNL class was invited to a dinner with the UVA Chief Nursing Officer, Dean of the School of Nursing, and several prominent clinicians and managers from different units at the hospital. Everyone was there to dote on us and tell us how wonderful we are so that we will come and work on their unit. It was a great opportunity to mingle with some very important people and represent a positive face for the program. As it turns out, there appears to be lots of support for our program and it was really wonderful to feel recruited for a night. I am also on cloud nine because Pam Dennison, a wonderful nurse and educator who I admire very much, awarded me the best and most creative impromptu introduction speech. Thank you, Pam.

I am also very excited about the national CNL conference that is to be held in New Orleans this January. I will be submitting an abstract of the project I completed this summer while I was working with the Teen Health Center. Let's hope it is accepted so that I can present my project at the conference (and get a free ride).

Finally, I am eagerly awaiting the results of my final clinical placement. We have the opportunity to complete a six month rotation in a field of interest before graduating. I have requested to go to the Women's Place at UVA which includes all types of women's services like labor and delivery, newborn nursery, postpartum, and gynecology/oncology. I know that there are several other students in my class who share my interests in women's health, but I am hopeful that my written request and fabulous speech on Wednesday (in the company of the L&D managers) will be enough to secure my spot on the floor. I am told that we will know of our placements by Christmas Eve. Let the countdown begin.

In DG news, the house has been and will continue to be very busy over the next few days. Last weekend was parents weekend and I was lucky enough to dress up and attend the formal dinner and dance at the Boar's Head Inn. Saturday we tailgated and went to the football game and Sunday we hosted a brunch and silent auction. I really loved meeting so many parents. They were very grateful that I am here with their girls, but I am equally as thankful that they have raised such wonderful women who are polite and respectful and who keep me company. Today, the girls hosted "Anchorman," one of the philanthropic events they put on to raise money. A member of each fraternity participated in a male pageant of sorts and I got to judge! Most of the boys were very funny and only slightly inappropriate in my presence (I'm getting older and am very protective of my girls). Sunday, we will celebrate the 30th anniversary of Epsilon Gamma chapter. In honor of this event, I baked 120 cupcakes last night. Good thing I enjoy cooking in our new kitchen. I think I might open up a bakery after this. Lastly, the girls are having a date party called Bonfire on Thursday. I'm not sure what really goes on here, but I assume there willl be some drinking and debauchery around a large fire. I am supposed to go chaperone and make sure we don't lose anyone in the woods.

Things are very busy right now, but I am keeping a handle on as much as I can. I'll keep you all updated!

UVA/UNC weekend

I witnessed one of the best games in UVA history last weekend. The Hoos were down the entire game but ran the ball down the field to score and tie the game in the last seconds. We held UNC to a fieldgoal in overtime and then we scored a touchdown to win! No one expected such a fantastic finish. Of course, after a win like that, severe celebration is in order and we definitely lived up to the expectation. Here are the pictures I'm allowed to post....

Rushing the field

Barbie brought some black gummy worms...this was the result

And the cameras come out....
Me and Wags


Me and Travis

Me, Brian and Lindsey

Back in the Saddle

After a summer of outpatient clinic work and fall clinicals on the psychiatric unit, I am thrilled to be going back to an acute care setting, the coronary care unit. I went up to the ICU yesterday to meet my preceptor and was overwhelmed by my excitement to get back to the bedside. There are machines to learn, complicated diagnoses with comorbidities, and a wealth of medications to master once again. The acute settings are just much more my style right now. I hated sitting around talking to psych patients about how they were feeling (emotionally) without really being able to do anything about it because I was not on their primary medical team and there were no psychiatrists to be found. I really missed the acute nursing care that is required in places like the CCU. I've heard wonderful things about the unit on which I will spend the next seven weeks and am so ready to get back to working with heart patients!