Here's the deal...

2nd semester was a bitch. Like a total and complete bitch. I have never in my life been so busy and gotten so completely sick of school! Buuuuuut, the good news is....it's OVER! And, all my obsessive hard work paid off!!! Ended up with a 98% in Mental Health, a 96% in Advanced Med Surge, a ridiculous 100% in Nursing Research (thank gawd for extra credit and a humongo-curve on one of the midterms) and an A in Gero...(don't know the percentage, which is driving the OCD side of my brain crazy!). You can be rest assured I've already emailed the instructor to ask :-)

Like a moron, I went into this semester thinking I was going to be LESS busy than the previous one. HA! It was insane. Not only did we have two clinical days a week, but we had this ridiculous one-to-one mental health assignment that took about 6-8 hours every Friday. Add to that all the classes, clinical prep, huge-ass projects and exams and it was one busy busy semester.

This past two weeks have been back-to-back marathon study sessions for our 6 finals...four exams and two ATIs. When I hit the "submit" button on my Med Surg ATI my heart was about to pound right through my skin...I have never been so tense in an exam! Luckily I passed on the first try because I seriously don't think I could re-study for that test...by far, the hardest test I've ever taken. It's really sad when a score in the 70's puts you in the 98th percentile...now that's a hard test!

Ok, off to go do something decadent and lazy. Like watch a movie!!!!!

Mental Health...a little less crazy.

Ok, I promised to pop in with an update. I got a 94% on the exam, but I'm pretty sure she's going to toss out at least one really bad question. VERY happy about this! I have a shot at getting an A, and not the dreaded A-.

Yippeee!

No, I'm not dead...

I have just been absolutely freakin' buried. I did the math the other day and realized this semester is about 98 hours a week of work. I am one tired kitty.

So far things are going well...I'm doing great in all my classes (knock on wood), except that I am on the cusp in Mental Health. The school has a new lecturer who is HORRIBLE, so I can't say my enthusiasm for the class has been high. Oh well...I am basically approaching it as a self-taught course at this point, so we'll see how I do on the exam this Friday. How many college professors do you know that not only read the PPT slides word-for-word, but call on students to do the reading for them? And no, I am not making this up.

Anyway, after the exam in MH this Friday then I am looking at a more mellow schedule for the rest of the semester. Not really "mellow", but all of my big projects will be finished and all I'll have to look forward to are exams and two ATIs. Med/Surg clinical ended yesterday with a couple of highlights...I got to see two codes (one successful, one not) and do my first Foley. I realized immediately doing a Foley in the ER isn't quite the same as doing one in the lab with your drill-sergeant professor critiquing your every move. It was actually not stressful at all! Yay!

I also got to go to the MICU and the NSICU this semester, plus spent three weeks on the cardiology floor. I can definitely say I like taking care of ONE patient a whole heck of a lot more than I like taking care of multiple pts...but boy was I nervous when my ICU nurse when on her lunch break, leaving me with a vented and coughing patient. STRESS!

For this next clinical rotation, I go back to Mental Health, and for this segment we focus on community health. I'm pretty sure Ih have to go to a 12-step meeting of some kind and give a presentation about a health topic. That's about it. Mental Health rotation is SO MUCH easier than Med/Surg (but also not nearly as fun!)

I am also now the proud owner of a superbly craptastic 22-page gerontology paper that is the most repetitive pile of poo I have ever written. The grading rubric is such that the repetitive nature of the paper was completely unavoidable so it's not my fault! The really sad thing is, I can sum up the whole idea of the huge pile-of-doo-paper in a few words...oh, I did...it's the title!! Anyway, I am extremely bitter about this project...not only because it is so lame, but because it took about 30-40 hours...and get this...it's a 2-unit class! (Insert scream of despair and frustration here). I swear this class is making me not even like old people. Ok, not true, but I am extremely bitter!

OK, that's enough kvetching...sorry again for the humongous delay...I guess that's what 2nd semester does to you!

I'll try to remember to pop my head back in here to let you know how the Mental Health exam goes!

My butt has been kicked and handed to me in so many new and innovative ways...

I have come to the realization that nursing school administrators believe students operate in a dimension where time stands still. The amount of work that I have had to do in the past few weeks (and namely this week and the weeks to come) is mind boggling. After spending two weeks on "frontloading" which is a nice way of saying "cramming as much information down your throat as we possibly can", clinical started this week. Some folks are starting in Mental Health where they get to go sit and chat with a mentally ill person for 2 days a week (did I mention the no-prep-work part of the mental health rotation? I am soooo looking forward to that!), and other folks (like yours truly) started in Med/Surg. Among that group some lucky ducks got to start in the ICU where they got to take care of one really sick patient and do all that super cool, super OCD ICU nursey type stuff, and others (like yours truly) got to start on the Med-Surge floor. Insert heavy sigh here.

Our professors were nice and apparently realized we hadn't taken care of two patients except for one weekend last semester, so they let us ease into it by taking care of one pt on Tuesday and then picking up another one to take care of on Wednesday, so that we'd end up with 2 on Wednesday. Can I just say that the evil part of this plan was the TWO NIGHTS IN A ROW of doing my clinical prep. OMG.

For starters, I'm at a new hospital this semester and know next to nothing about the electronic charting system. So, it took me almost 4 HOURS to get all the pt info I needed to even start my prep. Don't ask my how it took that long, but I think I just spent a lot of time searching for stuff on the EMR, getting all paranoid that I was going to miss something! Oh, did I mention my first patient had 39 meds??

Clinical the first day wasn't bad, except I'm pretty sure I was charting my assessments in the wrong place all day (oops), but the RN I worked with figured it out and all is good. I did better by the end of the day, thanks to the aforementioned awesome RN I was working with.....but still...a more thorough and detailed training on how to use the EMR is definitely in order.

