Email = SMILES

So excited to see fall Nursing Assignments in my inbox.
Strange isn't it... I spent the end of last semester fighting burnout
and now I can't wait for school to start again.

Call me crazy but I sincerely miss it.
I think I have become addicted to the stress/ the chaos of it all ???!?!?

INSANE

I made it

Just a quick update to say that I survived my third semester and only have one semester left before graduation :)

Oh Happy Day!

I must admit that it was a bittersweet victory because we literally lost about 1/3 of our class this semester. Nursing Programs are BRUTAL. This was by far the hardest semester (for me anyway).

I am hoping to bring some fun to the ol' blog this summer as soon as I get my crafty space in order. See you soon :)

Shawnna

The End of Week 4....I think?

I am really not even sure what week this is but I think we just wrapped up week four. I am exhausted. Today was hard. It was our first experience with having 2 patients and it was a little chaotic. We do ALL the care related to these patients so it is like we are both the CNA's and the RN's for them......makes for a lot of running around. We were also dismissed early due to weather conditions so that added to the chaos.

We have already had 5 Snow Days this Semester. You would think this tidbit would have me jumping for joy but they don't tack on a few extra days at the end of the semester when you go to college.....NOPE! They put the info on tegrity and you have to listen to a recording all on your own. I know some people would much rather listen to a tegrity lecture than actually go to school but rest assured, I am not one of THOSE people. I sit down to listen to a lecture and my mind starts to wander and the next thing I know, I have gone into the kitchen to take meat out of the freezer for dinner, or written 5 to do lists and prioritized all activities on the list. It is sad but true. So needles to say I am a wee bit behind on the mountain of tegrity lectures I need to listen to.

Since I last posted I have taken multiple quizzes, my first exam, and completed check-offs. Everything is going well so far grade wise. Knock on wood. I just need someone to figure out how to add extra hours to each day, this would enable me to get some sleep and hopefully have the time to finish up those tegrity lectures. So get working on that for me, would ya?!?

Blessings
Shawnna

3rd Semester - Week 1.... a special kind of hell

Photo Credit

I survived the first week of school.

For those of you who don't know, I am in my third semester of the Nursing Program. Upon completion of this semester I will have one semester left until graduation. As excited as I am to say that out loud, I am currently in the midst of what I like to refer to as "nursing student hell". We endure this special hell reserved only for nursing students the first two weeks of each and every semester. We are required to attend class/seminar all day every day for the first two weeks, while still keeping up with our studies. Our ever stressful checkoffs are also during this time. I can't describe the torture really.... but simply stating that we endure hours upon hours of mind numbing lecture/orientation just doesn't seem to do it justice. The workload assigned for a single lecture can seem down right impossible.

Example: For one 3 hour lecture in Med-Surg over Hematology we are assigned to read 5 chapters in 3 different textbooks as well as reading from our Laboratory and Diagnostic Book. This does not include Study Guides and additional handouts. And this is just 3 out of the 8 hours we are in school on a single day. It doesn't take a mathematician to see how quickly the tasks add up.

This Semesters checkoffs will include Central Lines (dressing changes, cap changes, flusing/med administration) and Infusaports (accessing and deaccessing). While I am excited about the prospect of working with these devices, I am reminded just how serious they are and how great of a responsibility it is to care for a patient that has one. It is a little overwhelming. Thankfully check-offs aren't until Friday so I have a wee bit of time to get over my anxiety.

And now I must get back to my studies. I will update as soon as I can.