Well, Hello!

Well, hello, any readers I may have out there! Whether I know you or not, thanks for clicking and following this blog. This blog is for my Psychology 101 class. I will be taking aspects of the class and relating them to different parts, stories, or experiences in my life. This blog today will mainly be an introduction. Let me start by introducing myself.

I'm Kathleen. I'm a first year nursing student at Maryville University. I'm a die-hard country music fan, love working out at the gym, and just being around people! 

At Maryville, it is required to take Psychology to be in the Nursing program. However, if it weren’t, I would have still taken it because of the amount of knowledge and information I plan on obtaining from the class. The thing about nursing is that you can go anywhere and do anything with it. And to do any aspect of nursing, psychology is used. One of the first things I learned in my psych class is that psychology is seen as the science of how the mind works (see my next blog where I talk more about the brain). I plan on specializing in Pediatric Nursing. I'm playing with the idea of ER/Trauma, but I'm still not sure. After doing research, I'm still amazed at what I can use psych for in my daily life, as well as my future career. Yes, nurses are seen as the caretakers in a hospital setting that administer meds, but nurses are also the ones who evaluate the patient first. Evaluation by a nurse is mental/emotional and physical. I think that most people forget the mental/emotional factor. Nurses are in charge of first deciding if the patient is of sound mind. For patients who are physically in a hospital, nurses can be their support system and see how they are handling treatments and possible consequences of disease or illness.

Although some nurses are not licensed psychologists or psychiatrists, they can help with issues that may stem from being or staying in a hospital such as anxiety, depression, or insomnia. An example of this possibility: A young woman has surgery on her leg. Once cleared to do PT in the hospital, the nurse comes in the patient room to start range of motion activities and getting the patient out of bed. The patient expresses distress at the idea of getting out of bed and moving. Having a background in psychology, the nurse understands the background of anxiety regarding patient injuries. She decides to set small goals with the patient instead of having her immediately get up and out of bed. The nurse and patient mutually agree on the idea of getting into a chair next to the bed twice a day for two days and then gradually starting to walk the hallway.

In most scenarios, a physical therapist would either make this decision or be included in this decision. However, a nurse who understands how stressful and debilitating anxiety can be to a patient can help be an advocate for the patient. This scenario is one of many I can only hope to give insight into when I finally start my dream job as a pediatric nurse.

Like I said in the beginning, this entry was very short, but also an introduction. See my next blog (longer, I promise) on a real-life example of how the brain works!