Can't sleep

After 3 days of being ill, I still have the bug going through my system. It has, however, decided not to settle into my lungs but to stay in my head, making me very fuzzy. I'm hoping that the extra strength cold medication will mask my symptoms enough that I can make it through clinical tomorrow. Yes, I am going, even though I perhaps should stay home.

My problem right now is that I have to wake up ridiculously early (5:30am) but I cannot, for the life of me, get to sleep. I have been trying for over an hour, to no success. This past weekend I couldn't' go for more then 2 hours without needing a nap, and, now that I am needing to get sleep, ironically I am awake.

I was told to prepare for paediatrics with learning how to assess a child. Also, I am to know the normal vital signs for children. This is understandable, since I am going to be on a paediatrics floor, getting my first paediatrics patient on Wednesday. However, I do not know which age range my patient will be, nor do I know anything about the floor I will be working on. Apparently this is supposed to be found out tomorrow during my first shift, where I will be paired with a staff nurse who will show me the ropes. Also, my currently classwork has been soley focused on prenatal and labour/delivery, not paediatrics. We haven't even cracked the book on that yet, although we'll get there later this term.

I also haven't mentioned that I tend to scare children under the age of 4. Perhaps this was just earlier in my youth when my excitement to see them tended to come out as being over-the-top and intimidating for young children. I hope that with maturity comes less enthusiasm, although the last baby/toddler I have played with was my own younger sister (who is now 17!), and my cousins (who are now 15!). Over the age of 5, my camp skills come back and I think I could handle it. Although I must say, my experience with having a non-stop crying 5 year old for the tots camp is haunting me now. Wish me luck, I'll have more to post later. I think that soon I may be able to sleep. I hope the 2nd nighttime cold medication will kick in.