Precepting/Orienting Nurses

A couple of years ago, I was asked to orient a new hire on my floor and was excited as she was a grad from my alma mater, so we had the same frame of reference. She was excited because she had always wanted to work in psych. I felt great knowing she was going to be on a somewhat quiet unit, instead of an acute one, like I did.

So, I began to orient her to the unit, citing procedures, treatments, and daily practices at nauseam. She caught on very quickly, and was doing so well. On our last day together, I turned her loose to do it on her own, and she was excellent!

However.....(you knew there would be something) two days off of orientation, she gets pulled to another unit. Not only does she get pulled, they require her to be a nurse's aid. Not only does she have to be a nurse's aid, they place her with a very psychotic patient. Not good. She begins to cry. They place her with another patient, it does not make her happy.

I guess my spidey-sense went off, even though I had not seen her since orientation. My co-workers began to tell me some troubling things: she is not on the floor very much,  and is seen constantly on her phone. She won't take off orders, help with treatments, or basic patient care. "Hmmmmm," I thought, "maybe she's quitting?" In my typical fashion, I just asked her, "Are you going to keep working here?"  She mumbled an answer about not being a psych nurse the rest of her life, and averted my eyes. Yep, she's a goner. The next day I had asked someone who knows everything at the facility and they confirmed my suspicion that she had turned in her notice.  I took it kind of personally. "Maybe I didn't give her enough training or support?". I found out later that she went to another job and stayed there only 3 weeks before she turned in her notice, too. I felt a lot better after knowing that.

After that experience, I took a precepting course offered by my facility so I would get a little more per hour for training new hires. Over the course of two years, I've probably oriented 10 different people. Some were straight out of school, others just picking up for extra money. I've had a few that were lazy, and some that were very ambitious, wanting to try their hand at every skill, gross or not. My alma mater also has brought me some about to be grads who need to precept their 120 hours with a nurse before taking NCLEX. Those are my favorites! I just love seeing a new nurse with all that positivity in their eyes. And they think you know EVERYTHING! Ha!

If you ever get the chance to precept/orient, take it! I used to think that having a student would be an awful burden and experience, but you learn things from them, too! (I had an orientee that showed me a trick changing ostomies that has keep me from making a horrible mess that I'm forever grateful for.)

Summer School......really?

Uh, yeah, for the third time in 20 years, I have to take Intro to Computers. For real?? It's not that I mind, it's that I don't think in this day and time it's necessary. What I would have liked to have taken would be that last pharmacology online. It would have saved me time in these last two semesters.

To be fair, the guy is pretty on task. He walks you though it step by step via Youtube and if you mess up, it's your own fault. Easy A. But an expensive one....$500.

Don't laugh, but I went to Half Price Books and bought the previous editions of the textbook for OB so I could get a head start. That class is only 5 weeks, so that means a test every week. Ewwwww....... plus clinicals, which require a stupid care plan. I've already started on those, just to be waiting in the wings for when I'm time crunched. What do you do to prepare for the next semester of nursing school?

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.

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

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.

The best motivation to help you study for NCLEX

 is to set the date. How true it is! Nothing puts the fear of GOD into you like knowing you could possibly waste $200 if you are not prepared enough.

Our school required we buy this online tutoring program. It is supposed to run you through the 7 areas: fundamentals, pharmacology, pediatrics, mental health, medical-surgical, maternity, and nursing management. This company places you with a tutor, and you do an initial assessment. You go through the books and after each one, you take a test. If you don't score 60% or better, you must do homework to help you improve your score. Then you take it again. It gives you a read out of areas you missed and what you need to work on. I got through fundamentals just fine but pharmacology....I fell short. Again and again, so close but not 60%. The tutor wouldn't let me advance. Really? I paid you $400 to teach me, but you can't advance me until I reach the exact benchmark? I just gave up trying to use them. Besides the aforementioned scenario, their questions were not formatted to helping me with NCLEX. When I started nursing school in the fall of '11, we were required to buy Saunders Comprehensive Review for NCLEX-PN. I had listened to my dean at my school when she said, "if you really want to pass NCLEX-PN, then after lecture every day, use the Saunders book and reinforce it." So, I went through the entire book, and accompanying disc with chapter questions on it. However, I still did not feel adequately prepared. I began to search online for alternatives. Kaplan was good, I had heard, but very expensive. I had less than 4 weeks before I tested and their program was more involved than I had time or money for. NCSBN.org  is the organization which I took my jurisprudence test for state licensure and I was told they were the people who came up with the NCLEX questions. So I signed up for the 3 week PN review.
It did the same as the other companies, but was affordable ($50) and I went through the test questions as many times as I needed to, which really helped. I would highly recommend them if you need lots of repetition to grasp a concept.
I planned on taking NCLEX-PN Saturday, March 23, 2013. Every spare minute I had, I was going through questions. I added up over 4,000 questions and rationales that I had done. Finally, the day came. I showed up early and they decided to go ahead and take me early! Holy cow! My nerves took over and I headed for the bathroom!  So, I still started at the time I was supposed to. ;)
There were many checks of identity, and finally I was sitting down. "Don't stress: you studied, God is with you...." I kept saying in my head over and over again. Then came the first question. I looked at the screen and thought, " I am so in trouble! I wonder how long it will take me to save up to take this again?" I literally prayed through each question. When I got to question 84, I got nervous again. You see, you can fabulously fail with 85 questions or spectacularly pass with the same amount of questions. The minimum questions for NCLEX-PN is 85. The computer will keep asking questions until you get at least 50% correct. 15 of the questions are "experimental" and if you miss those, it's no big deal. But you don't get credit if they are right, either. You have up to 205 questions unless the computer deems that you are not going to pass based on the amount of high level questions you got right.
After question 85, the screen went blue."Oh, no..." My breathing went shallow. I raised my hand and the attendant escorted me to the office. I called Hunnybunny who was very surprised to hear from me. "It's over?" Yes, it's over, I told him. I felt the way I was supposed to after NCLEX: exactly like I failed. No tears or boo-hooing for me, though. It was what it was. I had spent over 300 hours studying. If I wasn't ready by then, I didn't think anything would help.
I had heard about the Pearson Vue trick a year or so ago. After the results are transmitted, you can try to register again for the exam. If it takes your credit card, it means you failed. If you get this pop-up, ( see below) it means you have passed.
            

