Quote from Matt after hearing about my experiences in the ER

"I guess you get to see first-hand how people like Obama get elected."

Make what you want of that. I thought it was so funny, I had to blog it right away.

We Were There (or, The Perfect Alibi)

We really did go to see Matt's cousin Jeff on Saturday. I'm not sure who took these pics, but I promise we are the subjects. Other people were there, too, but I'm not at liberty to say who...

The New Toy (and Toys)

My mom's old Kennmore died recently, so I sold it on eBay and bought a stop-gap machine until I know what machine I really want to buy... this justifiable because I have some projects to finish up. :)



The new machine inspired me to try a new pattern:



So, to inaugurate the machine, I made two baby balls (Tag toys pattern from New Conceptions... what a name!) for friends who recently had little girls.

June Photos

Ethan June 2008

Click above to see more funny faces as Ethan eats grapes and hams it up for the camera.

Too Much Information: C vs. BC Explained

A clarification for NP students and current NPs who really can't remember at the drop of a hat which is which: The American Nurses Credentialing Center awards the "Advanced Practice Registered Nurse - Board Certified" (APRN-BC) designation after successful completion of their exams for nurse practitioners. The American Academy of Nurse Practitioners National Certification Program awards the "Nurse Practitioner - Certified" (NP-C) designation after completion of their exams.



The state of Texas requires that nurse practitioners use the specific title of the certification they received, and prohibits "Advanced Practice Nurse" as a title. This is probably because it's vague and covers a wide range of scopes of practice, from Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists to Nurse Practitioners (nine different specialties plus six "by exemption only" specialties are approved in Texas) to Nurse Midwives to Clinical Nurse Specialists (six approved specialties, and ten exemption specialties). For this reason, Family Nurse Practitioners in Texas usually sign their name either FNP-BC or FNP-C, although I've seen NP-C. I am happy to report that this convoluted situation appears to be the result of state legislation rather than RN oversight or the desire to overwhelm patients with long lists of confusing letters.

Image courtesy of Nurse Week.

Update on School: The C vs. BC Dilemma

I've been tooling around the internet trying to figure out which certification exam I plan to take for my FNP certification next year. It's very therapeutic to remind myself that I am finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

I have a simple question: One organization's exam qualifies you to write FNP-C (Family Nurse Practitioner - Certified) after your name and the other organization's exam qualifies you to write FNP-BC (Family Nurse Practitioner - Board Certified), so which is which? You'd think it would be a simple question, but apparently it's not. Someone needs to just put a fact sheet out there. FNP-C vs. FNP-BC. If I find out soon, I'll do it. And it boils down to a mere cosmetic issue. I think FNP-C looks better. Less letters and all. But since I can't figure out which is which, maybe I should choose based on the design of the two groups' websites.

Underlying this question is another one I have: how on earth did we (registered nurses) allow two certifying bodies to emerge for the Family Nurse Practitioner? Does no one but me think it's silly, redundant, and (somewhat) unprofessional?

In other school news, I have decided to transfer to Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center to finish my Master's. This involves a little more travel, but not much else will change. Now, I'm off to try and find someone who will let me follow them around in the ER to sew people up and such.