Do you see it.... Do you see the light?

Well today we got the schedules for next semester. We have acute care at the hospital from Sept to Nov , two 12 hour shifts in OB and two 12 hour shifts in Peds ending with finals Dec 14th. Its so weird to see the goal so close, well goal #2. #1 was getting into Nursing School. #2 is getting my LPN and #3 is getting my RN. Everything after that is just gravy. It just seems so much closer, so much more real now. Ya know?

New word came in today on the last regular theory test that 10-15 of the 35 questions will consist of short answer questions. Nothing like ending the semester with a friggin' spoiler!

Oh well guess the next two weeks will be crazier than the entire semester has been. Lord help us with the final! We still have some stupid group project due that we are grading each other on for 4 point. Ultimately I think she'll assign the point how she see's fit. Its aways so subjective anyway... such is the nature of the Nursing School BEAST!

New week... no whine...

As if I could not whine about something?!? LOL

But seriously it's a new week and it is the last week of clinical for the semester! I am soooo happy to be outta that place soon! Last week was so slow and they had such a low census that even the instructor commented finally that we weren't just dodging things, that there really wasn't much going on skills wise and not much to do on Friday. So just in case its still slow, we get to bring our lab kits in and practice and sign off on sterile gloving, PPE and dry dressing changes and stuff on each other.

Today is my last regularly scheduled Pharmacology test. Mix of mental health meds, which we were tested on in theory, so I am hoping it won't be too hard. There were only a few add ins randomly placed like Ritilin, Adderall & Imitrex. So I hope there isn't something I missed when studying those. She does tend to pull up off the wall, where did that come from material.


There is an open lab this week to practice skills at school after classes. It's not mandatory but they are paying attention to who goes. I was thinking of going today, but I know when I get there it'll be Christine teaching what I know and not practicing what I don't know. I was already told people wanted to work with me on assessment, because unlike in clinical, our check offs consist of 26 places for respiratory sounds, the cardiac points, the cranial nerves and head to toe everything else. Which needs to be spat off in a spiel about intercostal spaces, systole and maximum points of intensity. Not to mention vesicular sounds,capillary refill,turgor,symmetry and the like.

Ok off to take the boy to school then back to get some last minute studying in before class.

Yellow ooze and white goo

Biliary drainage tube & g-tube dressing changes.

3 Clinical days left.

We have to give report at post conference from the perspective of our Pt. How on earth can you do that?!?

" I spent all day asking when I was going home, wondering where my room was, and why I am here. Where am I again?"

Wednesday What's Up...

1.) Have been having a lovely debate about the merits of bi-coastal marriages with the family on facebook. Apparently there is a new trend in this. http://www.expobusiness.com/article/living_apart_for_the_paycheck.html

2.) Husband and Dad are on their respective flights coming home as I write this.

3.) I should be working on that freaking Careplan, but I am not!

4.) I have discovered Twitter... which is stupid, but it's like a spyglass on the stars, if you care, which apparently I do. Except for Perez Hilton, which I had to unfollow, only because he is just so full of himself and a dang drama queen!

Well I think I'll get some lunch and watch soaps! Oh no I mean do my Careplan, yeah that's it I'll be doing my Careplan!

Bi-coastal cuddling

So hubby is in VA right now fixing a work SNAFU on a DOD contract. Not his fault at least,so all good there. However, he did learn that the wages there really beat what he's making here. By double! So he was talking to the guy he was working with and he's going to give him some more information. If the cost of living is comparable then it may make since.

Of course being smack in the center of school I can't really take off and move there either, plus my daughter would have a cow right now. But with a nursing degree in hand I can go anywhere too.

So do we try and do the bi-coastal thing for a while and see if the money makes it worth it? I think if he can find a long term rental hotel type place for less than $500 a month it might be worth it. Plus well, I really have been thinking of moving back toward the east coast for a year now. Just not sure of the winter idea. I don't miss winters. I do miss green and the beach!

The bad thing is that my parents moved here, cuz we were here, but mainly because they wanted to. But yeah I feel STUCK!! I don't like the idea of being stuck somewhere! And I'll feel bad if I leave. But them my mother says something demeaning and here we go again.

URGHHHHH!!I wish I could just be happy!

I can't spell...

Well I could have gotten out of having to do the last Careplan but apparently there were spelling mistakes on it and it's unprofessional if there are misspelled words or typos.

Well yeah I can see that. However, doing another Careplan isn't going to fix the fact that typos happen,spell check auto corrects into the wrong words, and to top it off has no clue how to spell medical terms. Does doing another Careplan for that reason really mean shit?

OK well whatever! It is what it is. I had already planned on doing it anyway.

But come on SPELLING?

My DX,R/t,AEB,Priorities, Interventions, & Outcomes, as well as medical and family histories are GREAT otherwise! Her words not mine.

Fuck it! Only 2 weeks of clinical left!

The Jet Set...

Apparently everyone in my family has joined the ranks of the weekend jet setters all of a sudden.

Kids fly off to the East Coast last weekend.
Dad is flying off to the East Coast today for 5 days.
Heck even Hubby is flying off to the East Coast on Monday for a business trip!

When is it my turn? Sheesh!

Ah clinical

I amaze myself at how much I can impress my clinical instructor by a few critical thinking ideas, that just seem like common sense to me.

Can't draw up 0.25ml in the dropper? Try drawing it up in a TB syringe? Not rocket science people!

Pt feels dizzy?- Nice and safe, how about getting a set of vitals to start?

I was like the student charge nurse today. If someone or the instructor needed help or a runner or something checked out, or a combative pt distracted, or an assistant for straight cath insertion, it was "Super Christine" to the rescue.