So, after taking care of one pretty demanding pt all day, I had to pick a second pt, then go home and write that patient up. I do not do well on 4-5 hours of sleep...I just DON'T. By the time end of day Wednesday rolled around, I felt like I'd been abducted and probed by aliens for the past three days. I logged 42 hours of work for ONE class in those three days. ONE CLASS! I have three other classes, and one more starting this week. WTF and I going to do???? Clone myself????

Anyway, that's enough bitching and moaning...now on to the good stuff....clinical was awesome! I definitely got into more of a rhythm on the second day, and was able to "almost" keep up on all of my work. I got to do my first suppository (ok, maybe "got to" isn't the proper way of putting it), hung two piggybacks (my CI had to help a lot for the first, and only a little for the second, so I'm hoping to get checked off on that completely next week). I learned I am a really slow bed-bath giver and how to say 'thank you' in Russian. I learned that some patients SLEEP WITH THEIR FREAKING EYES OPEN, and that some people just want to be heard. All in all, a good week.

Math Test? Nailed it!

Ok, so maybe I should study with wine more often. Got 100% on the math test!!!! Yippee skippy!

After the test we had 4 lectures back-to-back...talk about a looong day. We had two lectures on respiratory disorders, one on mechanical ventilation and one on the communication needs of the ICU patient. Lots of info really really fast. So tonight I am typing up my respiratory notes...we'll see how much of that I can get through. Tomorrow is ABG lecture along with central lines and drains...and that's the end of the "frontloading" lectures for M/S. Whew!

Next hurdle: soft check-off on 7 skills this Thursday, then mental health exam in three weeks.

More wine anyone?

Drinking wine and studying....what a difference a semester makes!

How do you know you're no longer a first-semester nursing student? When you start drinking wine while studying! Ok....this probably won't happen every night, but we had a pretty light first-day of classes and now I'm just reviewing for my dosage calc test (tomorrow A.M.) and maybe doing a couple of other small-ish homework-type things later. Nothing too major and my hubby just brought me a glass of Crane Lake Chardonnay (yummy and cheap and Trader Joe's!), so I can't just let it sit here on my desk looking all golden and delicious...this wine must be drunk!

So, we're back in it. For the most part, people seemed pretty bummed about it overall. I guess now we know what we're in for, and it's hard to get all pumped like we did last semester. In general, I think I'm ready to be back...it's just a matter of getting back in the swing of things...back into my groove. Someone today told me I was a "legend" of our class, which makes me feel like a) these people need better role models, and b) I have to live up to my own high expectations. I guess I have a reputation for being super organized and on top of things...not sure that's entirely true, but I guess that's the image that I project. It's interesting to hear how other people see you, because I have a different impression entirely...the words stressed, exhausted, worried and unsure all come to mind. Anyway...we shall see how things shake out!

As for the first day of 2nd Semester...we had Advanced Med Surg orientation and a lecture on blood administration. Next we had Mental Health orientation and lecture and ended up getting out at around 3:30-ish. For some reason, this first-day feels a whole heck of a lot different from our first day last semester...not sure if it's because we know what to expect or if it really is less overwhelming. Check back in with me at the end of the week though...things may get dicey. Tomorrow is our dosage calculations exam (90% to pass, which isn't too horrible...keep your fingers crossed for me), and then we've got respiratory disorders lecture for 6 HOURS!!! Wednesday is another 6-hour lecture day and then Thursday is skills lab...so that will be a nice break. Friday is another mental health lecture and then orientation. Clinical doesn't start until week 3 and I believe I start out in the cardiology unit...should be fun!

Now you are officially caught up!

I was tagged...I feel so special!!!

Wow, welcome to the Blogosphere!!! I have been tagged with "The Honest Scrap" award and I now must do the following:
1. “The Honest Scrap” award is not one to hold all to your self but it must be shared!
2. First, the recipient has to tell 10 true things about themselves in their blog that no one else knows.
3. Second, the recipient has to pass along this prestigious award to 10 more bloggers.
4. Third, those 10 bloggers all have to be notified they have been given this award.
5. Those 10 bloggers that receive this award should link back to the blog that awarded them “The Honest Scrap’ award. (i'm not sure I know how to do that, but I'll give it a whirl)

So....my ten things are:
1) I took pictures of myself in my underwear today (trying to log my weight loss progress without getting on the scale)
2) Sometimes I get french fries at McDo and then hide the wrappers so no one knows my dirty little secret
3) I am painfully shy and self conscious
4) I hate advertising and think it's the stupidest endeavor ever and can't believe I wasted so much of my life doing it
5) Every now and then I feel maternal...but then I make a full recovery
6) I have an unhealthy obsession with pens
7) I used to drink way too much but now I don't
8) I absolutely love how quiet my house is
9) I called a pet psychic after my cat died. Twice.
10) I realize #5 makes me sound bitchy...it's not the kids I don't like, it's the parenting, watching, babysitting, constantly-making-sure-they-don't-kill-themselves-ing, the cajoling, the negotiating, the disciplining, the repeating, the diaper changing, the potty training, the cleaning, the burping and the noise that do not appeal to me. This is why I am better suited for Aunt-hood.

Ok, so I guess I have to do some linking now...I guess I'll just tag the people whose blogs I read...

http://livingdeadnursepsychoward.blogspot.com/
http://nzstudentnurse.blogspot.com/
http://wardbunny.blogspot.com/
http://nursinganatomy.blogspot.com/

Ok, that's enough linking for someone who doesn't know how to do it very well or efficiently. In fact, I'm not really sure what I do now? Blog Newbie here! I do know that I really need to get on the big stick and blog more so I can win one of those cool blogger awards!!! Nothing like setting your sights high, I say!

3rd Callanetics DONE!

