I canNOT believe that it's been almost 3 months since I've last posted. I can't even think of where to begin..and I don't even feel like writing much of anything so let me make a short story even shorter:
I PASSED! Yes..the dreaded 2nd semester is far behind me! It was rough..ROUGH!!! Omg..so freakin' bad. I even failed 2 of the exams by like 2 points each but luckily, I started off the semester with high grades so it all equaled out. My GPA did go down but whatever. I passed and that's all that matters!
I also applied and interviewed for three summer externships...and I didn't get not one! I know..lemme give you a minute to recompose yourself. Craziness! But, even those have been affected by the economy...hospitals just don't have the money for these things so they are super choosy. Again..whatever. So, I'll be working at the hospital I've been working at since September. Which is crap too because I wanted an externship on my floor there but the hospital came up with some BS excuse of the nurses not seeing me as a nursing student..and still as a nursing assistant. Which is baloney because EVERYONE knows I'm a nursing student there..and they've let me do things that a regular nursing assistant wouldn't be able to do! But, my manager (who I think should have totally stuck up for me but say it with me now.."whatever") said I can work there any time I want over the summer. So, since I LOATHE waking up so early in the morning, I might be doing some extra 3-11 shifts. Right now, I'm doing my 2 shifts in 1 day by doing doubles, mainly on Fridays (M-Th, I'm substitute teaching). So, I may do 2 doubles a week and like a random 3-11 shift just to make it through the summer..we'll see. I'm also going to see if my manager will let me follow certain nurses in the summer..to get SOME type of externship feeling.
Right now, I'm in the middle of taking microbiology. I didn't have to do it as a pre-requisite because I can take in the summer. "Morgan" and I are in the class together..omg..it's the worst. M-Th 5p-9p (just like freakin' nursing school!) and the teacher is just ridiculous. The material is somewhat boring (do I REALLY need to know all of this stuff about DNA?) and he's giving us a bunch of busy work. The lab portions are kinda ok..but "Morgan" and I have no idea what we're doing..lol. Oh well..as long as I get the coveted C..I'm good!
That's about it for now. Oh..I got a scholarship for my last year. Not a full-tuition, but a good part..so that's helpful. So, for the next few weeks, I'll be finishing up micro, working, maybe do some traveling..and just getting myself relaxed before nursing school starts again in August.
Until then!
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Saturday, March 13, 2010
O.R nursing -- who knew!
This past week, I did my rotation in the Operating Room. I didn't really know what I was going to see and kinda thought it might be a little boring, even though I like the Discovery Health channel. Blood and guts are thrilling to me..haha. But, it wasn't boring at all.
"Candace" and I went on the same day. When the nurse manager/educator led us to the board (which showcases what operations were taking place and which nurse was in that room), there was a room that had some pediatric patients. Since "Candace" is interested in working in peds, I said she could take that room. I ended up in an ortho room, which was cool.
In the first case, it was a femur fracture that hadn't healed. They were just taking bone marrow from the patient's iliac crest, which contains a great amount of bone marrow. Bone marrow produces new red blood cells, which promotes growth. Growth promotes healing. So, hopefully, all will go well with that patient.
The next patient had a simple knee arthroscopy. Arthroscopy is a minimal invasive procedure in which they use an arthroscope, a type of endoscope that is inserted into the joint through a small incision. He actually had a tear of the meniscus in the knee so they fixed that too. Boring, atleast to me.
I came into the middle of a surgery in which they were going in to fix a fractured humerus and walked into the arm split right open, flesh, muscle and all. They had to put in screws and everything.
But, the highlight of my day was a bilateral knee replacement. OMG! It was bone being sawed off, flesh that looked like chicken bits flying everywhere..it was AWESOME! I mean, when they lifted the leg up..it was like BAM!! Man..it was great. I can show you better than I can tell you so check out this video!
I never considered O.R as an option for nursing..but while I am still so in love with cardiac nursing, the O.R. is definitely an interesting option :)
"Candace" and I went on the same day. When the nurse manager/educator led us to the board (which showcases what operations were taking place and which nurse was in that room), there was a room that had some pediatric patients. Since "Candace" is interested in working in peds, I said she could take that room. I ended up in an ortho room, which was cool.
