Kaplan: Day Three

Pretty much the same routine today. Just answering a bunch of NCLEX questions with the instructor walking us through each question using the Kaplan Decision Tree. Each day we cover a different area (see schedule on yesterday's "Day Two" post), so the content changes and there's still stuff to learn and to consider.

During our one hour break, I didn't really break, I just played on my computer and then got REALLY sleepy right before we were supposed to start back. So when class began, I laid back on the sofa, my head on a pillow...and oops! I dozed off for about 5-10 minutes. hahaha! Not good. So I forced myself to sit back up and drank some cold water...

Tomorrow's schedule has us independently taking our "Readiness Test" during the time period when we'd normally meet for our first session and then we meet back online for the second session late afternoon. My understanding is that we'll go through a select number of the questions from the Readiness Test - perhaps the most commonly missed questions--I'm not sure. But then they'll also generically discuss our results and what they mean for us and what we need to do to get ourselves ready to take the NCLEX using Kaplan's resources--based on the results of the tests within Kaplan's site.

I went ahead and took my Readiness Test this evening, so that I don't have to do it tomorrow. 180 questions in three hours! ugh. I'm glad it's over with! But I couldn't believe my eyes when I got my result!  My score was EXACTLY the same as what I got on my Diagnostic Test (which was the test required to be taken before starting this class). So, I'm not sure what this means. Possibly, that I didn't learn anything or possibly that it didn't really help me. But I'm just very happy that I didn't score worse, as I'd interpret that as I just got lucky on the first test or else Kaplan just screwed me up.

Kaplan explains that for NCLEX the goal is 50%. That's just the way the Computer Adaptive Testing works to determine competency above or below the line.  Below is the explanation we were given in class regarding goal scores:


"The goal score for Question Trainers 1-5 is 65%. For the Readiness, Question Trainers 6 and 7 and all QBank tests, the goal is 60%. Remember that every candidate taking the NCLEX®RN examination gets 50% of their questions correct and 50% of the questions wrong.  The difference between passing and failing is level of difficulty of question.  If you are getting 50% of your questions correct answering passing level questions, you will pass. Passing questions are written at the application/analysis level of Blooms Taxonomy."


So for those of you who have been online and have seen people posting their scores on the Readiness and Question Trainers, understanding the above, will hopefully help. Kaplan does a great job of explaining how NCLEX determines passing/not passing.

So I'm sure you are wondering what my scores were? Okay, okay. On both my Diagnostic and my Readiness Tests, I scored a 69%.  So I'm well above the 50% and well above the 60% -- so that is encouraging. But I really don't understand why I didn't score higher on my Readiness Test after spending three days learning Decision Tree strategy. My theory is that I really just need to jump back into the content and review what I've forgotten or never learned. I've been surprised at what I have retained and how things will just jump back into my head when I'm working on NCLEX questions (even for the past two weeks). My biggest fear has been that it's been slowly draining out of my head. Review, review, review! Practice, practice, practice!

Well, it is late and I'm beat. Until tomorrow...

UPDATE:
My Kaplan instructor explained that the Diagnostic Test had questions from every level, but that the Readiness Test included only "passing level" questions. So the Readiness Test was actually harder, so the fact that I kept a high score was a good thing.

Kaplan: Day Two

So.... Class started at noon. Power went out at 12:30. hahahaha! Um, so what do you do? Well, after waiting a few minutes to see if the power might come back on, I called and reported the outage. Then I changed my clothes into something more presentable, all the while hoping that the power would come back on. I called a friend 2 miles away to see if his power was out (if not, I'd have run over there to use his internet), but his power was out too. So I shut down my computer, threw it in the car with a pair of headphones and headed to Panera (nearest free wifi). I texted that same friend and asked if he'd text me when the power came back on. I rushed into Panera (it's 1pm at this point) and find an empty table with a accessible outlet. I boot up my computer and then head over to the counter to order a drink. I head back to my table, pull out my headphones and log-in to the site. The audio is horribly choppy- I call it bit-mapped audio (again, Kaplan warned us about wireless being less than ideal). *SIGH* Then I get a text from my friend saying power is back on...it's 1:10 or so. The Panera connection is lousy and my power is back on...so I pack up my stuff and headed back home.  I had to laugh. That's all I could do. The *only* thing I could've done differently was to wait at the house and *hope* the power would come on soon. But, this is me we are talking about...I made a plan and stuck with it...but then reversed course when the plan failed. Thankfully Panera is less than 15 minutes from the house, so I was home and logged back in by 1:30... exactly an hour after losing connectivity.