Here's an update on the official Callanetics Experiement. I have completed the workout three times and have already seen a half inch decrease in my waist! Yippee! I took a few other measurements, but it's so hard to remember EXACTLY where I put the tape measure, so I'm not trusting the other measurements just yet. I think there could have been a half inch or quarter inch drop in the thighs, but until it's down a full inch I can't be sure I'm measuring in the same spot. But all in all, this is very promising!

Yesterday I did the workout without the video, and I have to say it was MUCH less boring! I just printed out the sequence and watched something interesting instead. In general progress:

-I didn't have to take a full break in the first leg exercise, but this is probably because I was able to pause when things got hairy. Granted, I paused in the plie, so it wasn't a full pause!
-I felt like I curled up higher in the ab exercises...yay!
-The pelvic rotations hurt, but I didn't curse at anyone this time.
-I swear that I can see a "line" defining my quadriceps from my leg fat...in the right lighting, of course...but still!!!

My goal is to do the Callanetics workout 18 times in January, which will bring me up to a total of 20! So far, I have done 2 of those 18. Go me!

The great Callanetics experiment

Have I started a Callanetics experiment before? It sounds so totally familiar, but even if I did I am SURE I did not finish it as that would go against everything I believe in. Ha!

Callanetics is a form of deep-muscle exercise developed by Callan Pinckney way back in the 80s as a way to alleviate her severe knee and back pain. The exercises are rooted in ballet, but are actually very unique and INTENSE! She has a book that I read back in high school (so it must have just come out actually...see what a trendsetter I am?) called "Ten Years Younger in Ten Hours"...the routine takes about an hour to do, hence the name.

I have the book (I think I do anyway...will have to search the bedroom closet after hubby gets up) and three of the videos: Callanetics (which is based on the book), Quick Callanetics for Hips and Behind, and Quick Callanetics for Legs. I have started and stopped this routine several times, but I'm not sure why. Whenever I take body measurements after 3 or 4 sessions there is always a loss of inches. SO, I am going to STICK TO IT for 10 whole sessions over the course of the next 2.5-3 weeks and re-measure after I have completed by 10th session of the one-hour program (I'll count each Quick video as half a lesson).

The reason I am tracking this experiment on this blog is A) I'm bored and on summer vacation, and B) while there are a lot of snippets of Callanetics anecdotes out there, there isn't much in the way of following someone through their experience...and since that's what I was looking for, I thought I'd just do it myself. (Geez! Do I have to do EVERYTHING???) :-)

So, my recap for Session 1: I found that I was really glad the ab exercises are toward the beginning of the video, because I always dread those and they're over before you know it! I'll also have to FORCE myself to do the entire warm-up, but I can see how that could get skipped by someone if they are short on time. But, in the interest of being experiment-y, I will do the warmups. They're just kind of boring, but they must be there for a reason. By far the hardest things for me to do are the leg exercises...I can't do all the pelvic scoops without stopping several times and the pelvic rotations make me want to hurt someone.

All in all, I felt pretty good after the workout...though my legs were a wee bit wobbly. Today I feel slightly sore all over, but nothing horrendous that will keep me from popping in a Quick video for later tonight.

One down, nine to go! (And yes, i took measurements...SCARY STUFF, so I won't post it here)

Still not studying...still cooking

I still haven't been able to force myself to study and why should I? I'm having too much fun making cupcakes! Who knew this would turn into a cooking blog when I was on break?

These little darlings are from the cookbook, "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World". I'm not a strict vegan or anything, it's just that when i cook I prefer to do it as animal-free as possible...plus I'm convinced it forces me to eat more veggies. Ok, I realize a cupcake is a not a veggie...sad but true.

Black Bean, Mushroom and Quinoa-stuffed Peppers

I cooked again! These are some yummy peppers I made (again from the VwaV cookbook). These little lovelies chime in at just under 300 calories each and are very satisfying! They get a tomato sauce before baking, but I took the picture prior to that because I thought they were so pretty! Ok, you may disagree...but it's my camera, I swear! They are YUM!!!

In other news, still haven't been able to force myself to study, but I did print out some study materials that were emailed to us a few weeks ago AND I got my fingerprinting done yesterday AND my 3rd HepB today. So, I'm doing stuff...just not studying!

Bon Appetit!

Black Bean, Mushroom and Quinoa-stuffed Peppers

I thought I was going to make a breakfast dish next, but then realized that would be about a week since it will take me that long to finish the batch of scrambled tofu I made.

So, for lunch today I made these yummy bell peppers from Vegan with a Vengeance! This is a picture of the peppers before I put the tomato sauce on top...they're so pretty!



The nutrition info is pretty, too! 294 calories per pepper, 11.4 g of Protein, NO cholesterol and a ton of Vitamin A and Vitamin C (62% and 232%).

I haven't tasted them yet, but I did sneak a bite of the filling before I put them in the oven, and I think we may have a home-run here!

Ahhhh....the delicious taste of summer.

Now that summer vacation is here in full force, I pretty much have time to do all the things I enjoy doing with none of that pesky studying getting in the way. One of my new projects is to cook my way through the Vegan with a Vengeance cookbook, so I started today with recipe #1, Tofu Scramble. It is super yummy, extremely healthy and pretty darn easy to make. It takes a while to make (mainly with all the chopping and cooking of the veggies), but if I make one whole batch I can eat on it all week long since my husband won't touch the stuff with a 10-foot pole...I guess cholesterol, saturated fat and factory farming are more appealing than healthy, cruelty-free food? Who knows...

So, keeping in mind that I'm not really a photographer, here is the scramble!



Next up is an Asparagus and Sun-dried Tomato Frittata!

Vegan Cooking Club

In the interest of celebrating health and vitality as I come to the tail-end of my 30s, I am starting a Vegan Cooking Club with a few friends (only few because I suspect some of the people I invited are teaming up and thinking of ways to avoid joining the club). Doesn't that sound totally fun?

