Cardio for Cardiac

I'm not sure if it's my new study strategy or not, but here is what went down last week.  Last week was the much  feared week of having first test in both lecture courses (Psych + Adv Med-Surg). Why schedule tests for the same week? Makes no sense, but hey, I'm not in charge.  I was also a bit nervous because the bulk of the first few weeks of school I was also preoccupied with my sister's wedding and I was not at all focused on learning anything. Only did what I needed to do to not miss any deadlines. So reading fell by the wayside, so going into the test I felt like I was behind and was literally going to have to cram it into my head.

I knew going into the weekend that my Wednesday clinical was cancelled due to my instructor having a prior commitment.  So I knew that I'd get a bit more time to study on Tuesday (no prep) and Wednesday (no clinical) for the Cardiac (Med-Surg) test on Thursday morning.  Psych test came Tuesday. Thought I did well, but got a B. Definitely not a bad grade, but I really felt good about the test and thought I had gotten an A. Bummer. I already knew that the Cardiac content was going to be challenging, so I had to figure out a way to force myself to stay awake and study. So Tuesday and Wednesday I worked typing up the content/answers in the Study Guides (these are basically objectives for the unit). So here is where I was brilliant: I took my lecture notes, Study Guides, medication sheets and took them to the gym with me. Gym closes at 9:30, so I left my house at 6:30 and proceeded to study while I did cardio! I got in TWO HOURS of elliptical and upright cycle (which of course kept me awake) while I studied! Awesome. There was certainly times during that second hour that I wanted to stop pedaling and stop studying...but I persisted!  And apparently it was sufficient enough for me to get an A.

Next test I won't be as lucky to get day off before my Med-Surg exam, so I will just have to focus on doing Study Guides earlier, so that they'll be ready to take with me to the gym the night before the test (also a long clinical day). The challenge for us is that we have clinical the day before a test...it just stinks, but that's how it is. I definitely plan to do this gym-study thing again. I would never do a two hour workout normally and I'd probably really struggle with staying awake if I stayed home on my couch... It definitely seems like a double win.

I'm delighted to say that I'm consistently getting to the gym about five days a week, sometimes six. I feel great, sleeping well and continuing to lose weight and inches. Have an optimistic goal of reaching my goal weight by graduation, which would be a REALLY fun dual achievement. The only downside of weight loss is the fact you do eventually have to change your wardrobe -- sometimes more than once depending on the amount of weight loss. Definitely not a bad thing to get a new wardrobe, but when you are limited financially it is a bit less fun to anticipate. I'm hoping that between Target, Goodwill and bags of old clothes that maybe I can survive for a while with minimal expenses. May not be the most stylish chick (wait, I've never been stylish), but at least I won't be wearing saggy pants. haha.

Six Weeks!

Six weeks from today I'll be back in the classroom starting Semester Four. The summer is flying by. It's really hard to imagine settling back into that insane schedule. Next semester I'm taking Advanced Med-Surg and Psych. The big focus of this semester's med-surg will be cardiac, I think. A bit anxious about having to learn how to read those rhythm strips from EKGs!  yikes. 

We don't know our clinical assignments yet, but we know they'll be on Wednesdays and Fridays. Lectures will be on Tuesday and Thursday mornings and as soon as we get out of lecture we'll be racing to hospital to get our clinical assignments and then head home to do our care plans. We are not sure what to expect for our Pysch clinical in terms of care plans. We've been told it's a much different type of clinical experience. Most likely less bedside care and more therapeutic communication! Tuesday through Friday will be eaten up with clinicals, clinical prep and attending lecture, so that leaves the weekend and Monday as the days to get lecture readings done. *Sigh*  It's been nice to be free of classes and stuff this summer and I've enjoyed hanging out with friends and traveling... but it's going to be SO HARD going back to a minimal social life. I love saying "yes" to my friends and family, but I guess they'll get use to me saying "No, not this time." The first few weeks of school are going to be especially challenging as I'll also probably still be dealing with bits and pieces of my sister's wedding stuff to some degree, plus then the wedding weekend. Thinking it might be smart to really push ahead with readings and study guides in advance. Sigh. So not what I want to be thinking about! Probably should spend some time putting my lecture notebooks together with their tabs, notebook paper, cover sheets, etc... so that I'll be ready to go. Already have my text books!

I got back yesterday from a long weekend (4 nights) in the Outer Banks area. Went with a couple gals from nursing school. We were calling it a study trip. Not as productive as we had imagined, but we did pull our books out. Two of us rented kayaks and went paddling for three of the mornings. It was awesome. Then we hit the beach in the afternoons. Something went haywire with my sunscreen or sunscreen application, so I'm dealing with painful sunburn on my right shoulder and some on my chest. It's amazing how sensitive that skin is. Aloe and apple cider vinegar are my friends these days, unfortunately, clothes are not!

