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.

Closing out the pre-reqs in style!

I got my final grades today...I got all A's!!!!! Woo-hoo! I was a bit concerned about Statistics, but apparently that last test didn't trip me up as much as I thought it did. (jumping up, clicking heels together).

So, with that behind me I only have one more errand to run for my pre-entry requirements, which is to get my TB test read tomorrow afternoon. Then I can package up the whole lot of it and drop it off at the school and finally RELAX!!!! Ok, maybe not totally relax since I'm reviewing A&P and need to start doing some math review...but you know what I mean.

As for the authorized shopping...I have been giving the student loan a workout. I got an iPod Touch, a cool watch that pins to your shirt (so you don't harbor germs and other ick on a watch band), a wrist-watch for labs since I'm not going to wear the hospital watch anywhere but the hospital (refer back to the ick factor), lots of reference books and some sweet apps for my iPod. My favorite is the gFlash app...you can make spreadhseet flashcards using Google docs and then upload them to your phone. No more cumbersome stacks of index cards...yay!

My sister-in-law is planning a celebration dinner on Jan 15th, so I may get more treats then...maybe even the compression hose on my Amazon wish list. Did that just make me sound old? Yes, I'm afraid it did.

Orientation is in three short weeks and then I'm going to try to go see an old friend that weekend prior to school starting. Tricky timing, but she lives on the East coast and she'll be a mere 2 hours from me and I haven't seen her in years and years and years.

So...there you go. Consider yourself caught up. The real fun begins in a week or two when I go buy SCHOOL SUPPLIES! Is it just me, or does the thought of new binders just make everyone giddy?

My new goal for this winter break....SLEEP!

Yesterday when I got home from taking the "mind-f&%#@" that was my Statistics final, I had a nice little surprise waiting for me in my inbox...the nursing school orientation website! After getting a peak at the class schedule, I now know that those cozy mornings in bed are soon to be replaced by the incessant bleep of my alarm clock at hours that no good and decent person should be roused. I am mainly thinking of the clinical day...which as any nursing student call tell you starts god-awful early.

My options for clinical are: the awesome level 1 Trauma Center by my house, the also awesome yet very old hospital somewhat near my house and the shiny, new hospital that is 40 minutes away. If I am placed in the latter clinical group (it's first come, first served) then I'll be leaving my house at about 5:15 in the morning. I was debating today about growing out my hair...I think this cinches it. Off with the hair...who wants to primp when they crawl out of bed at 4 in the morning. OMG, I can't believe I just said that...I need to start getting to bed earlier. Whatever clinical group I get...I hope it's one scheduled after our "day off"...I've heard that the whole pre-clinical routine is pretty intense...anyone wanna second that?

So...aside from getting lots of sleep this winter break, I also get to do all kinds of fun errands for pre-entry, including immunization titers, drug/alcohol screen, order uniform (a dark green polo...I look horrible in dark green), buy white scrub pants (white?????), get a few other supplies, and take care of a few other sundry tasks. What I am most excited about is the authorized SHOPPING! I am really hoping for an iPod Touch, but need to figure out what software I need and if it's supported by Apple. I know many people swear by them, but just as many people say they're not necessary...I'm pretty gadget-y, so I'm leaning toward getting it...anyone want to chime in? I am also happy that we have a lab-coat as part of our uniform...it will cover the wide, white expanse that is my tush. White scrub pants? Honestly?

Peace!

How I got here and what happens next...

So it's been about a week since I found out about my acceptance into nursing school. I was pretty much in shock for a few days...it's hard to believe that something I've worked so hard for is actually going to happen. And this is coming from someone who is famous for starting projects and not so famous for finishing them. The fact that I've jumped through all these hoops so far is actually kind of amazing. I'm sure the hoop-jumping is about to get severe, but it's so hard to say. I've heard all kinds of stuff about nursing school...how it's impossible to get an A, how someone else got a 4.0, how mean the teachers are, how supportive and inspiring the teachers are, how difficult it is, how fascinating it is...so I really don't know what to expect beyond the following: not sleeping, studying constantly and crying on a pretty regular basis.

So how did I get here? Here's just a little recap of the classes I had to take as pre-requisites:
-General Chemistry (the first class I took after a 16 year hiatus!)
-Organic/Bio Chemistry (lots of drawing of molecules...bring your eraser!)
-Nutrition (super easy and actually pretty interesting)
-General Psychology (took this in College the Prequel...don't even remember it)
-Human Development (took this in College the Prequel...really interesting...easy)
-Public Speaking (took in 1988...aced it)
-English Composition (I took this as an 8-week class online...highly recommended over the traditional course)
-A critical thinking course (I wrote critically about Greek mythology all semester)
-Intermediate Algebra (like callesthenics for your brain)
-Statistics (if you like puzzles, you'll love Stats)
-Microbiology (made me totally paranoid that I had every disease I learned about)
-Anatomy & Physiology 1 and 2 (fascinating and a ton, I mean a TON, of material)
-Cultural Anthropology (easy & interesting...double bonus!)