Anyway, along those lines, I decided it would be a fun idea to cook my way through the Vegan with a Vengeance cookbook, otherwise I tend to prepare the same five recipes (kind of like when I go to Napa I go to the same ol' wineries every time...just call me Rut Girl). Anyway, I started this morning with recipe #1, Scrambled Tofu. It makes about 11 half-cup servings at 67 calories a serving...so even if you nosh out and go for a whole cup it's still a low-cal and high-protein, healthy-carb breakfast! Oh, did I mention the "no cholesterol" thing?

So, please bear in mind that I am not a professional photographer, but here is a picture of the completed scramble:


Next up: Asparagus and Sun-dried Tomato Frittata!!!!

Get yourself an Uncalendar!

For those of you who are trying to figure out how to organize yourselves for next semester...I present...the Uncalendar (http://uncalendar.com/). This awesome calendar may not be all cutesy like the time.mine calendars or the Franklin Covey planners or any of that stuff, but is is FUNCTIONAL and awesome and frankly...what else do you need? By the way, I use the Lifestyle Fullsize version which I recommend...there are so many tasks and due dates that I just don't think you can fit everything into one of those smaller planners unless you have really small handwriting and very keen eyesight.

The fantabulous thing about this calendar is that it's totally personalizable (is that even a word), and it has lots of space for lots of stuff! For instance, I would use one of the boxes to list "school to-do" items such as: buy scantrons, fill out the blue packet (whatever that was), print N-12 study questions...etc. Another box was a list of the gazillion quizzes we had to take (13 in one week). Another box was related to things to pack in my clinical bag and yet another was related to stuff I needed to do at home like pay bills and buy groceries. I could also plan out my week on the weekly calendar, which really helps me to determine how in the world I can get everything done. Making a list doesn't help me if the items on my list take 29 hours and there are only 24 hours in a day...filling out the weekly calendar helps me see that.

It also has a monthly calendar so you can look at The Big Picture, but I mainly used the weekly...let's be honest...in Nursing School you are rarely ever looking any farther forward than a few days, much less a whole month! But it's nice to see what big ticket items are coming up so you can incorporate study time.

Ok, that's my pitch for the best planner ever! And here is a picture of the inside weekly pages in case you are too busy to go to the website (if you click on it, it gets bigger so you can see the detail). There is also something called the Pro version, but that might be more for people with jobs? :-)

Summer is here...I survived!!!!

Ok, I am the world's worst blogger...I suck at keeping up with this thing, but school sucked the life out of me and I'm just now getting back to feeling like a normal human being.

Whew!

Ok, so I left off with something called "Hell Week", which I don't even remember. Ha! I must have blocked it out of my memory! Since then we've had finals and all that bizz-ness, so here is where things stand: I got all A's...yippee skippee...I am mainly proud of this because my school doles out A-, so to that part of me that thought this wasn't possible...In Your Face!

So what are my first impressions of the first semester? For starters, it was insane and took over my life but I survived. Here's a quick rundown of the classes and how they went:

-Med/Surg 1...an intense class but not nearly as wackadoo as my A&P classes were. I think this is because I studied my tail off for A&P, so applying what I learned to the nursing implications wasn't too too bad. Of course, I was totally sweating it after I took the final, but in my defense, those NCLEX style questions are wacky! I actually screamed and jumped up and down when I saw that I got an A in the class. The final was worth so many points that failing was always a possibility (failing is below a 73%). Ouch.

-Intro to Professional Nursing...a theory class that was made far more difficult than it needed to be. 'Nuff said.

-Intro to Clinical Practice...this was a skills lab that was also made more difficult than it needed to be. The check-offs were fine and very straight-forward, but the darn tests and quizzes were tricksy! The nice thing about this class was that it was frontloaded and ended early. So even though we were hating life in the beginning, we were loving it toward the end of the semester.

-Physical Assessment of the Adult...by far the most straight-forward class of them all. Loved it!

-Therapeutic Communication...a complete waste of time.

Overall, I think I learned some organizational things that will help me conquer next semester and hope hope hope that I can have somewhat of a life (translation, "I hope that I don't sit around on my duff and get fatter"), but who knows..I've heard 2nd semester is almost as bad as the first. Here's what's in store for me:

Mondays: Med/Surg 2 (Nursing Families in Complex Illness). The nice thing about this class is that it's streamed online so if I don't feel like getting dressed, I don't have to! But, knowing me...I'll go to class anyway...I'm anal that way (at least for this class). This is also the day I will go to the hospital to select my patients for clinical. And we all know how much fun that is.

Tuesdays and Wednesdays: Clinical...yay! I actually like clinical and would like it more if it didn't entail a ton of homework. Ugh! Our semester is organized with us going to the hospital for Med/Surg clinical for 3 weeks, then mental health for 3 weeks, then M/S then MH. The nice thing about mental health is...no patient prep!!!!! I start off my M/S clinical in cardiology (I think so at least) and then go to mental health for 3 weeks. Then it's back to M/S with the MICU and PACU and something else in between. I have to be honest, I'm not stoked about the PACU. Can someone please tell me how exciting and fascinating it is so I don't totally dread it?

Thursdays: Gerontology. Plus, I have to meet with a mentally ill child for an hour. Yes, a whole hour. I have a hard enough time relating to healthy children...and I really don't feel as though I'm qualified to talk to anyone about anything at this point, so this should be a real scream. Kinda not looking forward to it.

Fridays: Mental Health lecture. Also streamed online. Do you think I'll be dragging my fanny to class or sitting here at home with a cuppa joe and a cat on my lap? Bingo!!!

Online class: Nursing research. I hear it's a bear, but I tend to like boring things like research so I'm hoping my interest in the subject will make it bearable.

