Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Tough learning...
One of my assignments from the first term included finding a current journal article about the pathophysiology, and complete a small write-up. Free choice anything we wanted - I choose necrotizing enterecolitis or NEC.
I choose to research NEC because I now feel much better equipped to understand the medical research related to this terrible disease. The etiology of the disease is not completely clear but there are known risk factors and one big one is being born premature. The babies were just born too early and I still makes me sad that I did not carry them longer. One thing that has been shown to offer some protection is breast milk and it makes me happy to remember that I was able to provide milk to both the little sweethearts starting right away.
Researching and writing about this was hard but I still feel like I need some clarity. Loosing J was so difficult and thinking about it will always make me cry. My heart is forever broken and there is still so many emotions evoked in my heart when I think of N&J ... still so much that I do not understand or will ever know.
Angel baby I love you .... and N where ever you are, I hope with all of my heart that you are a happy little boy.
I choose to research NEC because I now feel much better equipped to understand the medical research related to this terrible disease. The etiology of the disease is not completely clear but there are known risk factors and one big one is being born premature. The babies were just born too early and I still makes me sad that I did not carry them longer. One thing that has been shown to offer some protection is breast milk and it makes me happy to remember that I was able to provide milk to both the little sweethearts starting right away.
Researching and writing about this was hard but I still feel like I need some clarity. Loosing J was so difficult and thinking about it will always make me cry. My heart is forever broken and there is still so many emotions evoked in my heart when I think of N&J ... still so much that I do not understand or will ever know.
Angel baby I love you .... and N where ever you are, I hope with all of my heart that you are a happy little boy.
1/5th of the way to BSN...
My first term of nursing school is over. Projects, tests, and assignments are all turned in and grades are posted. I am satisfied with my results ... but boy it has been a tough term. Nursing school is a whole different animal and I really had to tweek and adjust my study habits to get results I can be happy with.
Most students in our program come in very accomplished in other realms of their lives. We are all good students and know well how to study to get good grades.....still studying for nursing school is different. It is a different approach and a whole new way of thinking. I would have loved to get straight A's but let me tell you, I will take my B in pathophysiology any day! That was one tough class - I loved every moment of it. But I was worried as the final accounted for 45% of our grade and I did not feel like I did so hot. For many of the questions there were two good answers - attention to minute details was crucial and I walked out of the exam praying that I did well enough to pass the class. Ending up with a B was fabulous!
In between 1st and 2nd term we get a much needed three week break. I am spending the first couple of weeks with visitors from Denmark ... always lovely to have my mom here.
I try to get to the beach as much as possible - I love taking the dogs and let them run like crazy. The smell of saltwater and the sound of the waves calms me like nothing else. Today I really need some calming thoughts too.... I made a mistake on some paperwork for school and it will ending up costing me a pretty penny if I cannot get it fixed. I hope and pray that it can be fixed. With all these changes in insurance and stuff between school and Rio's new job, I forgot to submit my waiver form. Well actually I did not forget - I just thought I had until September to get it done. It turns out the form was due on August 30th ... and now my tuition for fall includes insurance to the tune of $2K ... boohoo!!! I am so mad at myself and I really really hope I can get the charge reversed as we now have Rio's insurance coverage.
Even with that hick up in the road ... first term is done and I am super excited. It is an incredible program and I love it. I cannot wait for next term to start. My clinical rotation for the fall will be on a medical oncology floor and I am looking forward to getting out into patient care.
Most students in our program come in very accomplished in other realms of their lives. We are all good students and know well how to study to get good grades.....still studying for nursing school is different. It is a different approach and a whole new way of thinking. I would have loved to get straight A's but let me tell you, I will take my B in pathophysiology any day! That was one tough class - I loved every moment of it. But I was worried as the final accounted for 45% of our grade and I did not feel like I did so hot. For many of the questions there were two good answers - attention to minute details was crucial and I walked out of the exam praying that I did well enough to pass the class. Ending up with a B was fabulous!
In between 1st and 2nd term we get a much needed three week break. I am spending the first couple of weeks with visitors from Denmark ... always lovely to have my mom here.
I try to get to the beach as much as possible - I love taking the dogs and let them run like crazy. The smell of saltwater and the sound of the waves calms me like nothing else. Today I really need some calming thoughts too.... I made a mistake on some paperwork for school and it will ending up costing me a pretty penny if I cannot get it fixed. I hope and pray that it can be fixed. With all these changes in insurance and stuff between school and Rio's new job, I forgot to submit my waiver form. Well actually I did not forget - I just thought I had until September to get it done. It turns out the form was due on August 30th ... and now my tuition for fall includes insurance to the tune of $2K ... boohoo!!! I am so mad at myself and I really really hope I can get the charge reversed as we now have Rio's insurance coverage.
