<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><!-- generator="wordpress/2.2.1" -->
<rss version="0.92">
<channel>
	<title>NursingZen</title>
	<link>http://nursingzen.exobi.com</link>
	<description>This blog is about a writer's journey into nursing. First stop: UCSF's Master's Entry Program of Nursing (MEPN).</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Tue, 22 Apr 2008 07:45:19 +0000</lastBuildDate>
	<docs>http://backend.userland.com/rss092</docs>
	<language>en</language>
	
	<item>
		<title>Thinking the once-unthinkable</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Labor &#38; Delivery has got me thinking about my own family planning, and happily so. I couldn’t have said that a year ago, when the thought of having kids and being a parent made me cough and squirm.
A year ago I was surrounded by single friends or committed couples who were happy enough raising their [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://nursingzen.exobi.com/2008/04/21/thinking-the-once-unthinkable/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Vaginas, babies, and moms</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Labor &#38; Delivery clinical has been thrilling. I saw two Cesarean sections and assisted with the pre-op and post-recovery of the moms and babies.  I caught the tail-end of a natural, spontaneous vaginal birth in which the baby popped out after 10 minutes of pushing. I swaddled and held a newborn.
Labor &#38; Delivery has also [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://nursingzen.exobi.com/2008/04/21/vaginas-babies-and-moms/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>The last months of MEPN &#8230; and life after MEPN</title>
		<description><![CDATA[March flew by in part because of our three luxurious weeks of spring break. We’ve now returned to our last quarter of MEPN. Amazing. The anxiety and sleeplessness of the first quarter seem like a lifetime ago. The Pediatric and Psych experiences are still palpable, but at 6 (?) and 4 (?) weeks each, they [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://nursingzen.exobi.com/2008/04/13/the-last-months-of-mepn-and-life-after-mepn/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Bingo!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Week 3 of Psych clinicals, done. It has been enriching, fun, boring, sad, nerve-wracking, and strange, all within a matter of minutes. You never know what you&#8217;re going to get.
Going with the flow
One moment my patient answers all my questions with a smile; the next moment he tells me he&#8217;s tired of everyone asking him [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://nursingzen.exobi.com/2008/03/01/bingo/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>&#8220;I can&#8217;t even think my way out of a paper bag.&#8221;</title>
		<description><![CDATA[ Last week was our first half day on a Psychiatric nursing floor. To say my classmates and I felt like fish out of water would be a huge understatement.
To enter this acute psych unit, a nurse has to unlock two doors; he warns us to always check the corners of the doorways for patients [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://nursingzen.exobi.com/2008/02/20/i-cant-even-think-my-way-out-of-a-paper-bag/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Dealing with mental illness</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Four weeks of Pediatrics ended last week. I think our Peds professor is the kindest, most fair, and most accessible teacher so far. I feel that if I drop in on her six months from now, she&#8217;ll make me feel completely comfortable and welcomed. She&#8217;s young and vivacious &#8230; I hope she sticks with teaching [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://nursingzen.exobi.com/2008/02/14/trying-to-come-to-terms-with-mental-illness/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Clinical instructors come through</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Evidently, after 3 weeks of not having clinicals and a lot of free time on hand, I lost some momentum for blogging. I really appreciate that some of you are still coming back to read and chat with me.
Starting two weeks ago, everyone in the class got assigned clinicals. Some people go for two days [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://nursingzen.exobi.com/2008/02/05/clinical-instructors-come-through/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>The more perspectives, the better</title>
		<description><![CDATA[In response to my post last week, a classmate offers a slightly different take on this quarter. It also seems that s/he had different information. (Thanks for chiming in, fellow MEPN!)
 In response to question #1: There has been a lot of misinformation passed around, especially when word travels so quickly. We were informed that [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://nursingzen.exobi.com/2008/01/21/the-more-perspectives-the-better/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>The One Year Nurse</title>
		<description><![CDATA[A fellow MEPN, who is in Group B, has started a blog about his own journey, with particular focus on ethical issues. I like. (And wish I had the same diligence to write as he does.) Read The One Year Nurse.
]]></description>
		<link>http://nursingzen.exobi.com/2008/01/21/the-one-year-nurse/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Hungry for knowledge</title>
		<description><![CDATA[On Monday I joined a meeting of frustrated students to write a letter to the school with concrete suggestions about how our Thursdays and Fridays could be put to good use if clinical instructors are not found by the end of the week. We came up with great ideas, such as having optional lectures by [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://nursingzen.exobi.com/2008/01/18/hungry-for-knowledge/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>A disappointing start to the winter quarter</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Week 1
Winter quarter started Wednesday, January 3. Family &#38; Child Nursing is our main course, and it lasts only 6 weeks because we will then have Psychiatric nursing. Our Pediatric clinical rotations were scheduled to begin this first Thursday &#38; Friday, but at the last minute we were told that some of us had the [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://nursingzen.exobi.com/2008/01/12/mepn-pediatric-nursing-in-crisis/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>MEPN interview tips</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Winter quarter started last week right after New Year&#8217;s Day. I was still a little hungover in class after a raucous time at a house in the woods with friends. (I highly recommend getting out of town for New Year&#8217;s Eve, getting a space with your friends, and not spinning in circles asking each other: [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://nursingzen.exobi.com/2008/01/07/mepn-interview-tips/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Keeping balanced</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Apologies for flaking out for so long! My winter break wasn&#8217;t as much of a vacation as I had hoped for. But I did manage to read a few interesting books: The Alchemist, The Kite Runner, The Beginner&#8217;s Guide to Insight Meditation, and The Good Heart - A Buddhist Perspective on the Teachings of Jesus [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://nursingzen.exobi.com/2008/01/07/keeping-balance/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>The sunlight at the end of the tunnel feels fantastic</title>
		<description><![CDATA[An update to Things I wish I knew
Wow, you better sit down for this one. During lunch today my clinical mates and I flopped into armchairs in the lounge and looked at one another with wide eyes and goofy grins.
“I feel like a real nurse this week! Can you believe it??” we blubbered to one [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://nursingzen.exobi.com/2007/11/30/the-sunlight-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel-feels-really-good/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Thanksgiving break</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Sleet, rain, snow, and –6 degrees.
When I woke up yesterday morning and looked outside, the sight made me catch my breath. I hadn’t thought about snowfall in a long time. I touched the cold windowpane and remembered snowfalls when I was a kid on the east coast: how excited I was to wake up to [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://nursingzen.exobi.com/2007/11/25/thanksgiving-break/</link>
			</item>
</channel>
</rss>