In the first case, it was a femur fracture that hadn't healed. They were just taking bone marrow from the patient's iliac crest, which contains a great amount of bone marrow. Bone marrow produces new red blood cells, which promotes growth. Growth promotes healing. So, hopefully, all will go well with that patient.
The next patient had a simple knee arthroscopy. Arthroscopy is a minimal invasive procedure in which they use an arthroscope, a type of endoscope that is inserted into the joint through a small incision. He actually had a tear of the meniscus in the knee so they fixed that too. Boring, atleast to me.
I came into the middle of a surgery in which they were going in to fix a fractured humerus and walked into the arm split right open, flesh, muscle and all. They had to put in screws and everything.
But, the highlight of my day was a bilateral knee replacement. OMG! It was bone being sawed off, flesh that looked like chicken bits flying everywhere..it was AWESOME! I mean, when they lifted the leg up..it was like BAM!! Man..it was great. I can show you better than I can tell you so check out this video!
I never considered O.R as an option for nursing..but while I am still so in love with cardiac nursing, the O.R. is definitely an interesting option :)
Friday, March 5, 2010
Has it really been this long?
I can't believe it's been more than a month since I've been on here! That just goes to show you how busy nursing school is! Obviously, I can't re-cap everything that has been going on in the last month but I'll give a roundabout summary:
School is going well. Let's see..we've had 2 major exams and 2 pharm exams thus far. It's been cool. The 2nd unit of the semester was on Cardiac. Loved it...love the instructor (who is also my clinical instructor) but did not love the exam! I ended up with an 82, which in a normal school would be a B..but not at mine. That's a C. Which is totally fine with me since it's still passing. But, working on the cardiac floor as a nursing assistant and this unit has definitely got me interested in working in cardiac. My ultimate goal is to be a Nurse Practitioner, with a specialty in acute care (such as an ICU or ER). I may also want to work with a cardiologist in an office setting. But, no matter where I end up, I'm pretty certain at this time, I want to start in cardiology. The heart is such an amazing and fascinating muscle.
A few weeks ago, all the freshman in my program had to attend the NJ Student Nurses Association convention in Atlantic City. While the convention left more to be desired, it was nice to just get away. I went down with "Morgan" and "Candace" the night before and we had a...um.."nice" time before the convention..lol.
We also started clinicals on a new floor a few weeks ago - a respiratory floor. Which means that the patients are almost all vented, trached or both. The major joy of the respiratory floor is when you have to suction a patient. You're basically sticking a suction tube through the hole of the trach and pushing it all the way down the trachea until the patient starts to cough. They are essentially coughing up their secretions that they normally wouldn't be able to cough up. You then start to pull back the tube (slowly so that you actually catch the secretions) while working the suction aspect. This is a general, layman's view but believe me..it aint all it's cracked up to be. Lord help you if you have a really congested patient.
I've been having a really good time in clinical, though. I am a tube feeding Queen (atleast with the PEG tube). While we may seem to "only" be hanging the feeding or "food", it's important to check for the placement of the tube, if there is any residual and the patency of the tube. If you have any issues with any of these things, you have a problem. The tube is also used to give medications (pills aren't given whole but have to be crushed) and there's a method for that too.
Yesterday, I spend a day in the cardiac catherization lab. Working on a cardiac floor, I'm always sending and receiving patients back from cardiac cath but I had never been in one before and the experience was great. I was able to see the heart in all of it's glory! I also was able to see a patient's aortic aneurysm. Talk about scary! Next week, I spend a day in the OR and then sometime in April, I got to endoscopy. Considering how a classmate described her day in endo as viewing rectums all day, that should be interesting.
Right now, I'm just waiting to hear back from my applications for nursing externships. In between the 1st and 2nd year, I can do an externship at a hospital, working on the floor with a nurse preceptor. It's a great experience to spend a few weeks working with a nurse and to see her day on the floor. For all of my applications, my top choices were the ICU, Cardiac and Neuro floors. I have an interview in 2 weeks at a large teaching hospital and I'm excited. It's my 2nd choice (as of now) so I'm pretty psyched. I'll post later how everything turns out.