Ok, so that's what's coming up. Until then I am enjoying summer break and trying to earn a few dollars. This whole not-working thing is really a strain! At some point I am going to have to start prepping for next semester, but I just don't hate myself enough to do it just yet. I might wait until July and then get back to it...there are a few things I would like to review prior to M/S part deux, namely the whole fluid/electrolyte thing, plus cardiac physiology and the endocrine system. I know people are starting to read ahead for next semester but I kinda feel like a review of the physiology will help me a lot so that I can understand the patho. Am I just cookoo or does this make sense?

As for other fun things going on this summer...I am riding my bike a lot and cooking! I have been making all sorts of yummy things including vegan Buffalo Wings and vegan Cornmeal Blueberry Muffins (yes I am into the animal-free thing, but am not strict enough to call myself a full-fledged vegan). Next week is my birthday (and I have to say, I don't feel as old as I am), and some friends and I are going out to a vegan raw restaurant...so stay tuned for that! Speaking of food, is anyone else addicted to food blogs? For some reason I love reading about people's recipes, the food they've cooked and whatnot. I would make a food blog if others weren't doing a better job of it already. Maybe I will...maybe that would motivate me to get creative in the kitchen...what do you think? Am I just a nerdy computer dork?

I will try to think of something interesting to write as I delve into the prep for next semester....I do have some great organization tips that I'll post eventually for future Nursing School victims! My next big project is to work on the garden (who wants to see pics of that? Raise your hands!) and work on my Bestseller! I call it a bestseller because I read "The Secret" and it says you have to believe it in order to make it happen!!! So, instead of calling it my book or my novel or my mystery story, it's my bestseller...and you all can say you knew me when...

:-)

A busy busy week

Ok, I am midway through Crazy Week, and to be honest it's not that bad. I had clinical on Tuesday, but since I earned "minimal prep" for essentially being a fantastic student on all my other preps, then it wasn't too crazy. I still have to write a DAR note related to something I did on Tuesday and calculate how many pain meds I gave, but that's it!

On Wednesday we had our final check-off for our assessment class. They set it up like Jeopardy, with questions of varying difficulty worth different points. The goal was to get 200 points, which I did in 5 rounds I think...I screwed up one question regarding how to assess for a physiological split of S-2, but I can now say I'll never forget that little gem!

Tomorrow I am turning in a scholarship application, meeting with my study buddy to do case-studies for the Med/Surg final and then going to the hospital to pick out my final two patients. Then it's clinical on Saturday from 0620-1500, and again on Sunday from 0630-1200. Then it's home to almond champagne and a soak in the foot spa. Can't wait.

Gotta run...but remind me to write my general impressions of clinical. I think I have a serious problem in that I tend to fall in love with all my patients and I feel like crying when I think about how sick they are. I guess I'm just an old softy after all. Sigh.

Me and Susan Boyle have so much in common....

...mainly that we have FOLLOWERS! I just noticed I now have 6 followers and it's making me feel all tingly inside. Ok, that's nothing compared to the millions of hits the Susan Boyle youtube videos have garnered, but still...Rome wasn't built in a day!

On the off-chance that my fans (ok, followers) are pre-nursing students, I thought you might find this helpful...I made a website to help other students along their journey (http://web.mac.com/maureenosuna/iWeb/School/Home.html)...it's chock-full of mainly my anal A&P notes, but I hope to add more goods as time goes on. Oh there's a highly entertaining blog of me doing audio notes for some of my classes...great for those nights when you can't fall asleep!

This coming week is the Clinical Week from Hell...which I will now call Hell Week. I've got clinical on Tuesday (1 patient) and then back-to-back Saturday and Sunday with 2 patients. I also have a comprehensive physical assessment check-off on Wednesday and a group presentation Monday morning.

Wish me luck! I'll repot back Sunday night as I enjoy a glass of wine and soak my feet!

One class down, five to go...

My skills lab class ended early (it was front-loaded, which is a fancy word for hellish the first few weeks), and I ended up with an A...not an A- as I feared, but an actual, honest-to-goodness real A. Yippeeeee!

So, I only have FIVE more classes to finish off, and they entail 5 final exams, an ATI exam, 3 group presentations, 3 clinical days, 1 surgery day and a handful of quizzes. The countdown is ON!

With summer peaking its head around the corner, I am putting together my plan for those long months. Knowing me, I'll love the freedom for about 2 weeks and then boredom will set in. Not enough boredom to warrent me taking a class (I can't bear the thought of it), but enough to cause restlessness just the same. My plan so far is to:
- try to get some freelance writing work
- help my husband with his business
- get caught up on the bank statements (not a small task considering how many accounts we have and how far behind I am)
- study for the Sac State government exam so I can test out of that class
- meet with a study group once a week to review things we'll need to know for next semester
- go on some backpacking trips (this will necessitate me getting a backpack for my birthday!)
- go on day hikes up in the Desolation Wilderness
- ride my bike
- walk (this is part of my new plan to be more active)
- go to yoga class with my earnings from my freelance work
- work on my bestseller!
- lay around in the grass with a good book
- go to the beach in San Francisco at least 3 times
- cook!

Ok, that should keep me busy!

Wow, it's already a month later...

...and I have realized I am a terribly inconsistent blogger. Most days I just can't force myself to look at the computer for another minute so that's pretty much why I haven't been updating my blog. On top of that, I'm just so darn tired all the time that it's hard to fathom putting a sentence together. I guess I feel some pressure to be just as awesome at this as some of the other nursing school blogs I've read (namely the brainscramble.org blog...it's fantastic), plus since I've been a writer for so long I feel pressure to write them well. Lucky for you I have a new philosphy that has been born out of necessity...in nursing school you just can't be as anal and obsessive as you'd like to be. I just don't have time. Now when I have a project to do my main goal is to just get it done, and I save the anal/obsessiveness for things like care plans and clinical, where it really matters. Everything else gets about an A- effort and that's fine with me. We're in survival mode here folks.

