What I learned the first semester of RN school

Some things I learned fresh. Others I re-learned.

I've always been a fan of Top Ten lists so here's my list for this past semester:

10.  It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I guess going in with 18 months of prior school knowledge as well as almost 3 years as an LPN helped, but common sense kicked in, (which I hoped it would) so those NCLEX type questions were a lot easier to handle.

9.  I still hate ATI as much as I did back in LPN school.  I hate paying for something that I can't fully use. I have subjects I'd like to start working on and they "aren't open" . Well, why the heck not? I have to pay $400 a semester and not be able to use it all? They are trippin'......

8.  I don't stay up all night and study anymore.  Maybe that sounds selfish, but it's true: I'm old....I need my sleep. The one time I did stay up all night, it did me no good, anyway.

7.  Clinical days still aren't fun because no nurse in their right mind wants to have a student for the day. They were nice to me. But I could tell this wasn't on their to do list. To be fair, it won't be on mine, either.

6.  Technology has certainly advanced things. I still paper chart at work, but I got to electronically chart during clinicals. It does seem monotonous though....it's also nice to be able to record my lectures on my cell phone and listen to them back and forth from school to home.

5.  I have forgotten so much about IV's since I don't use them at work. If someone needs an IV at my job, we send them out. Still haven't stuck my first victim...I mean, patient....

4. Working every week-end full time blows.... but when your work is PAYING  6 hours a semester, and you need the insurance, you go.  You hate it, but you go.  I worked every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. On Mondays and Wednesdays I was in lecture, Tuesdays was lab, and Thursdays were clinicals. I am glad I saved my vacation days to use on the Sundays before an exam.  I'm going to need to bank some this summer for my second semester as well. My schedule will go back to normal starting Monday.

3.  It's still important to make friends in nursing school. After my friend left, I started studying with a guy who had an even weirder schedule than the first one. I found myself meeting him at McDonald's at 5:30 AM to study. Must of been nuts, but we both passed.

2.  It's awful when your BS meter goes off and you notice the teacher not trying. Yes, I am saying she was blowing smoke in a place you don't want to talk about. I'm not that far from her age, so I know she knew, that I knew she was just getting tenure. She read from the book because she didn't know the material. Our last 3 lectures on diabetes, which is fairly involved, she got guest speakers to talk to us. Wow... how lame can you get? It made me want to stay in school to have the credentials to take her job....almost. I'm so done with school.

1. My family is still there helping me through. ( Mostly Hunnybunny) However, they still don't get me on the whole studying thing. I thought maybe my kids would be proud of me. But they think I'm wasting my time. It's okay. While I'd like to have their support and approval, its just not necessary.

First casualty of war

I've been notably silent...which is not like me. That's because all I do is go to work, study, eat, and do it all over again. It's been fine until now. The person who was accepted along with me didn't get to advance to the next 11 weeks. I felt alot like Katniss this past semester.Just jumping through hoops. But the best part is I had a friend jumping with me. We knew no one but each other walking in that first day. And thankfully, the group accepted us pretty easily as they had already made friends in the first semester we were exempt from. He was liked by all, even to the point when we found out he didn't make it, one of the others cried. He never expected to be thought of that highly, but why, I don't know. He has 20 year of LPN experience, and knows his stuff. He just didn't test well. I don't either, by the way. He only missed it by 2 points.
I took it pretty hard the first few days because I couldn't imagine how bad he felt. For our clinical group, it's been like someone has died. But we're coming around.
Hunnybunny didn't really understand. He tried to, but he couldn't really get the whole "nurses in the trenches" vibe. The more he tried to encourage me, the worst I felt. I wasn't trying to make it about me, but I kept thinking, "If HE didn't make it, what makes me think I will?"
So, I'm trying to remember what I did the first time. Pouring over my notes, and finding my notes from LPN school invaluable! Apparently, this particular program doesn't go into too much depth on stuff, so in a sense, we are educating ourselves. And I will revert back to what I said in a previous post: my learning style is my problem. If I can't figure it out by now, what am I doing here?
Y'all are going to have to overlook me....I am just trying to stay realistic.
The ATI demon is back with this program. How I HATE ATI! And if you're reading this and have no idea what I'm talking about, consider yourself lucky. ATI prides itself on preparing you for NCLEX. But all I can see is that its taking us all away from what we should be doing....studying!
I will get off my soapbox now, and take off my black mourners veil and get back to work. Thanks for listening.

