I'm done with nursing school, y'all.
It took 2 years and moving backward in degrees, but I finally have letters after my name!
Now someone came in while I was busy studying and made my house really dirty. I need to get on that, stat.
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Thursday, April 18, 2013
First day vs. last day
Yesterday was the last day of class for my R.N. program. I'd love to say we were all feeling surreal and full of respect for the major accomplishment we're about to complete, but the lecture was on genitalia and at one point the professor definitely drew a penis on the powerpoint, so you can just imagine. Also, we had an exam first thing and we all hate everything by now, so we just want to be DONE.
I went back and found the post I wrote on my first week of school. I will now reflect on it:
"Homework" [as an English major] consisted of reading the text and being prepared to analyze and discuss during class. I grew tremendously as a writer during those years, both academic and non-academic, and I learned to think critically and analyze anything written. Those are skills.
Still having to read and think critically, but in a far more important way now than I ever did then.
But now I'm learning skills. As I told my brother on the phone yesterday, it's a crazy, amazing feeling to walk into class knowing nothing, and walk out 4 hours later knowing how to do things.
I do know lots of things, but I don't really think about them anymore. They're just things that you have to do. Still cool, though, I guess. But a lot of the times, it's more of a pain than excitement...
Getting CPR-certified was another eye-opener. You suddenly have this weight of responsibility--if you see someone go down, more than likely you're the only one who's going to know how to respond. That's a lot of pressure. I constantly think about giving CPR, different scenarios in which it might happen, and run through the steps over and over in my head.
Yeah, I never do this anymore. I've been re-certified twice since then and done so many mock codes that I'm blue in the face (blue, get it? Code Blue?) Fortunately, I've still yet to have to do CPR, though a friend of mine did when he was shadowing in the ICU one day. Does it scare me? I mean, in a way, but mostly I know it's just something that must be done.
This weekend I have to write a paper about Why I Chose Nursing/What Nursing Means to Me. I have so many feelings about this subject, some of which I'm not sure belong in that paper. Such as: I like knowing things. I like having facts in my head like secrets the rest of the world doesn't know. When someone asks a question, I like to know the answer.
HA. I don't remember what that's like.
I like being asked for an opinion because I'm the most qualified to answer.
False! I am now my family's substitute for proper medical care, and even though I always start by saying GO TO A FREAKING DOCTOR, they still prefer my opinion. I do manage to fit in GO TO A DOCTOR about ten times per conversation, though.
Anatomy and Physiology makes me giddy. I'm going to know the name and function of every part of your body. It's like a secret language, an In club that only certain people are part of.
Yeah, I lost my membership to that club. Know the name and function of every body part? HAHAHAHAHA.
It's amazing.
Okay, that's still true.
Also, we're going to have a cadaver lab in mid-October and I am so excited.
That was totally awesome, I do admit.
So am I a bitter old almost-RN now? No...but yes. And I haven't even started my career!
Happy trails! I have 2 weeks, 2 finals, and 6 standardized tests, and then I'm outtie!
I went back and found the post I wrote on my first week of school. I will now reflect on it:
"Homework" [as an English major] consisted of reading the text and being prepared to analyze and discuss during class. I grew tremendously as a writer during those years, both academic and non-academic, and I learned to think critically and analyze anything written. Those are skills.
Still having to read and think critically, but in a far more important way now than I ever did then.
But now I'm learning skills. As I told my brother on the phone yesterday, it's a crazy, amazing feeling to walk into class knowing nothing, and walk out 4 hours later knowing how to do things.
I do know lots of things, but I don't really think about them anymore. They're just things that you have to do. Still cool, though, I guess. But a lot of the times, it's more of a pain than excitement...
Getting CPR-certified was another eye-opener. You suddenly have this weight of responsibility--if you see someone go down, more than likely you're the only one who's going to know how to respond. That's a lot of pressure. I constantly think about giving CPR, different scenarios in which it might happen, and run through the steps over and over in my head.
Yeah, I never do this anymore. I've been re-certified twice since then and done so many mock codes that I'm blue in the face (blue, get it? Code Blue?) Fortunately, I've still yet to have to do CPR, though a friend of mine did when he was shadowing in the ICU one day. Does it scare me? I mean, in a way, but mostly I know it's just something that must be done.