So what's next? Though I don't have my schedule yet, I do know which classes I'll be taking. I should find out the schedule in a week or so...I am not even 100% sure what is exactly going to happen in these classes...can anyone help me out?
-Pharmacology (drugs...and it's televised so I don't have to show up anywhere...can learn in jammies!)
-Introduction to Professional Nursing (Is this the fundamentals course everyone talks about being so difficult?)
-Nursing Care of Adults (Med-Surg I?)
-Introduction to Clinical Nursing Practice (bring out the Littmann!)
-Physical Assessment of the Adult (palpating? head to toes?)
-Therapeutic Interpersonal and Group Communication (how do you feel about that?)

So for this first semester I'll have 14 units...wheeeeeeeee!

It's official! Not PRE-nursing anymore!!!

Yesterday at approximately 5:40pm, I received The Email! My acceptance into Sac State's clinical nursing program!!!! I bought this uber-cool T-shirt the day I dropped off my application and finally got to wear it today! I know, that makes me a complete dork, but dorkiness is what has propelled me this far so I'm just going to go with it.

The program had 323 applicants for I think 60 spots...either 60 or 40, but I'm pretty sure it's 60. Unlike the lottery programs, this one was based on merit so I really feel like I have accomplished something pretty monumental here. And you would agree if you could see my transcript from College Episode 1...not pretty. Now that I'm focusing on a subject that actually fascinates me, I've soared through with straight As and loved (almost) every minute of it. I guess age does has some benefits after all.

Anyway, school starts the end of January and I have an orientation the week before. Luckily, they are supplying us with an orientation website in a week or so so we can get started on all the stuff we need to do (and get...yay...authorized shopping!) in the meantime. So...once I know some scoop from that end I will update you with all the wonderful minutiae that a nursing student must endure. Stay tuned!

Two more days!

Last Wednesday the admissions person at Sac State sent an email to all the applicants letting us know that they would be emailing admissions decisions after 5:30 on Wednesday, Dec. 3rd. Of course, I didn't get the email which caused for a very tense Thanksgiving holiday, but I'm hoping it was just due to a glitch in my email address and not some subliminal message on their part. I have since updated my email address with the school and am now just waiting. I am beyond nervous, to say the least!

I've been technically waiting since October 15th, but it's these last few days that are driving me crazy, and I'm trying to get myself prepared for all possibilities. I haven't even really delved too deeply into the "if I get in" scenario beyond knowing that it will be intense. I guess I don't want to be too let down if things don't go according to plan. Actually, I haven't thought too much about the "don't get in" plan either...guess I don't want to jinx it. I guess my Plan B would be to apply for next semester, volunteer in the meantime and take my other corequisites (pharmacology, government and U.S. history) while trying to earn a bit of money and also work on my bestseller. Soooo...I guess that's Plan B. What's Plan A? Jump around the house like a lunatic, jump around some more, cry, open champagne, call everyone, update this blog and jump around some more. The bummer is that my honey won't be home...I'm going to be all alone :-(.

Think positive thoughts (if anyone's out there!)

And, on another note...my cat Oliver has decided that he is my Christmas present...

No news is still news.

Since I do have officially two followers (and I know my friends are eagerly checking for updates...right????) I thought I'd pop in to let ya'll know I don't really have any news...yes, the news today is that I have no news. Wow..that's really lame. Anyway, I am still waiting to hear from Sac State and three ADN programs. I was hoping Sac State would notify me mid-month, but now it seems like all the info on tier website says it will be late November. It is making me crazy!!!!! I must have checked me email five times today while I was at school. How, exactly, do you spell "obsessed?"

And, the really icky thing is that my back-up plan (the Accelerated Second Bachelor's program) requires me to take the GRE prior to Dec. 1st and the latest date I could snag was November 26th..which means I may have to take it even if I don't know if I need to yet. Can you say blech? I mean, have you seen some of those vocabulary words? What the heck does encomium or recidivism mean? I guess I need to find out. Oh brother.

As for my current classes, I killed, and I mean KILLED, my last chemistry exam. Anthropology is fine...a piece of cake...and I currently have a 92% in stats. I am stressed about hanging on to that A...for some reason math always freaks me out and stats is so weird that who knows what could happen. For example, here is a typical question...tell me if this makes your brain bleed:

"Marc Taylor plans to place 200 bets of $1 each on the number 7 at roulette. A win pays off with odds of 35:1 and, on any one spin, there is a probablity of 1/38 that 7 will be the winning number. Among the 200 bets, what is the mininum number of wins needed for Marc to make a profit?"

Oy vey. The sad thing is I could probably figure this out...I. Just. Don't. Want. To. Soooooo ready for this semester to be over!

Thanks for checking in folks...I'll touch base when I actually have some news that's actually newsy type news.

Rejection #1

Well, I got my first rejection out of the way. I heard from the Sutter program that they will not be requiring my presence next semester. It was my 2nd choice, so I was somewhat bummed, but Sac State is far and away my first choice. I should hear from them in as little as two weeks!!! I could just throw up thinking about it.

In other news, I have turned a corner in chemistry. I scored a 98% on the last exam and realized right after I left the classroom that I got one of them wrong...so in my heart I got a 100! So, if any of my pals have wondered what I've been up to lately...it's obvious! Studying chemistry!

It seems like I had something else to say about nursing school admissions and whatnot, but I can't think of it right now. Guess my brain is full of things like aldehydes and amino acids.

Peace!