Thursday Tidbit: Pill Organizers

Thursdays are my longest and hardest day of the week. To "celebrate," on Thursdays I will write about something that makes my life more efficient and therefore, easier. These tidbits will be things I wish someone had told me prior to starting my FNP program, things I have learned along the way, or genius finds from Pintrest.

Listen, Pintrest is not a waste of time if it's helping make my life easier, saving me money, etc. Right?... Actually, don't answer that.

This Thursday's Tidbit: Pill Organizers

Get an old lady pill organizer for your medications and/or supplements and put it next to your toothbrush. Easy as that. My advanced patho instructor last semester was obsessed with Vitamin D deficiency. With her voice in the back of my head and a dollar pill organizer from the pharmacy, I actually take my vitamins every day now. Look at me keeping one of my resolutions for the year! Yes, I would like a cookie.

If you take supplements, make sure they are USP verified. It will be on the bottle. You can read more about that here: http://www.usp.org/usp-verification-services/usp-verified-dietary-supplements

Please leave your comments or shoot me an email. And don't forget to follow me on Twitter and Instagram @RN2Practitioner #nursemeetspractitioner!

This is not a sponsored post. The information provided above is not intended to diagnose or treat medical conditions.

Politics and Practice

 The 84th legislative session is well underway here in Austin, Texas. Nerd alert: I could not be more excited! Word on the street is Representative Cecil Bell, Jr. is to file a full practice bill on behalf of the Texas Nurse Practitioners (TNP). That's right. It's go time.

I will be attending the Coalition for Nurses in Advance Practice Legislative Day on Monday, February the 9th here in Austin. I encourage you to do the same! Why? There's free coffee. Kidding. I mean there will be free coffee, and if that's what it takes to get you there...I'm not one to judge.

Actual objectives for the seminar include: 1) discuss the importance of grassroots advocacy by APRNs 2) identify legislative/regulatory barriers to APRN practice and their impact on health care and 3) practice strategies to influence the Texas Legislature to enact laws that remove barriers to APRN practice and improve access to care. If that doesn't sell you, Representative Donna Howard will be there. You can register here: http://www.cnaptexas.org/?page=2015LegislativeDay 
Online registration ends in 2 days! There is a student discount.

Hope to see you there! Coffee's on me.



Some helpful links:

Find out who your Texas Representatives are: http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/Address.aspx

Join the TNP (FREE for first year NP students!): http://www.texasnp.org/?page=A4

 Please leave your comments or shoot me an email. And don't forget to follow me on Twitter and Instagram @RN2Practitioner #nursemeetspractitioner!

This is not a sponsored post.

Treat Yo Self

Nurses are the WORST at taking care of themselves. Not voiding for 10+ hours, skipping meals, working double shifts, the list goes on. Sure some of these things can't be avoided all of the time, but what's your excuse when not at work? Or when not in school?

Self care was a struggle for me as a new nurse and it has reared its head again now that I'm in graduate school. Truth be told I'm a little anxious about school starting next week. I'll have a completely new schedule of classes and clinicals to balance with work and laundry and everything else "adults" do on a daily basis.  But this year I am resolved to take myself off the back burner more often and practice better self care. I am going to treat myself more often because not only do I deserve it, I need it. We all do.

Today was my treat day.  I got my hair done, did some shopping, and grabbed drinks with a friend. I woke up tired, but will be going to bed refreshed. I encourage you to take a minute to nurture yourself, whatever that may look like. You deserve it!

Let me clear my throat

When I tell people I'm in nurse practitioner (NP) school I receive all kinds of responses. "So you're going to be a physician's assistant?" "Don't have enough letters behind your name already?" And my all time favorite: "Will you go back and get your RN (registered nurse)?" Drives. Me. Crazy. Even though the majority of these responses come from my grandmother's generation, there is without a doubt a lot of confusion and misinformation floating out there regarding advance practice nurses (APRNs). Especially within the medical community. So in the famous words of DJ Kool, let me clear my throat.

In a nut shell an NP is an APRN qualified to provide a range of both primary and acute health care services such as diagnosing,  treating medical conditions, and writing prescriptions. APRN scope of practice varies by state, which I think is why there is so much confusion, but I digress.  Educational requirements include a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN), post-master's, or a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP). A PhD is another option, but these nurses focus more on research than clinical practice. There are several specialties available to NPs: acute care, adult, family, gerontology, neonatal, pediatric, psychiatric/mental health, and women's health.

There are four types of APRNs: NPs, clinical nurse specialists (CNS), nurse-midwives, and nurse anesthetists (CRNA). Think of APRN as an umbrella term. Clear as mud? Check out http://www.graduatenursingedu.org/aprn-definition. The site covers everything APRN.

I hope this clarifies things a little bit. Thank you for stopping by! Feel free to comment. And be sure to follow me on Twitter and Instagram @RN2Practitioner #nursemeetspractitioner!

This is not a sponsored post.

Welcome

Hello and welcome to my blog! My name is Laura and I am a nurse practitioner student in Austin, Texas. I intend this space to chronicle the adventures and misadventures of my journey from registered nurse to family nurse practitioner. Balancing school and work and something I believe others refer to as a personal life are just a few of the things you will find here. I also hope to connect with you to share information, experiences, and ideas to better serve  patients and advance the nursing profession.