This weekend I have to write a paper about Why I Chose Nursing/What Nursing Means to Me. I have so many feelings about this subject, some of which I'm not sure belong in that paper. Such as: I like knowing things. I like having facts in my head like secrets the rest of the world doesn't know. When someone asks a question, I like to know the answer.
HA. I don't remember what that's like.
I like being asked for an opinion because I'm the most qualified to answer.
False! I am now my family's substitute for proper medical care, and even though I always start by saying GO TO A FREAKING DOCTOR, they still prefer my opinion. I do manage to fit in GO TO A DOCTOR about ten times per conversation, though.
Anatomy and Physiology makes me giddy. I'm going to know the name and function of every part of your body. It's like a secret language, an In club that only certain people are part of.
Yeah, I lost my membership to that club. Know the name and function of every body part? HAHAHAHAHA.
It's amazing.
Okay, that's still true.
Also, we're going to have a cadaver lab in mid-October and I am so excited.
That was totally awesome, I do admit.
So am I a bitter old almost-RN now? No...but yes. And I haven't even started my career!
Happy trails! I have 2 weeks, 2 finals, and 6 standardized tests, and then I'm outtie!
Thursday, April 11, 2013
The post I've been waiting for.
I made an unspoken agreement with myself not to post again until I had something worth sharing, and I'm pleased to announce that I do. If you're Facebook friends with me, then you already know, but hey:
I got an RN job!
Phone interview last week, went in yesterday and already had the position before I walked in, basically.
I'll be working at a rural hospital on a general med-surg unit. Basically, this means that I'm going to have to get my A-game from the start, since there won't be as much hand-holding for me as there would be at a bigger hospital. I'll be working quite a bit, but hubby and I are thrilled at the prospect of increasing our income by about 120%.
I'll start out as a nursing assistant, basically to help start orientation to the unit, and then as soon as I pass boards and my license number can be seen online, I'll switch over to the RN role!
So much pressure relieved. Now I just have 8 final exams and that pesky board exam to pass...
I got an RN job!
Phone interview last week, went in yesterday and already had the position before I walked in, basically.
I'll be working at a rural hospital on a general med-surg unit. Basically, this means that I'm going to have to get my A-game from the start, since there won't be as much hand-holding for me as there would be at a bigger hospital. I'll be working quite a bit, but hubby and I are thrilled at the prospect of increasing our income by about 120%.
I'll start out as a nursing assistant, basically to help start orientation to the unit, and then as soon as I pass boards and my license number can be seen online, I'll switch over to the RN role!
So much pressure relieved. Now I just have 8 final exams and that pesky board exam to pass...
Monday, March 25, 2013
times flies when you're...busy?
So it's been a month since my last post. I'd love to say that so many things have changed, that I have exciting news, etc, but unfortunately I'm currently playing the waiting game.
I have 5 weeks until my pinning (graduation) ceremony. Last week was my spring break, which I spent responsibly by finishing all the papers and care plans and case studies left for the semester. It was rough, but I'm so glad I did it, because guess what? Now it's done.
So I have 2 regular exams and 3 quizzes before finals. Then we have the comprehensive finals from the supplemental textbook company we use, plus a comprehensive-comprehensive final that will cover the entire program. The latter is supposed to determine our readiness to pass state boards.
I've had a job interview and am currently awaiting results. I'm torn on whether I want the job or not. A few more job-related things are in the works, but the hospitals aren't getting around to their new grads until end of April, maybe beginning of May.
So I wait.
Meanwhile, my writing life is whizzing along. Current WIP is so much fun to write; I think it's my favorite thing I've written to date. It's also turning out to be surprisingly short, mostly due to the extremely quick pace (I think). I'm guessing this one's going to ring the bell around 70k. My last 2 novels were just a little shy of 100k each...
My puppy got to swim for the first time last weekend. It was adorable.
Hi.
How are you?
I have 5 weeks until my pinning (graduation) ceremony. Last week was my spring break, which I spent responsibly by finishing all the papers and care plans and case studies left for the semester. It was rough, but I'm so glad I did it, because guess what? Now it's done.
So I have 2 regular exams and 3 quizzes before finals. Then we have the comprehensive finals from the supplemental textbook company we use, plus a comprehensive-comprehensive final that will cover the entire program. The latter is supposed to determine our readiness to pass state boards.