So, in light of my new attitude, I will post more often, but don't expect it to be super thought-provoking or anything...it will be more of an update with deep thoughts sprinkled prn.

So, without further ado, here is an update from the past few weeks:
-I can no longer spell. If my brain weren't completely frazzled I'd suspect a neurological disorder. Seriously.
-I now have to consciously NOT report the time using the 24-hour clock since my regular friends don't know what the hell 1430 is.
-I find that I am giving report on my cat. When my husband gets home from work I give him a quick rundown of how the cats are doing. Seriously. Today it was that my older cat is being especially needy. Good golly.
-I gave my first injection (insulin, sub q) in clinical last week. I thought I'd be freaking out, but it was so not a big deal. The main issue for me is making sure I am safe, so I was more freaked out about drawing up the right number of units than I was about piercing someone's skin.
-I did an Accucheck without gloves...so this wins bonehead move of the week. Actually, my CI caught it before I came into contact with any blood, but WOW, what a dumb thing to do.
-I saw my first hospital penis. Again, not as weird as I thought it was going to be.
-I get excited about goofy tasks like drawing urine for a U/A...if I get to dc a Foley or NG I am going to be stoked. I'd love to insert either, but those opportunities are few and far between...I guess a girl can dream though.
-I passed all my skills checkoffs on the first try, and that class is OVER so all I have to do for it is take a final this Wednesday. We are all freaked out about it...it's worth like 40% of our grade and it's tricky and full of tiny details...grr.....
-I went to my first CNSA meeting last night and one of my classmates nominated me for something (Class Representative, I think...I have no idea what it entails, but if no one else is nominated I guess it's my slot by default...hmmm...do I really have time for this?)
-My CI wrote on one of my clinical preps that I am an "amazing student". Direct quote! This was, of course, prior to the glove-less Accucheck incident.
-I'm still exhausted, but not quite as shell-shocked. Looking forward to having some more time to study now that Skills Lab is over.
-The rest of the semester mainly involves finals and two big group presentations. Oh, and the ATI. So, I guess I'm still super busy but maybe I'm getting used to it? Just in time for summer break!

Voila...you are pretty much caught up!

-

The Results are In!

Warning....own horn tooting about to occur. I got an A on my first Med/Surg exam! Yippee dippee skippee. Of all the questions I missed, only one was due to a true lack of knowledge...the others involved me going back and forth between the two "right" answers and picking the "not quite as right" answer. DAMN! Though, I am embarrassed to say that I had a patient with a systolic BP of 244 use the incentive spirometer in the PACU. What was I thinking? Hydralazine, THEN incentive spirometer...doh! I just kept talking myself out of it thinking the BP was due to a pain of 8/10, but now I know that a BP of 244 is really really really high. This is why we practice on Sim Man and answer hypothetical questions constantly. But still...this is embarrassing and I'm almost too shamed to face my instructor. I shall redeem myself!

Two big tests coming up this week. Skills exam and theory. As a class I would say we are all in agreement that our theory class is a waste of time and effort. Maybe someday I'll appreciate learning about Barton, Nutting and all the rest, but right now I just want to get my hands on some sick people! Our skills exam covers a gazillion topics ranging from ambulation and transfers to PO administration (with catheters and poop in there somewhere). I feel pretty confidet that I am grasping the "big picture" with all this stuff, but where I get stuck is with the details...how often to do things, what sizes of whatever to use, when to expect outcome A vs. outcome B. Ugh!

Wish me luck! I'll report back as soon as I get my grade...maybe as early as Monday night! Theory exam is Thursday and I am sooo not looking forward to it. The instructor thinks she's writing "critical thinking" questions, but so far they're just worded very ambiguously...that's not critical thinking...it's critical mind-reading. Kinda frustrating. Stay tuned.

Here's a pic for your viewing pleasure...nothing fancy b/c who has time for pics?

href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSwFUaHxsI9bSaM0_I3cBH8Fyu9-lzDytb-80_3eUOmBcRb7_-TnZnu1RhQFgfRUx-WOb0kRaZHfhEPnK3-j3uJwILhHhMJnGaUVuHJoS6ay-jA5CfIAOMP-Z4Nf4ygyEtpcIg/s1600-h/P1000562.JPG">

Post-Clinical Briefing

So here it is, albeit a bit late, my recollections on clinical. So far I've been to the hospital about three times...twice for oreintationy type things, and once working with an actual, real live patient! I would have to say my biggest stressor about clinical isn't working with the patients or not knowing what the heck I'm doing, or having to transport a body to the morgue or any of that...it's the other nurses. Believe it or not, not everyone is tickled pink to see a gaggle of nursing students come on to the floor, and I worry a lot about inadvertently pissing someone off or being annoying, pestering or bothersome. But then again, I'm there to learn so I have to be somewhat annoying if I'm going to get my hands on any of the cool skills like catheters and enemas (ok, maybe "cool" was not the right word to use here). But you know what I mean.

The trouble with being a first semester student (well, a first MONTH student) is that we can't do much yet. We're basically operating at the level of a CNA and since our floor already has CNA's, our being there doesn't relieve the RN of any of his/her duties and we are basically taking up their time and space. But, the good news is, I should be getting checked off on PO med pass week after this one, so at that point I'll be functioning pretty much at the LVN level as far as the skills I am capable of doing and I'll be a MUCH bigger help to the RNs on the floor. I'm expecting they'll warm up to us a bit when we can handle their med passes, and accu-checks and vitals and head-to-toes and dressing changes...you get the idea.

So, for this coming week I have home health on my clinical day. I heard from the girl who went last week that it was pretty boring with a lot of time sitting around while the RN does documentation. So, I hope I can study for my theory exam while I'm sitting around. Then, the following week I'm back at the hospital and will hopefully get checked off for the PO pass.

