Week 26 - 32: The rest of Women's Health Rotation

We started N200 today and I've come to the realization that it will be impossible to keep up with my goal of writing about each week of nursing school.  I was really busy this summer being a musician.  I traveled and toured parts of South Carolina and Florida.  With the 3rd semester of nursing school heading into full swing, it has become much more important to focus on finishing this program.  But I do want to finish talking about N150.  Just a couple sentences about each week.  No frills and no pictures.  Sorry!

Week 26:  Males Nurses Don't Belong in the Postpartum Unit.

I think I showed up late for class on Monday because I woke up late.  I went clinicals.  I went to lab. That's all I believe.  I wish I had more pictures as well, but my camera broke on the trip to the NSNA Annual Convention.

Week 27:  Exam 1 went well.
If I remember correctly, I got my first A of the semester. Yay me!

Week 28:  I really don't remember what happened this week.

Week 29: The 3rd Annual Nursing Research Conference
This big event of this week was going to a little nursing conference for one of our community health leadership requirements.  Instead of going to school, we instead went to Long Beach Memorial Medical Center for the conference.  At times the information was over my head, but thankfully I didn't have to drive very far.  I literally live 3 minutes from the hospital.

The Collaborative Efforts of Healthcare.
While studying at the Huntington Beach Library this week, I had a little conversation with a med student who is currently going to NYU School of Medicine.  She was in town studying for the boards (good luck to you).  She was very interested in what we learn as nurses and how we are trained.  She wanted to learn nursing skills but her program does not offer that.  I found it very interesting that they have no training on how to put an IV in (I'm sure they get that training eventually) or how to use the pumps. Things that are a focus for us aren't a focus for physician training (at least her training).  Likewise, we don't have the theoretical training to diagnose a patient illness, when physician's do.  Healthcare, for better or worse, is going to continue to be collaborative.  To save patient lives cannot solely be done by nurses, and likewise doctors need nurses to manage the care of the patient.

Week 30:  I might just become a NICU nurse one day.
I've learned that I enjoy taking care of babies.  I loved the 2 weeks I was in the nursery.  It was slow at times, but the babies were cute.  I don't picture myself working as a nursery nurse (if you're the mother, do you really want a male nurse teaching you how to get the baby to latch onto your nipple? Lol, I'm sure you don't), but the NICU (aka Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) looked like a place I can seem myself someday.  

Week 31: Labor and Delivery
Wow, definitely a great experience to see babies being born.  I don't know how some of these mothers go through labor without an epidural.  It's insane.

Week 32:  Survived the ELIMINATION round!
After all the troubles encountered this semester, waiting for the results for the last exam was extremely nerve-racking.  But I knew I was going to N200 and I knew I was going to do well on this last exam.  In the end, the elimination round didn't eliminate me.  Onward to N200!!!!

1/2 of a RN. 1/2 of this project completed.

Week 25: Spring Break over already? At least I'm going to Salt Lake City.

Shall I Continue?
I know its been awhile, but when it came down between studying and blogging, studying won. I don't know if I'll remember everything, or be able to make every single week sound interesting, but I'm going to try.  You want me to continue writing this things right?

If you haven't read week 24, click here.

The Switch
This week marked the shift from Med/Surg to Women's Health (or for those unfortunate to be on the other side, Women's Health to Med/Surg)  If you haven't read my week 17 entry (which you should be ashamed of), I talk about how the class is organized this semester.  Go back here.  For me, the switch couldn't of happened at a better time.  I found Med/Surg to be stressful, and I wanted nursing school to feel like rainbows and skittles again.  The impression I got from the other half of class is that Women's Health is pretty straight forward.  Hopefully that's the case.  The first week back meant being on campus a lot more.  However, I only had to be on-campus only 2 days.

59th Annual National Student Nurses' Association Convention, Salt Lake City, Utah.
As stated above, I was on-campus for only 2 days this week because I had the privilege of attending the National Student Nurses' Association Convention in SLC.  We left Tuesday evening after class and came back early Sunday morning.   I volunteered myself and my friend Caitlin (hahaha, sucka!) to represent GWC in the House of Delegates.  That meant our schedule was pretty crazy and there was so much to do.  There so much I could write about the experience, but it was a lot of fun.  These pictures will just have to do.

Week 24: Peace Out Med/Surg, I'm off to Women's Health!