I've had a job interview and am currently awaiting results. I'm torn on whether I want the job or not. A few more job-related things are in the works, but the hospitals aren't getting around to their new grads until end of April, maybe beginning of May.
So I wait.
Meanwhile, my writing life is whizzing along. Current WIP is so much fun to write; I think it's my favorite thing I've written to date. It's also turning out to be surprisingly short, mostly due to the extremely quick pace (I think). I'm guessing this one's going to ring the bell around 70k. My last 2 novels were just a little shy of 100k each...
My puppy got to swim for the first time last weekend. It was adorable.
Hi.
How are you?
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
when it's good to look back
I sat down to start on chapter 14 of my current novel-in-progress, but as I was changing the font to Times New Roman, I thought I haven't looked over some of this earlier stuff in a while.
So then I sat down and read chapters 1-12.
A lot of folks don't believe in going back during the rough drafting stage. I'm not one. If I leave off in the middle of a chapter, I always read over the chapter before starting the new stuff, mostly so I can get back in the rhythm of things.
I'm glad I read through tonight, because it's already been 2 months for the writing of these 13 chapters. Funny how easy you the author can forget stuff that you wrote.
For me, it was a good reminder of the current actual reading pace of the book, and not the writing pace. Now that I'm sitting at 36k words and eyeing the middle ground, it's imperative to know where I'm heading next in the journey towards the climax. This book, more than any other I've written, is go! from chapter 3 onward, so it was good to read through all that again and remind myself where my MC is at in her arc, where I can start pulling up some sub-plots, and where I can slow a little to let some development happen.
I usually have a very good idea of how long my book is going to be, almost within a thousand words. This one I'm not so sure about, but I'm pretty certain it's going to be shorter--probably in the 70's and maybe early 80's. Hence, even more important to refresh on the old stuff, since technically I could be getting close to the novel's middle already.
It would be nice to have a little recap available for myself, like they do on TV shows--someone to give me a highlight reel of what I'm going to concentrate on for the next chapter, along with some great music to pump me up. Someone should work on that...
So then I sat down and read chapters 1-12.
A lot of folks don't believe in going back during the rough drafting stage. I'm not one. If I leave off in the middle of a chapter, I always read over the chapter before starting the new stuff, mostly so I can get back in the rhythm of things.
I'm glad I read through tonight, because it's already been 2 months for the writing of these 13 chapters. Funny how easy you the author can forget stuff that you wrote.
For me, it was a good reminder of the current actual reading pace of the book, and not the writing pace. Now that I'm sitting at 36k words and eyeing the middle ground, it's imperative to know where I'm heading next in the journey towards the climax. This book, more than any other I've written, is go! from chapter 3 onward, so it was good to read through all that again and remind myself where my MC is at in her arc, where I can start pulling up some sub-plots, and where I can slow a little to let some development happen.
I usually have a very good idea of how long my book is going to be, almost within a thousand words. This one I'm not so sure about, but I'm pretty certain it's going to be shorter--probably in the 70's and maybe early 80's. Hence, even more important to refresh on the old stuff, since technically I could be getting close to the novel's middle already.
It would be nice to have a little recap available for myself, like they do on TV shows--someone to give me a highlight reel of what I'm going to concentrate on for the next chapter, along with some great music to pump me up. Someone should work on that...
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Week in Review (week 11?)
Really only 11 weeks left? Surely that's not right... Nope, I just counted on my calendar and IT IS RIGHT!
Eleven weeks until I'm done with nursing school! (This round, anyway. There's advanced degreeing in my near future. Just waiting on my acceptance letter.)
The past week has been fairly uneventful. School is settling into the gentle slog phase, where it seems like you have class every time you turn around, despite it being only once a week. This is how nursing school warps time. And once the exams start (they have), it goes by even faster.
Still enjoying my OB rotation far more than I thought I would. I witnessed two C-Sections yesterday. Still haven't seen a natural birth, but my chance for that is coming soon. I'm also getting much better at assessing the heart rate and respirations of a newborn. The first one I did was in respiratory distress, so his rate was in the 80's. It threw me off so much I thought I'd miscounted, but the nurse confirmed it for me. Crazy times!
Cross your fingers for me on the job front. I've been selected to a meet & greet for a nurse residency program at a nearby hospital, which is step 1. I also emailed my nurse manager from my nurse extern program last summer, and her response was very positive. Hope beyond hope is that I'll have multiple job offers and will actually have to make a decision! Which will be really tough, especially since I feel a strong sense of loyalty to the people from my extern program.
