I'm Done!

Well I survived my first semester of nursing school! I finished with a B+ in Pharmacology, a B in clinical and a B- in Fundamentals...which I am a little bummed about. I finished with a 85.95% and you need an 86% for a B. A half a point away...so close. Oh well, at least I passed. Thanks for listening to me and I'll talk to you next semester!

Last Week!!

I still can't believe it, the week I have been waiting for! :) Today we had an optional review for out test. She said people who went usually did better on the final. She did a game with a lot of questions that were going to be on the test. So hopefully it helped. Tomorrow I don't have class, so a major study day! I only need a 50% on the final, but I'm hoping for better, :) I'll let you know how I fared.

My last clinical

Yesterday in clinical went very well. My patient was NPO (nothing by mouth) so I didn't have any medications to pass, and that was a relief. My patient did have a colonoscopy and a EGD done, so I go to go watch. It was pretty interesting. The doctor was very good and explained everything to me. And my patient was very good about it too (She was my age!) The rest of the day went well, I got to watch a sterile dressing change too. When we got to post conference, we talked about some stuff and then out instructor told us that we didn't have clinical tomorrow. We were all so excited! I walked to the car with a smile on my face. The only bad part was it was a shock and didn't get to say good-bye to everyone. And the very best part was...since I had been meeting all my objectives all semester, I didn't have to do paperwork!! So I will be studying until Wednesday, I will have a lab scenario on Thursday and then CHRISTMAS BREAK!!!

Week #15

I know it has been forever since I have written last, but things have been just SO crazy!! Last week in clinical went horribly and I don't even want to talk about it. Not for me personally, but everyone in general. Last Friday I did get to see a catheter put in, help with a wound irrigation and see pitting edema. So it was a learning day. I finished Pharmacology with a B+, a 90.5% which I think is crazy, you had to have a 93% for an A-. Oh well, I passed. Today I had a test in Fundamentals, I think I did pretty good on it. Next Wednesday will be our final in there. I am completely done with skills lab also...no more retake quizzes! This week was on catheterizing I had a heads-up because I watched one in clinical. And those manikins look nothing like the real thing! This Thursday and Friday will be my last week in clinical until the next semester. Next week is fairly light, review on Monday, Test on Wednesday and on Thursday we have a non-graded critical thinking scenario. So I am SOOOO excited!! Hang on for a few more days and I'll be ok!

The Cadavers

I just wanted to share a little about my trip to Detroit. There was no picture taking and the book of pictures cost $20 so I didn't buy one. So I had to just use the ones off the pamphlets. The bodies were from China and they weren't exactly what I was expecting. I thought they would be laid out on tables but the had one playing basketball, one playing baseball and one riding a bike, among others. It was really neat though! The picture with the map in the way was one who had all his muscles taken away from his body, its hard to tell in this picture. I didn't actually get to see the soccer playing one but I did the other sports I mentioned. They had one with only blood vessels and nothing else, so you could see the outline of the body in blood vessels. The also had one cross-sectioned in 1 inch sections. It was really neat and if you get the chance to go I would definitely recommend it!

Well clinical went a little better than I had anticipated. I really had no idea of what to expect going in. And from what I have gathered, it's a more common thing than I realize. It's really sad. On Thursday we started charting and today, we were supposed to chart our assessment on our own. Well I didn't tell my nurse that, I thought she new and she charted on my patient. So I got my first butt-chewin'. But she wasn't in the greatest mood today, so I wasn't the only one who ended the day with a butt- chewin' :) I can definitely say I won't make the same mistake again! I passed my medications today too, of course I only had one, so it went good. A couple girls in my group got to watch a c-section and a couple more got to watch a donation of body tissues. I was so jealous!! Tomorrow should be fun, but I'm ready to watch so really interesting things!