My back is so much better. No problems at the beach and generally not thinking about it at all these days. Still receiving chiro treatments and laser therapy. Probably will continue with treatments up until school starts. Not sure. And if things get bad again once I'm sitting cuddled with 10# textbooks, at least I've got Mondays that I can see her.

Well I need to get to bed...work in the morning. cheers.

The Importance of Hugs

Today I was at my clinical site for clinical orientation--basically where we learn what will be expected of us. We had already received a good bit of info this past Wednesday when we met with our clinical instructor for two hours. Today we covered what we had not finished on Wednesday. A lot of sitting and listening, lots of questions and clarifications. Each of us signed up for post-conference presentations on a home remedy (mine: not sure yet), an herbal supplement (mine is Valerian), and two alternative therapies (mine: accupressure/accupuncture). Also each of us will host a "seminar" about a particular topic (instructor-directed). I got "Why Care Plans?" and will be the first to present. We also did a hunt/find on the unit (where can you find this/that?). Then we stopped for lunch (several of us had low blood sugar/weakness by this point). After lunch there was more sitting/listening/questions related to nursing documentation and the forms we'll be using on the unit. 

After clinical I stayed behind to see if I could figure out how to get wireless access on my iPod Touch and that took MUCH LONGER than necessary. I spent a long-while trying to figure it out myself, made some progress with one wireless network, but then got stuck with the hospital wireless. So then decided I better call the help-line. But before I could do that, a man from my church saw me and came over to talk (I learned his wife was having surgery and he was waiting to find out when he could go up to see her). We probably talked for about 30 minutes--including a conversation about nursing caps. I finally called the help-line, but apparently there were a number of wireless issues/outages today and so the help-line was barraged with calls this afternoon. After another 20 minutes or so of being on hold, I just left my number for them to call back. On my way out of the hospital, they finally called me back, just to find out that I really needed to talk to the hospital computer helpline for my 2nd problem, not the university helpline... finally got the issue resolved.. I'm not sure what time I finally left the hospital to grab the bus, but the sun was definitely moving towards sunset. Needless to say, I spent WAY to many hours at the hospital!

On the ride home, I finally let myself start to process my day and what I'm feeling about this upcoming clinical experience. I'm basically feeling overwhelmed, anxious and a host of other emotions. I'm dealing with the uncertainty of joining a new unit (clients will be in the trauma/ortho focus), adjusting to a new clinical instructor (who has high expectations--which I love, don't get me wrong!), increased requirements for our care plans. There's also a lecture component that goes with this clinical and we haven't even had our first lecture yet (that's Monday). Plus add on a whole other class---Pharmacology! I'm definitely not whining or complaining. I'm simply overwhelmed and feeling the weight of my responsibilities. We all have moments when we wonder if we're going to be able to rise to the challenge. Reality is that this is not a shock or surprise to me. I knew in advance that this was going to be a tough semester with increased responsibilities and expectations. I didn't know exactly what the increase was going to look like, but I knew it was coming.

There are so many emotions involved. And likely some hormone changes too! There are feelings of inadequacy, deep down wondering if I'm going to be able to manage it all. The age old questions of "What have I gotten myself into? Is this really what I want?" pop in my head. Terrifying questions of "Am I going to end up falling behind, dropping out?"  I also think there's a good dose of grieving going on too. Grieving my loss of free time. Grieving this return to student life (feels like going backwards sometimes--although I know it's going to open many doors). Grieving loss of personal/social life. Grieving being single and needing to be responsible for myself and knowing there's really no one looking out for me. Feeling and grieving that I'm un-covered.

So, this evening, by the time I was pulling into my neighborhood, I was thinking "I seriously need a hug or a good cry to let go of all this pent of emotion and anxiety. Actually, I'm so close to tears, that a hug will probably easily send me into tears."  I drove up to my mailbox, opened it, and found my name and address scrawled on an envelope. I thought, "Yay! a personal card!" and turned the envelope over to find the address of my church on the back flap. Still sitting in my car, grateful for the distraction, I ripped it open. Immediately I remembered my actions on Sunday. I had been in a hurry to leave after the worship service, but went ahead and took the time to fill out a Prayer Request form asking for prayer for my upcoming semester. Inside was a note from Pastor Mark. "Joy, we are praying for you- praying that the Lord sustains you, protects you, and strengthens you throughout this semester..."  Barely through the first sentence, the tears came. Hot and salty.

I was hungrily eating up the words, crying and again marveling at the Lord's provision. It was His hand that moved me to fill out the Prayer Request form. It was He who gave Mark the words to write. It was He who controlled the hand of the postal service to deliver it today--the day I needed it most. If I had received it yesterday or even tomorrow, it likely would not have had the same meaning or have touched me as deeply or profoundly. It felt like God's arms reached straight out of heaven to hold me--to HUG me. What was I saying just minutes before I opened my mailbox? Oh yes, "I seriously need a hug or a good cry..." I got BOTH.


