Diprivan and Syringes

Diprivan and Syringes

Megan Laskie-Dieringer

This museum exhibit is composed of three medical supplies in honor of my personal attachment to the nursing program at Indiana University of South Bend.  Not only do these items represent myself, they also portray a history between the university and Memorial Hospital of South Bend.  This particular program offered by IUSB has laid the foundation of success for many nursing students.

The three objects I have on display are directly related to the nursing program and my attachment to it.  On display I have a 3cc and a 10cc syringe respectfully.  The 3cc(or mL) syringe is normally used to push a medication such as Morphine or Zofran, while the larger 10cc syringe is typically used to flush IV/PICC/arterial sites in order to prevent blood clotting rendering the line useless.  The syringes symbolize my passion for the nursing profession and helping people.  The final object on display is a glass Diprivan, also known as Propofol, bottle.  Diprivan is a controlled medication used to induce a medical coma.  Besides surgeries, medically induced comas are usually associated with a patient who has traumatic injuries.  This medication is only used in surgery, or in the Intensive Care Unit where I plan to work upon graduation.  This medication bottle represents the field of nursing that I am most interested in.

            

Working for Memorial Hospital in South Bend, I found that there is quite the connection between the university and my place of employment.  The history between these two institutions dates back to the 1980s.  I work with a nurse named Andrea who graduated from the nursing program at Memorial Hospital in 1986; she says that the program’s last actual graduates were in either 1987 or 1988.  Jenny Loop-Miller, one of the clinical lecturers for the nursing program at IUSB confirmed the ending of the in-house diploma program at Memorial Hospital and instead “they forged a partnership with IUSB to be the major nursing education program that they work with for clinical experiences.  The relationship is still good today.”  This is an important milestone in the history of IUSB as it shows how the university formed a partnership with a local business, which in turn provides excellent “on-the-job” experience for its students.

I attend the Indiana University of South Bend not just for the right to finally say that I am a college graduate.  I came to IUSB the same way that my mother did when I was a small child; to gain the knowledge that will help me obtain a career where I not only better myself, but the members of my community as well.  My mother received her Bachelors degree in nursing from IUSB, then went on to obtain her Masters and work towards her doctorate before her passing.  That is one of the beautiful things about IUSB; not only can you achieve greatness through this university, but it may also act as a springboard, an open door leading college students to extraordinary experiences.

My exhibit does not just involve “stuff,” my objects are a shining beacon of hope for students just like me, a reassurance of taking that first step into a profession we will not only do, but will continue to define us for the rest of our lives.

Bibliography 

Cummins, Andrea.  Personal Interview.  24 November 2014. 

 Loop-Miller, Jennifer.  Personal Interview.  24 November 2014.