  

That is exactly what happened to me! I found out that I passed NCLEX-PN by using this PVT (Pearson Vue trick). On Monday, March 25, it posted to my Board of Nursing website, with my name plus LPN! Thank you, God!

On to the NCLEX

So, it's down to this. This one little test. Well, not really "little". It can be as "few" as 85 questions, or as many as 205 on the NCLEX-PN. Am I terrified? Is the pope stepping down? Terrified doesn't quite cover it.
I've been working at a private duty nursing place since May of last year, and now that I'm not in school, I've been working full-time.  When my patient is taking a nap, I catch a few pages.   Also studying at night when I get home. Our school had us purchase a review package from a "nameless" company. It was very expensive, and not very worth it as far as I can tell. I'm getting more out of my Saunders Comprehensive Review for the NCLEX PN Examination-4th-edition, Mosby's NCLEX- RN Review Cards,  and some old ATI books a friend who passed NCLEX gave me. It's weird, now that I'm out of school, I don't feel so stupid when I do these assessments and practice tests.
I've read every "plan" out there, but I'm hoping I picked the right combination of resources. You might be wondering when I'm taking it. Well, keep wondering. That's setting myself up for pressure I don't need. How about I just let you know WHEN I PASS?

Experience is the best teacher

Or so they say, whomever they is....I took my clinical adviser 's advice and got a job as a CNA this summer. It was probably the best thing I ever did for my education. I keep my assessment skills up, and am able to make a buck or two. Not saying where as I don't wish to get into any trouble, but it's a good fit. I'm working 40 hours a week until school starts back up in 7 weeks. Then, I hope they can still use me part-time.
My instructor mentioned to me that working with patients is probably what I need to build my confidence, and she was correct, (as much as I hate to admit it).  Initially, I started pretty green but have been steadily  gaining confidence by using my assessment skills, and getting a feel for what patients go through to be taken care of by nurses.
I'm also looking at this opportunity to see through the eyes of a CNA . It's been tiring but great. And it keeps the goal in front of me ....that nursing is what I want to do.

Adventures in Nursing School

I know, I know, you think I don't love you, but I do.....just been busy trying to pass stuff, get through clinicals, ect. To say it's been crazy has been putting it mildly. My first week of school we were required to do two days of skills to be checked off on. I made it through the foley cath check off just fine. The trach care and suctioning...not so much. I ended up redoing that one. I also missed one on my med calculation test that we had to do for Pharmacology, so I repeated that one, too. But it's all good. That stress is over. Last Friday, I completed my IV check off skills, and that was successful. We had to do 5 skills: initiate the IV, insert a bolus medication, add a piggy back IV,  convert it to a saline lock, and then...discontinue the IV. All within 30 minutes. It wouldn't have been so bad, but they always teach you the old fashioned way to do it, manually getting a drip rate. That wasn't near as much fun, but I got through it. Check out my make shift IV pole! Hey, you have to use what you have or what you can get to learn on. It's really a pole to put in your yard and hang flowers or a birdfeeder on. That's what I told Hunnybunny we could use it for, anyway, after I purchased it from Hobby Lobby. And maybe you can see the "fake arm" I made. I got tired of waiting to use the manikins at school as there are so many of us, and not as many of them. So, I took a candle, width of my wrist; some modeling clay-rolling it out super thin to make the veins to lie on top of it. And then I put some spongy paper-like material on top for the "skin" Can you see the "veins" under the "skin"? Well, it worked for me so I guess that's all that counts. At least it smelled good from the candle.
As far as the other classes go, I'm doing fine. Intro to Med-Surg may kill me, but I'm still there. It's a 6 hour class and a 12-hour clinical. The clinical is going .....okay. Definitely need to bare in mind that you have to be more flexible than you ever thought you would be. I managed to get points taken off the first day! I had this patient with 20 meds to give and completely blew it. Not to mention that our instructor takes off points for diary-type nursing notes that we had to write. I know she wants us to be clear and concise, and I guarantee you, I will be by the time our last clinical is over.
What I've noticed most is that I don't have the "what if I don't make it" attitude that I had last semester. Don't misunderstand, I work HARD! I feel like I have to study twice as much as my under 25-year-old classmates. But I guess I've gotten to the point where I know I'm trying my best, and that's all anyone can ask. Even of myself.