A week from today....

.....I will be sitting in a classroom for the upmteenth time. It's hilarious and incredulous to me that I am doing this again. I mean, 240 college hours, PLUS the new ones I'm about to acquire?  Shoot, I could be Dr. Beth by now. But alas, I'm just getting yet another Associates degree. (I have two of them. This will be number 3)

 The part that bothers me is the whole unknown thing again....what's the class going to be like? Am I going to be the oldest in the class? Is my brain going to run on all cylinders?

I'm thankful that one of my coworkers has been accepted with me. It's kind of a drive, so we are going to carpool. He's an older student, like me, so he's pretty serious about doing this.

I'm going today to get the UGLY white scrubs I will need for clinicals and a new pair of sneakers. Books are bought, but I probably need to see about some school supplies.

Truthfully, I get nauseated every time I think about this. Is that normal, or just me overreacting? I made it through medical microbiology with a B, which shocked me to death, but I'm just sort of second-guessing myself. Maybe it's the work schedule that has me very anxious. I will be working every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday this semester. If the last few days are any indication, it will be challenging. My comrades and I ran all weekend long trying to keep up with everything. And they are awesome because they have both gone further in school and are a great support!

Anyway......wish me luck! I will need it.

I'm in!

I actually found out via text I had been harassing my husband everyday when he checks the mail, "Did my letter come?" This last time, I had been told by the dean the letters would be sent out soon, and the mail didn't run on Veteran's Day. So, I thought it might run early and Hunnybunny needed to get out there and check. I waited. And waited. And waited. Finally, got this text, "You've been accepted". I just sort of stared at the screen, asking myself, "I'm awake, right?" I made him take a picture of the letter and message me with it. He told me congratulations, but I think I was still in shock.

I'm excited but still wondering how an old girl like me is going to pull off classes and work and do either of them any justice. I will be in classes Monday through Wednesday, and a clinical either Thursday or Friday. So that means the one day a week I'm not in school, I'm working and then I'm working every weekend. Yeah, I know....I must be crazy. But working the weekend doesn't really bother me that much. Missing out on family time, now that bothers me. This isn't my first rodeo, I remember my non-existent social life back in 2011-2012.  But they say it will all be worth it. I hope THEY are right. It helps that I'm not doing this alone. A guy I work with got accepted, too. It's kind of a hike to the school, so he and I are going to carpool.
Anyway, that's the story as I know it so far. My first rotation is psych...at my own hospital! I'm hoping that I'm not recognized by any long time patients who are not going to understand why I could do something for them yesterday (as an LPN) that I can't do today, (as a student)

Admission Limbo

So, I'm just waiting to hear...I went to the pre-admission conference with a guy from work who is determined that we are going to nursing school together. I had already turned in my stuff, but you are required to attend their, "this is what will happen in 3 semesters, and this is what it will cost," speech. It's going to be pricey, that's for sure. My work will pay for 6 hours, but that still leaves like 21 hours. Only 2 classes, but they get you with a required lab and a clinical for each. The clinicals add up to 12 extra hours....
Meanwhile, Medical Microbiology is kicking my butt. I had forgotten how much I hated taking a science class, but it's all coming back to me now. It's not lecture, it's the lab. I messed up my test by not staining the correct side, broke a slide. Just a comedy of errors. And I had gone in feeling good about the whole thing. I barely passed by the skin of my teeth.
Anyway, will keep you posted.....

So, here we go.....

