Google Documents

Google Documents (Google Docs) is a must-have for every student! I first discovered it during grad school. It is a great way to save documents that you are working on. You never have to worry about hitting the "Save" button - it automatically saves your document every few seconds.

And what it's super useful for is when you are working on group assignments (esp. papers). You can open up the document through Google Docs and have all your group members view it at the same time. You can all edit it at the same time. What's great is that you can even open up a chat window to the side of the screen and talk about the assignment while you are working it. It makes life so much easier!

It gives me peace of mind when I'm working on any school assignment in general. I will usually start a Word document on my computer and then copy and paste what I have onto Google Docs as well. You can also upload an existing document onto Google Docs anytime - whether it be a word document, presentation, or spreadsheet - I've found the formatting does change a little, though.

As I mentioned, it's definitely good for peace of mind. I recently had a computer virus scare and will be relying a lot on Google Documents from now on (as if I weren't doing that before!). I also got into the habit of emailing documents to myself in sections as I worked on them. I've been doing that for a while, actually, at least since nursing school.

So yes, I highly recommend using Google Docs for all your word processing needs!

Disclaimer: I was not compensated in any way, from anyone, for writing this - just felt like it!

Triglyceride Levels

My triglycerides were elevated in October of 2011. They were 280, btw - yikes.

I went to see the doctor, and he recommended that I repeat the lab tests (Comprehensive Metabolic Panel and Lipid Panel) in 1-2 months.

At that visit, I learned that triglycerides measure fat in the bloodstream on a short-term basis. You can actually change your triglyceride level based on what you eat in the days prior to the test. He told me not to eat (many) carbs, and I also told him how I eat sweet foods often. Yup, that was probably the culprit. Not things like candy and soda - but juice, yogurt, PB&J, granola.....

So I vowed to change some eating habits before the repeat test. I really cannot give up yogurt (but now I'm thinking of doing so), but I did give up juice (which I love). I also alternated between PB&J and hummus sandwiches. And I started to exercise again - not a really consistent routine, but perhaps I'll get there.

And wow, did that make a difference! I went in for the repeat test on January 24th. I found out the results yesterday. My triglyceride level was 134! What a relief! I guess whatever changes I made really did make a difference. My doctor said that if the level was still high on the repeat test, that I would have to come in for another visit, and we would talk about further options. But if it was normal, then I would not need to come in.

Lastly.....I'm having an issue with when I got my blood drawn. Okay, I've been poked with many needles in my adolescent years, so I am no stranger to needles. However, this one was different. When the phlebotomist withdrew the needle, I felt a really strong, achy kind of pain. Even as I was driving home, I still felt the pain. And I felt the pain throughout the day. I thought maybe she hit a nerve or muscle? But wouldn't it feel like pins and needles if she hit a nerve?

Now it's been a little over a week since the lab test, and I still feel an achy kind of pain in the left antecubital area (where she draw the blood) sometimes. I even notice it at night. It never left a bruise or swelling - just a little red dot where the needle went in. I have no idea what this is, but I'm just writing it out here for future reference.

Burden Lifted

In my last post, I talked about the fact that I wanted to cut back my hours at work but was unsuccessful. So the next thing I wanted to try was requesting to go per diem/PRN.

My (interim) manager let me do it! I went to HR, signed the form, and requested the change to become effective the next pay period, which was this past Sunday the 15th. :)

The schedule has already been made until towards the end of March. I really didn't want to continue working full-time hours until then. Thankfully my manager allowed me to make adjustments to my schedule and be taken off on the days that we were well-staffed. I am super duper grateful she let me do that.

I feel very confident about this decision. Even though I have to find my own medical & dental insurance now (I was already getting vision insurance independently), the pay off is so, so worth it. I have already narrowed down my choices for both types of insurance and will be getting that settled this week. And I will have to really save my money at times (I am fairly frugal to begin with, though), but I can pick up work when necessary. So I believe it will work out for the better.

I'm glad I will be able to focus more on school and hopefully be a little less stressed.

Thus starts my 2nd year of grad school

Yesterday (technically) was the first day of winter 2012 term. Thus starts my 2nd year of nurse-midwifery school. Term 5 out of 12.

