No likey

I don't like my new job... big surprise. Probably because it's tele/medsurg...bleck! Oh well... Great company tho right!

Let the new journey begin

First hospital position day 1. It's just a week filled with new hire orientation classroom stuff, but it's exciting. Is itwrong to say that this feels like I am finally starting a real nursing job? It's not that I haven't had years of nursing experience and some actual critical care events. But I've felt like a pill pusher, babysitter, and a Medical Assistant at my last positions, so this...this is the beginning.

On to the Next Step

Well it's on to the next next for me. Last day at Urgent Care was today and was less than Urgent. Excited to start this next chapter after a two week break and a ton of school work! :-)

Cardiac PCU

Received my offer letter and orientation paperwork. I have my pre-employment physical on Tuesday. This is getting pretty real here. 1 more week until my last day at my current job, then I have a two week break before starting the new one on the 8th. I have a ton of school work to get through before starting since I know my time will be limited.

Career News

Ok so I did get a call from HR from the ER position and tentatively accepted it. Given that I needed a start date that wouldn't bankrupt me and I have already given notice at work. I was starting to get worried that come my two weeks notice being up I'd be unemployed in the end.

So in order to not to burn a bridge I went to an interview at a closer facility in their Cardiac PCU (step down ICU) that a very good friend from nursing school told me about. Walking out of there, just like NCLEX, I left feeling like I totally blew it and had no hope. The floor is a big change for sure.


So lets see...

ER- too far away
ER- Kids
ER- more money than I make now
ER- Nights
ER- Huge variety, fast paced, some things I already know a lot about. Some things I know NOTHING about.


PCU- Lots of things I know nothing about, small things I know some things about, LOTS of learning potential and critical care experience
PCU- way closer
PCU- No kids
PCU- more money than I make now
PCU- Nights



There was one thing I had no interest in doing was kids ER... so that and the distance were the deciding factors for sure on why I would take the PCU job. I mean either way I am excited to get to be a NURSE!

Finally knocked another one out

Class that is. Nutrition is in the books with a pass. I kinda psyched myself out more than spent any real time on the topic. What should have taken me all of a week to complete, took over a month, mostly because I didn't do anything with school for nearly that.

I have one more class open right now and it's still that communications class, why? Because I have been procrastinating on this one like no one's business. But today I tackle it in earnest and send the outline in for grading and get my visual aide completed. I will record the video on Tuesday no matter what.

Since I want to start a new job, and anyone in nursing knows that new jobs equal more learning and less time for extra stuff in the beginning, I know I need to get as much of this course finished as I can if I want to stay on target for my May BSN completion deadline.

Future ER Nurse

Had job interview today and was offered the position.. I am SOOOO excited!

Just waiting on HR to contact me to give me the particulars and get the compensation and offer letter.

So I will be back on night shift, which is so much more preferred for me for sure! The job isn't close, there are about a million and one hospitals between it and me, but you go where you know people sometimes.

So finally that ever sought after position in acute care hospital!

When I told a friend of mine where I was planning on working she said she could through my resume at her director for a position at her hospital. Yes they are closer, but it's not a speciality that I would enjoy, it's on the PCU (CABG recovery) it's such a hard decision.


Location vs Location
Speciality vs Specialty

It's a dead heat... I'm still totally leaning toward ER.

On the school front... well the slacking continues but I just took the second Practice Assessment for Nutrition so I am thinking to attempt the final tonight. My communication class, well I will work on the project script and hope to get the video uploaded this week... it's the thought of recording myself that is really just getting to me, I don't know why. But gotta push through. At least Statistics is NOT my next class after all. My Advisor wants to move forward either Health Assessment or Community Health (depending on testing locations)

ER Interview

So I went ahead and did it and applied for an ER position. My resume made it past HR and the phone interview. I have a team interview on Thursday next week. To say I am excited and freaked out would be an understatement.

I've started reviewing mission statements and interview type questions and welcome any advice anyone can give me for sure. This is a huge step and a huge opportunity for sure!

I've even started reviewing NIH Stroke protocall... yikes! So much to review and school!

Wish me luck!

Just slacking

Because I've had a crazy shift this week and an annoying Boss from hell...schoolwork didn't really get done this week. More so because the stuff I have left to do I need to be at home to complete. So no news on the school front right now to report any completed classes.