So, I finally heard back from the university. The director of the program basically said my A & P was "too old" (not within 3 years) and I would need to retake those classes along with chemistry. Tack  on the NACE test to that, while you're at it, too. Uh, no thanks....I don't have another year to dedicate to pre-req's. The funny part is that their admissions department kept calling me asking me to "finish" (pay them) my initial application. I hope I manage to get off their mailing list.

 

I have a friend, who I used to study with in A & P, that went to a little community college about 40 miles away to get her RN. I gave them a call. It looked promising, so I got my transcripts, validation of licenses, CPR verification, ACT scores, and NLN scores and drove to the main campus to drop them off. It was pure Providence that the director of the nursing department happened to be there, in July, at a campus she doesn't teach at. I submitted my paperwork, and she informed me it was all there except for the pre-admission conference that they require, the dates haven't been set yet.

 

 Here's the list of differences from what I've experienced in the 'bigger' community colleges:

1. I don't have to retake any of my classes. This in and of itself, is a MAJOR big deal.

 

2. I don't have to take any additional classes for pre-req's other than Medical Microbiology, which I had to have for all of them. So, no chemistry, nutrition, or LPN to RN transition course.

 

3. I don't have to perform check offs. In both programs, I was going to have to show them a cath, med administration, ng tube, ekg, sterile wound dressing, ostomy care. She said I had been working as a nurse for 2 years, I might know what I'm doing.

 

I asked how I would know if I got in. The 'selective admissions' that I've always dealt with has a bunch of hoops you have to jump through just to be considered. She said, "Let me put it to you this way: first semester, which you would be exempt from, has 20 spots. I have 16 students signed up right now. Statistically, some of them will not pass. Unless I have a ton of readmits, I would be able to start you in second semester in January 2016.".

 

So, we shall see if it works out. My employer said they would work with me. I will most likely have to work Friday, Saturday, Sunday. This is going to make for a very LONG year, but I'm ready to go,



Time to get on with it

 I work for a hospital that is affiliated with a university. They are offering to pay for 18 hours a year to finish my RN. I think I have finally reached that point where I'd like to do more with nursing. It's not that I'm bored. In psych nursing, there is no such thing as being bored...everyday is a new adventure. It's just that  I had always planned on bridging over. Truth be told, I was pretty burned out on school. The idea of doing it again kind of nauseated me.

So, I'm taking medical microbiology this fall. If one of the community colleges accept me, that's the only prerequisite I will need. If I go to the state university (I'm applying to both) then I will need chemistry. Have they met me? I'm not much of scienc-y kind of girl. But, if I have to, I have to. Also, the community college requires the NLN, which I have taken before and gotten a composite score of 115. I have to get a verbal Score in the 65 percentile. Comprehensive Score has to be 111. If I go to the university, since I have been out of school longer than three years, I must take the Nursing Acceleration Challenge Exam (ACE) I and receive Decision Score of 70 or better. Nothing but hoops to jump through....
I have begun the tedious process of getting all my transcripts together. A college I attended in the 80's is closing their doors, so I had to hustle to get my transcripts before they merged with another college.
That's probably more than you wanted to know, but I'm trying to keep it all straight in my head. If I don't get in either place, it'll be okay. I'm happy to be an LPN. And they can't take that away from me

