... could spring finally be here??

It's a beautiful Sunday afternoon here in Bal'mer... I just arrived home after a trip down to DC for church with a friend.  It was a much-needed break from the city -- sad to say that I was excited to be in a car driving on a freeway!  That says a lot about my life lately... Aside from my recent trip to New York with Greg, I haven't left the city of Baltimore for 2 months now.  I've forgotten what the world is like outside of my little bubble of Fells Point... thankfully the weather is finally starting to shift -- the sun is shining brilliantly on the harbor water today, with a bright blue sky overhead... could Spring finally be here??  I'm crossing my fingers, but definitely not holding my breath... Baltimore has found a way to disappoint me on more than one occasion in the past.  But I do have one thing to look forward to, that will happen whether Mother Nature wants it to or not -- DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME!  My favorite time of year... I don't care that I lose an hour of sleep, all that matters is that the sun will set after 7pm... I am so excited to walk home with some natural sun lighting up the sky! 

Well.  Because I have loads of studying and work to catch up on this evening, I'll try to keep this (somewhat) brief.  I've finished my second week in pediatrics, and it has been an interesting transition from Adult Health.  I've been assigned to work on the general med-surg floor for adolescents, and at Hopkins, "general" doesn't really encompass the breadth of medical cases that we see on our floor.  While I was working on the adult med-surg unit, we saw many local patients with common chronic diseases that they had been managing for many years -- namely COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), CHF (congestive heart failure), CKD (chronic kidney disease), DM (diabetes mellitus) and so on.  With the adolescent population, we are seeing families from all over the country, here at Hopkins as a "last resort" -- the hospitals back home are at a loss trying to diagnose and treat their ailments, so Hopkins is their only hope.  It can be a depressing situation, in that sense, because many patients do not know what is causing their problems, or if they do, it might not be something that can be treated at any regular hospital.  My first patient was from New Mexico, here to treat symptoms and complications from a rare genetic disorder that was only recently discovered (by her physician at Hopkins, no less) only 5 years ago.  She had spinal fusion surgery to correct her severe scoliosis, and had growing rods inserted to stabilize her back.  Her parents were present, and I cared for her over the course of my 12-hour shift.  We were happy to see her walking a bit by the time I was leaving, and she was such a trooper.  Thankfully her parents were very supportive and willing to assist with her rehabilitation, encouraging her to push through and do the activities that she did not want to do.  I think that's one of the most crucial factors in the health care of a child, whether the parents are willing to accept the diagnosis and comply with the course of treatment that their child needs, especially if it means pushing and challenging the child to do what he/she does not want to do.  As a nurse, my responsibility is to care for the child, but I am also "treating" the parents, by educating them and including them in the care of their child in preparation for discharge back home.  It's a delicate balance, and it will be interesting to see where the next 5 weeks take me....

And now for some exciting news:  This past Wednesday, I was fortunate enough to attend a lunch presentation by the Chief of Surgery for Johns Hopkins Hospital, Dr. Julie Freischlag.  Yes, a female Chief of Surgery.  It's an unfortunate rarity in this country, but she is managing the department quite successfully and spoke to us about taking on challenges when others say it isn't possible to succeed.  She was a fantastic speaker, and made some really interesting points that I greatly appreciated.  I was surprised to learn that she had completed her residency at UCLA, and that she had returned as the Director of Vascular Surgery at UCLA Medical Center for a few years before she moved to Baltimore.  I approached her after the presentation and thanked her for words of encouragement and inspiration, and to make a complicated story short, I asked her if it would be possible to observe one of her surgeries... and she was more than happy to arrange it!  So, next Monday over Spring Break, I will be in the OR... I'll be excited to report back details of my experience.

So, yes, Spring Break is next week... with the amount of school work I have looming on the horizon (between exams, assignments, projects, and presentations) I'm somewhat relieved that I won't be traveling anywhere.  It will give me some time to (hopefully) relax and check a few things off of my "To Do List."  I'm trying to plan a trip up to the Big Apple, at least for a few days... I don't mind the idea of traveling alone, and besides, I have friends to visit there and work that I can get done while I'm in the city.  And I will definitely appreciate the change of scenery!

With that, I'm going to leave you all... look forward to exciting updates on my next blog entry!!