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B.S. January 30, 2010

Posted by futurenightnurse in Student Life.
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112

I went to the evaluations office yesterday to pick up my baccaulaureate degree application. They asked me if I was going to be finishing up the graduation requirements this semester. I paused. Let it sink in. Let myself process.

“Yes,” I answered finally. She handed me the application.

For a mere $35 I can apply to graduate! Yessss!!! This is so funny to me because 1) you pay to get in, 2) you pay an arm and a leg, and perhaps your firstborn so you can complete your degree requirements, and then 3) you have to pay to leave. Yes, yes… it’s the way the world works. Economics blah blah. I’ll be glad to be out of school with my BSN.

Sorry if I sound a little bitter. It’s just my school… I go to a public uni. So with the recession and the subsequent decrease in tax revenue, decreased school budget, increased school fees… I’ve basically been paying more and getting less for it. We all have.

I wonder if students in other institutions are experiencing effects of the recession. (Specifically with decreased school budgets, less classes being offered, hours being cut, teachers being furloughed, teacher’s salaries being cut, library being closed, increased fees, cutting enrollment… I can go on forever. lol)

Anyway, this was supposed to be a happy post! Ignore all that whining and complaining in the previous 3 paragraphs. Let’s party! After I turn that sucker in all I have to do is survive this semester, pay a few more fees (haha), and I’m outtie! Woot!

What do you think? What’s going on at your school?

Ready… or not. January 28, 2010

Posted by futurenightnurse in Mommy stuff, Student Life.
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114

I have my paperwork turned in: health clearance, BLS card, malpractice insurance. I even have my badge. My scrubs are clean and neat, my shoes ready to go. I should be able to start my preceptorship tomorrow. BUT I’m putting it off till next Friday.

Why?

My daughter has a really important test tomorrow and I just have to be here in the morning when she wakes up; make sure she gets a good breakfast (not some sugary mess she sometimes sneaks by her grandma lol); and give her lots of hugs and kisses and tons of encouragement. =)

Kids first.
Career next.
Me last.

Some of my classmates don’t understand… but then again, they don’t have kids. The other part of me feels like I’m letting myself down. After all, I got all my stuff ready right away. I had a head start because I took initiative by getting in touch with the right people. I have a site and a preceptor (and a designated day–every Friday), while others don’t even know where they’re going. And now I am choosing to put it off… doesn’t seem to make sense when I put it that way. All I know is that I can make up those hours for my preceptorship. Can I make up the hours I lose with my daughter?

Just some thoughts this morning.

Be careful what you wish for… January 27, 2010

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115

So… remember when I was complaining about what a dummy I was for not scheduling myself a break on Mondays? I really, really, really should have just kept that one to myself instead of releasing it into the universe, because NOW I actually do get to have a break. A THREE HOUR BREAK.

You read correctly: 3 hours.

Apparently some 5th semester students (remember we have 6 semesters) are graduating this summer… so it would be advantageous for them to take the NCLEX prep course. They want in. Unfortunately it’s not offered in the summer. And now us “regular” folk who don’t like to take summer courses have to accomodate the overachievers. Instead of 11:00 to 1:00, the course has been bumped up to 8:00 to 10:00. The room we previously had was not big enough to hold everyone. The room we would fit in is available at the earlier time. So there. 8:00 to 10:00 NCLEX review.

My next class is at 1:00. My last class is till 5:15.

 *headdesk*

You Never Know January 26, 2010

Posted by futurenightnurse in Student Life.
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116

Any place you go there’s always at least one person that tends to rub others the wrong way. Especially Even nursing school. Lucky for me I’ve dealt with difficult people my whole life (thank you, family) so I can pretty much get along with anyone. One of my former study mates (“former” only because he graduated early by combining his 5th and 6th semesters) was known as the smart ass of our group. He used to annoy me and another mate during class. I’m the shrug-it-off or laugh-at-myself type, so it didn’t bother me too much. My friend, however, took it to heart… she was irritated at the mere sight of him.

Anyway, long story short: you cannot judge a book by its cover! Or sometimes not even by the first few pages, either. Smart Ass (and I say that lovingly) was a real big help recently. I almost expected he would be too busy to answer a text from me, but he surely did. =)

I had been worried about which ICU floor to choose, who to pick as a preceptor (or more importantly, who to avoid), etc. By taking me seriously when I went into panic mode, he made me feel so much more at ease with the whole ordeal. It all worked out just fine last week.

It would’ve been easy to write this guy off as a douche. Seriously. But he really is a nice guy after all. You just never know.

Has anyone surprised you?

Nursing Student Survival Pack January 25, 2010

Posted by futurenightnurse in Student Life.
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I expected it to be a long ass day today, but I really had no idea. I wish I’d put together a small survival pack… in it I think I’d put the following:

– food (nuts, granola bars, MREs… jk)
– brown paper bag
– bottle of ibuprofen
– coffee, coffee, coffee
– red robin – aka: in/out cath (haha ok not really)

So basically my day starts at 11:00 and ends at 5:00. Not bad, you say? Ha! Genius that I am, I did NOT schedule any breaks in between. My classes are literally back to back!

11:00 to 1:00
1:00 to 3:50
4:00 to 5:15

Ok ok so there’s 10 minutes between class B and class C… it’s not enough! I really need to start packing my lunch so I’m not starving by the time I get home. Yikes. You’d think I’d have this student thing down by now…

What would you include in your “survival pack”?