Well, it's off to study. Got an exam next Tuesday on Metabolism (which includes, all the Hepatitis diseases, the Liver, Gallbladder, Pancreas and that crazy disease called Diabetes). Don't we just love school?
School is going well. Let's see..we've had 2 major exams and 2 pharm exams thus far. It's been cool. The 2nd unit of the semester was on Cardiac. Loved it...love the instructor (who is also my clinical instructor) but did not love the exam! I ended up with an 82, which in a normal school would be a B..but not at mine. That's a C. Which is totally fine with me since it's still passing. But, working on the cardiac floor as a nursing assistant and this unit has definitely got me interested in working in cardiac. My ultimate goal is to be a Nurse Practitioner, with a specialty in acute care (such as an ICU or ER). I may also want to work with a cardiologist in an office setting. But, no matter where I end up, I'm pretty certain at this time, I want to start in cardiology. The heart is such an amazing and fascinating muscle.
A few weeks ago, all the freshman in my program had to attend the NJ Student Nurses Association convention in Atlantic City. While the convention left more to be desired, it was nice to just get away. I went down with "Morgan" and "Candace" the night before and we had a...um.."nice" time before the convention..lol.
We also started clinicals on a new floor a few weeks ago - a respiratory floor. Which means that the patients are almost all vented, trached or both. The major joy of the respiratory floor is when you have to suction a patient. You're basically sticking a suction tube through the hole of the trach and pushing it all the way down the trachea until the patient starts to cough. They are essentially coughing up their secretions that they normally wouldn't be able to cough up. You then start to pull back the tube (slowly so that you actually catch the secretions) while working the suction aspect. This is a general, layman's view but believe me..it aint all it's cracked up to be. Lord help you if you have a really congested patient.
I've been having a really good time in clinical, though. I am a tube feeding Queen (atleast with the PEG tube). While we may seem to "only" be hanging the feeding or "food", it's important to check for the placement of the tube, if there is any residual and the patency of the tube. If you have any issues with any of these things, you have a problem. The tube is also used to give medications (pills aren't given whole but have to be crushed) and there's a method for that too.
Yesterday, I spend a day in the cardiac catherization lab. Working on a cardiac floor, I'm always sending and receiving patients back from cardiac cath but I had never been in one before and the experience was great. I was able to see the heart in all of it's glory! I also was able to see a patient's aortic aneurysm. Talk about scary! Next week, I spend a day in the OR and then sometime in April, I got to endoscopy. Considering how a classmate described her day in endo as viewing rectums all day, that should be interesting.
Right now, I'm just waiting to hear back from my applications for nursing externships. In between the 1st and 2nd year, I can do an externship at a hospital, working on the floor with a nurse preceptor. It's a great experience to spend a few weeks working with a nurse and to see her day on the floor. For all of my applications, my top choices were the ICU, Cardiac and Neuro floors. I have an interview in 2 weeks at a large teaching hospital and I'm excited. It's my 2nd choice (as of now) so I'm pretty psyched. I'll post later how everything turns out.
Well, it's off to study. Got an exam next Tuesday on Metabolism (which includes, all the Hepatitis diseases, the Liver, Gallbladder, Pancreas and that crazy disease called Diabetes). Don't we just love school?
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Clinically speaking
So, my clinical experience has been so much different from last semester. First off, I love love love my clinical instructor. Ms. Clinical Instructor (AKA Ms. CI) also interviewed me for school and ever since then, it's been all love! She's smart, hilarious and really knows her stuff. You can tell she really wants us to be great nurses, but she's not looking over our shoulders all the time. Last semester's instructor was good as well, but there's something about Ms. CI.