Even with that hick up in the road ... first term is done and I am super excited. It is an incredible program and I love it. I cannot wait for next term to start. My clinical rotation for the fall will be on a medical oncology floor and I am looking forward to getting out into patient care.
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
How to eat a watermelon...
An accelerated nursing program is like trying to eat a watermelon in one big gulp. One my instructors, who is such a wonderful, engaging and charismatic person offered the analogy that nursing school is just like eating a big watermelon....don't shove it down in one big bite.....but slice it up really thin and eat it one piece at the time....so now picture this: me shoving in the proverbial watermelon at least five slices at the time because I am busy...and taking in just one slice at the time may not be fast enough!!!!
The first term of nursing school is like putting out fires ... there is always something due or needing to be done. It is both exciting and an incredible amount of work to accomplish. It took the first few weeks to settle into a new routine. Then week four brought the first midterm, week five another, and week six yet another one and add to that over a handful of online quizzes, 2 case studies, 3 midterms and plenty of written reflections have been done. At this point half the term is over and finals will be looming before I know it....but first a whole lot of more project assignments are coming up in a snappy order. Tomorrow is our medicine calculation exam, Friday offers competency sign off on vital signs and the first set of injections....and next week - well actually my brain have not caught up to that yet ... woot woot ... better keep that helmet on because we are going full speed ahead!
I love nursing school. It is a big adjustment and so much is coming at me very fast and I am just trying to take it all in. I feel very competent in the things we do and learn but I will admit that I have not performed quite as well as I wanted on my exams. I know my material but I am learning that tests in nursing school requires a different approached...and I am slowly adjusting my learning. The learning is tough, challenging and wonderful ... I feel such a great sense of accomplishment just being here.
There are some tough parts too and the hardest one for me is being away from home. I knew that I would miss the kids more than anything in the world ... but if possible I miss them more than that! They are my everything .. and I totally miss tucking them in at night, giving them hugs, and just have all the little everyday moments with them. Nothing is better than getting home Friday night and getting the most wonderful hugs and smiles :-)
The first term of nursing school is like putting out fires ... there is always something due or needing to be done. It is both exciting and an incredible amount of work to accomplish. It took the first few weeks to settle into a new routine. Then week four brought the first midterm, week five another, and week six yet another one and add to that over a handful of online quizzes, 2 case studies, 3 midterms and plenty of written reflections have been done. At this point half the term is over and finals will be looming before I know it....but first a whole lot of more project assignments are coming up in a snappy order. Tomorrow is our medicine calculation exam, Friday offers competency sign off on vital signs and the first set of injections....and next week - well actually my brain have not caught up to that yet ... woot woot ... better keep that helmet on because we are going full speed ahead!
I love nursing school. It is a big adjustment and so much is coming at me very fast and I am just trying to take it all in. I feel very competent in the things we do and learn but I will admit that I have not performed quite as well as I wanted on my exams. I know my material but I am learning that tests in nursing school requires a different approached...and I am slowly adjusting my learning. The learning is tough, challenging and wonderful ... I feel such a great sense of accomplishment just being here.
There are some tough parts too and the hardest one for me is being away from home. I knew that I would miss the kids more than anything in the world ... but if possible I miss them more than that! They are my everything .. and I totally miss tucking them in at night, giving them hugs, and just have all the little everyday moments with them. Nothing is better than getting home Friday night and getting the most wonderful hugs and smiles :-)
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Lots of steps...
I am 13 days into keeping taps on my steps again and I am on the plus side :-)
13 days = 130,000 steps needed .... 163,734 taken!!! Woohoo
It is so easy for me just to sit back down and read. There is SO much to read and even if I spent every waking moment reading, I am not sure it could all be done. Keeping taps on my steps keeps me focused on getting enough exercise into my days. I also helps to change my study space - my room, the library, the school of nursing, outside, the hot tub by the pool ;- ) - you name the place and I have probably been there reading.
Anyway back to the books ... have a mountain to conquer ;-)
13 days = 130,000 steps needed .... 163,734 taken!!! Woohoo
It is so easy for me just to sit back down and read. There is SO much to read and even if I spent every waking moment reading, I am not sure it could all be done. Keeping taps on my steps keeps me focused on getting enough exercise into my days. I also helps to change my study space - my room, the library, the school of nursing, outside, the hot tub by the pool ;- ) - you name the place and I have probably been there reading.
Anyway back to the books ... have a mountain to conquer ;-)
Two weeks in...
And the work load is mounting!!! I expected it .. still it is a lot of information to take in in a short amount of time and I need to continuously stay on top of deadlines to make sure everything is accomplished on time.
The hardest thing about going back to school is missing my kiddos. I know this will be my personal struggle for a long as I attend classes. Being a mom is the best thing in the world and being away from my loves it hard. I am determined to get the most out of every weekend and break with them to minimize the impact of my absence during the week...and lots of phone calls and texting in between.