Week # 12

It's getting closer and closer to the end of the semester, but I am SO excited for Thanksgiving break! This week in lab we learned about post-op care, it was pretty interesting. Two weeks from now, we get to do dressing changes. (We don't have lab or clinical next week) I had a HUGE test today, I think I did pretty good on it, she still hasn't gotten grades up yet. We also had assessment today in the hospital, I found out the patient I was going to be caring for this week. I was less than enthusiastic. It wasn't the kind of patient I had in mind for my first 'real' patient. If I had one word to say about it...it would be Alcoholism. Enough said. I guess I'm going to have to deal with it sooner or later, I was just hoping it would be later. So tomorrow will be an adventure!

In the Hospital...

Well I started in the hospital yesterday. I was really nervous. It wasn't at all what I had expected. As we were getting the tour and told about everything, I felt like I didn't know anything, and I shouldn't be there. Well today was better than I expected. I was dreading going there today, but actually it was an enjoyable day. It's not as big and scary as it had seemed yesterday. We followed an RN around and watched her do her morning assessments and medications. It was stuff we already knew how to do! I don't know what I was so worried about. We were partnered up and I was with the 'nice' Emily :) We did a bed bath and I made my 1st bed with a patient in it. (Not as easy as it had looked!) We also were asked to check one lady's vitals and another patient's temperature. Well we can't use the machines to take the BP so I took it manually. At first I couldn't hear anything, so I waited and listened again. What I heard was way off from what we had gotten earlier. So I wanted to double check and I used the machine. I was only off by 2 in the bottom number. I was really impressed that I was so close. That boosted my self confidence. It's really nerve wracking that everything is so dependant on you and your actions, in the nursing home it didn't really matter, now it does. I'll be a little more sure of myself now that I know, I know what I am doing! :)

Week # 11

Today was a fulfilling day. I got a 94 on my Pharmacology test and a 100 on my lab quiz. We did pre- op and lung sounds in lab. Now I just have to study for my fundamentals test on next Wednesday...its going to be a real hard one- a lot of information.
Well last Friday was my last day in the nursing home. It was really hard to say good-bye without getting all choked up. I'm going to miss them all! This Thursday we will start in the hospital, just following the LPN's around. I'm a little nervous because I've never really been in a hospital before. Next weekend I'll be going with a bunch of students to Detroit where they will have a bunch of cadavers on display, I think it will be really neat!

Happy Halloween!

Yesterday in lab we did critical thinking scenarios with passing oral medications. You would have to be a patient once and a nurse once. Well my patient role was to be hard of hearing. Well that sounds like fun :) The guy who was my nurse goes in starts talking and I shout "Sorry What!" He kind of looked at me weird, but he did what he was supposed to, got to eye level and lowered his tone. Well I couldn't let him get off that easy, so I did it again right in the middle of his sentence. Leave it to me to practice hard of hearing...I've been practicing this my whole life! lol. It was fun. And best of all no lab quiz afterwards! Although I did have my re-take from last week and I got 100% on that. Today we got to see our clinical sites for next semester. The four of us from Marion got the same one in Midland, so that was cool. The bad part is that it is at 6:30 in the morning, so I'll be up really early! And the worst part is that my birthday falls on a Thursday, so I will be enjoying EVERY minute of my birthday! No celebrating for me. Tomorrow I am getting my flu shot so that will be interesting. After giving them all, I'm not so interested in receiving one. But hopefully it will be worth it!

Week # 10

It feels weird to say it...week # 10, I can't believe its went so fast. I finally got my test and quiz grades from last week. It was passing, but I'd like to do better. I figured out I can get 78% on my last 2 tests and only have to get 120/200 on my final. That's not too bad, I like to have extra cushion. Hopefully I'll do better though! No tests this week, but a Pharmacology one next week. I just finished up my clinical paper work from last week, I didn't realize how much there was! It took over 5 hours to do it! Tomorrow I have my re-take lab quiz and that shouldn't be too bad because I'll have 2 hours to study before hand and there is no regular quiz this week in lab...Woo-hoo!