Sure, I missed an hour. But what did I miss? Oh, about 12 NCLEX questions. And rumor has it that I can go back onto Kaplan's course site and find those questions and walk through them myself! Kaplan recognizes that life happens sometimes, so they have really done a good job duplicating resources so that we can get them one way or another.  I forgot to mention that yesterday, my online instructor lost video feed several times and had to reboot and reconnect. Apparently there were having pretty bad storms and tornadoes in her area. Thankfully the TA's are in a different location and were able to jump in and take care of the class details. I think we lost our main instructor for the last 30-45 minutes of the class - she just wasn't able to reconnect. But the TA's who are also Kaplan instructors were able to keep us going and getting us done on time.

Today I didn't do anything productive while watching/ listening to the class. I let the clothes sit in the washer (why???) and never pulled out any hand weights. I did get sleepy, but instead just got up and just got some cold water and sat back down. The class was was pretty much the same as yesterday. Six hours of answering question after question using the Decision Tree. There are definitely tips I'm learning - like questions to ask myself while going through the possible answers, but when I get a question wrong...it's because I don't know or can't remember the related content to justify that answer. I'm a pretty good tester in general and I surprise myself at times at how well I can guess, but sometimes I'm at a complete loss. I do think that having these isolated questions on a given topic, can somewhat help me with recall later for specific content areas--seeing as I've had to apply information or learn information after getting a question wrong.

I'll definitely need to do a fair amount of content review before taking the NCLEX. Kaplan's course site is going to help...but I'm a bit overwhelmed at all that I need to do before testing. Kaplan does provide several study plan schedules which can help. I think I'm still in a bit of denial that I really need to sit down and be ultra disciplined about studying for NCLEX. I suppose it doesn't help that I haven't selected a date to test yet, but I'm waiting until after my interview and until after I know what is going to happen with that job. I definitely plan to start studying for NCLEX in earnest next week, regardless of job, but having a test date will definitely drive the studying and give me a goal.

I should've posted the course schedule yesterday, but here it is:

Tuesday, Session 1: Orientation/Class Start/Decision Tree

Tuesday, Session 2: Pharmacology/Reduction of Risk

Wednesday, Session 3: Reduction of Risk/Physiological Adaptation

Wednesday, Session 4: Physiological Adaptation/Basic Care & Comfort/Mgmt of Care

Thursday, Session 5: Management of Care/Safety and Infection Control

Thursday, Session 6: Safety and Infection Control/HMP/Psychosocial

Friday, Session 7: Readiness Test (taken online at home during class time)

Friday, Session 8: Review of the Readiness Test/Roadmap for Future Study

Tomorrow I have Sessions 5 & 6.

Until then...

Kaplan: Day One

My Specifics: I am taking Kaplan's Classroom Anywhere online review course. My school integrated Kaplan into our program's curriculum, so I did not have to pay extra to take this review course. It's part of the package. I could have taken this review course in-person on my campus, but I knew I'd prefer to take the course online (I'd read some online comments at allnurses.com that persuaded me). Plus that's less time and gas traveling to campus and back.  I opted for the four day schedule with two sessions each day.

Below are some of my thoughts after Day One.

• There is a book (or two) that you need for the class...track it down! If you have access to Kaplan because your school has integrated Kaplan into the curriculum (like me), there's a good chance that your books will be shipped to your school. And if your school has not notified you, then you might be clueless that you are missing something (aka "class materials"). I got suspicious last week and tried to contact Customer Service about it and my school rep, but due to holiday weekend, I didn't get my reply until THIS MORNING. I literally picked up the "Course Book" from campus about an hour before my online course started. The only other book you'll want/need is "The Basics" book. My school gave this to me early in the school year when I signed up for Kaplan.
• There IS some stuff to do before the first day of class. I had received emails over the past couple weeks from Kaplan telling me how to log-in, test my connection, and to do a Diagnostic Test through the course site. But because I didn't have the Kaplan "Course Book" until this morning- I did not know that I should have also completed the online Question Trainers 1-3 and reviewed content areas where I was weak (based on Diagnostics and Trainers) using the Kaplan course site. They also recommend viewing the following videos: Orientation Video, Strategy Seminar, and Test Taking Workshop.
• Don't panic if you don't have the book/materials. After Day One (Sessions 1/2), I can say that I'm not lost and I'm not behind-even though I got my materials late. Reality is that it did not matter one iota that I had done/not done the Diagnostic Test or Trainers prior to today. Today was all about Orientation and the Decision Tree and beginning to answer NCLEX style questions using Kaplan's Decision Tree. In class, the instructor just encouraged those who had not yet done the Diagnostic Test to go ahead and do that tonight.
• There is homework for Day Two (Sessions 3/4). We are to read Chapters 1-2, which is basically the same stuff or a review of what they taught us today. The really great thing is that on today's classroom site (live classroom), they provided PDF's of Chapters 1-3. That way anyone who had not gotten their book yet, would still have the readings.

