“The snows that are older than history,
The woods where the weird shadows slant;
The stillness, the moonlight, the mystery,
I’ve bade ’em good-bye — but I can’t.”
~Robert Service
- Colorado snowy pine
I love getting up to the mountains, to soak in the scenery, the scents and the stillness. I can close my eyes, and infuse my study time with brisk pine air. This is a good thing, because we are starting our semester in Adult I learning about respiratory disorders. Makes sense to begin with oxygen, right? We are often reminded in our practice exams to think of nursing priorities “ABC” – airway, breathing, circulation – for answers.
Our labs have included caring for tracheostomies and colostomies. These used to scare the dickens out of me, but I feel much more confident now. It helps having opportunities to handle the equipment, and practice techniques with instructors overseeing the procedure. Then we can hit the ground running when we get to our clinicals. I get to spend my first 6 weeks at Rose Medical Center. The staff there have been gracious, helpful and very generous in sharing their time and experience. Our clinical instructor Corissa made sure we were all welcomed and oriented to the medical center and the computer system. It is a beautiful facility, and I can’t wait to spend more time there! We will spend time in Telemetry, Medical-Oncology, Ortho/Neuro and Surgical. I read that Rose Medical Center was founded in 1945 by a group of Denver Jewish community leaders who wanted to create a hospital that was free of discrimination and open to doctors and patients of all creeds, races and origins. This philosophy ties in beautifully with what we have been studying in Nursing Roles about the core Jesuit values, including social justice. It is one of the things I love about Regis, and about nursing.
This month has flown quicker than most. Maybe it’s that a good part of it was spent working and studying. It’s familiar to me to keep vague sense of the time by the expiration dates on our milk cartons, or exams and assignments.Otherwise, it’s all a blur. This is fine with me; it means that we’re getting a lot accomplished, and growing! Speaking of growing, I knew that it would be easy to gain weight, if I wasn’t watchful (and active). I’m afraid that the only thing I’ve exercised since August is my brain~ it is a syndrome I am well aware of, and a truly preventable one. So, as part of the New Year, I have resolved to move, even in small steps. I made this resolution after I had to buy new scrubs – an alarming fact, since we are just one semester down. I do not intend to repeat this purchase incrementally in the next three semesters!
While I was snuggled into studying in my nice warm home, I read vicariously on Facebook of my classmates’ activities during Christmas break. Thought I’d share a few here (to further feed my resolve to move):
Aaron Parmet, skiing
Aaron Parmet - BSN classmate
Dani Davis, BSN classmate
Next blog, I’ll share a photo of an alternative study site – one where I can exercise my mind AND body!
Regis University Traditional Nursing 