For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about...all the "major skills" we learn have a "check-off"...both in the lab (using a dummy) and then once again in the hospital on a real, live patient. So, I aced my PO check off (PO=by mouth as in oral medications) in the lab, but my clinical instructor has to observe me doing it "for real" before I'll be let loose to medicate my way around the unit. She also has to observe me doing my first Accu-Check (blood glucose test) before I'll be let loose to finger stick all the diabetics...my plan is to get that going week after next as well...just think how happy the RNs will be when I offer to do all their Accu-Checks in the morning. I am determined to be useful and helpful! I'll let you know how it goes.

Oh, and I saw a pretty darn big wound...my first! And no, I didn't faint, feel nauseous or wish I were at Nordstrom trying on shoes...it was way cooler than trying on shoes!

I'm a bad blogger

I just realized today that I've been terribly remiss in keeping the blogosphere (ok, all three of you) updated on my nursing school experience. The word for the day, ladies and gentlemen, is BUSY! Just when I think I'm caught up I'll take a look at my schedule and immediately feel like throwing up. Today was one of those days.

We are taking our first midterm in Med/Surg in two weeks and have to do write-ups on three case studies. I am currently working on one about cholecystitis, and it's already 6 pages long and I'm nowhere near finished. I am, however, learning a lot and it's totally interesting! The other two cases are about a guy with bladder cancer who has too many other problems to count and a pt with compression fractures of the spine. All of our test questions will utilize material regarding these three cases...so kinda cool.

On to other news...clinicals start tomorrow!!! Well, it's sort of a "clinical-light", because it's orientation to the hospital and includes a scavenger hunt on my unit. I am already freaked out about being late, but I suppose the usual 4 alarms I set will just have to do. As it stands now, I use a wake up call (www.wakeupcalls.net), radio alarm clock, cell phone and iPod. Yes...every day. I'm anal like that. Or is it OCD? Anyway...

I get to wear my snappy school uniform tomorrow, and look all nursey. Hopefully no one stops me in the hall and asks me anything because I will be completely clueless!

As for the school experience itself...so far I really like all my professors, though I have to say I endured The World's Most Boring Lecture last week...it was seriously torture. It was on the history of nursing and critical thinking...for hours. So far everyone seems really nice, though I'd be lying if I didn't say there are a few people that I'd prefer not to be stuck in an elevator with. But, I'm really trying not to be snippy, so I'll just leave it at that.

Here's hoping the nurses are nice to use tomorrow! That's one of my biggest worries...that the nurses will hate us and resent our presence on their unit. I will be as nice, helpful and professional as I know how to be...I guess that's all I really can do, huh?

Stay tuned for the post-clinical debriefing!

Exhausted

I'm so completely tired...so so completely tired and clinicals haven't even started yet! Instead, we've been learning extra skills on those days in a fun process called "Frontloading" that makes the first two weeks of the semester a wee bit on the crazy side. I am, however, managing to stay on top of things...and boy are there a lot of things.

By the time I close out my first two weeks of school this coming Saturday, I will have a taken 17 or so quizzes (seriously), taken two exams that are 90% or better to pass and learned the following skills:
TPR (temperature, pulse, respirations)
Blood pressure & apical pulse
Bed baths
Oral care
Ambulation and transfers
Use of restraints
TEDs/SCUDS
Range of Motion
Accucheck (for blood glucose)
Oxygenation
Positioning
Urine elimination (Foley removal, specimen collection, condom catheters)
Bowel elimination (enemas, specimen collection, bed pans)
Ostomy care
Documentation
Infection control procedures

On top of all this, I have 4 other classes which are Med/Surg (the biggie), Professional Nursing (a theory class), Therapeutic Communication, and Pharmacology. Just writing this out makes me feel sick.

So, if you haven't heard from me (and you probably haven't!) then this is why I've been too busy, exhausted, distracted. Once frontloading is over (this Saturday...yay!) then things should mellow a tiny bit...but then clinicals start, so who knows.

Wish me luck. On Saturday I have to pass a math test and a medical abbreviations test with at least a 90%. So far, none of the work has been especially difficult...just a LOT of it. I'm sure that actually applying everything I've learned is going to be the hardest part. Oh...and the Med/Surg exams. Can't wait for those! ;-)

The Plan (at least for now)

As I sit here less than a week before the most intense experience of my life begins, I can't help but feel a wee bit anxious about how this is going to all play out. I am in class or clinical physically 26 hours a week, I'm teaching yoga about 6 hours a week and doing all the other stuff that one must do to stay alive and well (eating, sleeping, showering). I also have a husband I would like to spend some time with once in a while, plus friends that I miss terribly when school is in session.

Usually when I feel this way, I make a list or some kind of plan and I usually feel instantly better. So, if you want to take a little peak into my world, here's how it's going to pan out (in theory):

Mondays
8:00-11:00 Med/Surg lecture
11:00-12:45 Teach yoga
1:00-2:00 Go to hospital and select patient for the next day's clinical
2:00- 9:00 Prep for clinical/study
9:00-11:00 Bedtime routine

Tuesdays
6:30-3:00 Clinical (times vary, but this is the general range)
3:30-5:00 Teach yoga
5:00-9:00 Study
9:00-11:00 Bedtime routine

Wednesdays
8:00-11:00 Assessment lab
12:00-4:30 Skills lab
5:00-9:00 Study
9:00-11:00 Bedtime routine

Thursdays
9:00-12:00 Nursing theory/history class
12:00-1:00 Lunch on campus
1:00-4:00 Communication class
4:00-6:00 Pharmacology
6:00-9:00 Study
9:00-11:00 Bedtime routine

Fridays
7:30-9:00 Teach yoga
9:00-12:00 Date with husband (run in the park, then breakfast and lounging around)
12:00-7:00 Study
7:00-10:00 HAVE FUN (someone please call me to hang out!)

