Final-ly

With a test Monday on what we just covered yesterday and a class final on Tuesday, there is too much to learn in too little time! I can do it though (optimism will get me an A, right?). I'm going to Panera's Bread tomorrow to meet half the class for a study session. I'm hoping the group study will help me retain more of what we just learned.

I'm more excited though, about the day after the final. Wednesday is when we finally start PN 103. This means I'll have half my day in the books, the last half in the labs. I'm excited. Finally we are getting into the hands on processes and I'm starting to feel more like a nurse day by day. My family will be my guinea pigs for the week after, poor things.
April 13th is our first clinical week. I'm mixed on that one. A little nervousness, a lot of excitement. We are assigned to a nursing home and a patient in that home, for a week. We must devise and follow through with a care plan for that individual. Seems easy enough. I'll let you know.

Drama

They warned us. We had a special lunch with the "junior" LPN class about two weeks ago, and we took advantage of the time to ask for tips and advice for our class. One of the tips was for our class to stick together. There will be times we get on each other's nerves and plain piss each other off. There will be times we will be inseparable.
This past week, was a *get out of my face* kinda week. it all started with a student and a teacher having a mis-communication, which led to another student putting her two cents in where it was blatantly obvious the first student could care less. I was seriously wondering if it was going to come to blows. The nursing director of the program had to come in and the teacher stepped out. Everyone's concerns were voiced and issues were resolved. To a point anyway. the two girls harbored their feelings the rest of the day and did not come to their calm senses and apologize until the next day.
The whole thing bothered me and quite a few others. We were reviewing for a dosage and calculation test that was to be the next day, when all this started. So in reality, that review was wasted, 45 minutes of our class time was wasted. honestly, I was pissed. I and others pay good money to go to this college. I'm there to learn, and grow as a person. I felt like I was in highschool all over again by what I was witnessing. That's 45 minutes of class time we will never get back.
I did pass the test the following day, but that's beside the point. I really hope something like this never happens again......but according to the junior class, it's just begun.

*sigh*

A&P and in Theory...

So I'm happy to say I passed Anatomy & Physiology with a B. That's so much better than I expected. I have always been so hard on myself though, and this just proves, I need to step back and relax, no more panicking. Ok, seriously....like that's ever going to stop? HA!

So we have Mrs. Z for our Nursing theory that started today. I am so thrilled! She is my favorite instructor at the school so far, and I'll be having her for many more courses as we progress. This is the second time I've had her. We all adore her. She is our cheerleader, she reminds us of snow white, becuase she looks just like her! She has a voice like Fran Drescher, just not as nasally...she is just a joyful person and wonderful Nurse. Now, tomorrow will be day 2 of our nursing theory and she is already giving us a test....yikes!

So I'm sitting at an A in math class.....me? Math? I'm amazed.

Off to study for that test....

Bombing

So Friday was not one of my best days. I woke yesterday morning to a stress level that just poured over and I lost control of my emotions. So as I'm putting on the make up, doing my hair, getting ready for class, I was in tears. I didn't even know why. I just knew I had that OMG feeling and that i had no control over anything in my life. I know that's not true. I have every bit of control. At least, that is what I choose to believe.

So Anatomy class, we get our quizes back and I felt very confident with a 97%. I was so happy, another A to add to my score sheet. Then we take the test on the 3 chapters we jsut started and finished the day before, I wasn't so lucky on that one. I made a very low C. I was and am so mad at myself. If I get anything below a B, I panic. I just have high expectations for myself, and to do so bad, IMo.....unacceptable.

In math, I got two A's, so that was a nice ending to my day.

Anatomy final is Monday. It covers 25 chapters. I'd say I have about 18 of those chapters inside and out. The rest? I better get studying....

Getting it.

Today in Anatomy, a quiz was given to us for take home. Tomorrow is a test over 9 chapters. I suppose she figures that in doing the quiz as open book at home, it will help us prepare for the test. In a way, that's very true. When you hear *Take home* or *Open book*, you automatically assume it's going to be easy. Think again. The questions are always worded in such a way, that the answer was never anything you wrote down in the notes she gives in lecture. So in reality, you need to know your chapters in and out. You need to know how and where to find the answer. Even then, the questions are so tricky, it could take you hours to do the *open book* test. this was the case before, a couple of weeks back. She gave us a 100 question quiz, for take home...it took every one of us anywhere from 3-5 hours to complete, depending on your knowledge of a particular chapter. None of us are stupid either.

So tonight, I'm doing this quiz and studying this test for tomorrow. I don't now if I'll have enough hours. I also have a math test to prepare for. I'm so thrilled. Not.

As far as math quizes go, I did make a 100% on the one we took yesterday. So that's a boost in my confidence. I think I'm finally getting it.

12 months to go

I've been in nursing school for a month now. I'm taking an accelerated program at Concorde Career Institute. I've decided to start blogging my experiences so that I'll have something to look back on when I complete the program.

So far, I have a love/hate relationship with nursing school. I'm sure this is pretty much the case for any nursing student. Some days, walking into a classroom feels like you're walking that green mile. Others, well....it's a thrill to be there. Knowing what the end goal is and that I'm not the only crazy one on this two lane highway, helps a lot.

I will try to post daily. It will be hard, I won't lie. They say Nursing School=No Life. They are right. I'm a mother of three, also married for 16 years now. So between kids, husband and school...I'll try to squeeze the blogging in. Just consider yourself warned if a post does not make sense, because I've had no sleep in 48 hours.

I have some old posts from an abandoned blog that I may move over here, that are nursing school related. That may get this thing up to date. Aghhh, who has time?!