Week #9

Well, if I could survive this week, I think I could survive anything! On Monday I had a quiz, I think I did OK, I haven't got the grade yet. On Tuesday I had a test, and I'm still waiting on that grade too. I also had to quizzes. I have to re-take one of them but its no big deal. And on Wednesday I had a test and I got a 90% on that one. I would have got a 93 but after I turned it in I remembered I forgot to do part of the math question! Oh well, I still got a good grade! But it was quite a stressful weekend and week. In lab we practiced with oral medications. That's the quiz I didn't pass so I didn't get to do it in clinical. Which wasn't a big deal to me, I got to spend more time with my resident, whom I LOVE! I will have to pass all his morning medications and he has 13! So I also have to write up all of them on a drug sheet, which is VERY time consuming! Our real clinical instructor was not there this week so we had a sub, and boy was I glad! That means we don't have to turn in all our paperwork until Tuesday, which gives me extra time to work on it. What a relief. But next week I will be passing the drugs to my resident. He is the greatest guy ever! He has a sense of humor and he's not quite fond of his roommate so they are bickering constantly! His roommate is quite the chatterbox and sometimes he talks so much, my guy can't get a word in! We have a lot in common, so we have a lot to talk about, it's a nice change from my last resident because she couldn't talk or anything. It's nice to have someone who can talk back to you. I'm sad to think that next week is our last week in the nursing home! It will be hard to leave, but on the bigger things! This week we had a resident pass away from our floor, he wasn't someone that we personally took care of but we saw and talked to him a lot. It's just sad to think he's gone. Also the lady that Lindsey fed and met on the very 1st day we were there also passed. I know its going to happen, but its just sad.

Well next week I don't have any tests (WOO-HOO!) so I try to write a little more often.

As you can see this was my colostomy assignment. And it was VERY painful coming off! We haven't got our grades for it yet. I finally got my Pharmacology test grade from Tuesday. My Pharm teacher is also my clinical instructor, so she showed them to us, nobody else has viewed theirs yet. I got an 83% which I was more than happy with because I thought I mixed everything up on the test! In clinical this week I was in outside rotation, which means instead of caring for my resident, I went and observed Rehab therapy and the life enrichment program. I didn't get to do as much observing as I would have liked to, but I have some idea of what goes on there. I also did blood sugar testing this week, which was something new. It went fine, once we got the machine figured out! One poor guy I had to poke 3 times! He didn't seem to care, but I felt horrible! We also picked our new residents for the next two weeks, our last resident, after this we will be in the hospital. Lindsey and I got the 2 peppy boys who are roommates, so it should be fun. I also gave one more pneumonia vaccine and everything went perfectly, the lady said she couldn't even feel it, Great! Our nursing home has 2 floors, we work on the top floor. Yesterday I got the tour of the bottom floor, which is the dementia floor. It was a totally different atmosphere down there. I couldn't believe it. It was interesting for me to witness just how differently things were from our floor.

Next week I have 3 quizzes and 2 tests, so don't be surprised if it takes a while before I write!

Week 8

Sorry its been so long since I've written, its been a busy one, and next week isn't going to be any better. Had one test and she STILL hasn't posted the grade and I really want to know how I did. In lab we leaned how to apply topical medications, not really that interesting. Sorry this is short, just wanted to let you know I haven't forgotten! Hopefully I will post more by this weekend.

I don't even want to get started on today...it was a long one. Good news on my test though, an 88% I was really happy about that. As for clinical...The day was going good, I got my resident up and to breakfast on time with the help of my buddy, then I was selected to be one of the 1st to give shots, I was excited and nervous all at the same time. Well our instructor explained what we would be doing and proper technique for everything. I was really glad I wasn't the very 1st to give one, I wanted to watch one 1st. Well the lady who was going to be receiving the injection was a real chatter box and as she is chatting away the student is getting everything ready. As she tried to give the shot it wouldn't go in because she didn't do it hard enough, well she finally got it in and when she went to aspirate the needle, she pulled the whole thing out! So she had to go into the hall way and talk with the instructor and then come back in a poke her again (I was really glad we don't practice on each other!!) And 20 minutes later we were done with our 1st one. Each of us have to give at least 5 injections. After that we were behind schedule and I felt as though we were being rushed and this isn't something you should rush. I though my 1st one went well, it went in like it was supposed to and I didn't have any mishaps. My 2nd one I forgot to lock the outer cover so the instructor had to finish pushing it in. But I felt pretty comfortable doing it. I only got to do 2 today so we have to finish tomorrow on top of all our resident care.And I have 15 pages of paperwork to do! Its going to be a long night!

