mine's a giraffe

we had to get nametags for our stethoscopes because, well, after paying an aweful lot of money for them, it would be a darn shame to lose them. everyone was going with the conservative black label that was designed to fit snugly and neatly into the angle at the neck of this specific stethoscope where the tubing branches. i will admit that it looks quite sharp and professional. but when i went into the bookstore to pick me up one of them (see how professional i am?), i was immediately drawn to the little plastic tags with animals on them. who wouldn't be? i stood in that spot with the black label in one hand and the green and yellow plastic giraffe in the other, debating which i should take home and adorn my still unused stethoscope with. in contrast to the tidy and neat black label--complete with printable name sticker AND engravable silver label--the giraffe is an awkward plastic monstrosity that just sort of roughly attaches anywhere on the tubing and sticks out a good inch.
really there was no choice. i figure the hospital is already sterile and tidy enough. boring. if a little colorful plastic giraffe is able to make me feel better about being in this environment, i don't see how it could possibly hurt any patients. unless the corner of the little guy pokes someone.

i also feel like wearing a stethoscope creates a lot of responsibility. everyone automatically thinks that you know all kinds of stuff, that you're capable of doing anything health care-y. honestly, it's a little daunting. i hope it always is, even when i'm done with all of this and registered and working.

today was a nice day in the hospital. i had a lovely patient that was really sweet and fun to be with. i feel like watching the nurses in action teaches me at least as much about what i DON'T want to be like as what i should be like. sometimes i wonder how and when they stopped thinking of their patients as people and started thinking of them as to-do lists, tasks to be checked off. my patient today was pretty lonely and scared to be in the hospital. she had been through a lot, and the way people were talking to and interacting with her made me pretty upset.
i also randomly ran into another person i know from before. this time it was a really happy and wonderful surprise. neither of us had any idea the other was even in seattle, and lo and behold, we're both in the same hospital for a bit. except that she's a doctor already. that's more than me because i've only been in nursing school for 2 weeks, just in case any of you were wondering. aside from just generally liking nikki a whole lot, it was also really fun to see a familiar face there. it made me remember that lots of really awesome humans work in hospitals. and it also kind of made me feel cool.