I have tomorrow off, at which time I will complete my visual aide part of my project. This weekend I will then try to complete the outline for the paper to submit with it. With that said, I still need to videotape the actual presentation,which probably won't happen until this weekend either, since I have my 4 in a row off starting Friday, I may get this done. I also need to bust out that Nutrition exam...I think I have that one planned for Monday (in my mind) we will see how the pretest goes.

No this wasn't actual procrastination,it was just simply life getting in the way this time...:-)

Sometimes you feel like a nurse...

I like it when patients don't know how sick they really are and come in here to be treated. ER acute care patients... DKA anyone... love it more when I get that difficult stick turned into a running IV!

How do you make people see that yes I do infact have acute care experience. That Chest Pain person was pretty real and needed full chest pain protocal work-up and then a lot of interventions prior to sending directly from our center to the cath lab at the heart hospital... isn't that what the ER does? Same with the acute kidney injury related to dehydration and a raging pyelo that needed iv antibiotics and a foley for strict I&O before heading out to be admitted to the floor.

Yes sometimes I feel like a nurse and then there are the times I actually get to be one instead of a glorified MA. Maybe I should apply to an ER?

Technically I have Officially

Completed my first "semester" of my RN-MSN program with the completion of Biochem! of course I have accelerated Nutrition and Speech into the semester and continue to plan a few more as well. But I am so happy with this so far I must admit.

Ok need to get working on some projects :-)

Just about finished

Will in fact be submitting my last Biochem task tomorrow, hope I won't need a revision, but I probably will.


Either way that makes 12 CU's completed in 1 month. If only I could keep that up... but I don't see it as possible for some of these classes, but I will surely try. My Course Adviser put me on bi-weekly contact instead of the weekly contact because I was doing so well.

I have a speech to work on for one class and Nutrition exam to pass. I missed the cut score on the Pre-Assessment by 3% so I need to review a little bit and then I will try and take the test the end of next week.

A tisket and tasket

I'm so punny... anyway... Biochem is plugging along. Passed task 1 with no revisions needed. I submitted task 2 yesterday and am 234 in the que as they are only up to grading from the 22nd at this point, I think I will probably have task 3 submitted by the time I hear back from that one. So so far 2/5ths of the way from completed with my 12 CUs... tomorrow I talk to my adviser and will have her open those other three classes for me if she will, or at the very least Nutrition, since I talk to her normally weekly, she may just open one officially a week. But I'm just guessing.

Ok back to work... need to build a model of a Hemoglobin... have you seen it? Squiggly mess of crazy!

In the bag

One more class done. Now onto Biochem. 5 Projects for this class... each with 5-6 parts. Some have models to build, while some have diagrams. All have a powerpoint and "paper".

Staring it in earnest today. Hoping to have Task 1 submitted this weekend. It's the only class I have left open in my semester so I have to have my Mentor (Like Advisor) open up my next two. Which will be Nutrition and Stats. Not looking forward to Stats at all. So far I am very happy with the format though.

***uodated- Naw did not start my next class this weekend. Actually I wanted Outlander on Starz*** lol

Just submitted

Another project, hoping it'll be the last one and I can kick this Humanities class outta my que. Yesterday I wrote the Art History Essay part of it and passed the first time. Today I submitted a Powerpoint presentation, but I am less than confident in it because some if the themes I had no idea what to write on. Maybe there was enough BS filler in it to get by?

A comma, a divided compound word, and a long sentence....

All that stands between me and passing this freaking 4th task for US and World History.... SERIOUSLY!! So I made the corrections and deleted a line and resubmitted... third time's a charm right? #137 in the que. **** update- YES IT WAS!!***

Oh and I passed another class last night took the Care of the Older Adult test and PASSED!

Analysis of Humanities... a project

Seriously who the heck makes up some of these assignments? 3 topics that relate to my profession randomly need to be picked from art, film, and a specific list of literary choices... like really! What am I suppose to do read all frigging 20 of them?

I am almost done with my Powerpoint and seriously hoping that the BS I fill it with is enough to meet the rubric. I am just filling in the points and trying to use the key words to make it sound real. Some topics suggest 4-7 slides... I can fit a compare and contrast into one... should I really do 4-7 ? That's 21 slides just for one section alone and there are 4 sections with subsections galore... who on earth wants to sort through and grade that?

