Skills Testing

It's been longer than a week since I last posted. But I actually have an excuse. I'm fighting some kind of virus. Not really bad symptoms, except I'm really tired and have been having the full body ache.

This week we are learning about wound dressing. We're supposed to know this and NG tube insertion/feeding for skills testing next week. I was really nervous before we did NG tube insertions. But I've come to realize that it is not really hard to do it on the mannequin. The problem is to remember to do everything in the right order. And we have know why we do something. For instance, do not pack the wound too tightly, because it prevents wound contracture and capillary growth.

Plus we the first two tests for Fundamentals & Pathophysiology coming up in the next few weeks. Ugh. I'm going back to bed.

Loving 2nd Semester

I'm enjoying 2nd semester. I'm starting to feel like a real nursing student on my way to being a real RN.
What I love:
1. I'm really enjoying our "Clinicals." They are now just all in dry lab and we won't go to the hospital for a couple of weeks. But we're doing real "nursing things" like toileting, bed changes and moving patients. Next week we do our first real procedure - NG tube insertion and tube feedings. Everyone is having fun. Even though we're three sections, we're all doing lab together. It's great because we all feel that we're getting the same education. (This is compared to last semester, when there was a difference between what the different clinical instructors were teaching.)
2. Fundamentals class is interesting. Our instructor is really knowledgeable about nursing. She doesn't teach a clinical section, but is often in lab giving us her "pearls of wisdom." She can be really intimidating, but is very nice about telling you what you're doing wrong. And she has a great sense of humor.
3. Finally I'm taking pathophysiology. It's still at the stage where it's all overwhelming. But it's nice to finally learn this stuff.

Next week we learn about nursing diagnosis. Some of it seems silly, since we were told right up front that hardly anyone uses them anymore. But I think I will find it helpful to help organize my thoughts.

Note: If you have a skinny butt, sitting on a bedpan isn't that uncomfortable. But if you butt is bigger like mine, they do start to cut into your butt.

Advice for 1st semester students

So every semester, the 2nd semester students host a lunch for the 1st semester students. And last semester, for our lunch, some of the SNO officers came by and talked to us. They all gave us advice. Unfortunately I had lab this morning during the lunch, so I wasn't able to give them my two cents. This is what I would have said:
1. Clinicals are what makes it all worth it.
I loved clinicals. I found them very stressful, but it reminded me weekly why I'm in nursing school. It was amazing at the end of the semester how much I had learned. I felt comfortable doing all the skills on that long list. But more importantly, I felt comfortable talking to patients. I didn't realize this until after my final for clinicals: Even though I get so nervous, I've gotten good at developing that rapport.
2. Nursing school is more than studying.
I'm not just saying this because I'm my class president. I'm saying this because your classmates are your support system. You're with for 3 years. You'll be studying together, doing those horrid group projects together and eventually working with them. So now is the time to get to know them.
I doubt I would have said exactly that, but you get the point.

Nursing Bloopers

At the of November, I took my clinical exam. This was in two parts. During the first part, we examined a "real" patient, and then for the second part we wrote up our findings. We were in the new medical school, with their nice new examination rooms. You know those stools that you see in doctor's offices that roll around. Well, I tried to sit down to take a health history and fell down - twice. Both times my equipment fell out of my pockets. I finally got smart the second time and took out the heavy stuff. It also helped that I put the stool further down and did my best to keep it from rolling. Those are dangerous.
The exam itself went ok. My patient did have a leg cramp when I was doing the abdominal exam and I was running out of time. I was trying to be nice and let him recover. But at the same time I wanted to get him up so I could complete the exam. I did run over time in the end.
The story does not stop there. I was writing up my results, but had not thought that I should be writing in black pen. So my pen ran out of ink. I then borrowed a pen from someone else and her pen ran out. Luckily the 2nd pen I borrowed lasted until I finished. It's a good thing, otherwise my instructor would have gotten a report in her choice of pencil, blue or red.

So what have I been up to?

...other than not blogging at all.
I've been enjoying my break. Saw 3 movies, went to lots of Holiday parties, and generally caught up with life. I'm finally at the point where I stopped clenching my teeth all the time. My one New Year's resolution is try to start running again. I'm using coolrunning.com Couch to 5K plan. I'll let you know how it goes.

Classes start up again tomorrow. I'm taking Pathophysiology and our fundamentals class with the accompanying clinical. One of the reasons I was clenching my teeth was because I was stressed out with registration for clinicals. We get to choose our section with registration, and for a variety of reasons I'm one of the last to register, so I get no choice. I was so worried about choosing the right clinical, but then realized I had no choice. That realization helped me get over it, but still upsets me.

So I'm thinking of starting reading for tomorrow. I checked the class website and we're starting Pathophysiology with fluids & electrolytes. Ugh. I did ok with that in A&P and chemistry, but it's not my favorite subject. But don't think I'm some kind of great student reading before classes start. I had some classmates, who said they were reading as soon as exams ended. Crazy.

2nd New Year's resolution - to blog once a week. We'll see how that goes.

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.

Unknowns

So we started our unknowns in Micro lab this week. It's great, though I would get so nervous. Even though my instructor is the nicest person, it doesn't stop the heart from beating hard. She would come over and I would tell her that it was gram - rods or gram + cocci under the microscope. And then reporting to her the results of the test was also nerve racking. And I'm not the only one. I mean we know what to do, but you forget everything when it counts. And it is worth 20% of our grade.

The good part was I narrowed my gram - unknown down to two species. And I did an extra lactose fermenting test, so I should have the results next Monday. Yeah!