How's nursing school?

So I've been neglecting my blog. It's been months and I haven't posted at all. Part of it I can blame on blogger moving over. I was playing with Writely and have some posts there that never went up. But the truth is that I've been so obsessed with school, I haven't even thought about the blog.

I'm loving nursing school. The 3-year program is slow enough that I'm not totally freaking out all the time. (I never would have slept if I had gotten into the accelerated program.) Most of the time I love my classmates. And I'm doing well in all of my classes.

Highlights:
1. Clinicals at the local prison. I know that no one would think this would be fun, but this was our best clinical experience yet. The prisoners are very cooperative and let us practice all of our physical examination techniques.
2. First clinical this past week in a hospital with real patients.
3. Last exam I did really well. I got a 94%. It really helped that I went 2 different study groups. It was really tiring, but I think I understood stuff a lot better talking it over with my fellow students.

That's all for now. I'll try to post more often.

Why Nursing? part 2

I have tons of anxiety as the countdown continues to the first day of class. It's not a bad anxiety, like thinking I can't do this. It's more, "what should I bring for the first day of class?" "Will we just go over the syllabus or will the professor start lecturing?"

So to help calm the anxieties, I've decided to revisit my list of why I'm going into nursing.
1. Love to help people. (This is still so true.)
2. Love the science. (I just hope I haven't forgotten everything I've learned over the summer.)
3. Love the Social Science. (I'll find out if I still do since one of my first classes is Psychosocial nursing.)
4. Want to be hands-on. (Restating this positively. And my butt is wide enough as it is.)
5. Like to multitask. (It would drive me crazy if I only did one thing all day long.)
6. Think I would be a great nurse
7. Great opportunities
-Career-wise (lots of directions I could go in.)
-Travel-wise (I would like to live in different places.)

I'm trying to stay positive, and doing lots of fun things to distract myself before classes begin.

Computer Problems

So I planned to work on my blog this summer and get it into shape. I procrastinated as usual and ended the summer with computer problems. Totally my fault. I apparently had spyware on my computer that I did not clean off. Ugh. I had to reinstall the OS, but now my computer is as good as new.

I did submit my last post to Change of Shift. (Actually the July 13th one, not the most recent one. ) I love the blogging community. Just when I'm totally stressed out about WTD (What the Duck) am I doing going to nursing school, a new Change of Shift comes up. It totally reminds me of why I'm going to nursing school. I'll have to come up with a post for the next one.

From my childhood

I was meant to go to nursing school. As a child, I loved nothing more than to lay on my Dad's tummy. I loved to listen to the burps and other noises his stomach made. He would also let me play drums on his tummy. I think he hoped that that I took after him and would become a musician.

I also loved to listen to my Mum's tummy. And I liked to look at my Mum's scalp. My Dad's scalp was there to see (he was already losing his hair before I was born.) Her hair was so dark compared to her white scalp.

And I was fascinated with my Grandma's ears. I spent many days over at Grandma and Grandpa's. After lunch, Grandma would take a bath and then put pincurls in her hair. Once I was old enough to wield a pin, I was allowed to help. Her ears were rather large, and she had these large lobes. Her ears were different from Grandpa's ears that stood straight out from his head. I definitely have Grandma's ears.

So doesn't it sound like I was meant to be a nurse. Who else would care about the sounds someone's tummy makes?

Back from DC

It's been over a week and I still haven't posted about the DC trip. We all had a great time. Dad's only complaint is that we were up from "dawn" to get going and we did way too much. But every time I wanted to do something that was not a museum, Mom would say that Dad's never been to DC before so we have to go to this museum. So we went to pretty much every single museum on the Mall. I wouldn't have minded seeing things off the Mall like Georgetown, but oh well. And I was disappointed that I didn't get to eat Ethiopian food.
The best part of the trip was seeing Spamalot and the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. Spamalot was hilarious and I recommend it to everyone, even if you're not a big Monty Python fan. The Natural History Museum was so interesting. I especially liked the skeletons and other displays where they showed the insides of the animals. With A&P I actually recognize the body parts.

And in other news... I went in for my advising session. The good news is that I don't have to take any other courses than regular nursing classes. I have all the required corequisites and don't have to take any more general education classes because this is my second degree. Yeah!!! That leaves me a lot more time to study for nursing.

Off to DC

Will be off to DC this afternoon. I'm flying with my Dad and meeting my Mom there. I've been the one planning our itinerary and I already have complaints. It's all focused on what Dad supposedly wants to see, though he won't say what other than he doesn't want to see the Capital or White House. So this is going on what Mom says Dad wants to see. Anyway, complaints from all sides that I've overscheduled us and then Mom tells me all the other things she thinks we should go see. Sigh.
Anyway, I'm sure we'll have a great time, and I'll have some stories to tell when I get back.

