Structures that i have to remember

Gosh, i knew going into this that i had a lot of drugs and dosages to remember and their mechanism of actions and effects on the body. But geesh, i have to remember structures as well.

I don't understand how that is relevant is my future practice. can someone please explain that to me?
How is remembering the structure of thiopental or, propofol going to be relevant in my practice?

Yes knowing the different dosages is very important, and knowing how they are metabolized is important as well because i want to know how these drugs are eliminated from the body, and knowing the side effects is also relevant. That will make me a good, knowledgeable practitioner. And i do want to administer anesthesia safely and responsibly.

But i still dont understand why we need to know some of these structures.

Do they even ask these questions on the boards?

As if i don't have enough to learn and remember all ready.
Anyways, that's the structure of thiopental. Maybe seeing it often will help to memorize it.

Anyways, peace out.

Loving anesthesia

So, the first few months of this program was basically learning the basics. Now, we are really getting into what i like, the anesthetics, anesthesia and drugs. I'm loving it.

The drugs are pretty hard to remember. You have to know all these dosages and mechanism of actions of these drugs. How these drugs are metabolized, and active/nonactive metabolytes. So, its getting harder and complicated but then again seniors told us to have fun over the summer, the real anesthesia starts in the fall. And i will say it loudly "they were so right". This is not a joke.

From the first day of class in September to now, ive already learned the opiods most commonly used in anesthesia, the benzodiazepenes, the induction agents and the neuromuscular drugs. Boy, my brain is getting tried already.

We learned how to manipulate the OR table. And that wasn't that great. I dont really care for that but i have to learn it. Next up is the anesthesia machine, and i cant wait to do that. I'm excited and that's next week. WOW.

We dont learn A-line and CVP insertions until next semester. And i cant wait for that either.

Types of anesthesia include local anesthesia, regional anesthesia, general anesthesia, and dissociative anesthesia. Local anesthesia inhibits sensory perception within a specific location on the body such as the hand. Regional anesthesia numbs a larger area of the body by administering anesthesia to a cluster of nerves. Two frequently used regional anesthesia are spinal anesthesia and epidural anesthesia. General anesthesia describes unconsciousness and lack of any awareness or sensation.

I'm reading Miller's anesthesia and that book is hard as hell. Most of the time, i end up going to the Morgan and Mikhail book, that's much easier to understand.

Enough anesthesia talk. I'm getting too excited here.

Personal life is looking great. Cant hang out that much cause of school, but its looking brighter. I'm such a geek, i swear.

managing stress

This week was truly intense. One of the worse weeks so far in this program, and i learned one thing about me. I taught i knew how to managed stress, but apparently i don't.

I had 3 midterms within 2 days, and oh boy, i was up till 2AM every night studying. I'm exhausted. And i realized i managed stress poorly. It wasn't until today that i realized that i basically didnt eat that much these past few days. I would start eating then my mind would start drifting off to my midterms, and i would loose my appetite.

So, i've decided to do some research and share with you new techniques i have learned to managed stress. I mean in order for me to survive this program i need to find other means to handle my stress; not eating is not safe at all. Please feel free to share your stress management techniques.

Look around
See if there really is something you can change or control in the situation

Set realistic goals for yourself
Reduce the number of events going on in your life and you may reduce the circuit overload

Don't overwhelm yourself
by fretting about your entire workload. Handle each task as it comes, or selectively deal with matters in some priority

Learn how to best relax yourself
Meditation and breathing exercises have been proven to be very effective in controlling stress. Practice clearing your mind of disturbing thoughts.

Change the way you see your situation; seek alternative viewpoints
Stress is a reaction to events and problems, and you can lock yourself in to one way of viewing your situation. Seek an outside perspective of the situation, compare it with yours. and perhaps lessen your reaction to these conditions.

Selectively change the way you react,
but not too much at one time. Focus on one troublesome thing and manage your reactions to it/him/her

Avoid extreme reactions;
Why hate when a little dislike will do? Why generate anxiety when you can be nervous? Why rage when anger will do the job? Why be depressed when you can just be sad?

Do something for others
to help get your mind off your self

Get enough sleep
Lack of rest just aggravates stress

Work off stress
with physical activity, whether it's jogging, tennis, gardening

Avoid self-medication or escape
Alcohol and drugs can mask stress. They don't help deal with the problems

Begin to manage the effects of stress
This is a long range strategy of adapting to your situation, and the effects of stress in your life. Try to isolate and work with one "effect" at a time. Don't overwhelm yourself. for example, if you are not sleeping well, seek help on this one problem.