Finally have a minute or two to update you....

I survived my first semester of nursing school. While that may seem trite, I think about those students with much younger brains who didn't make it to second semester. And I'm sad for them.  One of my group didn't make it and when she told me she was dropping, I felt like someone died. I wasn't that far behind them as my pharmacology didn't come up as I planned. I made it by .5 for the C. C's are different in nursing school. Mine start at 83 and go to 78. Anything below that range is a D. My other classes I did fine: How to be a nurse 101- B; and Intro to Nursing- A. Toward the last of it, I was getting ready for the head-to-toe assessment, going through clinicals, and getting ready for finals.
I learned a lot during clinicals. Clinicals are great because you have someone to hold your hand just starting out. I was able to connect to most patients, but was even asked to leave another patient's room. Apparently, she thought I talked too much. I remember asking her one question....oh, well. I took it kind of hard at first, but then realized she was in a lot of pain. Many people came and went in her room. She may not have been able to discern that it wasn't me talking. Anyway, lesson learned. Comatose patient: Don't ask anything. Just wait until they are up and oriented. Other than that one experience, it was really good. I was able to give one patient a bath and she had all the good humor that I hope to have approaching  her age. Another patient was  staring death down, and she had this great attitude. Again, I hope I'm like that.  

Other things I learned included what type of learner I am. Apparently, I'm a visual/active learner. Having tried the auditory route, and massive note taking route, I think I'm better going through the chapters myself, and creating my own visual cues. I studied with several classmates, and shared my notes with them. I got the reputation of being really smart, even though none of that was true. I can make these fantastic notes which apparently helped others make A's but for myself, it just didn't happen. Reeks, doesn't it? A re-evaluation of my study methods are definitely in order.

Another thing I have come up against is feeling responsible for helping others study. I know, I know, how crazy is that, right Even the night before finals, I had someone wanting to study with me. She had not studied as she should (neither had I) and was expecting a miracle. The miracle never came, even until 2:00 AM when I had to shut my eyes for a little while. I got up at 5  AM to go over the stuff I didn't have time to go over while she was there. I passed by the skin of my teeth, .5. That's a little too close. If I had failed that course, I would've had to repeat it next semester. I've got to find the balance of being willing to help when I can, but not feeling it's my responsibility to make sure they pass. It is, however, my job to make sure I pass. Any study methods you can pass along would be great! I have a month before the roller coaster starts up again, and with four classes, 12 hour clinicals, I need to figure this out.....SOON!

So....my last post was a little tense....

so, I apologize. And I deleted it.  Stress was getting to me. Still is. A friend told me that she benefited the most from putting lots of time into notes. And I have to admit, she's right. Only I can dig through that text and totally understand what notes I've written. So, if I sounded judgmental, I think I was just feeling unappreciated by those I had shared notes with. They don't want to pitch in, it's really about them.
I had another test today and patiently waiting for her to post the grades.I'm feeling pretty good about it.

Next week, I have vital signs check off and injection check off...both on the same day! As far as being nervous, sure, I'm nervous, but not terrified. I probably should be. But I'm trying not to psych myself out.

I have been really enjoying most of my classes, especially Pharmacology. The teacher is passionate about teaching us the right way, and I appreciate her for that.

We received our new schedule for next semester. Here it is as follows:


Mental Health
Health Deviations
Peds
Pharm II

We hit the ground running with 12-hour clinicals. Thankfully, I got the new Timberland Pros. Aren't they positively "Ooogle-ly"?? But so far, they are very comfortable. I've been breaking them in every chance I get. Clinicals for this semester start very soon, and I'll be getting my assignment for them Monday. Sounds crazy, but this semester has really flown by.