These past few weeks in clinical have definitely been interesting. The first week was really light. We were just trying to figure out the lay of the land...figure out the electronic MAR (Medical Administration Record) system...where the bathroom/kitchen/lounge were. The second week, we actually picked up our patients. As is with most hospital stays, when I got to the floor, my patient had already been discharged. So, I ended up with one of the "hardest" patients known to the floor. My instructor didn't want to give me this patient but because I had heard so much about her, I was up to the challenge. I'm not going to give any background information since she's identifiable but she is known as a "frequent flyer"..someone who can almost always be found at this particular hospital. The thing about her, she was young and had a pretty bad medical history. So, it was understandable that she would be depressed..but she was also rude and manipulative. But, I am not the type to let anyone..sick or not..be rude to me. Because knowing me, I'll be rude back. And not in a way that I would get in trouble with my instructor..but to let her know that I'm not intimidated and that you bite..I bite back. But, with a smile of course. I know that every patient is not going to be sweet as pie..and that's fine. But, I don't plan on being an abused nurse!
The next week, I had pretty cool patients. A sweet old lady and another woman that was 70..and did NOT look it at all. I also came across a patient that had pica, which is basically a disorder that has you persistently and compulsively eating nonfood items. Among many crazy things, this chick digested an engagement ring. AN ENGAGEMENT RING! Now, as hard as I'm trying to get one of those..aint no way I'm swallowing it! I want one too much! Lol! But, seriously..the things you see. Working as a nursing assistant has also gotten me to see some crazy things too.
But, I'm also developing my skills. I can give insulin like the pros. I also gave my first IV push (with my instructor standing right beside me), meaning that a syringe is connected to the IV access device and the medication is injected directly. I am also certain no one in my class has done one yet so I'm pretty psyched.
I'm looking forward to what else I'll learn this semester! Now, it's off to studying for my Pharm quiz tomorrow..can't give those drugs if I don't know what they are or what they are for! The exams never end! :-/
These past few weeks in clinical have definitely been interesting. The first week was really light. We were just trying to figure out the lay of the land...figure out the electronic MAR (Medical Administration Record) system...where the bathroom/kitchen/lounge were. The second week, we actually picked up our patients. As is with most hospital stays, when I got to the floor, my patient had already been discharged. So, I ended up with one of the "hardest" patients known to the floor. My instructor didn't want to give me this patient but because I had heard so much about her, I was up to the challenge. I'm not going to give any background information since she's identifiable but she is known as a "frequent flyer"..someone who can almost always be found at this particular hospital. The thing about her, she was young and had a pretty bad medical history. So, it was understandable that she would be depressed..but she was also rude and manipulative. But, I am not the type to let anyone..sick or not..be rude to me. Because knowing me, I'll be rude back. And not in a way that I would get in trouble with my instructor..but to let her know that I'm not intimidated and that you bite..I bite back. But, with a smile of course. I know that every patient is not going to be sweet as pie..and that's fine. But, I don't plan on being an abused nurse!
The next week, I had pretty cool patients. A sweet old lady and another woman that was 70..and did NOT look it at all. I also came across a patient that had pica, which is basically a disorder that has you persistently and compulsively eating nonfood items. Among many crazy things, this chick digested an engagement ring. AN ENGAGEMENT RING! Now, as hard as I'm trying to get one of those..aint no way I'm swallowing it! I want one too much! Lol! But, seriously..the things you see. Working as a nursing assistant has also gotten me to see some crazy things too.
But, I'm also developing my skills. I can give insulin like the pros. I also gave my first IV push (with my instructor standing right beside me), meaning that a syringe is connected to the IV access device and the medication is injected directly. I am also certain no one in my class has done one yet so I'm pretty psyched.
I'm looking forward to what else I'll learn this semester! Now, it's off to studying for my Pharm quiz tomorrow..can't give those drugs if I don't know what they are or what they are for! The exams never end! :-/
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
And we're off!
Ok..so we've been back in school for about 2 weeks and I'm already ready for it to be May. So much to do! Well, let me first report that I started the semester off right..got my first A of the semester! Yay! It was on our first unit exam (there are 5 that will equal 75% of our final grade. The final will be 25%). The topics were Fluid & Electrolytes (sodium, potassium, etc.) as well as the Renal System (hello, Acute/Chronic Renal failure!) and Male GU system. Nice. I would have gotten a 100 but I changed 2 of the answers..darnnit! But, oh well..as a fellow classmate said..an A is still an A! "Candace" also got an A and "Morgan" was right behind us so I'm happy about that too!
