My nursing geekitis has kicked in again...

Sometimes when my nursing brain has not been feeling challenged, I will find some small little bit of information and run with it. I then begin my crazed search of finding any bit of information relating to the topic. My mind is very curious, asking a lot of questions. Just ask my boss... She will tell you that there have been times where she thinks I have nothing better to do than think up questions. Eventually it became, "Ask one of the cardiologists." We both laugh about this now. Its in my nature to be inquisitive in my nursing life. I yearn to learn more and to experience more.

I love the medical field. It is complex, challenging, constantly changing, and to some extent, unknown. I learned today that emergency medicine, in general, is a fairly young in terms of how long it has been a medical specialty. Prehospital care, emergency departments, and physicians specializing in emergency medicine have all come about in only the last 50-60 years. Being the aspiring flight nurse that I am, I recently finished a book called "Trauma Junkie: Memoirs of an Emergency Flight Nurse". The author, Janice Hudson, began working at CALSTAR in San Fransisco during the 1980s when they were a fairly new company. That is only 30 years ago! (I strongly recommend this book to any EMS personnel or aspiring flight nurses) Now think of how much things have changed in only those 30-50 years. Its amazing to see where we have come from in a short amount of time and to think of where healthcare may go in the next 30-50 years. I'm a new nurse with 3 years of experience and looking forward to being a nurse with many more years of experience under my belt. I'm excited (and honestly, worried at time but that's an entirely different topic) about where the nursing profession will go next or how healthcare will grow and evolve.

Things I have learned in my search for more history knowledge:

-EKG is from elektrokardiogram (German) and the first machine to capture an EKG was 600 pounds and obviously too heavy to move to a patient's location. Long telephone cables were used stretching from the machine to the patient at a remote location to perform an EKG. (1902-1905)
- the first "artificial pacemaker" was used by placing a needle into a patient right atrium transthoracically. (1931)
- 75 pound backpack being used to continuously record a patient's EKG (1949)
- Osburn describes prominent junctional waves (Osburn waves" in hypothermic dogs and determines they are more likely to survive with infusion of NaBicarb (1953)
- Robert Bruce and colleagues begin using a multistage treadmill exercise test in testing a patient's heart (1963)
- The term "rabbit ears" is introduced to describe either rSR' (good rabbit) or RSr' (bad rabbit) pattern in V1 (1974
- First case of Torsades de Pointes published (1966)
- Brugada is published as a particular right bundle branch pattern linked to sudden cardiac death in healthy individuals (1992)

Amazing how after 100+ years of studying the electrical conductions of the heart, we are still defining new information to identify electrical abnormalities of the heart!

And here is a funny video that a few coworkers and I have found entertaining:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asR2-sb27Vw

Patience. Something I need to work on! I'm sure there are times when everyone feels they need to be more patient. It's so easy to find fault in others to place the blame. Seems as of late, I'm having more of those 'oh, bad mommy...' moments. My daughter, being at that very impressionable age, has definitely taken after me in regards to my impatience (part of my type A personality). Most preschoolers are naturally impatient at this age. In this case though, I think it's safe to say it's my fault too. Being a parent sheds light on many things and changes your life indefinitely. For me, I'm forced to scrutinize my reactions, my feelings, my behaviors. How do I want my children to get along with others? What kind of people do I want my children to be as adults?  I want the to be kind, smart, brave, patient people. People who are happy and positive. That starts with me :) My kids make me want to be a better person. I love those crazy minions! Hehehe :)

Honestly, this is all so new to me. I have not spent much time on blogs and for whatever reason I've decided I need to do this. Maybe it will be like therapy? Maybe a convenient way to keep track of thoughts, ideas, projects I have going on in my crazy mind. I guess we will see where this crazy adventure takes me!