Urgh!

2 and 3/4 Finished

Still waiting on revision for task 4 of my GKE1 Applications: in US and World History) class.

PASSED the GKT1 Analysis: of US and World History Class on the first attempt! Woot- Powerpoint accepted!

PASSED the Applications of Humanities final I had scheduled for next week. I pushed it up a week and took it today instead. Was a bit nerve wracking and seriously I think I just guessed at most of the questions... however I improved my score from a 64% cut score to a 71% cut score. (Cut scores are not percentages based on a 100% grade btw- it's some totally other weird subjective formula... in this class for instance a passing cut score was 55%)

On the agenda

Well I have three tasks of 4 completed and passed and 1 awaiting revision review. So hopefully that comes back ok and then I'll be done with my first class.

I submitted by PowerPoint for my second class which is the only thing due. Last I checked I was at #15 in the que. It'll probably be reviewed by tomorrow. I'm hoping I don't have to do too many revisions, let's hope for NONE, and that class will be done.

I scheduled the exams for two classes for next week. I have Care of the Older Adult on Thursday, and Humanities on Saturday. IF I pass those first time out I could be finished with 4 classes in 20 days!

I'll start my essay part for Humanities, its a compare and contrast essay, on Sunday after I take the test and see if I can get that written and submitted by Wednesday and at least I'll have meet my goal and attempted all 5 classes that I want to get done prior to October 1st. I plan October for Biochm, but from what I read on the support site it may not take that long since it's just 4 tasks based on things I have already learned in previous course work. Then it'll be November for Stats. I haven't even hoped that class and I am scared to do it too!

x1 week in to MSN program

I have completed the 4 tasks of the US and Global History Class, three so far have been graded, two passed on the first attempt, the third I misread the question and wrote the whole first paragraph on the wrong topic...lol, so I rewrote it and resubmitted it today (#119 in the que) I submitted task 4 this afternoon for it's first grading. I HOPE it doesn't come back. I think I have the style they want down, just need to make sure that the content is there :-)

I have also taken and Passed two Pre-Assessments, so I think I will schedule the tests for next week. I have hope that I can get through my first 9 CUs of the semester by the first week in October at this rate and work on BioChem and Stats for the rest of the month.

Typically we take 12 CUs a semester which is 6 months long. CU= Credits technically, 12 is full-time. I am hoping to take more like 24.

Two down, Two to go

4 tasks total for this section. I have completed and passed two. I am about to complete the third paper, I spend about two days usually on each task. Research, write, and tweak. It then takes about two days for them to grade it while I started writing the next one.

My timeline so far has been, started Task 1 on Sept 2, completed and submitted on Sept 3, Started task 2 on Sept 3,Received graded Task 1 on Sept 5th, Submitted Task 2 on Sept 5, Started task 3 on Sept 6, Received graded task two on Sept 7th...etc.

I am hoping to completed task 3 by tonight and submit it. It's a three part paper, section 3 is written, section 2 is almost done, and section 1 is started.

My GOAL is to have all of the Tasks for this class submitted by Wednesday.I am hoping I don't have any rewrites for the tasks and can be done by Friday!

I still have a Powerpoint presentation to do for the Application portion of the class, which is set up as it's own class,but I am hoping that I can blow that out in one week and be done with US and World History by the end of next week.

I really want to knock these damn general eds out quick! Hate'em so much!

Tasks

At WGU assignments are called tasks. For my first class there are 4 tasks to complete. These tasks are multi-part essays. I submitted task 1 on the 3rd and am awaiting grading. I was 109 in the submission que! I have researched most of the topics to prepare for Task 2 and have written half of the two part paper for that. I would like to get it done today as well as Task 3 started and perhaps finish the final task on Sunday. At that time I will be finished with my first class, IF I don't have to do any rewrites.

Wish me luck cuz the Procrastination fairy has already reared her ugly head!


*** Checked the portal and I PASSED the first task! ***

World and US History Combined

Yup first class of BORING! I had this excitement thinking maybe I'd accelerate through and blow this out in the 6 months people kept talking about, then I saw the actual course work I have to do. I have 5 weeks to have it all completed, which includes 4 multi-part essays and a huge Powerpoint research project. Now I am thinking instead of getting all the essays out of the way in a week, which I thought I could do in my haste to get started while reading other people's experiences, I may have over thunk my actual availability. I now know it may take longer... but technically I can't see the whole course until Monday, so what appears to be a daunting never ending source of CRAP filler class with not many resources to draw upon, may be doable accelerated IF I had time.

