OK, i should be studying. I am rewriting so much.. right now, on the differences and the different kinds of seizures... partial, simple and complex; general, tonic clonic, absence, myoclonic and atonic.... *sigh*

So... i thought i would answer your questions from my last journal, (e:LeeTee,45086), (e:imk2)!

wow, so do they give you a credit card to pay with?

yes, it's a Wegman's card with a pin number. every unit/house/dayhab has one for their location. i have to sign for it and sign the two receipts.

Wegmans must make a mint on us, i saw at least 2 other units shopping today at the same location.

and do they give you a list of what they want?

yeah, it all revolves around the meal planning. since everyone has special dietary needs (some may, for example, be diabetic, or be on meds that require little or no calcium), there has to be a list. the first one i was given was very specific, now, it just says (example name only), "Bob's cereal, 2 boxes". the meals are planned by a dietician, based on nutritional standards and all that stuff.

and why so much groceries? how many people is this for?

the number of residents has varied in the time i have been there for many reasons that i can't get into without concern for the privacy of those we serve, but i can say that i have to purchase food for anywhere between 15 to 20 people, 3 meals a day, plus snacks for all the residents and the staff.

since one of the things we are required to do is model appropriate behaviour and socialization, we must eat meals with the individuals we serve. it would be inappropriate, rude, demeaning and all sorts of other things if we plunked down a plate and stood behind/beside them watching them eat. so, it is considered a good time for teachable moments of appropriate behaviour and socializations. family style meals with everything in bowls that must be passed around, the appropriate amount taken and passed to the next person without fingers in bowls and hands grabbing is a big thing with the ddso.

how do you decide what is the best deal, do you get trained for this?

not really that much training. i was given general guidelines... such as, if they run out of, oh, i don't know, the $3.99 wafer turkey from the deli, i cannot substitute a higher price point, but i can substitute a price point that is the same or lower. budget issues. most often, i am told to get the Wegmans brand of something unless otherwise specified. Like coffee... oh, lordy, do NOT buy anything but Folgers Classic!!!!!!!!!!

When i am not in training or studying for an exam or sleeping, lately, i am at Wegmans.

Since i am a "non-participating" staff member (not fully trained to be fully engaged with the individuals we serve), i end up doing some odd jobs.

One of them is grocery shopping. No big deal you say? Might even be interesting you say? Yep... except try, go ahead, just try to purchase about $1000 of groceries all by yourself. I usually need 2, sometimes 3 carts. And the looks a fat chick gets with that many groceries is, well, interesting, let's just say if we do not want to get too negative.

Yesterday, i only got about $600 worth of groceries. Today, i am shopping for the unit next to ours. I wonder if their van has brakes and steering and how much i will spend for them?

Thanks for the encouragement, (e:peeps); the last exam went well. I got 90%, which i am totally not complaining about... but it is the lowest score i have since starting this training.

Next Tuesday is another exam. This one is on the brain, epilepsy, the endocrine system, the urinary system and generals of immunity. Seems a bit more scattered in subject matter, but i think they stuck all the last bits together.

Then, comes a final. Egads!

I should be studying.

Instead, i called the woman in charge of the Health Benefits Office to see if our insurance has kicked in. It has. Yesterday. Wow. For the first time since i moved to the US in 2001, i have health insurance.

Pretty good timing, since i think i need to see a doctor. When learning and practicing doing the basics of taking vital signs, i was a guinea pig for having my blood sugar tested, since i am one of the few that does not mind needles (yeah, people were actually afraid of the little bing of the pokey thing for getting blood sugar tested on a glucometer!). Needless to say, the results were alarming. I have incredibly high blood sugar. And i have to say, it scares the shit out of me. I can only hope i was getting false readings....

But, it does bring me back to the fact that i can no longer use the "i just quit smoking" excuse for my weight gain.

Which brings me back to the fact that i am procrastinating...

Back to the books...

This week's exam is tomorrow morning... on The Cardiovascular System, the Respiratory System and Vital Signs. For some reason, i find myself unfocused and unable to absorb all this information. Particularly, as usual, the medications. I seem to be getting vasodilators and antiarrythmics and digitalis preparations all mixed up... can i not just say they are all heart meds and be done with it?!?! No? Ok... back to the books...

i am so over being under the weather