My first death, a truely beautiful and terrifying experience.

Death and decline come with the territory at a SNF. I’ve already known many who have passed but not until this have I felt someone die. She was a hospice patient who had been a ALF resident for almost five years. The four days leading up to my shift she was undergoing rapid decline, she couldn’t move, morphine suppositories, oxygen and little cognition. I came to work and was briefed on her situation and went in to help administer medication. It was clear she was leaving. It felt like a different person in the room, her face gray and her skin burning. I saw her chest rise and fall only twice. I tried to find her radial pulse but it was too weak,  I was able to faintly feel her jvp and counted until i felt it slowly fade away. Her breathing had stopped completely, she no longer blinked. The only thing left was her fever.The only thing I could think of how calm it felt. In that moment she became free of pain.

Quality of life

I think at one point I had some complaints about keeping it all together. At one point I was working full time. going to school full time and doing a daily 8 hour cna class. Exhaustion ensued. Its not terribly great to not have a social life and sometimes I just want to stop everything and drink or paint. However, I know I only have about one more year of insanity and then I can work and finish my graduate degree at my leisure.  For now i’m just enjoying my week off of school and taking it easy with just work to worry about.  Just a few more days until Microbiology and AP III.

CNA Jobs, Cardiac Cycles and Finals

I’m so excited to actually apply some of this A&P knowledge in an actual ‘clinical’ setting. Aside from cleaning up geriatric feces and genitals, I think this is going to be a great experience. What is even better is that I basically start a week before finals. This is fantastical because it teaches me to be stretched beyond my means and how to smile my way through exhaustion… let the games begin.

In other news, this has been the clearest and greatest cardiac cycle / electrocardiography animation ever. If you’re confused at all you should definitely give this one a try.

http://www.brookscole.com/biology_d/templates/student_resources/0534554040_sherwood/animations/cardiovascular_physiology/cardiac_cycle.html

Cardiac Cycle

BRAIIINNNNSSS cranial nerves and quizzes

Here is to a great* new semester of A&P. So as usual these things start out pretty self explanatory. But for some pretty interesting information about histology check out Shotgun Histology, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVQpqWYGdk8 This is a youtube series that is worth checking out–it is very thorough.

So back to brains. There are tons of really helpful resources out there for memorizing structures and other identification tools. Here are just a few that I liked:

• Left Dissected Sheep Brain – http://www.purposegames.com/game/sheep-brain-disected-quiz
• Ventral Sheep Brain/ Nerve Quiz – (difficult) http://www.purposegames.com/game/b1daee4a
• Human Brain Areas – http://www.purposegames.com/game/51f0862d
• Brain Lobes etc -http://www.purposegames.com/game/brain-anatomy-quiz
• Sagittal sheep brain – http://www.purposegames.com/game/sagittal-veiw-sheep-brain-quiz

This website is really great, there are three quizzes that are interactive as well as some Q and A questions:

http://www.gwc.maricopa.edu/class/bio201/cn/cranial.htm

Facial Muscles

Here is a video of a teacher going over the face muscles on a real cadaver (might be ethically questionable but it is pretty helpful if your trying to visualize these things) She has a strong russian accent but it is in english.

* this video requires you to login to youtube

• Here is my Facial Skeletal Muscle flash card set from flashcarddb.com

Ok here is my self exam drawing drawn FROM MEMORY (so might be vague) The close-ups are for identifying the letters/numbers.

Ok so Letters are on the Anterior Side of the Head:

• A – Mentalis
• B – Orbicularis Oris
• C – Temporalis
• D – Obicularis Oculi
• E – Epicranius Frontalis
• F – Masseter
• G – Digastic – anterior belly  (right side is reflected)
• H – sternocleidomastoid
• I – Platysma
• J – Zygomaticus Major
• K – Risorius
• L – Mylohyoid
• M – Hyoglossus
• N – Buccinator
• O – Digastic: Posterior Belly
• P – Stylohyoid
• Q, 2 – omohyoid
• R- Sternohyoid
• S- Sternothyroid
• T- Thyrohyoid
• U – Geniohyoid
• V- Genioglossus

Posterior Side

1. Epicranius Occipitalis
2. Omohyoid (Q)
3. Splenius Capitis
4. Longissimus Capitis
5. Semispinalis Capitis

A&P Muscle Tests

So it seems that the only useful tool was massive repetition of terms and orientations. Not just the night before like usual but everyday all week until i understand what i’m talking about.

*This week I’m making big colored drawings for references when i site the flashcards.

* Also i’m going to go pin the muscles on the cadavers if the TA is willing. I think after some referencing and studying might be the obvious way to understand…unlike bones where you can just see the picture and be fine. So I need to make time for some open labs.

Here is my Pectorial Girdle fashcard set (34 muscles) with Origins, Insertions, and Actions

I also have the face, and lower limb muscles up now too. ^

My Kitten now plays guitar hero

Anatomy Muscles

these are pretty tricky… not really sure the best way to study these. probably labeling + flash cards (flashcarddb.com)

Upper Limb / Pectorial Girdle

• Posterior Arm – http://www.purposegames.com/game/ed5168e1f9
• Anterior trunk – http://www.purposegames.com/game/muscles-of-the-anterior-trunk-quiz
• pectoral girdle – http://www.purposegames.com/game/muscles-of-the-pectoral-girdle-quiz

Lower Limb / Leg

• Upper Leg - http://www.purposegames.com/game/upper-leg-muscles-quiz
• Lateral Leg – http://www.purposegames.com/game/leg-muscle-labeling-quiz
• Posterior Leg (detailed) – http://www.purposegames.com/game/106b94b4d4
• Medial leg – http://www.purposegames.com/game/leg-muscles-medial-quiz
• lateral leg – http://www.purposegames.com/game/leg-muscles-lateral-quiz

D.O.E.R.S. Website

I’ve made my first attempt at making my own wordpress site, I really enjoy php it’s really easy to read and edit… I think it turned out really well.

How to kick ass and know Skull bones! (A & P)

So I’ve tried the quizzes (see below) , Ive tried looking at random piles of bones and I’ve even tried reading the books but none of them would have helped me pass that bastardly practical…. But somehow, by the grace of god maybe, I came up with this really effective process.

 

 

1. First Draw the structures and EMPHASIZE the parts you need to know. Go crazy with them and outline them or anything you can so you know where that structure -should- be on the bone. (If you can’t draw then either trace or just print out an image with no labels BUT still take a pen or pencil and make the structures obvious.)

 

**By drawing the bone and structures you get a really great understanding of orientation and spacial relation of the terms needed.

2. This is obvious but Now the parts need to be clearly defined by lines or some sort of labeling system, colors work well because lines can get a tad disorienting.

3. Place a Sheet Protector (you know, the kind you use for reports and the like) over the image and use a dry erase marker and work away. This is fantastic because then you realize, “oh wait i only know the first letter of this term, I suck” and you can practice spelling it. And you can do this again and again and again until you finally know what you are talking about.