Some support please

So, i was at work a few months back when one of my co-workers started this tirade, in the middle of our hallway. She goes into this long bitter outburst about the younger staff members.
Most of us love this job, but for various personal reasons and personal growth, many of us have decided to go back to school.
You would think that she would praise us for our efforts, motivating us to advance in our nursing career, but no. Instead, she starts talking about loyalty, implying that we should have a sense of duty to this place because senior nurses have worked hard to train us. I understand her prospective, but that shouldn't hinder my motives for advancing my career. If you are satisfied with your current job, then let it be. There's nothing wrong with being a staff nurse, but if you are unhappy with your current position, you have the right to pursue other areas without having to be harangued at work by co-workers.
How about some support? encouragement?

What i wanted to say was:" why don't you mind your own business you old hog, bitterness leads to nothing"

Anyhow, i quit after that. Her tirade only motivated me, and has forced me to put in even more hours into studying.

This is going to be a hell of as semester

Its only been a couple of weeks since we got back in session, and i can already tell that this is going to be a crazy semester, in part because, two of our anesthesia professors CAN NOT TEACH.

I'm not at all implying that they are horrible practicing anesthetists, but i simply think that they can not communicate well what they have been practicing. In fact, i now know one nurse who worked in the OR with the pharmacology professor. And apparently, he is a great anesthesia provider, but, man i tell you, teaching is not his thing. Maybe he would make a great preceptor. I swear, the more he talks the more confused i get. He goes off topic a lot; he'll start talking about one drug then he realizes that he mixed it up and wanted to tell us about another drug. He is an intelligent person, and might have great knowledge too. But conveying that knowledge it a whole different domain.


Then you have the other anesthesia professor, totally disorganized; all over the place and just a plain mess. I swear, that one needs psych meds ASAP. lets end it here. I'll tell you more about that one next time. I need to dedicate a whole entry to that one.

In contrast, my other professors are well organized, speak and communicate well, and absolutely perfect. Why cant they all be the same? Just make my life easier please. I've basically been living in the library these past couple of weeks, and barely had time to do anything else.


My class mates party like crazy. I swear, they're always hanging out, going to restaurants together. They always invite me, but i'm like we have so much work, and who the hell has time to go party like that. Am i missing something? i am to anal about school? One on them said that this is the "party semester." WOW. While I'm the library studying induction agents and benzos, they are having a hell of a time going to restaurants, and socializing.

So anyways, my social life is looking better these days. I still don't have time to hang out as much as i would like too, but the personal life is looking better too. Its hard to date when you have this load of work. lets see what happens.

That picture up there is from a recent trip out of town, a little R&R just before class started again. Its a man in statue like attire. I swear, i was so scared to get next to him. I have a fear of mimes. can you believe it? mimes? I swear something must have happened to me in early childhood. He was moving his body like a mime, and i just stood there frozen afraid to get close, but managed to get a pic before i darted out of there.

Peace out

Student out

So, school is back in session, and getting ready for this new semester. New things to learn, new professors with some old ones from last semester. And one missing face.

Yup, one student is gone. Isn't that just sad. I mean i don't know the exact circumstances leading to this student decision to leave, or was he/she forced to leave, but anyhow, this person is gone.

Seriously, i don't want anyone to fail out of this program, nor am i saying that this person failed out. But apparently, he/she is going for the Nurse practitioner program now. All i can say is good luck to you, and i hope all works out for you.

It saddens me because, honestly you guys, i don't want to see people fail. I'm not competitive by nature, and i want to see others succeed. have never being competitive when it comes to school work, nor do i care to be.

This is how is see things.

I have my study buddy, the best person in the world. She keeps me in check. She completes me. Where i lack skills in, she excels and vice versa. I'm hard core, very hard core. When i start studying, i can go for hours. Some intense all out studying, i come up with crazy questions, i think outside of the box, and i challenge her. On the other hand, i tend to overdue it sometimes. That's where she comes in, she'll slow me down, and remind to take a brake, and if there's something Ive overlooked she's there to remind me. She likes the way i study, she says it pushes her.

At the same time, my buddy is very organized. I'm not as organized as she is, but I'm getting there. And that's where she excels, very organized. She's able to find previous students who've taken the course before and ask questions. And that's what i like about her.

Some days, i don't know what i would do without her, and some days she says the same about me.

So, i cant help feeling guilty or wondering what i could've done to help this person. I don't want to see other fail at their goals, its just who i am.

But it's back to focusing on this semester now, gonna start reading so that i don't fall behind, and if i do i know i have J there to push me, and again remind of my goals. What would i do without her.

On that note, I'm off to the library y'all

peace out

Vacation is over

Yup, the end is near. Few more days, and its back to hard work. The brake was great while it lasted. But i must say that anesthesia was on my mind the whole time.


What is this coming semester going to be like?

Well, i feel energized and ready to take on the new.....


Stay tuned people......we'll see what happens

Wish me luck y'all