Vampire Bean

Hi, I know, I know, it has been ages since I last wrote.  I probably don't need to tell you I've been busy a) because of the length of time since I wrote and b) because I'm me and, let face it, when am I not busy?  I had to stay up late to type this now though, because today has been all sorts of awesome.  Firstly, a little catch up.  Second year has well and truly landed.  We've done two case units so far.  I am frantically trying to revise for the first AMK coming up next week and my first competancy in IM injections and musculoskeletal exams the week after.  We've also been given prep work to do for a whole myriad of other exams that we have to pass this year, way more than we had to sit last year.  Alongside that, all the hours I have betwen 8.30am and 6pm that I am not in lectures I am working at the surgery because there is a massive backlog there.  I also went up for and got a promotion to Data Quality Analyst Assistant, which means I do more computery, techy stuff for them 8 hours a week and got a nice pay rise for the other hours I work for them too.  I found out my Special Study Units I've been allocated for the year, and am really happy to say that, once again, I got the ones I wanted.  I have three weeks on respiratory, looking at inflammatory respiratory disease and three weeks looking at use of language and how your choice of words can reveal things about you.  In non work and uni news I have been to visit mr a couple of times and we celebrated our 4 year anniversary.  We had another beautiful walk with the swirling birds and the sunset... but you don't want to hear about the gushy romantic stuff do you?  You want me to get to the awesome :)

If you are a medic, or a big reader of medic's blogs, you will probably recognise the allusion in the title.  I shall spell it out anyway because i'm just too excited.  Today I took blood for the first time from a real person :)  Today was also the first time I gave a real person an IM injection :) :)  Then I took more blood from a different person, just to prove the first time wasn't a fluke, and swapped the vials over to get three tube fulls.  The degree of loon grinning going on right now is pretty extreme.  I have had a full day in a GP practice today on placement and the GP I was shadowing in the morning had to take bloods from a patient and asked if I wanted to give it a go.  I was torn between really REALLY wanting to say yes and knowing that I have only done it once on a plastic arm about a year ago and haven't practiced it since.  I didn't want to let on I was nervous and hadn't done it on a real person before in case the patient revoked their consent or tensed up anticipating I would do it wrong.  But I seized the opportunity, pulled it off without a hitch, got compliments from the patient and the GP and was altogether pretty chuffed.  Later I was shadowing the Practice Nurse who let me take more blood and give an injection.  I'd been really nervous because everyone has come back from placement saying how hard it was and how they got grilled and didn't know any of the answers.  I hardly slept last night I was so nervous.  However when it came to it, every time the GP asked me a question or asked for my diagnosis, I got it right.  I am floating on cloud 9 right now, I really have had the best of days.  A second year and taking blood, blood pressure and doing injections on real people?!  I love my course.