I also started clinicals last week. I'm at a bigger hospital and I love it! I also love my clinical instructor. She's so smart and witty..just a joy to be around (I sound old..lol). Well, we'll see how I feel once I really get into clinicals. The first week we didn't do much. We got the lay of the land and we also paired up with another classmate. On last Thursday, we met up with our instructor late because we had an orientation for the Operating Room. This semester, 3 of our clinical days will be spent off the floor - 1 day in Cardiac Cath, 1 day in the Operating Room and 1 day in Endoscopy. For the OR we had to watch a video and then we got a tour of the OR department. It was pretty standard. I'm not interested in working in the OR but it will be cool to see something like a liver resection. I am definitely interested in the cardiac cath lab day since I'm interested in working in cardiac. The only thing is we have to be there at 7am but atleast we don't have clinical that night since that will take the place of it. "Candace" lives near the hospital where our clinical rotation is so I have already warned her to get the couch ready for me the night before. We're also doing our cardiac cath and OR days on the same day. It's so cool because "Candace", "Morgan" and I ended up in the same clinical rotation again! "Morgan" and I have been in the same clinical group since we started school! The names are drawn out of a hat (after they make sure you're not with the same clinical instructor again). How cool is that!
We started cardiac tonight (I had to miss the first night due to a church obligation) but I'm looking forward to this section, even though I heard it's the hardest section! Ms. Clinical Instructor is also the instructor of cardiac. So, while I know that the material may be hard (even though she said it's not - yeah right), she's a great teacher so I'm hoping that the material will be understood a little better since she'll be able to break it down better. We'll see.
On a somewhat different note, a week ago today, a devasting earthquake rocked the country of Haiti. I'm hearing reports now that 70,000 people (and counting) have died. Every time I see reports of the devastation, my heart breaks. I don't think I've watched any reports of the earthquake without my eyes misting. I know that there is a dire need of doctors and nurses to go down there. And while things are really crazy, I believe that if I was a nurse with experience..and had the approval of my husband (who is non-existent right now but that is a whole 'nother blog!)..I would definitely make my way down there to help. I feel like one of the reasons why I'm studying to be a nurse is to help people. And while that sounds so cliche'-ish, I feel drawn to help the neediest. And yes, there are needy people right here in my backyard..but I dunno. I know what I want work in the ICU or cardiac or neuro...hopefully, one day becoming a nurse practitioner. But, I know, without a doubt, I definitely will be making an international trip somewhere to help those that need my help the most. Otherwise, what else would be the purpose of getting all of this education and experience, if I don't give back?
I also started clinicals last week. I'm at a bigger hospital and I love it! I also love my clinical instructor. She's so smart and witty..just a joy to be around (I sound old..lol). Well, we'll see how I feel once I really get into clinicals. The first week we didn't do much. We got the lay of the land and we also paired up with another classmate. On last Thursday, we met up with our instructor late because we had an orientation for the Operating Room. This semester, 3 of our clinical days will be spent off the floor - 1 day in Cardiac Cath, 1 day in the Operating Room and 1 day in Endoscopy. For the OR we had to watch a video and then we got a tour of the OR department. It was pretty standard. I'm not interested in working in the OR but it will be cool to see something like a liver resection. I am definitely interested in the cardiac cath lab day since I'm interested in working in cardiac. The only thing is we have to be there at 7am but atleast we don't have clinical that night since that will take the place of it. "Candace" lives near the hospital where our clinical rotation is so I have already warned her to get the couch ready for me the night before. We're also doing our cardiac cath and OR days on the same day. It's so cool because "Candace", "Morgan" and I ended up in the same clinical rotation again! "Morgan" and I have been in the same clinical group since we started school! The names are drawn out of a hat (after they make sure you're not with the same clinical instructor again). How cool is that!
We started cardiac tonight (I had to miss the first night due to a church obligation) but I'm looking forward to this section, even though I heard it's the hardest section! Ms. Clinical Instructor is also the instructor of cardiac. So, while I know that the material may be hard (even though she said it's not - yeah right), she's a great teacher so I'm hoping that the material will be understood a little better since she'll be able to break it down better. We'll see.