Tips for anyone taking the online course.

• Have a Post-It note on hand! There's a chat window for students to use.  It's basically for classroom participation. However, you can EXPECT that there will be idiots in the class who feel it's okay to chat while the instructor is talking. Despite clear instructions and repeated reminders about NOT posting questions or answers/guesses while she's talking, people still do it. There's a special, private chat box for asking questions where TA's privately answer the question. Obviously they don't *get* that their chatting in the public box is basically the same thing as talking out in class. No one would do this in a lecture hall or in a live setting, but somehow people think it's okay to post "wow, the storms are really bad here" and other stupid stuff. The worst is when these people prematurely post the answer to the question we are attempting to go step-by-step through. The instructors are trying to teach a methodology for breaking down the question to get to the correct answer... so it's really ANNOYING when people jump the gun and throw out their guesses before we've even gotten to step two (out of five). And it's unbelievably distracting to have a chat feed moving constantly while trying to focus and listen to the instructor. I found it very helpful to cover up the chat box. A Post-It note works like a charm.
• Utilize the breaks. They have a one hour break between the two daily sessions, but they also have 5-10 minute breaks every hour or so. By utilizing the breaks, I was less tempted to log onto Facebook or check email during class.
• Find something to do with your hands to help keep you awake. There were times when I got sleepy! So it helped that I had laundry to fold that didn't completely distract me from what was being said. Tomorrow if I get sleepy I may pull out some hand weights. For others, maybe knitting or a set of push-ups would work? Obviously nothing that will steal your brain too much and something that you can put down fairly quickly. During the first part of the orientation when there wasn't much for me to see on the screen, I opted for sorting and starting laundry, and emptying and refilling the dishwasher while listening to the audio.
• Take Notes! There will ALWAYS be terms, drugs or conditions that you've never heard of. Regardless of the Kaplan format (Classroom Anywhere, Live, or On Demand), having a notebook that you can write down stuff to look up later is ideal. But it's completely unnecessary to attempt to copy the online slides or questions. For the most part the text on the slides come straight from the "Course Book" and can be reviewed later. And trying to copy down the Q&A's is unnecessary because you'll never see these questions again. Just sit and absorb the information and of course actively attempt to use the Decision Tree for every question. Occasionally some trick for remembering something might be mentioned...so jot those down if you think they'll be helpful.

Until tomorrow (Kaplan Day Two)...

Difficult Day

Today I'm heading to a funeral. The husband of one of my study partners died tragically last weekend. I'd only met him once - at graduation. They had been married for 30 years.  This event has devastated this family and turned them upside down. It's been a really long time since I've been to a funeral service where there will be no mention of God, faith or hope. My understanding is that the service will primarily be an opportunity for people to tell stories and seek comfort in the good memories. It may very well be the most difficult funeral that I've ever attended. I'll certainly be praying all the way through the service.

Ready, but not Ready to Schedule

I have received my Authorization To Test (ATT) -- which is the official document that I need to be able to schedule when I'm going to take the NCLEX. I've got until mid November to take this test.

My goal is to take the NCLEX in early July, however I have an interview in a little over a week, which, if I'm offered a job, may completely disrupt my plans to take it in July. Maybe not, but I'm not going to sign up to take it and then find out that I'm going to start work in late June and discover I haven't left myself with much time to study. So I'll wait. No big deal. It's just good to have the ATT in hand. If I don't get the job, I'll be sad, but then I really will be targeting early July as my goal.

I've completed 44% of my 3,000 NCLEX Questions goal- which is good.  Next week I've got my Kaplan prep course. I haven't decided yet if I will include questions from Kaplan in my count. This week I had planned to take the assessment test on the CD that accompanies the Saunders Comprehensive NCLEX-RN Review book, but time got away from me (and increased nagging scapula/shoulder/neck pain). I'm hoping I can get to it tomorrow afternoon.