Dealing with Burn Out

I have been the nurse in this cartoon. So tired, I didn't want to talk to anyone, see anyone, or do anything. The unit I was on was very....incohesive. I was there to work and definitely learn. But apparently, I was an anomaly. I didn't know about cliques, or drama.
Passing meds, taking off orders, clarifying orders with pharmacy, patient care, getting the med room ready for next shift, serving meals, changing patients....gee, what was I thinking? I made work about work, and only had a few people that knew about my life outside of work. I still do that. I feel like I can do my life after work. But I've made the observation that many nurses make work their whole life. One could easily see how that can happen. You spend 36 to 60 hours a week with a group of people, you can make them your family. But, to quote Damon Wayans in the movie, "Major Payne", " I didn't say families don't break up, ". Professional distance isn't a bad thing. And making friends at work isn't a bad thing, either. Just don't make your whole life about work. Have friends that don't help you find a vein on a patient, but just play cards or go to the movies with you. Part of burn out is the hopelessness a nurse feels when she sees no end in sight. That nothing is ever going to let up, or things will always be this way. You have to make yourself engage at home. Small steps at first......(maybe go for a cup of coffee, head for the library, find a crossword puzzle to do, wash dishes by hand) and then bigger ones, (like take a fun class, go on vacation, an exercise program) will help with the burn out.
Changing units isn't a bad thought, either. Sometimes people don't gel. They are thrown together to do a job and varying philosophies on work ethics can make for bad feelings. For me, changing units was a great thing. I got a chance to "visit" when I had to float to other units on overflow days. See if that's an option. Sometimes just doing the same kind of nursing for years can burn someone out. Maybe if you can change floors, ( or even jobs) you can restore your faith in the career that you've spent so much time, energy, and money getting excellent in.

The best laid plans of mice and men

Well, I am at a fork in the road about pursuing my RN while working. I had planned on doing an online program with a local college to bridge to RN. The school decided to not accept anymore students and is doing away with the program entirely. Sigh.....
I don't want to stop working and give up our family's insurance to go back to school full time. Maybe there is something wrong with me, but at 51, I know my longevity in this field is going to be approximately 15 years, if that long.
I don't have that, "I'm a failure because I don't have an RN beside my name." syndrome. But I do, at times, get that, "I'm an RN, you're an LPN" differential attitude. Sounds crazy, but I really don't mind the taking orders aspect of the job. Let it be somebody else's call, and therefore, their own responsibility. I have had plenty of being in charge of everything in my life and I'm here to set the record straight: It's completely overrated.
My youngest turns 11 next month; my middle son just turned 19, and my oldest is 29: if the two younger ones want to go to college, then I can afford to send them and pay off my student loans. I know, it sounds so practical, but essentially that's my job....a practical nurse.

8's VS 12's

It really annoys me.... I've been at this job 1 year, and I haven't figured out what to do with myself on my days off. Yeah, there's always cleaning, laundry, dishes, dusting, grocery shopping...etc. But, what's the fun in that? ;)

Up until 3 weeks ago, I was "working 8's" which is almost unheard of in the nursing world anymore. The only time I had two days off in a row was when it was my off weekend from work. That really reeked, by the way. So, I had the opportunity to change floors and change hours and absolutely took it! I work more with Geriatrics, which I have had my training in, and now work 12 hour shifts. The pro's definitely outweigh the con's but I'll give you the short list:

Pro's

1.     You get three days off a week. Sometimes even a 3 day weekend.
2.     Therefore, you can plan to travel more because you'll actually not have to take time off to do it.
3.     You don't get asked to stay over.
4.     To me, it's easier to go through a 12 hour shift with a patient to see how they progress.

Con's

1.     Physically, it can be exhausting when your body is used to getting a break after 8 hours and now must carry on an additional 4 more.
2.     It's been hard to figure out when to take a lunch break. Used to be at 11:00 am, but now it's closer to 1:30-2:00 pm. I'm actually having to eat breakfast now to make it until then.
3.     While you work only 3 days a week, every other week, those 12's are 3 in a row.
4.     You lose 4 hours a week because it's technically only 36 hours. You can pick up on your off days, but right now, I'm thinking....uh, no.

My first couple of weeks I spent getting used to the physical change of 12's. This past week, it's my family who has had to manage without Mom being around. Hunnybunny does a great job of being the cook and chief bottle washer while I'm gone. Now that I'm getting  more used to it, I'd like to get back to quilting on  a regular basis. I have so much fabric, patterns, and just can't get organized.

Oh, and by the way, I'm signed up for medical microbiology which is the last prerequisite for nursing school. Yeah, I'm a glutton for punishment. Getting the RN will open a whole world of opportunity for me. This class is online, which blows me away. I have to get a microscope for the lab part. One of my nursing pals did A & P this way and totally endorses it. We will see.

Stay tuned.