On a somewhat different note, a week ago today, a devasting earthquake rocked the country of Haiti. I'm hearing reports now that 70,000 people (and counting) have died. Every time I see reports of the devastation, my heart breaks. I don't think I've watched any reports of the earthquake without my eyes misting. I know that there is a dire need of doctors and nurses to go down there. And while things are really crazy, I believe that if I was a nurse with experience..and had the approval of my husband (who is non-existent right now but that is a whole 'nother blog!)..I would definitely make my way down there to help. I feel like one of the reasons why I'm studying to be a nurse is to help people. And while that sounds so cliche'-ish, I feel drawn to help the neediest. And yes, there are needy people right here in my backyard..but I dunno. I know what I want work in the ICU or cardiac or neuro...hopefully, one day becoming a nurse practitioner. But, I know, without a doubt, I definitely will be making an international trip somewhere to help those that need my help the most. Otherwise, what else would be the purpose of getting all of this education and experience, if I don't give back?
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
And so we start again..
Ugh! Well, I have officially started the much-dreaded 2nd semester. I have heard much about this semester AKA the do-or-die semester! Even my advisor has said that this semester is really hard. And why wouldn't it be with topics such as Fluid & Electrolytes (BORING!), Cardiac (HARD!), Metabolism (BORING!), GI (HARD!) and Respiratory (HARD!). Ok..I'm not sure how boring or hard each section is (even though we started F&E last night and it has lived up to it's boring status already..even my instructor stated she hates teaching F&E.
Our first exam is 2 weeks from tonight..what in the world! I am so overwhelmed already and it's just the 2nd day. My strategy is to do what I did last semester -- start off and try to do as well as possible on the first couple of tests so that I don't have to stress at the end of the semester. Let's see how well that goes!
We also have a paper due and a poster project! The paper is Pass/Fail and the poster project is only 2% of our final grade..but still..busy work that takes up time!
One good thing is that we got our clinical rotation schedule and "Morgan", "Candace" and I are again in the same group..which is awesome! And we're not at the same hospital we were last semester, which is the same hospital I work at. Finally..new scenery.
Well, I'm off to learn more about sodium, potassium, ABGs and all that other fun stuff..NOT!!
Our first exam is 2 weeks from tonight..what in the world! I am so overwhelmed already and it's just the 2nd day. My strategy is to do what I did last semester -- start off and try to do as well as possible on the first couple of tests so that I don't have to stress at the end of the semester. Let's see how well that goes!
We also have a paper due and a poster project! The paper is Pass/Fail and the poster project is only 2% of our final grade..but still..busy work that takes up time!
One good thing is that we got our clinical rotation schedule and "Morgan", "Candace" and I are again in the same group..which is awesome! And we're not at the same hospital we were last semester, which is the same hospital I work at. Finally..new scenery.
Well, I'm off to learn more about sodium, potassium, ABGs and all that other fun stuff..NOT!!
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
After all is said and done
I FINALLY got my grades for the semester..after what seemed like forever waiting for them. I already knew what my grades were based on what I had gotten on my tests and quizzes but I wanted to see them in person so *drumroll please* I ended up with a B in Nursing 110 and an A in Pharmacology. The crazy part is that they don't give us any number grades (even though we get number grades all semester with our tests). So, a B is anywhere between an 87-93. I figured out that I ended up with a 91.25..which normally would be an A..but nothing is normal at this school!
So, all in all, my cumulative gpa (with my other pre-reqs scores and such) is a 3.06 and my term gpa is a 3.1. Not nearly as high as I thought I would end up with..but I can't complain.
I'm on break now (Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy New Year, etc., etc!) until next week so this week I plan on getting some pre-studying done. I start with fluid and electrolytes next week/semester (boring!) so I need to get a jump on everything. Pulled out my old A&P book and I'll get some reading done.
See ya next year!
So, all in all, my cumulative gpa (with my other pre-reqs scores and such) is a 3.06 and my term gpa is a 3.1. Not nearly as high as I thought I would end up with..but I can't complain.
I'm on break now (Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy New Year, etc., etc!) until next week so this week I plan on getting some pre-studying done. I start with fluid and electrolytes next week/semester (boring!) so I need to get a jump on everything. Pulled out my old A&P book and I'll get some reading done.
See ya next year!
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