It makes me feel good to help and I suppose that is an important Core Value in Nursing!

Just call me Reverend

Exactly 1 month...

To go till the end of Block 1 of Nursing School! It seems like it has taken forever, but then again it seems like it has flown by.

Test today in theory! I need to make up some points today. I really want to end this class with an A and there is now only 1 more test and the final to do. So we'll see how today goes.

I'm also starting to look into a place to volunteer for a day over the summer. I want to keep building my resume and maybe get an "in" someplace so I can actually land a job as an LPN once I finish Block 2 in December.

Well off to do a little more review before heading out to class.

London Bridge is Falling Down...

While the kids were away at their father's wedding this weekend, the Hubby and I decided to take a spur of the moment trip. North or West? Right or left? Leave it up to fate... So we ended up in Lake Havasu. Its still "off" season for everything to be open but the view was amazing, the lake surrounded by mountains is breathtaking! Of course cuz we didn't know we were going we did not take our camera.



And here is what gorgeous children were up to! They had a lot of fun seeing their East Coast Family members and will be home tonight! Can't wait! I miss them already.

8 days

8 days of clinical at the LTC left. Just 8 days, it sounds better than 4 weeks.

I started to fill out my clinical site evaluation and let me just say that it did not score well!

The biggest thing is that compared to the other clinical groups we are just not getting many skills! That and since the skills are so few and far between when we do get to do something our instructor is hovering there and asking so many questions it makes giving a simple Colace or a Tylenol take an hour!

What are they getting that med for? How does it work in the body? How can you administer it? What are the side effects? What are the things to assess before and after giving the med? What would the primary nursing diagnosis be? What labs should you do? How do you think you did? What did you like best? What could you have done better?

Med Surg I -A

Well we are starting Med-Surg next week after our Nutrition and Complimentary/Alternative Therapy test( i.e the crap we covered today in class) is over.

Its not Med-Surg 1 officially until next semester so it's kinda like Med-Surg 1-A.

The 21st we are going down to the OR!! I am so excited. We were told that since most of our patients at this point in time for "learning" purposes will be post-op we might as well see what goes on inside the OR. They are going to set up a mock abdominal surgery so we can learn the difference between the scrubs,where to walk within the sterile field, how to gown the doctor, how to sterilize instruments, do counts, etc. A fun little field trip to break up the lectures and boring as crap LTC clinical!

So Med-Surg 1-A contains: Diseases of the Urinary System, Diseases of Integumentary System,Immune Disorders, Care of the PT with HIV/AIDS, and Care of the Pt with Cancer.

Busy Busy Busy

5 weeks left

Wow only 5 weeks left in this semester. Can't say I'll be off for the summer because I will be taking classes all summer as usual. For the next 5 weeks there is a test every week alternating with Pharmacolgy starting this week and Theory starting next week, back and forth, all ending with finals starting May 8th (Clincial skills check offs), May 11th(Pharmacolgy) and the last one on May 14th(Theory)!

Then joy of all joys my summer classes: I still have one freaking Algebra (MAT122) left to take. YUCK! Now I know its a waste of time because I have been doing dosage and calculations math and it is NOT as hard and does not contain all the crap in that class. I think however, I am starting it this monththe 20th or the 27th! I had to get a waiver to take the online version, because I hurried through MAT092, yes I was that bad in math that I only tested into Introductory Algebra, but I digress, so since I got a C in it, my C was a 78 though, but the pre-req for this Algebra class is a B, so since I was so close I was able to get a waiver so I can take it. Chemistry starts May 18th and Humanaties. So thats 10 credits over the summer sessions.

August starts second semester and will contain my Microbiology course, which is my last Gen. Ed requirement. I don't think I could pull off the Chem and Micro at the same time. I also have the option to take the IV certification course as another class as well as the regular second semester classes. I am pretty excited about that.

Well off to bring my son to school then back to cram a little for side effects and pt teaching into my head for my Pharmacology test at 12:30

Just another lazy weekend

So I've managed to just finish two papers for Pharmacology and will now study for the test in Pharm on Monday. Sometime in there I will read and outline the 4 Chapters (i.e. 80 or so pages) for Tuesday's class, transcribe the lecture notes from last weeks class into a study guide and work on Careplan #3 for clinical.

Of course I managed to make the family quesadillas for lunch, then threw some pork and BBQ sauce into the crock pot for pulled pork sandwich's and whipped up a potato salad to go with it. Of course the family wants to have a fire tonight and make s'mores!

So no I am not going to clean, dust, or do laundry! It's 6pm and I've finally managed to take a shower and get dressed. I was thinking of walking the dog she's grumpy and needs it and well yeah I should walk too. MMMMM.. s'mores!!

Short cut Nurses

Please if there are students on the floor and one of their jobs is to pass meds and give various injections, do not sign off the entire MAR for the shift at 0900 and then expect them to give the injection you didn't get to at 1330, 5 minutes before post conference to ask them to do it cuz we can't if you signed it!


1. ) They will tell on you when they can't find the MAR to pass their meds!!
2.) They will be very upset that they can't give the neat preloaded Lovanox injection !!

and this one is just a personal...

3.) When you lock the med room, disappear and stock the med cart with your make-up instead of Insulin syringes how do you expect us to give it before breakfast!

Best Friends

No More Carpool shuffle

I got a Jeep. Not a new Jeep and not the really cool Wrangler kind. But a Jeep none the less and I have always wanted to own a Jeep. The good news is that I don't have to play the Carpool Shuffle anymore or wait two hours after class to pick up my husband or drive 33 miles each way to pick him up on days I don't have class. So yeah I am happy, of course I have empty bank account remorse now... SIGH!