I am taking two classes: Antepartum Care I and Community Assessment. From what I've read from classmates who have taken Antepartum already, I hear it's hard. And I hear Community has a rather large paper to write. So I hope I am ready for this term....

If you remember from the last post, I had wanted to make some adjustments in my life to help myself. Well, I am sad to report that none of those plans worked out. :( One of the plans was to see if I could change my work status to part-time. There were 3 reasons given to me as to why my request could not be approved at this time. Nevertheless, I am going to try and see if I can go per diem (which is even less hours, but I am going to try). With classes getting harder, I really need to see what I can cut back in order to focus more on them.

The other plan was to see about finding a therapist. I've been dealing with a specific anxiety disorder for a while now, in addition to extreme anxiety. It started in college, got pretty bad in nursing school, and I think it just about peaked last term.

One of my fears in talking about it on a public blog is that people tend to joke about said disorder often. I have a fear of people making fun of me for it, or not taking me seriously. Especially since some of the symptoms I deal with are ones I've never heard anyone else experience.....

One of the plans over break was to find a therapist who specialized in treating it. I did find 3 therapists in my area who specialized in treating it, but well, if I can't cut my hours at work, I guess this isn't a great time for therapy. I don't think I can take even 1 day a week out of my schedule for therapy, attend classes, work full-time, and expect to have somewhat of a social life. Something has to be cut if I'm going to do therapy.

So now you know something else about me that you might have not known before. I don't mind sharing. I just had to put it somewhere.

DONE

I am DONE with this term. So thankful to have passed both my classes. To re-cap, I took Pharmacology and Reproductive A&P. This week I have seen my classmates posting about being done with their 1st year of grad school - and then it hits me that wow, that applies to me too.

I refrained from posting about it on here until now, but....I've struggled a lot this term. This was the first time I had a full-time job with school. And it was hard. Now I know there are people out there who probably balance a lot more in their lives. BUT I'm not one to compare people's lives with my own. We all have our own issues - some of them overwhelming. =/

To be honest, I was very worried about not passing both of my classes. I even went through the school catalog to make sure I knew the policies of course failures. In my program, students are only allowed 2 course failures before they are dismissed from the program. And they hold us to high standards as well, only allowing for As and Bs (i.e., what would be considered a C in a regular university course is considered a failure at my school).

So I feel truly blessed and grateful that I passed. I have a nice 3 week break to look forward to. I plan to continue watching more movies and vegging out in front of the TV, as I have started to do already (my brain thanks me greatly for giving it a break - well, outside of my job, that is). I will also hopefully do some fun activities.

On my FB status I put that I was trying to "prevent burn-out," but I think it's too late. So I will also spend the break thinking of making some real adjustments in my life to help myself. If I keep going at this rate, I honestly don't think I will be able to function in my work and school duties successfully. As an upcoming 2nd year student, I'm sure school will get more challenging and time-consuming as well.

I hope everyone has a nice Christmas break. :)

New Fact about Anti-emetics

Currently reading about anti-emetics. I had no idea that Solu-Medrol and Decadron could also be used to suppress chemo-induced N&V! I administer Solu-Medrol all the time to patients with respiratory issues. 

 Good to know I am learning something.....

First Day of Fall Term

Even though summer term ended 10 days ago, I had been waiting for my grade in Research to be corrected - and finally the correction has been noted in the grade system - yay!  I did end up passing both classes. :)

Today was the first day of fall term.  I am taking 1) Pharmacology and 2) Reproductive Anatomy & Physiology.  Kind of looking forward to this term, as I feel I'm now getting into more of the "midwifery/women's health" type of classes.

I did go to HR and ask them for a transfer request form.  They were very firm on the transfer policy (6 months in your current position), but they said they could not stop people from applying.  Therefore I obtained a transfer request form and will hold onto it until November or December - at that point I will most likely fill it out and send it back to HR.

According to the employee handbook (which I had time to read early this morning at work), it just may be possible to transfer earlier than 6 months.  Because in transfer section of the handbook, it says that if you have been in your current position for at least 6 months, you don't need a supervisor's signature on the form.  Then it said you would need one if you had not been in your current position for at least 6 months. 

So.....I can infer that it is possible to transfer early, as long as you have your manager's approval??