Fundamentals test...I think I was prepared enough, but I guess I will find out soon. Sorry I was so short yesterday, I had studying to do. Anyway...In lab yesterday we did injections, and thank GOD not on each other! Otherwise I would feel sorry for the person who had me. We practiced drawing up medications...Thanks to Kelly I was a pro! :) We also had these squares of 'skin' to practice giving insulin injections and making wheels for TB tests. As the instructor was explaining the insulin injection, she said "there are some who are pushers and some who are darters, I am a darter." Well she wasn't kidding! I have never witnessed an insulin injection before, so I was a little shocked! I asked "Is there a way with less stabbing motion to it?" She said no and "it's not stabbing its 'darting'." Boy was I mistaken, it looks like your stabbing them to me! She said I did it good on the test square, but we'll see when I have a real piece of skin in front of me. I am excited for flu injections tomorrow, but those aren't quite so stabby-like.

Had a Pharmacology test today...Got an 83%, Could be worse, but could be better too. Room to improve, at least I passed. In lab today we are starting injections. So this week in clinical we will be giving all the residents their flu vaccinations. I passed the lab quiz, so I don't have to worry about that. Well I have more studying to do for the test tomorrow!

Week #7

Only less than 10 weeks left of this semester! Can't wait until Thanksgiving break, even though it isn't even Halloween! Our instructor today informed us that on the last quiz there was some cheating. After the quiz she had shown the answers and some people must have change theirs. I was mad! I got all my points on it too! So now we will have to take another one. We do have a take home quiz for this weekend, we have to wear a colostomy bag! I am not excited about it because we have to wear it for 24 hours (How am I supposed to sleep!?) and show it to someone we care about. It's supposed to teach us empathy. I'm not looking forward to it, but I think that's the whole point. She said we should fill it with pudding or a raw egg, but I can only imagine how good that egg will smell after 24 hours! At least we can wear it on the weekend! So I will have to let you know how that goes, I'm sure it will be interesting!

Another smooth day. Everything happened like it was supposed to, can't ask for better, right? I did learn something new about Dementia/Alzheimer's patients. When the disease advances they lose depth perception in their sight. So if there is a room that you don't want them going into, paint in front of the door black, because it will look like a giant hole to them. Also diagonal lines confuse them and they don't want to cross them. I thought that was interesting. Well I have 2 tests next week, so you can guess what I will be doing this weekend... :)

Clinical Today. Everything ran smoothly, other than my resident having an accident and missing the toilet. But other than that it was a good day. I fed my 1st patient, really feeding someone who is unable to feed themselves, not just coaxing. We had to pick our new residents for next week (I think its unfair we have to 'pick' them) and I wasn't sure who to pick. I decided to go with my buddy's resident. She is more difficult than the others because she requires a lift and is chair/bed bound and she speaks very little. My buddy is a CNA, so she has some experience and she agreed to help me. I want to get the experience because I don't want to be put on the spot of how to care for someone who is bed bound and not have a clue. So I am excited to get to know her. I have a mile of paperwork to do, so until tomorrow...

Not a very eventful day today, we had a quiz. It was easy, all math calculations and Intake and Output calculations. Too bad it was only worth 8 points. We finished going over things for next weeks test and that was it.
I'll tell you a couple of my stories....
There is this resident in my clinical that one of the students was assigned to. She is very used to running on a tight schedule and doesn't like to be taken off the schedule. Well one morning the student didn't get her ready in time for breakfast so she refused to go. (She's the rule of the roost at the dinner table) She kept telling the student that she was going to make a horrible nurse. )She is not afraid to tell you what she thinks.) Well one day she told that student, "You have a huge ass." We were all thinking this, she is the only one who actually said it! The student didn't know what to say, but I thought it was hilarious. She also asked me why I didn't go into modeling because I am so tall. I tried to explain that I really didn't have the body for it, she didn't listen. So my name is now "Tall-Handsome" Which is better than "Huge Ass" She also thought Lindsey had Veneers on her teeth. She definitely keeps you on her toes and makes for an interesting day.