It's Friday and I'm a little burnt out from writing these.  I started the week with a crappy entry and I'll end the week with a crappy entry.  If you haven't read Week 23, click here to go back to it.  It's an entry that I'm quite proud of and probably the best one of the week, maybe.

Week 23: No Rest for the Weak and Weary

This was by far one of the most demanding weeks (in terms of finding time) I've had in a very long time.  As I have been saying, we have so much to do.  Looking back, I wonder how I managed to get through it all.  After 23 week of nursing school, I've realized that in nursing, nothing goes according to plan.  Things happen to cause delay and extra work.  I've learned to manage the stress (although my blood pressure has been a bit elevated for awhile now), keep my cool, and get everything done.

Week 22: To drink or not to drink?

Week 21 Addendum
I was reminded of something I did during Week 21.  I added it to yesterday entry. Click here to read about it (it will be in blue italics).

The Joys of a 12-hour Study Session
Exam #2 was some meaty stuff.  Fluid and Electrolytes was a beast that meant a lot of studying to get the understanding down.  12 hours went by fast.  My brain and my sanity also suffered.  We studied at this nice quaint little coffeehouse called Cobantigua that's located at Old World Village in Huntington Beach.  The perk of this place is that there's always room to study and it's a little hidden gem behind Bella Terra.

Week 21: Don't Worry, Be Happy

Week 20: Where did I leave off?

Sigh, I've been MIA
I took quite an extensive break from writing my blog.  If you are a nursing student, you can probably understand.  If you are N150 nursing student who happens to be in the med/surg rotation with me, you really understand why I took a long break.  So why do you ask?

Week 19: Week 3 Can Kiss My A**

I hated this week. Nothing went right. I HATE Valentine's Day!!! (I really don't hate it.  There's really a purpose for it when couple's should be doing special things for each other consistently throughout the year).  Everyone has these moments and it was my turn to experience all the crap that crap sh*t's on.

Week 18: There's No Such Thing As "Me Time" Anymore

There's so much to do, that I couldn't capture my whole schedule in one screenshot.

I showed you all what my class schedule looked like.  This week, I thought I'd show you how a week normally looks for me when I add everything that I do.  90% of my time is dedicated to Nursing School, 5% dedicated to work, and the other 5% dedicated to fun (clearly I don't have time for sleep).  It's been a bit overwhelming, but that little bit of fun that I do have has kept me from really going crazy.

Week 17: N150, 2nd Semester, The ELIMINATION round!

It's Good to Be Back
It's been over a month since my last entry.  I had intended writing a Week 16.5 entry (where I would write about stuff that happened during the break, such as my fall down a mountain), but I got lazy.  I had intended to write the Week 17 entry when it was Week 17, but I got busy.  Being busy is not going to change this semester and I can no longer being able to produce entries in a regular fashion.  I'm motivated to this project.  There will be an entry for each week, but I may not be able to produce the same detail as I have in the past. I'm already finished with the 3rd week of school and I'm just posting the 1st entry.

Special Entry #2: Merry Christmas Everyone!

In the spirit of the holidays, I decided to record and perform some christmas music for you all (if you don't celebrate christmas, you can still enjoy me playing the piano :)!)

Week 16: Saying Goodbye To N100 - The End

The Last N100 Blog Entry
So I've finally reached the last entry about N100.  It's a little bittersweet, but at the same time these things have taken waaaayyyyy to much effort to produce.  But I'm extremely satisfied with the result.  So this entry will be a reflective piece about the first semester (just remember I might be trying to be funny with what I'm saying, so don't take anything personally).

Before I get to the reflecting, let me finish my story about Nurse Edwyn.  Nurse Edwyn has been on break for a very long time, but its time to end the drama!

Week 16: Saying Goodbye To N100 - The Middle

Last N100 Lab

I really didn't enjoy waking up early again for Tuesday lab at 8AM.  The only thing on my mind was wanting to study for the final exam.  I was just in lab Monday and the instructors wanted us to go back Tuesday to do some nursing scenarios.  We were split into small groups and we rotated to different stations.  At one station I played the role of a patient.  I was told by the instructor that in the middle of the nurse's physical assessment on me, that I would tell the nurse that I would be feeling really hot and nauseated.  The goal was for the nurse to figure out that I was experiencing hypoglycemia (low blood sugar).  So when one of the students came up to me and started doing the physical assessment, that's what I did!  The goal was to critically think about the situation and what you would what to do next as a nurse to help the patient.