Blogging about blogging January 24, 2010

Posted by futurenightnurse in Free Time, General.
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I think I’m getting the hang of this thing. WordPress is definitely different from another site I’m used to. For one, there is no edit button in the comment section… it drives me nuts to see myself having made a typo or simple error, and even more nuts that I can’t fix it. Another thing is the reply button… I keep forgetting that the responses nest and sometimes I’m replying to the wrong person. I may just go back to using the @ symbol from now on.

I do, however, LOVE LOVE LOVE that it autosaves drafts. There have been many times I have lost a post because it did not save. (Again, this is that other place.)

Anyhoo… classes have started and I really shouldn’t be online right now. I should be reading till my eyes bleed. I’ll try to post when I can, because seriously I have a couple of drafts saved that I just need to edit. (Yay for an edit button there!) I’ll come back when I have some time.

Free time? What free time?

~FNN

Home (part 1) January 23, 2010

Posted by futurenightnurse in Clinical, Student Life.
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Two years into the program and I still wasn’t sure where I wanted to be. I liked PACU, ED, L&D, etc. but any time someone would ask what “area” I saw myself working in, I honestly couldn’t tell them. I just didn’t know yet.

I liked PACU because it seemed so awesome that the nurses would be watching over the patients as they came out of surgery, making sure they were waking up and breathing, not bleeding out or having other adverse events, titrating their meds, being the first person they see coming out of anesthesia (besides the anesthesiologist) and telling them Hey you made it out of there alive!

I liked ED because it’s wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am! Turn over was great and I honestly was once at a point in my life where I did not want any emotional attachment to patients. (LOL talk about transference… I was having some other personal issues at this time also.) So for ED it was: figure out what’s wrong and “fix it”, then 1) send them home, 2)  transfer them to the floor, or 3) send them to the morgue.

I liked L&D because it’s watching new life come into the world. Being a mother myself, I knew what a big deal it was to have a good birthing experience. I also liked the teaching aspect with antepartum and postpartum. I had a great experience with teaching breastfeeding, diaper changing, recognizing what “normal” is, etc. (This is also the time during which I got over the whole not wanting to get attached to patients thing.)

But yet…

None of these places spoke to me. I was even ready to accept Med-Surg as a starting point. After all, I’d been told that is a rite of passage for most graduate nurses. I thought maybe I’d just find my way after that.

(to be continued)

I have homework… January 20, 2010

Posted by futurenightnurse in Student Life.
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122

.. and my nursing classes don’t even start till Monday.

I now have all the textbooks I ordered from Amazon… All I need is a Saunders Comprehensive Review for the NCLEX-RN. Apparently it’s the book for our NCLEX review class. It wasn’t listed at the bookstore, but it’s on the syllabus. The same syllabus that was posted just today. Go fig. But that’s ok. I don’t have syllabi for my other nursing classes. I’ll take a look at what they have at the bookstore tomorrow. (I may just order from Amazon again.)

Anyway, I have some work to get done. I want to get ahead… because I have a feeling if I DON’T stay above water, I’m going to D-R-O-W-N this semester.

Yikes.

Preceptorship Roulette January 19, 2010

Posted by futurenightnurse in Student Life.
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Someone posted on their FB that they got their preceptorship assignment today. A few left comments on her status that made me realize not everyone knows where they’re going to be yet. That made me a little nervous… I hadn’t heard a confirmation from the school’s clinical coordinator at all either!

I sifted through my email. My instructor had acknowledged an email I sent her (back in December) asking for further instructions regarding securing a spot in the ICU. She said I didn’t need to do any more than I already had (I spoke with the hospital’s ICU coordinator to get my name on the list.)  As far as I know, my name is on that list. I emailed her again today… just to see if there is an orientation prior to the start of classes or if anything has changed. Tomorrow I’m calling the hospital.

Technically, classes start on Thursday, but I don’t have a nursing class till Monday. I have Leadership and a case studies class. Another nursing class is online and two more are on-site (a preceptorship at the hospital and a senior project/community service).

I have an orientation in the morning for my senior project, which is basically participating in some sort of community service… I chose to help out in the nursing lab to mentor first year nursing students. Lord, help me.

My non-nursing classes are: Asian-American Communities, Visual Culture, and American Inequality. So much for an “easy” final semester. The upside is that these classes actually sound interesting. After all, I don’t wanna just fulfill graduation requirements, I want to learn. I mean, nursing isn’t everything. (Ssshhh… don’t tell anyone I said that.)

Anyone else taking non-nursing classes with their nursing stuff? What was/is the most interesting non-nursing class you’ve taken?

The Other “3 Rs” January 16, 2010

Posted by futurenightnurse in General, Just One Thing.
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I love the portability of plastic water bottles. I usually buy a case of 24. Then each morning before I head to class I grab a bottle or two and go.

Convenient. Easy. Disposable.

Uh-oh. The d-word! I know I’m not the greenest person in the world, but I’m trying to do my best by:

  • purchasing the ones made with less plastic
  • refilling the bottles a few times before disposing of them
  • recycling the bottles 

Still, I feel guilty for supporting the creation of so much waste. I have to admit, my environmental health class last semester made an impact. So here is “just one thing” that I’m changing this January (and possibly forever):

Just One Thing

This beauty here was only a few bucks at Target. It’s an aluminum water bottle by Gaiam. It’s cute (I love the writing on the side), portable, cold water seems to stay cold longer in this bottle, AND the best part: there is less waste! Yesss… I can refill it as many times as I want!

The only downside is that I have to wash it instead of just tossing it… but that’s ok. I think I’ll survive.

Do you do any of the 3 Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle)?