Tomorrow morning I'm scheduled to donate platelets and RBC's at our local blood donation center. So excited! I haven't been able to donate for a year due to my travels to Haiti. It feels wonderful to be able to donate again! I am a little nervous that my hemoglobin will be too low, but seeing as I've waited a year to donate, I'm pretty sure that waiting another week won't kill me.

Now that school is over and my the balance in my bank account is dwindling, I'm super glad I've maintained these temp jobs. I've got a few days on the calendar with the artist over the coming two weeks. However, I'm really hoping my interview (scheduled for 6/4) will go well and I will be offered a job. I'm psyched to get started on my nursing career -- FINALLY!!!-- but the side benefit of a paycheck and regular income is a definite bonus and makes going back to a full-time job much more bearable. In nursing school I was working my tail off, but never got paid for it. How nice to think I'll be PAID to do what I love!

Next week I'll be busy with my Kaplan review course, but I'm hoping to do a few posts about that experience. BUT the big challenge between now and then is to hopefully get my internet working more consistently/reliably by then. I'm not sure if it's my wireless router or if it's the cable service. We've had a lot of rain the past couple weeks and I'm wondering if the underground cable has lost it's loving feeling (like it did last year). Worst case scenario is that I have to camp out in a free WIFI spot in town for SEVEN hours a day. But I really need a place that will be relatively quiet and low-traffic. Sigh.

Well, until next week...

Pinning and Cutting

Hard to believe it's been over a week since my pinning/graduation! Below are a couple pics from pinning.

Pinning was a nice closure for these past two years. This picture of me wearing a nursing cap is actually me wearing my mom's 50 year old nursing cap. My school's program does not require the white uniforms and caps (and shoes and stockings), for which we were all grateful! (Yes, this still happens! A friend graduating from nursing school in NC was required to find a white nursing uniform, shoes, and purchase the schools white cap--even though it was only for their ceremony and not part of their school uniform!)  I love this pic with my mom standing side-by-side wearing our nursing pins. This past week she attended her 50th college reunion and met up with some of her cohort from nursing school. Interesting how that worked out. Me- JUST out of nursing school, Mom- celebrating 50 years OUT of nursing school!

I had several friends and family come to my pinning to celebrate with me. The biggest surprise was to have Mrs. Scott and her son-in-law Isaiah come (Mr. Scott was working). Their daughter and his wife, Jessica was a graduate of my same program a number of years ago, who suffered a brain injury following a tragic auto accident. They set up a scholarship in her memory. My first year of nursing school, I was awarded this very generous memorial scholarship. I have enjoyed getting to know them and have been out to their farm a couple times (including once with my mom) and have met other members of their family. I have tried to keep in touch and thought it very appropriate to invite them to my pinning. But I had no idea that they'd actually come! I loved having them there.

It's only been a week but I no longer look like this! I got my hair chopped off. My hair was getting so long that it was getting caught in my underarms (front and back). I've been so busy with school that I've not taken time to get my hair trimmed since last summer and so I decided that since it had gotten so long that I'd just let it keep growing until I could donate it to Locks of Love. I'm in Columbus, Ohio visiting my sister and her family and the topic of my hair and donating it came up. She said that the salon she goes to will accept donations of eight inches. I was thinking I had to wait until I had ten inches. I got so excited that we called and set up and appointment the next day. To get the full eight inches, she basically had to chop it off at the nape of my neck...not leaving me much left. It's chin length in the front and a little shorter in the back. I'm not sure if it's the most flattering cut (for my face), so I'll be happier when it grows out, but here are some reasons I love my new cut:

• Less shampoo/conditioner!
• Less time spent hair-drying!
• No more hot rollers!
• Less time with curling iron--if needed at all!
• No more ponytails!
• MUCH cooler for summer!
• I look a bit more grown-up (I'm regularly told I don't look my age).
• And it's something NEW! something DIFFERENT!

Haha! My mom just walked by and said "I still can't get over your new haircut." Yes, it's been a LONG time since I've had hair this short.

I'm very much enjoying that I am done with school. Although I'm sad now to not have a reason to interact with my nursing instructors. I have really grown to appreciate them and all their efforts on our part. I know we were a challenging cohort, to say the least, but they still worked hard for us. I am definitely planning to stay in touch, which should be relatively easy to do because I will remain local.

I've spent the past week working on my application to my preferred local hospital. I'll be interviewing with them sometime in the next few weeks. I really hope it goes well.

