The Journal. Victor Valley College. Staying Healthy in Nursing School. Where are they now? The Nursing School and Allied Health Newsletter

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1 Victor Valley College The Journal The Nursing School and Allied Health Newsletter Article By: Alexa Libby Winter 2015 Volume 5 No. 2 Staying Healthy in Nursing School The stress that comes with nursing school can easily consume the energy we need to take care of ourselves. This can prove to be overwhelming during a time when we are learning and investing so much time in taking care of others. Having motivational tools, such as the Facebook group Healthy Nurses started by NP3 student Mandy Kimbell, can help students motivate one another through a social networking setting. CNSA will also be helping students beat the stress of nursing school with a weekly walk every Thursday at 9 am called Strides Against Stress. Some of our fellow classmates also have pointers for us all on how to stay healthy throughout the semester: Christina Lopez, NP2...take healthy snacks to school..and don't skip breakfast..nothing too heavy though...oatmeal, fruit, Cheerios, protein bars, etc.. Janice Fonda, NP3 Try to exercise if u can! Even if it's 20 min! Allison Taylor, 246 Make time again for basic yoga practice at home & get back in the gym for weights 2x/week for starters. Stretch daily. Sandra Polliard, NP3 NAPS... I take NAPS while power studying, gives my brain a break and lets the info get stored... The nursing program, the teachers at VVC gave me the knowledge and education that I needed to become a nurse and to help others, not only patients by my own family as well. I will never forget my teachers because I truly enjoyed all that I learned from them and will always be grateful Rebecca Hutchinson, NP4 Don t feel pressured to go out to lunch with your friends especially if you brought a sack lunch! Where are they now? My name is Ester Barraza. I am an alumni of the 2008 class for Nursing Program at VVC. I was Co-president of our class and enjoyed very much years at VVC. Well except maybe the days of testing... ;-) Currently I work for St. Mary Medical Center in the Emergency Department. I have been at St. Marys since my graduation as I was hired and started my career on the med-surg / telemetry floor. In 2010 I was part of a team to help build and implement the electronic charting Meditech system for the Emergency room which was the base for the eventual transition from paper to computer charting for the entire hospital. In 2012 I returned to school to obtain my BSN through Grand Canyon University graduating with honors. Now I am currently applying to Brandman University to finish my education to obtain my Masters & Doctorate in nursing.

2 The Journal Victor Valley College Article By: Dawna Scott WINTER 2015 Page 2 RN Externs The local hospitals that work in cooperation with Victor Valley College with an Externship program are Desert Valley Hospital and Barstow Community Hospital. There are several students that take advantage of this partnership and embrace the opportunity. What has it been like for you as an Extern? Being an extern has been a great experience. Any extra time in the hospital that allows for more exposure to the nursing world is never a bad thing. The hospital I work for is very student friendly and always offer a helping hand when I need. I cannot say enough how amazing the staff is at Desert Valley Hospital. The nurses, charge nurses and doctors were so patient and always willing to teach. I had numerous doctors take the time out to explain in detail different diseases and disabilities to me. The nurses on the med-surg floor are every new nurse s dream. Always willing to take time out of their day to make sure everyone is ok. It was a great team moral. Was it what you expected? Amber Ronald NP 4 It s what I expected and more. I knew I would be working under a nurse but I was nervous because I didn t know if the nurses would be friendly and accepting of an extern. The nurses I work under are mentors, offering their knowledge and guiding me throughout the day. I was fortunate to have nurses that ALWAYS took extra time out to teach me every aspect of nursing that was possible. Is a day as an Extern like a normal clinical day? My extern days are similar to a clinical day but I feel I have more freedom to learn different things. In clinical we have objectives we need to meet to fill the criteria for that semester. In the extern class we also have objectives but I have the opportunity to learn different parts of the nursing world we are not typically exposed to. In my fourth semester of school while working as an extern I got a lot of experience with the computers such as charting, admissions, discharges and learning how to check new and pending orders. work? I am currently working on the medical-surgical floor. I really enjoy this floor due to having different disease process. It has helped me become more organized and proficient my time management. I do wish to first work on the med-surg floor when I first become a nurse. After I am comfortable and more confident I would like to transfer to the emergency department. Do you feel that working as an extern has given you an advantage? Explain Absolutely. During my school break I first started the extern program. When the class was on break I was able to continue working on the med-surg floor and not lose my skills that we always work on. Having such a long break and going back to school can be really nerve racking so having the extern position I was able to stay on top of my skills. The repetition is how you become proficient at something and working as an extern gave me that advantage. While other students were occupied with other things I still got the extra experience. What has been the most difficult part of being an Extern for you? I think the most difficult part about being an extern would be when I first got started. Prior to starting the program I had to apply for the position at the hospital. When you are an extern you are an employee for the hospital. So just like any other employee you have to go through the hiring process. I had to apply, perform a job interview and after getting hired do all the paper work. It was hard because I was in school while the hiring process was going through so I had a lot to balance but it was definitely worth the hard work. Any words of advice you d like to share about your experience? If I had any advice for the students it would be to apply for the extern program. Even if you do not get hired, going through the hiring process it was a positive experience. But if you are one of the lucky to get hired I guarantee you will not regret it. I cannot express how lucky I am to have gone through the process and obtain extra experience. I got to work with amazing nurses and became very familiar with the CEO of the hospital. I have nothing but good things to say due to such a positive experience through the whole process. Which area are you working in? Is this where you d like to