Anyway, I don't want to get ahead of myself there, but I'm excited to see some things happening.
I hope you all are doing well! Next week's review may be more interesting. This Saturday I'm meeting up with a bunch of Atlanta-area writers at a pub... last time we had fun shenanigans, and I anticipate it only being better this time...
Eleven weeks until I'm done with nursing school! (This round, anyway. There's advanced degreeing in my near future. Just waiting on my acceptance letter.)
The past week has been fairly uneventful. School is settling into the gentle slog phase, where it seems like you have class every time you turn around, despite it being only once a week. This is how nursing school warps time. And once the exams start (they have), it goes by even faster.
Still enjoying my OB rotation far more than I thought I would. I witnessed two C-Sections yesterday. Still haven't seen a natural birth, but my chance for that is coming soon. I'm also getting much better at assessing the heart rate and respirations of a newborn. The first one I did was in respiratory distress, so his rate was in the 80's. It threw me off so much I thought I'd miscounted, but the nurse confirmed it for me. Crazy times!
Cross your fingers for me on the job front. I've been selected to a meet & greet for a nurse residency program at a nearby hospital, which is step 1. I also emailed my nurse manager from my nurse extern program last summer, and her response was very positive. Hope beyond hope is that I'll have multiple job offers and will actually have to make a decision! Which will be really tough, especially since I feel a strong sense of loyalty to the people from my extern program.
Anyway, I don't want to get ahead of myself there, but I'm excited to see some things happening.
I hope you all are doing well! Next week's review may be more interesting. This Saturday I'm meeting up with a bunch of Atlanta-area writers at a pub... last time we had fun shenanigans, and I anticipate it only being better this time...
Monday, February 4, 2013
Week in Review (week 12)
85 days until I'm finished with school! Not that anyone is counting.
Nothing too majorly exciting happened since my last post. The puppy is phenomenal, very smart and sweet. She already has an arsenal of tricks and walks on the leash like a champ.
Hit 30k on my WIP this morning. Starting to enter that murky middle-ground territory where I have to keep reminding myself it's a first draft and it's okay if events aren't perfect this time around.
I've been reading Stacia Kane's Downside Ghosts series recently. It's urban fantasy, but completely unique and wonderful. I'm seriously addicted. The first three books are really cheap for Kindle right now. If you want to read some masterful world-building and voice, do yourself a favor and buy.
Hubby and I started watching American Horror Story. I'm a huge weenie with scary things, but now we're more intrigued by the story and our wild speculations as to what's happening/happened that the scary stuff is just something to get through for the plot.
I'm going to a birthing class tonight. Hold me.
And tomorrow I'm doing half my hours for service learning (community service). I'm teaching for half an hour on "general health." What a topic! I spent about 8 hours writing material and putting together a tri-fold board. I have so much to print for handouts that I'm going to have to go to the college, because my printer won't handle it. I'm nervous, but excited. I won't say what type of facility I'm going to, for privacy's sake, but it's something close to my heart.
Happy February!
Nothing too majorly exciting happened since my last post. The puppy is phenomenal, very smart and sweet. She already has an arsenal of tricks and walks on the leash like a champ.
Hit 30k on my WIP this morning. Starting to enter that murky middle-ground territory where I have to keep reminding myself it's a first draft and it's okay if events aren't perfect this time around.
I've been reading Stacia Kane's Downside Ghosts series recently. It's urban fantasy, but completely unique and wonderful. I'm seriously addicted. The first three books are really cheap for Kindle right now. If you want to read some masterful world-building and voice, do yourself a favor and buy.
Hubby and I started watching American Horror Story. I'm a huge weenie with scary things, but now we're more intrigued by the story and our wild speculations as to what's happening/happened that the scary stuff is just something to get through for the plot.
I'm going to a birthing class tonight. Hold me.
And tomorrow I'm doing half my hours for service learning (community service). I'm teaching for half an hour on "general health." What a topic! I spent about 8 hours writing material and putting together a tri-fold board. I have so much to print for handouts that I'm going to have to go to the college, because my printer won't handle it. I'm nervous, but excited. I won't say what type of facility I'm going to, for privacy's sake, but it's something close to my heart.
Happy February!
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| Ripley hanging out with her Scottish Terrier friend. |
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