Week 16: Saying Goodbye To N100 - The Beginning

Week 16 was one of the most stressful weeks of the semester.  It was finals week and final exam loomed at the end.  So I decided to split up this week entry into several parts.  How many parts will I write?  I think I'll write 3 entries:  The Beginning, The Middle, and The End.  What will be written in each of those entries are still to be determined.

Week 15: Saying Goodbye To Clinicals :(

This week marked the end of my first 10 week rotation in the Clinical setting.  It was time to say goodbye.  I was ready to stop this clinical stuff.  It's tiring and there are moments during the shift where you are under extreme pressure.  However, I will miss clinical because you've come to know these people a little bit better after 10 weeks.  The nurses have been great and I really hope that they found our presence a little helpful (maybe not in the beginning).

Week 14: Quiet on the Set! (Filming the Ethics Presentation)

The lecturing has been turned over to us amazing nursing students.  I'm guessing its fun for the instructors to see us present information.  But honestly I think they might be a little tired of lecturing already.  I think getting the nursing students to do presentations gives the instructors a little bit of a break.  At least we get some points out of it.

On Wednesday, my clinical group commenced filming of our Ethics presentation on Conflicts Over Treatment.  Specifically, we are gonna look at the conflict over treatment in regards to Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order.  DNR is a complicated issue that we all have our own biases about.  As nurses, we cannot let our own beliefs about an issue get in the way in effectively caring for a patient.  I don't want to give away to whole story about the presentation and I won't (just know that I'm amazing in the videos we recorded).  We tried our best to replicate what a hospital room looks like.  At the same time we wanted to be funny and make every attempt to exaggerate certain things.  If you choose to read more, you'll see some pictures!

Week 13: ATI Assessments SUCK. At Least It Was Thanksgiving.

I really hope you can help me pass the NCLEX-RN.

As the title state, ATI assessment are horrible.  It's a lot of pressure for a generalized test.  Some of the things the assessment asked weren't even discussed in lecture (because every RN program teaches things at different times).  Honestly, I didn't know what to study beforehand.  Since the assessment was computerized, the result were given to me immediate after I finished taking it.  What's did I get?  Well, according to ATI, I'm a Level 2 (jedi master).  What does Level 2 mean you ask?  Here's what ATI has to say what level 2 is:

What does level 2 mean to me? I'm not stupid and have common sense!  Will I "engage in continuous focused review"?  NO!  How did I benefit from receiving a Level 2 on the ATI Assessment?  I received 10 extra credit points that I really needed!

Week 12: Drinking Makes the Week Better

The stress of nursing school is beginning to take its toll on me, just like the rest of the class.  The exams are not getting any easier and it is very easy to over think the questions.  So what should any nursing student do to relieve that stress? DRINK!  That I did with a few of the nursing students.  It was fun and I forgot about the stress (at least for one night).  We literally sat and drank for at least 4 and 1/2 hours (though I got there late, I still had to pick my patient).  I probably should have finished the paperwork from my patient BEFORE I started drinking.  I thank everyone who drank with me that night for helping me write my Form A.  I was no longer focusing.  In hindsight, I think the drinking affected my performance at clinical's a little bit.  I was tired at the beginning of the shift and I was sleepy by the end of the shift.  If I had to grade my performance, I would give myself a B-.


But the week was any typical week:  Lab and Lecture on Monday, Exam #5 on Tuesday, picked a patient Wednesday, and went to clinical's on Thursday and Friday.  There you go guys, a recap of my week!  If you read my blog to hear about the nursing stuff, I'm done!  You can stop reading now, but if you continue, I have a little treat at the end!

Special Entry: Happy Birthday To Me!

Turning 25 is one of those milestones in life (just like 18, 21, 30) that should be celebrated.  It's the quarter century mark.  25 years of maturity (or immaturity) under your belt.  Unfortunately, I'm a nursing student and November 15, 2010 is a day before Exam #5.  So I'll be studying.  But I do have a couple lists that I want to share with you all.

Week 11: Getting Seat-Jacked in Lecture!

There's an exam this week and I shouldn't be writing an entry, but I must tell you about the crime committed against me during lecture Tuesday.  As the title states, I got Seat-Jacked (in hindsight, that was a pretty slick move). Here's a rundown of what happened: