**DISCLAIMER** FEMALE ORIENTED POST ~ MALES USE DISCRETION! :)

As some of you may know, I went to Nurse Aide Training in February of 2006. My motivation did not stem from a desire to work as a nurse's aide, but I took the class at half price because of my employment at the vocational school where the class is held. It was beneficial to me for the following reasons: 1) future interest in nursing school (NA training is a prerequisite to clinicals) 2) possible summer income (I am a school teacher, you know) 3) personal enrichment (???)
Anyway, last summer I worked as an STNA for several shifts in a local nursing home (3rd shift so one of us would be with the kids all the time) and can't say that I liked it, but it was decent money since I was PRN and didn't need benefits. I also learned a lot. There is another facility (independent living/assisted living/skilled care) in town, and it is top notch quality (fancier than anything I will ever live in, I'm sure). The only way I could get in there on a PRN basis was to become employed by a health care agency out of a larger city about an hour from here. I worked one shift there in January, and hadn't been able to fit it into my schedule since. After becoming pregnant, I knew my tolerance for that kind of work would be nonexistent so I told them I would only work assisted living (less mess, less lifting, etc.). They called the other day and asked if I would do three shifts in a doctor's office, and I said yes without really knowing what I would be doing. I've always been curious about working that type of job, and wanted to give it a try. The pay was pretty good, as well. I approached the office nervously, not knowing what I was getting into, but found a small-town office with one doctor and a secretary. I was the only "nurse". Yes, I was supposed to fill the shoes of the LPN they had just hired, who was in training during these shifts. After a chatting with the secretary for an hour (before the doc or any patients even arrived), checking out the patient rooms and supplies, and eating a small breakfast brought in by drug reps (they're the best, albeit very annoying!) I began my duties. It wasn't anything I couldn't handle, just taking the patients back to the room, obtaining all their pertinent info and vitals, and making everything ready for the doc. I thought that was what it would be when I went back today...until we had a patient waiting for a PAP. In my ob/gyn office, the nurse lays out the supplies for the PAP and necessary labwork, then leaves the room. Not so at this little family practice, so I found! Having never done this before, I was so worried about laying out all the appropriate tools, filling out lab papers correctly, and getting all the correct insurance information, that I forgot to lay out the gown and tell the patient to disrobe. I went out of the room, and the doctor entered, ready to examine this fully clothed woman. You can imagine how dumb I felt when doc came out of the room with a grin on her face and said, "She needs to undress. Can you get her a gown?" I guess that was just one small part of the exam I totally forgot about! Fortunately this wasn't a busy practice with a demanding doctor, or I probably wouldn't have gotten that reminder with a smile! Then...to my surprise, I had to stay in the room and assist her with the specimens. I admit, there is nothing glamorous about stirring "fluids" into a solution for the lab, and I was feeling slightly more than awkward at having to witness this particular event, but all went well from that point forward. Anyway, I am looking forward to doing another shift next Tuesday, and hopefully I'll get some similar calls this summer. As a side note, this was the same doc that Greg refers to as "Dr. Pinch-My-Booty" because she did his first prostate exam a couple of years ago. Greg's nickname rhymes with her last name, so my kids laughed hysterically when they found out who I was working with this week. Well, I had better get busy. This is the first week of my new class, it is already Wednesday, I have two kids with Chicken Pox and one with a cold, and I have not opened the first textbook. My poor bladder is about to endure it's 3rd 32oz. glass of iced tea, so I'm sure I will be doing sprints to the bathroom after every 2 pages of reading. Being pregnant is a little different each time. This time I am kind of like a child: When I'm hungry, I want food NOW! When I'm tired, I want sleep NOW! When I have to go, I have to go NOW! And poor Dave Ramsey, he's been on the shelf for the last two months. Who has the energy to plan menus and shop? I really want to be "debt free", but it's looking pretty hopeless at the moment!