MY WIFE
LEEEEEEEEERRRRRRROOOOOOOOOYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
This is it, folks. Crunch time is officially here. If you've been wondering where I've been for the last few months, let me bring you up to speed. Before you read on, bear in mind that all of this academic work for this semester is on top of my full-time night-shift work schedule. More aggravating is the fact that this is only a HALF-TIME class load for my program (but close to full-time by Washington State University standards). Still more aggravating than this is the fact that my clinical schedule was a complete mess this term, hence my time spent with three different organizations when I was actually only supposed to be assigned to one. I had so much difficulty getting my clinical schedule fixed after the first group stopped assigning me the needed hours that I lost a month of my semester that I could have been working toward the required 108 clinical hours. Because of this, I will have very little time away from school, clinicals, and work for the next month. I'm currently in a stretch where I will have worked or attended class nine days out of eleven before Thanksgiving and spent nearly all of my available time working on projects, and I will have to figure out how to make the necessary time to finish up the rest of my assigned projects for the term. Fun times. School-related accomplishments in the last 24 hours:  Sat through another 8 hours worth of classes Completed and turned in community Assessment with Informant Interviews and one public health intervention plan, focusing specifically at neighborhood housing, access to food, health and human services, sanitation, etc. (11 pages) Delivered what was described as a “very impressive” 20-30 minute presentation on a community resource I uncovered over the course of the previous assignment (Complete with a 16 slide Powerpoint) Completed and turned in a book analysis paper. Examined the book “Crazy”, by Pete Earley and applied a theoretical psychosocial treatment approach to a case study in the book. (7 pages)Busy day, much? Thankfully, Karli and I were able to take some time during the evening to treat ourselves to dinner in Portland's Pearl District at the Deschutes Brewery Brew Pub. Deeeeeeeeeelicious. Incidentally, the day marked 2 years and 3 months since we were married. Seems like a fitting occasion, even if we were originally going there on the pretext of getting out of the house and away from school-work for a bit. A quick summary of what I've done so far this term in the way of major projects/clinical hours: Complete Mental Status, Suicide Risk and Living Assessments of an individual older than 70 years (7 pages) Approximately 23 hours of work (mostly academic with several literature searches) with Community Choices of Clark County, a local public health advocacy and community planning group. 9-10 hours working with the Clark County Health Department giving free H1N1 vaccinations Just over 24 hours working with the terminally ill at the Ray Hickey Hospice House Developed a short Powerpoint presentation on the concept of Servant Leadership Countless online forum postings and assignments, the total quantity of word-processed work for which is rather difficult to estimate.Still to go in the next month (most of this must be completed in the next 3 weeks): About 50 more clinical hours at the Hospice House Two formal clinical journals (About 2-3 pages apiece and must relate a relevant research article to my experiences in addition to other requirements) "Population Issues Paper". Focuses on a vulnerable population, their problems, what--if anything--is being done to help alleviate those problems, and what can be further done for them. (5-8 pages) Research, develop a powerpoint, and deliver a presentation on the background and leadership style of an influential past or present leader (My group chose Nelson Mandela)Needless to say, it is going to feel indescribably good when this semester is over, particularly when you consider that the next term is the last one in my program and is a cake-walk by comparison with about half the number of required semester hours. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to turn in for the “night” so I can get some rest. I'll be working five consecutive 12-hour nights between work and clinical as soon as I wake up (and I'm in the midst of a stretch where I will not have a true day off in roughly two weeks). Sleep is indeed precious right now. Ready to punch out the next person that suggests I go to graduate school after I finish my BSN this year...  - Nathan |
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