Saturdays
9:00-10:00 Run in the park
10:00-5:00 Study
5:00-10:00 HAVE FUN

Sundays
9:00-10:00 Run in the park
10:00-9:00 Study
9:00-10:00 ME TIME (time to do things like pluck eyebrows, paint toenails, do a facial, etc...)

So, as you can see...that is one hairy scary schedule. At best, hubby and I will have one date per week, and will only be sleeping in the same bed at the same time on Tuesdays and Thursday nights. Speaking of bed, I have vivid memories of having horrible sleep patterns during A&P...I would dream about bones and all kinds of things...wake up in the middle of the night thinking about the sphenoid. Not fun.

So, I am going to really try to stick to a Bedtime Routine in hopes it will alleviate my stress so I can have some good z's. The general plan is to do a Callanetics video or some mellow yoga from 9:00 to 9:40-ish, followed by a soak in the tub and then a half hour of pleasure reading in bed. My goal is to be LIGHTS OUT at 11:00 every night. And, thanks to this amazing meditation application on my iPod, I am zonking out faster than I ever have in my life. It's called "Meditate Now"...check it out if you have trouble falling asleep!

OK, so that's my Plan for dealing with the crazy schedule while trying to squeeze in a little bit of "normalcy" here and there. It only has me studying 43 hours a week, which technically isn't enough but we'll see how it goes and adjust from there. The rule of thumb is to study 2-3 hours for every hour you're in class, but that would have me studying 52 hours a week at the minimum and I'm not sure I can get by with that little of sleep.

Stay tuned...I'll let you know how it pans out!

Orientation Recap

Today was day one of a 2-day orientation. We met at the school at 8:30 and filled out some forms, got a pep-talk from the Department Chair, and met the staff & faculty. Each of the professors gave a little talk about her class and we'll likely have a more detailed orientation on the first day of classes. We went through the main points in the student handbook and heard about ten times to be sure to wear panties with our scrub pants (seriously...who would think this would be an issue?)

After the main info thing, we took a class picture and then went to a pizza-lunch fundraiser for the CNSA. Thank goodness I'd already met a few people from class, because there's nothing worse than eating lunch in a room full of people you don't know. Anyway, after that we broke out into groups to go over stuff like PDAs, Q&A, equipment and such. All in all, it was pretty cool, but by the end I was pretty ready to get out of there and get home.

They also spent a fair amount of time scaring the bejeezus out of us regarding the first two weeks or so of class. One of our big courses (Intro to Clinical Nursing) is front-loaded so we have skills to take into the hospital. To be honest, all the classes sound remarkably similar to one another so it's hard to keep them straight...which sucks because I've color coded everything, and now I'm wondering if I've got it all mucked up and don't even know it.

So....first impressions. I thought the professors were all very nice, and the school itself seems to have an attitude that they want us to succeed. I've heard enough horror stories about schools that just try to weed out students, so this is a bit of a relief. Stay tuned!

Apparently 3 weeks is all the break I can handle.

I'm bored.

I've been on break for three weeks to the day and I am bored. I've cleaned and cleaned until my cleaner is sore. I've stocked up, organized and bought all my school supplies. I've caught up on the laundry, slept in and spent time with family and friends. But now I'm bored. Classes start in 2.5 weeks and I'm trying to figure out what I'm going to do with myself! So far, this is what I've come up with:

-Spend more time with friends
-Cook and freeze some more meals
-Touch up the paint in the kitchen
-Give the house one more good scrub
-Get into a rhythm with the whole exercise thing
-Review A&P...especially the tricksy stuff like the endocrine system, fluid and electrolytes, and the whole MAP feedback loop.
-Study...yes, our professor for Med/Surg has already sent us material for a quiz on the 7th. How thoughtful of her!!!

So, my goal for the next 2.5 weeks is to ENJOY the time off and not spend all my time in anticipation mode so much that I miss this much-needed and well-deserved break!

Got my schedule...finally!

After a very tense registration this morning, I finally have my schedule for next semester. Luckily I got my first choice clinical group, but the bad news is none of my FB nursing school friends are in the same group...or anyone I know, actually. At least not yet. I've organized a little "meet and greet" for this Saturday, so I'm hoping that lots of people come! What's that saying...you can take the girl out of the party planning, but you can't take the party planning out of the girl. Ha.

Anyway...here is my schedule for next semester. It's a wee bit terrifying, especially considering I'm getting credit for 14 hours, but am actually in class 27 hours a week. Nice.

Mondays: Class from 8-11 (Med/Surg), then I suspect I'll be heading over to the hospital to select my patient for the following day's clinical. The rest of Monday will be spent getting ready for my clinical day, which is Tuesday.

Tuesdays: Clinical starts at 6:30 am and runs 'till 2:30-ish. The good news is, it's only about 15 minutes away, so I can leave at 5:50 and be there in plenty of time to have a nervous breakdown in the parking lot.

Wednesdays: Class from 8-4:30 (Physical Assessment and Intro to Clinical Nursing), with a one hour break in between for lunch.

Thursdays: Class from 9-6 (Fundamentals, Therapeutic Comm and Pharmacology), with a one hour break at lunch.

Fridays: NO CLASS! Wheeeeeee! Study all day long! Yahooooo!

With my pumpkin working four nights a week and spending one 24-hour shift as an intern at the fire department (as well as taking two evening classes), we are going to have precious little time together. I am thinking of making Thurdsday nights our "date night", as well as Sunday mornings after he gets home from work. I am hoping to reserve Friday or Saturday night for friends and Sunday night (an hour or two at least) for ME! I will also be teaching yoga 2-3 times per week...need to get that schedule figured out. We'll see how it goes...I really want to have some balance in my life. Is it possible???? From where I'm standing right now it looks rather ambitious, to be totally honest.