The more you learn, the more you realize how much more you have to learn

And I've never felt this was true as much as this week! My first day was this past Wednesday,  August 17th, and no, I didn't sleep at all! I kept having that dream of being late so, I checked my clock on the half hour.

We made our way in, 60 of us in this particular class; all ages, shapes, colors, nationalities were accepted.  I had gathered all the paperwork we had to present for admission for months, terrified I had forgotten something important. All three semesters met in an auditorium and we were welcomed by our upper classmen.
Our main speaker was very enthusiastic and it was the first time I had seen her smile since my journey began. It was great knowing that others had sat where I was sitting and were about to graduate.

First, we began to go over syllabi, exam dates, and how to use the online resources. Then we started talking about clinical dates, uniforms, back up plans for transportation, etc.

Monday was the LONGEST DAY EVER! I was there from 8 am until 4pm. My brain hurt when I got home, and then the headache started. I was very glad to have the following Tuesday off as it's a future clinical day. Wednesday was almost just as long...just til 2:00. Thursday is lab/lecture, so its an abbreviated pharmacology day, 8:00 til 10:00. I was off today, but spent most of it working on my required online class.

Sticker shock!

  

No, these aren't all my books, but pretty close. Fact is, I'm still buying them. Wow, they told me I'd have to sell a kidney to pay for school, but I don't guess I fully believed them. So far, I am up to $206. That amount was six books I found on Amazon. I still have $500 more to come up with in books and supplies. I hope the subsequent semesters aren't this expensive.

    Thankfully, I had the foresight to get my laptop when I started prerequisites, and even got one of these: 


It's been pretty handy on this traveling thing I've done this year. And it looks like it will spare my back.

That butterfly feeling

"When you find your path, you must not be afraid. You need to have sufficient courage to make mistakes. Disappointment, defeat, and despair are the tools God uses to show us the way."

Paulo Coelho

Every time I start thinking about what this August is going to hold, I get physically sick on my stomach. Seriously. Like I did when I was pregnant with all three boys. I'm trying to figure out if this is normal or not. In my heart of hearts, I think I believe it is normal, but it's really freaking me out.

In a former life, I was an on-air personality at a well-respected, top 40 radio station. When I first started, I was really nervous, but eventually I got to the place that I could be talking to you in my studio, ask you to "hold that thought" , and go into my spiel. When the weather, or commercial was over, I could pick up exactly where I left off. My oldest brother was in the control room when I did this once, and he was amazed. My question is: is it like that in nursing school where you can get over the butterflies and do what you need to do without being scared to death?
Have any of you nursing students felt that way? And when did it get easier?

Orientation of Sorts

I was ill prepared for the "orientation" segment of my nursing journey. Since I was an alternate, I had missed the first round of orientation. There were only 4 of us at this meeting. The administrator passed out the material, and we began to go over over everything. 
  I knew the shot record requirement was going to be a problem. In Florida, there is no centralized office of immunizations, and mine were done in the docs office over 40 years ago. It doesn't help the the doctor is dead as well.  So, I went to the health clinic and had them draw MMR titers. Also got the Hep B that was recommended. My arm had a huge knot from that shot.  Cool. Got that done.
Getting there early afforded me the "privilege" of going first to get my classes. I will be in class on Mondays from 8:00-4:30PM, with  the "How to be a nurse", essentially. (Lecture and lab are back to back). Tuesday is a clinical day which starts at 1:30 through 7:30. (Hey, I was an alternate: beggars can't be choosers.)  Wednesday is Pharmacy I , and the second lecture for the "How to be a nurse". Thursday is the Pharm lab. And Fridays...I collapse;)  Not really, but initially, I probably will.

Surviving A & P II

 So, finals are done and we all survived them. Anatomy and physiology just about killed me. Half the test was over endocrine and reproduction, and then the rest was cumulative. It's fairly sadistic to do that to students. But they do it. I felt like the class is what I would call a "weeding out" class as it started with 34 students and we ended up with 22. If you don't pass with at least a C, you have to repeat the course. So, a lot of people decided to end it before they choked on a bad grade. My crowd did pretty well, and my study partner, an LPN herself, kicked butt and took names. Afterward, we all felt like we had been prisoners in a war who were finally released. It appears I  got a C, which is fine with me.   I have a Russian friend I've been in school with for awhile who pulled straight A's. She had a 32 on the ACT, so she was rolling admission for the RN program. She's really a sweet lady, and has taught me so much about her culture. Hard to be envious of anybody that works that hard.

I'm taking the summer off to ride bikes with my kid and generally goof off. I have a few notebooks from my friend the LPN as she graduated from the program where I am headed. I also got some textbooks from a local trade in store in dosage, pharmacy, medsurge, and the actual NCLEX-PN book from Saunders. So far, I've noticed that the A & P is rehashed throughout the courses. Really, really, really glad I passed.