You don't realize how much you retain something, until its put into use. Sitting next to Pam for 2 years, I got to hear a lot of different stuff pertaining to labs and medications. Now I am starting to understand some of it :) Pharmacology today we went over some stuff and I was able to comprehend it a little better because I had heard it before and now it made sense. Not that I realized it then, but I'm glad I picked up on it! The day is half over, in Lab we went over surgical asepsis. Putting on the gloves wasn't too bad, I found out my glove size. Now washing was more difficult than it looked. First of all the sink was too low and my arms are too long which didn't help the situation. If I were doing it for real, I would have had to start over at least 5 times. First I dropped the sponge and then I hit the sink quite a few times. I'll definitely have to practice. Good news on my quizzes...100% on this one and my retake from last week was 80% which is enough to pass (sigh of relief) The retake was 10x harder than the 1st one! Good thing I studied otherwise I might be taking it again!

Another Week...

Our instructor forgot to post the worksheets for this week, so she had to print 70 copies herself. Saves me a little ink. I've already went through nearly a ream of paper and black ink cartridge. Many trees are dying because of this class :) We got our tests to review and she realized that she had shorted us 4 points, so that helps me out! She also said that there was one question that shouldn't have been on this test, so for those who got it right, great, but those who got it wrong, would get the points for it. And of course I got it right! The only time I wanted to get a question wrong and I didn't. I'm still happy to get the 4 extras. Then I was studying this weekend and I realized that I was studying the wrong unit! Well I'll be more prepared when that test comes. This upcoming test is on urinary and bowel elimination, who new there was so much to know about it?! I've learned some interesting things already...There is something you insert into the rectum to relieve gas...weird.

This has been a very long week. Today was a pretty good day in clinical. I got to assist with another shower and nothing too majorly went wrong. I am feeling more and more confident in being there, which is a good thing. I got my test grade...not what I was hoping for but I still have a B average. And now I know I need to prepare more for the next exam. Live and Learn!

I had a test in Fundamentals today, she hasn't posted grades yet and I can't wait to see my grade! This test was harder than the other two we have had. I just need to know how prepared I actually was. Glad classes are done for this week! Tomorrow is clinical and I have my new resident, this time a man, so it will be interesting to see how it goes.

Had my Pharmacology test today. It felt good taking it and I got a 93%, so I can't complain. I also had skills lab today...That didn't go so well. I got a 70% on my quiz so I have to re-take it. And I had the right answer down and I scribbled it out to write something else...Dummy! Oh well live and learn. We learned how to put on external catheters today, that was interesting. The lab tech said "Well you can do what you want, its a play thing" about the man manikin. Umm, I don't think that is correct terminology :) Well Test tomorrow so studying hard!

Monday...Fundamentals today, we finished going over stuff that is going to be on the test Wednesday. We kinda rushed through it, so I hope she didn't miss anything significant. I had some much reading to do this weekend and I still have 2 more chapters to read. Tomorrow is the Pharmacology test, so hopefully all will go well!

Getting Started...

So I decided to start a blog to keep everyone updated on my progress going through nursing school. Maybe this will be easier than individually telling everyone, we'll see. Right now I am enrolled full time and taking 3 classes. The Fundamental of Nursing, Pharmacology and Nursing Clinical I. I also have a skills lab for 2 hours a week (we learn on manikins before we practice on patients) My clinical's are taking place right now in Clare. I am in a nursing home for the first 10 weeks and then the hospital for the last 6. I am really enjoying it so far, I wasn't too crazy about being in the nursing home but it really isn't as bad as I had anticipated. I've already learned a lot. I will be starting week 5 on Monday. So far so good on my tests, A's so far. I have two tests coming up on Tuesday and Wednesday...So as you can expect I will be busy reading and studying all weekend. I'll try to keep you posted!