I've already starting working on my goal of doing 3,000 NCLEX questions. I've done a little over 25%. If I get a job with the hospital of my choice, I will probably start work before I take my NCLEX exam. I didn't anticipate this when I set up my preliminary study plan of spending all of June studying, but it will work out. I'll spend the next few weeks doing some NCLEX study and also will be participating in my Kaplan Review course the last week of May. I'd love it if I completed my 3,000 questions before starting work (that is, if they offer me a job). 

Well, off to eat dinner with the family. We are having my favorite pizza tonight, Donatos. YUM! They don't have it Virginia. =(

A Full Week- But It's Not Over Yet!

The Q&A events on Monday and Tuesday went really well.  The students seemed very appreciative and I think (hope) they'll take the information and advice we passed along to put it into action.

We had asked our graduating cohort to consider donating their scrubs (with patches) so that we could use them as a fundraiser for the student nurses association. We sold them $5 each piece (scrub top or bottom) and we ended up raising $130 for our student association. Today we collected lab coats after our class photo and they'll be available for the new students to purchase this summer. It's a BARGAIN for the students--AND they also get the patches for free, ALREADY sewn on!  I had a thought the other day that  maybe I could sell my patch-sewing skills to the new admits! Maybe just bring my sewing machine and supplies to campus and be "available" when they are in class. Some people used safety pins or really large stitches to attach their patches--and they look a bit wrinkly and ragged after they were first washed. I know some people took them to an alteration shop to have them sewn on.  I'll admit that my mom sewed mine on and also hemmed my pants and lab coat sleeves. I would've done it, but I was also working full-time and taking classes that summer. Yeah for Moms!  But, hey, it's a thought! Not sure I could make much money, but it might be fun!

We were a bit disappointed with the turn out at the Q&A's (around 36 students in all), as we were hoping that the majority of the new cohort would take advantage of the opportunity to meet with current/graduating students. Perhaps they were still in exams, or working or simply felt they didn't have any questions, or maybe they just forgot. We sent out a nice flyer in the new admit packets. So it's possible that they saw it once and forgot when they realized most of their deadlines were for later this summer. We did offer a variety of times on two different days to hopefully provide adequate options, but we'll never know why they chose not to come. Oh well, we did our best and those who came received a lot of good advice and information. Our hope is that they might pass the information along to their peers...and perhaps even join the student nurses association on campus and be a part of hosting this same type of event next year. Ya know... "pay it forward." 

This morning we had our class photo taken as well as rehearsal for tomorrow's pinning. Rehearsal was on campus where they've traditionally had pinning, but the actual pinning is at the local university's big basketball arena. So we'll have to get reoriented to the new location when we arrive tomorrow. Hopefully all will go well. It was really great to see everyone laughing and having a good time. The pressure is off and folks are in a celebratory mood!  A rumor was confirmed that one student in our class did not pass (75 minimum) one of the nursing courses this semester and therefore won't be able to graduate. So sad! If I remember correctly, this student even had a job offer! Hopefully this person can work as a PCT in the hospital for the next year and get loads of experience while waiting to retake the one nursing class they need to graduate.

There are a handful of students who found out earlier this semester that they were missing certain general education classes for their ADN degree (English, Sociology, Computer, History, etc...), so while they won't officially graduate, they can still go through the pinning ceremony with our class. They'll just have to take those classes this summer, and then apply for graduation again. They'll be delayed a few months from taking NCLEX, which might make looking for a job more difficult. It's hard to say.

By this time tomorrow I will be sporting my shiny new nursing pin and be celebrating with my family and friends. My family and a few extended family members, will be heading to a Japanese steakhouse (hibachi-style) to celebrate and then will have cake and ice cream afterwards. I hope to include a few pics from pinning here soon.

This has been a great week so far and tomorrow's pinning will be the highlight. It feels fantastic to be done!

I CANNOT NOT share this...

I've watched Grey's Anatomy on/off through the years, but only starting watching consistently during last season. Now I'm working my way through from the very beginning (thank you, Netflix).  I'm into the third season... and I know some of what's coming, so at times I get a little bored.

But tonight I was watching Episode 3x11, and this scene made me laugh and laugh and laugh! I'm glad I could find it on YouTube to share.  I can watch this over and over. It warms my heart.

