One Step Closer

The end of another semester! I celebrated this very successful term by taking the family to Disney World for 6 days. After this past year I know they have missed out on a lot of the one on one time they so deserve.

Only one more semester left!!!! Or to be more exact only one more 8 week class then Preceptor! It seems like I spent forever on the waiting list just to get in an now this program has just flown by.

Cardiac, ECGs, Dysrhythmias oh my!

So there isn't much of a purpose to today's post. Just wanted to share some links I have come across that may help in this portion of the class.




Some NCLEX cardiac questions:
nclex-style-practice-questions/

Powerpoint reviews:
cardiovascularsystem.htm

ECG Exercises

Then test your skills with a quiz!
The Second ECG Simulator

Add your favorite study tips below if you want to share :)

Pump your Blood

Going old school for a moment here. Figured since we are studying the structure of the heart and all, might as well add it to a tune.

Let's bow our heads

Dear Lord:

I know we go through this every day, but please give me the knowledge as to why I actually wanted to go to nursing school.

Lord, give me the strength to make it through those boring three hour lectures without falling asleep.

Lord, please give me the patience to make it through clinicals with instructors who can't just give you the right answer. On the same note, give the floor nurses the ability to remember what it was like to be a student and give us just a little more respect.

Lord, give me the endurance to read all the assigned readings and be able to remember it when I am taking a weekly quiz or a test with 4 right answers.

Lord, give my family and friends the ability to realize I really am on the edge of insanity.

Finally, Lord, give me the vision to see that one day I will be a real nurse and I will never have to wear this ugly uniform again.

Amen

A few lessons learned...

Wow, okay. So it has been a little over 3 months since the last post...figured it was time to grace the internet with my presence again.

Yes, I am still in the program. Not much has changed in the way of school... still busy as heck. We just finished up Ob/Peds by taking the HESI yesterday. By some miracle I actually got an A in the class!

The next class: Adults II, which started with clinicals today. With these clinicals we are being introduced to the great skills of Trach care and suctioning (yummy!), starting an IV (along with caring for it, med pushes, issuing blood products and starting piggy backs). Theory for this class will be focusing on the Cardiac/Pulmonary systems.

So, the realization has come, that we only have 16 weeks left of classroom time!!! Of course there is still preceptor time, but that is far more interesting then sitting in a classroom. (and a lot harder to fail!) Making end of the insanity more of a reality, we were told to apply for graduation today! (We have to apply the semester before we graduate.)

So here are a few things I have learned so far:

1. Some instructors are crazy! Just smile, do your job, and pray that the crazy isn't contagious.

2. Pediatrics is boring! I am sadden by this fact, I thought Peds was the reason I joined nursing school! Oh how I wanted to find an extra bed and partake in designated nap time when the lights were lowered on the floor! However, I did really enjoy the day spent in the Pediatric ER...guess that will still be a consideration in preceptor location choice.

3. Psychiatric nursing is one of those love hate things, and I loved to hate it! Something about being in a locked ward didn't sit well with the claustrophobic side of me. Or maybe I identified a little to well?

4. I like my new dysfunctional family (aka classmates, or sometimes they are called friends too). They are the only ones who fully understand the chaos that nursing school entails. It makes the daily monotony a bit more bearable, I care about their success as much as my own.

5. Mistakes happen, take note of them, laugh at them, and move on. Or even better...tell your classmates so they can get a good laugh out of the deal too!

6. If you get beat up by a confused patient, be prepared to get teased by your clinical instructor, who is secretly glad she was standing out of arms reach.

7. Sometimes the exams you take in the class have nothing to do with what you have learned, or in fact the correct answer was really the opposite to what you were told in class.

8. Just like the military there is a lot of "hurry up to wait" and there is a lot of time wasted! Today for instance could have been over before noon; however, we were there until 1530. I have learned to always have extra reading material on hand.

9. Nothing in this program is worth raising your anxiety level....take a deep breath and say "goosefraba". This is only temporary.

10. Patient safety is a must; however, restraints are around for a reason!
Okay, I am there is much more I could add to this list. But my head hurts and I have some chapters to read....first quiz is on Friday!

One more month!

We are officially (as of yesterday) one month out of being able to check off another completed semester. If I make it to the end has yet to be seen, I have struggled a little bit on the last exams in both classes. Thankfully, I am not to the point were I must get a certain grade on the final...but if I don't shake things up soon I will be looking for a new major.

In light of everything here is a bit of humor...

Stages of Life in Bottles

(Thanks Tracey)

Nanda Nursing Diagnoses

Top 10 Diagnoses for nursing students…

10. Fluid volume deficit related to dehydrating effects of caffeine as evidenced by increased student sightings at coffee bars.

9. Impaired social interactions related to inappropriate topics of conversation as evidenced by excessively detailed discussions of bowel and bladder functions.

8. Sexual dysfunction related to time constraints and stress-induced impotence as evidenced by increased irritability of nursing students and their significant others.

7. Functional constipation related to lack of time to go to the bathroom as evidenced by moving at the speed of light and still not getting everything done.

6. Impaired skin integrity related to increased intake of fat, chocolate, and alcohol as evidenced by the return of adolescent facial breakouts.

5. Anticipatory grieving related to impending midterms and final exams as evidenced by fits of crying and social withdrawal in October, December, March, and May.

4. Maturational enuresis related to trauma-induced regression to childhood as evidenced by frequent changing of linens.

3. Ineffective individual coping: obsessive compulsive behaviors related to high demand of nursing school as evidenced by the continual checking and rechecking of calendars, date books, course syllabi, and other nursing students to reassure that one is not forgetting assignments.

2. Altered thought processes: caffeine-induced psychosis and paranoia related to increased coffee consumption as evidenced by the overwhelming feeling that all the instructors are out to fail you from the program.

1. Self-care deficit related to being a nursing student as evidenced by weight loss/gain, insomnia, and mediocre household cleanliness.