3 The Journal Victor Valley College WINTER 2015 Page 3 Specialty Nursing & Male Nurses What is it like being a male nurse? Being a male nurse nowadays, isn't as rare as it used to be. I chose to be in the nursing profession back when I was only 12 years old. I believe being a male nurse has many advantages. First of all, as a male we obviously possess more musculature than our female counterparts and will most likely have more strength thus making it easy for us to move patients by ourselves. Now, I am not saying that females do not have the strength to assist patients but I m merely stating a fact that men are more muscular than woman. Wearing scrubs 12hrs/day is more comfortable than wearing jeans and shirt or suit and tie. As a nurse, we are obviously required to wear scrubs as our uniforms and they are very comfortable compared to anything that I have ever worn and it gives me maximum range of motion and mobility when I am doing clinical. Many men value careers with relationship-oriented components, something nursing offers in spades. There is also a highly technical side to nursing, another element of the profession that is often appealing to men. Men who had early exposure to male nurses may also find themselves more motivated to break into this female-dominated field. Yes, there are barriers, such as gender stereotypes and lack of male role models, but with many individuals, these barriers have become an important reason to tackle them. The nursing field offers many different patient care environments, some of which may be particularly appealing to men, such as anesthesia, flight, emergency, or trauma nursing. Other nursing specialties in the field that male nurses may want to explore include middle management, nursing education, nurse practitioner, oncology, psychiatry, pediatrics, and administration. Nursing is not a one-size-fits-all profession; for both male and female nurses, the wide array of specialties makes it possible to pursue one s specific areas of interest in the field. Napoleon Lluch NP4 I am excited about becoming a nurse. Going into it, I knew the majority of nurses were female, but I didn t think anything of it. I think what struck me most was during my o.b. rotation. I really, really enjoyed my o.b. rotation. It was my favorite part of clinicals. While at the hospital, I was asked a few times if I was comfortable. I thought this was an odd question. Of course I was comfortable, I am practicing becoming a nurse! My reply was I am, I just don t want any patients to be uncomfortable. I know a mother-to-be may prefer a female at her side during labor. I look forward to joining forces with all the nurses out there, male and female. I don t think about gender at all. It is only an issue if people think it is one. Which is weird to me. All nurses do nursing work. It makes no difference which gender anyone is. Also, having a mix of males and females in any profession is a good thing, it increases the different points of view, which can aid teamwork. Aaron Jackson NP4 :) Murse Being a mursing student in the nursing program isn't as different as people perceive it as. Yes we do get the opportunity of helping other nurses lift their patients more often, but that's understandable. I would say the only experience I had where I felt out of place was doing my clinical rotation for OB and Post Partum. This specialty is definitely an area where the murses get the funny looks from the dads and the friendly quotes of "I don't want him in here". Believe me sir that makes two of us. Other than that being a murse is a great feeling and a great accomplishment. Matthew Johnson NP4

4 The Journal Victor Valley College WINTER 2015 Page 4 September 11th Memorial Ceremony On September the 8 th Victor Valley College CNSA members collaborated with ASB/ Auxiliary Services Director Robert Sewell, ASB cabinet members along with Firefighter Paramedic academies; together they demonstrated great support by setting up a massive grid. The placing of 3000 flags on this grid honored the heroic first responders and victims who lost their life that day. This display was the centerpiece of the memorial to be held on the morning of September 11 th. September 11, 2014 marked the 13th year anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center. The morning of September 11 th at 6:30am city officials and VVC Foundation members, faculty and fellow students gathered to pay tribute. First responder and Emergency Medical Technician Reggie Cervantes spoke firsthand about what she experienced. She spoke of the bravery and the sense of community that New Yorkers displayed. She emphasized how this same sense of community needs to carry through not just in times of adversity but in everyday life. A moment of Silence was held to mark the time of the event and bagpipes played at the close of the event. The students who attended from the nursing program and firefighter paramedic academies provided a stunning backdrop of maroon blue and white which was fitting of such a patriotic event. If you are interested in participating in next years 9/11 event please contact a CNSA cabinet member, attend a CNSA meeting, or express interest on the CNSA Facebook page. An interest list is forming and all are welcome to help. ************************************************* Article By Lori-Sherrie Guiterrez

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6 The Journal Victor Valley College WINTER 2015 Page 6 We would like to thank High Desert Alarm for their donation towards a scholarship for a VVC Nursing student!! The other businesses listed below have given donations to support our CNSA Welcome Back meeting. If you would like to donate to CNSA and VVC students please contact Nursing Department at

7 WINTER 2015 Page 7 The Journal Victor Valley College Acknowledgments This section is to thank those that worked hard to help create and promote this newsletter. Director: Dr. Joseph Morris, CNS, GNP, PhD Supervising Instructor: Prof. Sally Thibeault, RN Editor: Dawna Scott SN NP4 Alexa Libby SN NP3 Story Writers: Lori Sherrie Gutierrez SN Np4 Nursing & Allied Health Special Thanks to: Dr. Joseph Morris For your encouragement and continued support. Prof. Sally Thibeault Your words of encouragement and support for all our efforts! NP4 class of Fall 2014 Congratulations Fall Class of 2014!!! Laura Katnic Your are always willing to lend a hand whenever asked and we thank you. Victor Valley College Bear Valley Road, Victorville, CA ph: (760) fax:(760)