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...
:-)
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