What I've been up to

So I finished all the Health paperwork last week. The worst part was the shots. I got the HepB in one arm and the DIPHTHERIA/TETANUS/PERTUSSIS (Whooping Cough) in the other arm. Boy, was I sore for several days. And I think the DTaP gave me a bit of a fever too. I read that the Whooping cough part makes it worse, but I guess it's helpful, just in case. Who know's what I'll be exposed to.

I got to sign up for what sections I want next semester. Our reward for finishing the paperwork early. Still have to wait until August to official register.

I'm currently looking for a second part-time job. Preferably in a hospital. Went to a job fair, and think I have a good chance. Will need to call and follow up on the resumes I submitted online. Ugh, that was horrible. After all that work on my resume, I then had to fill out the application online.

Also looking forward to a trip to DC with my parents. More on that later.

Went in for orientation, came out with a stethescope.

I just got home from orientation. That was a lot of information. I must say the most stressful part will be filling out all the health information stuff. I need to get a physical exam, a whole bunch of titers done, and probably at least two vaccinations. Plus there is also a two part series of the PPD (TB test). That's the main thing I need to get done.

It turns out I'm not crazy thinking that it was odd we did not have our letters yet. (They emailed and called us.) Apparently they're behind getting things done and have to wait for the regular admssions department to send out our acceptance letters.

(This post sat as a draft for over a month, so decided to post it.)

One Final Done.

I finished the Pharmacology final tonight. What a relief. It was 120 questions. That went on forever. It's funny because we had 4 different instructors for the class and the questions were really different depending on the instructor. There is one instructor that everyone loves. She's wonderful. Organized, good at explaining difficult concepts and actually tests on what she says she is going to test on. As opposed to a couple of left field questions form others.

As far as finals go I have two more left. Chemistry will be on Tuesday and Nutrition will be next week Friday. At least I have study guides for both classes to work on. I'm on edge for the Chemistry because I'm at 89%.

However what will keep me up tonight is orientation for nursing school tomorrow. I have a couple of classmates I know got in, so at least I won't be alone. May actually post tomorrow about what I find out.

Got in!!!

I got in to the regular BSN program. WOOHOO!!!
Orientation session next week. That will be something to look forward to in between finals.

As for my finals, it will be pharmacology next week and then chemistry & nutrition the week after.

WOOHOO!!!

Plugging along

I'm plugging along, checking off all the things I need to do this week. To do this week:
1. Finish nutrition assignment - done.
2. Study for chemistry chapter quiz - almost done. Need to review before tomorrow morning.
3. Study for Pharmacology test on Thursday. That will be the main thing I'll work on the next few days. Got tables set up for most of the drugs, but fluids and electrolytes lecture was too confusing. I think I understand what I'm supposed to know. The problem is that this is the first test with questions from this instructor. That's the pain with 4 different instructors for one class.

On a side note, from what I hear, the pharmacology class I'm in is the hardest of all the local community colleges and universities. I'm sure it's not so much the content, but living with four different instructors.

On one hand I'll be glad when this semester is over, because it will mean I'm done with these classes. On the other hand, I wouldn't mind a few more weeks to study for tests.

Not accepted

So I wasn't accepted to the accelerated BSN program. I got a call last week about it and an email today. Part of me is disappointed. Among other things, I'm impatient and can't wait to stop going to school and start working full-time. However, it's all ok. When you think about the people I'm competing against, it's not surprising. My mom thinks it's a good, because she thinks I need to get my life more together. I admit I'm still working on things as far as being more organized and exercising more. And the good news is that I was told that I'm still being considered for the regular BSN program. Apparently application looks good as far as points go, so there's a good chance that I might start in the fall. But now I have to wait until May to hear whether I'm accepted. Wish me luck.

What's up with Nutrition?

So the instructor for the online nutrition class I'm taking the week before our first test back in February. We just had our first test this week. And the class structure totally changed. It's really frustrating, but I'm trying not to dwell on it. I have to take this class this semester, so I'm trying to grin and bear it. It would help if I studied more, but it's hard when I have other classes with quizzes and tests every week. Just need to get through this semester.

Actually, I would just like to get through this week. Next week is spring break. Yeah! And a wedding to attend this weekend. So I'm going to relax a little, and then get a little studying done for the last stretch of the semester.

See - I post every 3-4 months

Hah! Decided to revive the blog. I still feel like I have nothing to say, compared to the interesting one's I read on a daily basis, but need to talk about what's going on somewhere.

Since I last updated, I passed all my Fall classes with A's. Yeah!!!

Then started Spring classes. Ugh. Chemistry is great, I can live with Pharmacology, but Nutrition is driving me crazy. More on that later...

Yes, I've applied to the local accelerated BSN program and got an interview. Now I'm just waiting to see what happens.

Cross your fingers, toes, etc.