Who knows, but I did realize one thing...

The reason I waited until my children were older before attempting nursing school last time, was that school and an infant, and a full-time job, but most especially an infant... well let's just say that I have NO free time to accelerate anything!

I need to get hubby on board with a bit of a change to this Nanny thing, because YES I LOVE LOVE LOVE our nightly routine and NO ONE is going to step in on that part, however, I really do need a day at home to work on school work and not be preoccupied with keeping Mr D happy.

Getting ahead of the course...

First class opened and I have been looking at the tasks and papers. First up Geographical Factors that contribute to the Diffusion of a Population and it's success.

Yeah ummm... I wanted to go to school why? Papers, papers and more papers.

Problem... I am really bad at concentrating on one topic without getting bored. That is why I must have more than one class opened a the same time. It was hard to explain to my Adviser why this was a good idea but I hope she sees it my way after I submit the first set of papers due next week.

Graduate School

Apparently because I am designated RN-MSN means that I am direct entry into Graduate School. Is that weird or what? I don't think I honestly ever thought I would actually be at the point of obtaining my Master's Degree.

When I set my current schedule and look toward graduation it looks as if September 2016 is my projected date. Of course that will only happen if I can proceed through the program without issues and at a steady pace.

September 1st is my Official start date and I have access to start History, Humanities, Speech, Biochem, and Statistics.YUCK!

$991

First tuition payment installment paid! Yikes that hurt.

The BSN Semester

Classes start Sept 1. I have orientation next week. I am also finally supposed to complete my PALS class. I really hate my job. Lots of changes and none of them good. But I am holding out to change jobs at least until after I finish my BSN, then my options will be greater. I have no idea exactly what I want to do though.

RN to MSN

Let's get this party started. School actually doesn't start until September 1st. But nearly all of the ducks are in a row for this one, plus I can afford it.

I've gotten so close previously to starting the BSN, even took a few classes... but I hated the format. I DO NOT like posting and responding to discussion boards. I also HATE group projects. I think I have finally found a way around both!

It's a tad alternative, but accepted and the BSN portion shouldn't take too long.

Forward progress... because seriously, this job is still NOT what I had hoped it would be, and seriously NOT what I want it to be.

Once upon a time...

I used to write on this blog. I have been pretty busy in the whole Fosterhood thing, so I haven't really been into what's going on the wonderful land of Urgent Care Nursing. Of course this job is BORING.

I start a BSN program again in June so that I can get my Masters in Education. I want to get Wound Care Certified too.

I also am sending in my resume for an LTAC, because I NEED to do MORE. I feel lazy here, and when I actually get cases that are interesting, I don't like them because of the fact that I may have to stay late or run around like a chicken with my head cut off over something because we don't have what we need or because I am so fearful of my IV skills, as rusty as they are, that when I miss, I fear for my job. Which is completely stupid and only a self imposed anxiety at this point but since it's MA work more than RN work... I feel totally... well... BORED!

Is there a field of Nursing that I like?????????

@350 tabs

You mean you have over 350 tabs of that awesome pain med hanging around since January and you need more? Oh it's your brother who stole your identity? Oh do you want me to file a police report for you? Wait...where are you going....I thought your ass was broken?

90 Day review

Yup been at the new job 90 days I gues so time for my review. Today I felt like a successful RN here for the first time though. Like I a pro I started an IV on one attempt, drew labs, pushed zofran, and hung fluids. Go ER Nurse me. Good thing I got it though because well, I had been counseled for my poor IV skills after 30 days, but hey in my defense it's not like I'd had a lot of practice in a while at that point, I'd been accessing ports, piccs and broviacs mostly. But yeah being able to just do it like it was an everyday occurrence felt good and it proves that yes i can do it so they should keep me. Other than that its been all MA type of work around here with a lot of Case Management. Sorry there isn't much exciting on here, but hey my BSN is going to start again soon. Yup I'm finally doing it, but seriously even that isn't too exciting.

A Year in Review

January started off with my RN and December ended with a new job in a new field of nursing.