The first two weeks of school have been GREAT. I feel so strongly that this is the right path for me and it is a very very good feeling. Today I am catching up on reading and hope to get situated with a couple of study groups in the coming week as it is always nice to have other people to bounce ideas off.
The faculty is great and collectively very enthusiastic about teaching and the nursing profession. I was super excited to get accepted ... I am even more excited now! My cohort comes from a variety of backgrounds and it will be exciting to learn along with them as we all bring different perspectives into the learning process. Another student (see blog link below) wrote this great little list of nuggets from the first week - these ring totally true to me so I want to share:
http://notesfromastudentmidwife.com/2013/06/28/first-week/
The hardest thing about going back to school is missing my kiddos. I know this will be my personal struggle for a long as I attend classes. Being a mom is the best thing in the world and being away from my loves it hard. I am determined to get the most out of every weekend and break with them to minimize the impact of my absence during the week...and lots of phone calls and texting in between.
The first two weeks of school have been GREAT. I feel so strongly that this is the right path for me and it is a very very good feeling. Today I am catching up on reading and hope to get situated with a couple of study groups in the coming week as it is always nice to have other people to bounce ideas off.
The faculty is great and collectively very enthusiastic about teaching and the nursing profession. I was super excited to get accepted ... I am even more excited now! My cohort comes from a variety of backgrounds and it will be exciting to learn along with them as we all bring different perspectives into the learning process. Another student (see blog link below) wrote this great little list of nuggets from the first week - these ring totally true to me so I want to share:
- 90% of all questions can be answered with either “It depends” or “Wash your hands.”
- Hold onto truth lightly.
- We are on the frontline of creating new nursing roles for ourselves. Put nursing to work in the parts of our lives we already love. What takes our breaths away?
- Make time for reflective practice.
- Bring everything you are. But it’s not about you.
- Ask your questions. Stay curious. There are lots of right answers.
- Get comfortable being uncomfortable.
- You can’t be a cowboy/girl if you’re afraid of how you look on the horse.
- Lean into your fellow students for support. Now is not the the time to be the lone wolf. Learn to work in the wolf pack.
- Trust the process.
- Sloooow. Down.
http://notesfromastudentmidwife.com/2013/06/28/first-week/
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
10K a day...
I am determined to stay fit and active throughout nursing school. Since I will away from the kids during the week, I really have no excuse for not exercising! The school has an awesome gym that we have access. I went to work out last night just to check it out. It has some great fitness classes as well so I will have to check so of those out over the next few weeks too.
I also got out my pedometer and planning for 10,000 steps per day through out school ... that is something like 4,500,000 steps :-) Crazy many steps ... one day at the time - I started off yesterday with 14K not including my 5 miles on the bike! Exercise is good for the body, mind, and soul. I plan to use it as a stress reducer because surely stress will set in at some point. Our first lecturer said yesterday "every week in an accelerated program is like finals week" .. well there is amping up the pace and the stress level. My goals are though not to stress out and keep ahead on my studies as much as possible.
School started yesterday and it was a great first day. Before classes I went to the computer lab to print out what seemed like a small mountain of paperwork to get ready for this weeks classes. So now in my room I have a small mountain of binders to match my mountain of books. It was exciting to start and to listen to the first few lectures - it has me assured that I will love nursing school. I know there will be plenty of trials going though this program but that is ok - what does not kill you makes you stronger.
For sure there will be a lot of reading, a LOT of homework assignments, and a lot of learning new skills and processes. Today will be the first clinical day. Obviously we are not ready to care for any patients at this point so all our clinicals for the summer will be in the simulations lab or at the school of nursing. Here we get to learn all the basic assessment skills and process to build our base knowledge.
I also got out my pedometer and planning for 10,000 steps per day through out school ... that is something like 4,500,000 steps :-) Crazy many steps ... one day at the time - I started off yesterday with 14K not including my 5 miles on the bike! Exercise is good for the body, mind, and soul. I plan to use it as a stress reducer because surely stress will set in at some point. Our first lecturer said yesterday "every week in an accelerated program is like finals week" .. well there is amping up the pace and the stress level. My goals are though not to stress out and keep ahead on my studies as much as possible.
School started yesterday and it was a great first day. Before classes I went to the computer lab to print out what seemed like a small mountain of paperwork to get ready for this weeks classes. So now in my room I have a small mountain of binders to match my mountain of books. It was exciting to start and to listen to the first few lectures - it has me assured that I will love nursing school. I know there will be plenty of trials going though this program but that is ok - what does not kill you makes you stronger.
For sure there will be a lot of reading, a LOT of homework assignments, and a lot of learning new skills and processes. Today will be the first clinical day. Obviously we are not ready to care for any patients at this point so all our clinicals for the summer will be in the simulations lab or at the school of nursing. Here we get to learn all the basic assessment skills and process to build our base knowledge.
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