 

While these two docs (interns) got all excited, it's my opinion that nurses really are the ones who get really excited about bowel and bladder happenings (or non-happenings). In my pediatric clinical this semester, I remember the teenage sister of my 10-year-old patient being so befuddled/confused/amused about all the interest and excitement about her sister's pee and poop. How much, when, and where.

For the non-medical people, our kidneys are very important organs. They filter out wastes that would otherwise build up in our blood stream and make us very sick. We measure kidney function in a variety of ways, but the easiest and cheapest is to assess urine output. At minimum, we want to see 30 mL/hr output. So the fact that O'Malley's dad (at risk for multiple organ failure following surgery) had an output of 130 mL in four hours indicates that his kidneys are maintaining minimal function.

But, of course, the whole jumping up and down thing... well, you won't ACTUALLY see nurses jumping up and down, but sometimes this is how we are feeling on the inside!

Hope you enjoyed!

Done. Done. Done.

I am officially done with nursing school!! 

After 710 days, there is nothing left to do but show up to rehearsal and pinning next week. Wow!


Took my Peds final this afternoon. Think I did well. I figured out that I could miss up to 17 questions and still pull an A in the class, and I'm pretty optimistic that I got an A on the exam. We won't know until next Wednesday (!) because the evening/weekend students still haven't taken their exam. So we wait. But really, what's done is done.

So...how will I spend my first weekend of FREEDOM???

• Even though I'm technically done with all academic work, I still have responsibilities for our Student Nurses Association. Monday and Tuesday of next week we've got our three Q&A events for the new admits. I've been so busy with tests and final exam studying that I haven't been able to get much done on the Q&A front. So I desperately need to spend some focused time on that (schedule, people, food, handouts, door prizes, etc.).

• My nephew emailed me yesterday and requested my help with a school project (related to my missionary adventures in Liberia). So I need to sit down and thoughtfully answer all his questions!

• I volunteered to help a friend do some interior painting tomorrow, but I'm afraid that with the shoulder/scapula/neck pain that I developed this week, that it'd be foolish to attempt painting at this point. Boo.

• My office awaits my attention, but it's unlikely I will get to it this weekend. Since clinicals have been over for a few weeks, I haven't spent much time in here. The floor is littered with clinical paperwork which needs to get organized and filed away. Why? I'm not sure. And I need to organize this semester's notes and study guides and tuck them away in a binder and put them on the shelf. Why? I'm not sure. Maybe one day I'll find myself teaching and I'll be interested in going back and looking at them.
  
  I'll definitely be hanging on to my textbooks for a while, as they'll be good references in the coming months as I study for NCLEX and start work. Some more helpful than others. Nursing textbooks have limited life spans as medical info does change (unlike history).

Next week has pretty much filled up too. 

Monday: Office cleaning and Q&A #1 (evening)

Tuesday: Q&A #2 & #3 (morning/afternoon) & birthday TBD

Wednesday: Cooking and filling freezer!?

Thursday: Pinning rehearsal & lunch with nursing school friends.

Friday: Pinning & family dinner

One down, one to go!

So happy! I got the A (95%) on my final exam that I needed to be able to get an A in my Maternity/OB course! Whew. Honestly, I was a bit nervous after Test 3. But by God's grace and some major studying, I pulled it off!

I was still on campus when I found out my grade. Got so excited that I ended up leaving my Peds course binder in an instructor's office (clinical evaluation) and drove half way home before I realized I had left it. I arrived to find my instructor's door locked. I bumped into a first year nursing student that I know and she told me that there was a faculty meeting going on...so with very little hesitation, I knocked on the door, found my instructor! Whew. I was afraid she'd already gone home. If she had, then I'd have been somewhat limited with my ability to study tonight. And with that... I'm off to go study.

Two Finals to Go!

Studying for my OB final exam which is tomorrow late morning. I didn't do as well on Test 3 as I had hoped, so I really have to do well on the final exam to ensure an A in the class. I've made it through all the Study Guides and PowerPoints and the Maternity/OB questions in my Saunders NCLEX review book. Next is to review the quizzes that we took this semester and then to do the chapter quizzes provided by the book publisher online. Hoping I can finish up studying in the next two hours!

I also have to consider that my Peds final is less than 24 hours after I finish my OB final. So my goal was to start studying Peds today, but it's hard to make the transition when I haven't taken my OB final yet.

But the best news is that in less than 48 hours I will be DONE. Yes, DONE. All graduation requirements will have been met. What an wonderful feeling! Definitely a bit hard to believe after these crazy couple years. Thank you, Jesus, for getting me through!