Another reality check

Now that we've finished one class and started the clinical portion of another, it feels like my classload has considerably lightened.

It's time for me to snap myself back into reality. Here's what I have to accomplish sometime within the next three weeks. This time Nursing Competencies I is in purple, Nursing Competencies II is in green, and Pathophysiology is in yellow:

Complete Lab Modules for 7/30
ATI testing 7/31
Dosage Calculation Exam 8/1
Exam I 8/1
Complete Lab Modules for 8/1
Quiz 8/1
Complete Lab Modules for 8/3
Quiz 8/3
Worksheet Due 8/3
Clinical Problem Set Due 8/3

Complete Lab Modules for 8/6
Complete Lab Modules for 8/8
FINAL EXAM 8/8
Exam II 8/10
Clinical Problem Set Due 8/10
Work Sheet Due 8/10
Neurological Disorders Presentation 8/10

Complete Lab Modules for 8/13
Putting It All Together Day 8/15
Final Exam 8/16
Final Exam 8/17

Functional Assessment Due 8/17
Environmental Assessment Due 8/17
Pain Assessment Due 8/17
Therapeutic Conversation Assignment Due 8/17
Life Review Paper Due 8/17

I think I need to start using that little engine that could mantra again.

Week Six down

And now there's only three more to go.

This past week was FULL of exciting firsts!

On Thursday, we had our first orientation at the long-term care facility. We had a short tour of the building, and reviewed our instructor's expectations of us as student nurses. We also got to wear our lab coats and ID badges for the first time. Super exciting!

Considering all of the negative preconceived notions I had regarding long-term care facilities, I was pleasantly surprised. The facility has two wings: one for short-term care, and another for long-term care. Short-term care had much more energy, more obvious interaction between patients and staff, and a much brighter ambiance. Long-term care seemed much... slower. And routine. And kind of sad.

On Friday, we gave our first injections. I already LOVE this new class. We have yet to actually stick a real person -- that's on Monday -- but that was fine by me. I had enough trouble drawing saline into the syringe from an ampule or a vial.

I still haven't quite grown that nurse's "third arm," but my instructor swears she can see a little bud growing.

I can already tell, this is going to take a LOT of practice.

The good news is...

I passed my practical lab today, bed pan, bed bath and all!

The scary news is, I have to be able to do all of those things (and more) for a real patient NEXT WEEK. A week from today, in fact.

I'm just going to keep telling myself that with enough latex gloves, I can do anything. And to remember that my nursing instinct will take over, just like it did in lab today.

Now if only that same nursing instinct would kick in when dealing with my landlords...

Transition time!

Everything starts changing this week!

And by everything, I mean my class schedule. Which, right now, is pretty much everything to me.

"Health Assessment and Promotion" wraps up this week. We have the practical lab exam today, and our final exam and final paper due on Wednesday.

I'm also finishing the lecture and practical lab portion of "Nursing Competencies I." The practical lab exam for that is early Tuesday morning. I've been having nightmares about bedpans and bed baths, so we'll just have to wait and see how it goes.

Friday marks the beginning of "Nursing Competencies II." This is the class that previous cohorts claimed made them feel like "real" nurses. It's when we learn how to give injections, draw blood, administer IV medicines, and stick nasogastric tubes down the mannequins.

I have yet to tell my classmates that it once took 5 nurses to hold me down for a routine booster shot. Here's to hoping I don't have a repeat performance!

Over the hump

Last Wednesday, July 18th, marked the halfway point for my summer program -- making it the the ultimate hump day.

It really wasn't that exciting. It was a long day on campus, just like every other Wednesday.

Luckily, I wasn't expecting a ticker tape parade or anything like that.

Assessment in action

Here I am, causing trouble in the lab as I palpate prosthetic breasts for lumps:


Notice how my partner, Kara, smiles sweetly and I look like I'm up to no good.

Coincidence? You decide!

I survived!

I'm not gonna lie, that patho exam was a doozie.

There were questions that I knew, and there were those that I didn't. I don't feel great about it, but I don't feel terrible either. In fact I feel kind of.... numb? relieved? satisfied? exhausted? I just can't make up my mind.

It's almost as though that test serves as a rite of passage for ELMSN students. (Seriously, I half-expected the professor to pass out merit badges when each person turned in their exam.) It made the celebratory margarita taste that much sweeter.

The most important thing is we survived -- and we're totally going to kick ass on the next one!

So much to learn by Friday....

We get 20 minutes of open-book time during the exam. As you can see, my book is all marked up and ready to go:

Yellow post-its are things we have to know "cold." Pink and orange ones are the figures and tables we have to be familiar with.

If you really squint, you can see my handwriting on each and every little tab.

The hope is that most of the yellow tabs will be gone by Friday morning because I'll know the stuff.

If not, I guess there's always that 20 minutes!

Week Three

It's hard to believe that I'm almost halfway through my summer!

This last week was special because we had a mini-break on Wednesday. I may have taken more of a mega-break, though, and neglected to study sufficiently for my patho quiz on Friday. The break was necessary, but it shouldn't have carried over into Thursday evening.

Awk-ward! That's a mistake I won't make twice.

Next week will be a doozie, mainly because we have our first exam in pathophysiology on Friday the 13th.

To put things in perspective, I have been dreading this particular exam more than bowel elimination day. It covers the first 23 chapters of our textbook and is worth 25% of our grade.

My game plan is to finish all of my work for my other classes today, so that I can devote my spare time on Sunday through Thursday to studying for patho. Hopefully I will also have time for other things like sleeping, eating, showering, and peeing.

It's going to be a loooooong week. But when it's over, I will officially be 1/2 way through my summer of nursing boot camp! (And possibly delirious or in need of a hug.)

A breakthrough?

We've reached that point in our Nursing Competencies class where we learn how to perform some of the most intimate procedures known to man, more commonly identified as personal hygiene.

I'll admit, I approached this part of my education with trepidation. I was concerned with my potential reaction to mouth care, bed baths, and body fluids in general.

So far, talking about potential "situations" and looking at slides of things like stage 4 decubitus ulcers and scabes was much harder for me than, say, performing perineal care on the mannequin. I'm just hoping that I'm able to keep my cool once I actually encounter my first incidence of fecal incontinence live and in person.

A day of rest

Never have I been more excited to welcome that holiest of holy days, the fourth of July.

We get the day off from school!

This is almost better than Christmas.