Now we all know that hugs do not actually fix anything. There is nothing about my circumstances that have changed. I still have a challenging semester ahead. I still have stress and anxiety in regards to the coming semester. But hugs have their own unique power. In her article, "The Importance of Hugs", author Randa  Williamson-Maloy says, "A hug provides solace, safety and tenderness." (She says a lot more than that about hugs, so I totally recommend reading the full article.) It's true, while my felt need at that moment was for a hug, in essence I really wanted someone to say "I'm here. I'm listening. I'm not going anywhere. I've got you." That was the hug from heaven. Mark did not say any of those things, he was simply responding to my request for prayer. Mark's note was the means by which I was reminded of God's constant presence in my life. His love for me. His sovereignty. His omniscience. His strength in my weakness. His compassion. His friendship. His mercy. His grace.


And what about Mark's prayer for the Lord to sustain, protect and strengthen me? In a really wonderful and real way, I'm already tasting this! God used Mark to breathe the reality of God's presence into my soul, which I desperately needed. This evening, I have been sustained and strengthened, and my heart has been protected/guarded from the Evil One's desire to isolate me, and make me to think I'm alone in this. The evil one wants me to believe that I'm on my own and that I've been abandoned or forgotten by my Heavenly Father. He's the one who whispers to me "You are on your own, you have to go it alone." Lies.


I admit that I have prayed weak prayers, likely even half-hearted prayers, for God to grab hold of my heart and life. And I'm tasting this. Today. In this moment. What a gift. God, you get the glory.

I want to close this post with some verses that the Lord brought to my mind this evening. 2 Corinthians 4: 8-9 (NLT) "We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed..."  Here's it is with the entire chapter--but in The Message translation.

2 Corinthians 4 (The Message)

Since God has so generously let us in on what he is doing, we're not about to throw up our hands and walk off the job just because we run into occasional hard times. We refuse to wear masks and play games. We don't maneuver and manipulate behind the scenes. And we don't twist God's Word to suit ourselves. Rather, we keep everything we do and say out in the open, the whole truth on display, so that those who want to can see and judge for themselves in the presence of God.

If our Message is obscure to anyone, it's not because we're holding back in any way. No, it's because these other people are looking or going the wrong way and refuse to give it serious attention. All they have eyes for is the fashionable god of darkness. They think he can give them what they want, and that they won't have to bother believing a Truth they can't see. They're stone-blind to the dayspring brightness of the Message that shines with Christ, who gives us the best picture of God we'll ever get.

Remember, our Message is not about ourselves; we're proclaiming Jesus Christ, the Master. All we are is messengers, errand runners from Jesus for you. It started when God said, "Light up the darkness!" and our lives filled up with light as we saw and understood God in the face of Christ, all bright and beautiful.

If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That's to prevent anyone from confusing God's incomparable power with us. As it is, there's not much chance of that. You know for yourselves that we're not much to look at. We've been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we're not demoralized; we're not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we've been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn't left our side; we've been thrown down, but we haven't broken. What they did to Jesus, they do to us—trial and torture, mockery and murder; what Jesus did among them, he does in us—he lives! Our lives are at constant risk for Jesus' sake, which makes Jesus' life all the more evident in us. While we're going through the worst, you're getting in on the best!

We're not keeping this quiet, not on your life. Just like the psalmist who wrote, "I believed it, so I said it," we say what we believe. And what we believe is that the One who raised up the Master Jesus will just as certainly raise us up with you, alive. Every detail works to your advantage and to God's glory: more and more grace, more and more people, more and more praise!

So we're not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There's far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can't see now will last forever.

Week 6 | Preparing for First Test

This coming week is going to be a bit insane!

1. We have our first lecture test for the Nursing Fundamentals class (NUR 108) on Friday. It includes anything covered in readings and lectures for the past 5 weeks, plus anything covered in readings for skills lab (theory content)  for the first 3 weeks.  And we've probably read at least 700 pages, I would guess.
2. This first test includes Fluid & Electrolytes, which was our lecture content for this past week... F&E includes all things related to excess and deficits. It's overwelming material and with only really a week to digest and memorize the signs/symptoms, causes, etc... mercy!
3. Not only is the test this week, but we still have to prepare for the lecture that will follow the test on Friday! Believe it or not, the content subject is STRESS! haha. Thankfully we don't have a graded quiz on that material--so I wonder how many people will actually do the reading before Friday. It's possible the instructors may put up a narrated lecture online, which can help, but we are still responsible for the readings.
4. We also still have to prepare for clinical (Wednesday) and do readings for skills lab this week (Thursday).

I honestly do not know how people who have families and/or work are able to manage it all. Perhaps they don't get much sleep. But that hardly seems sustainable--and definitely not healthy. I've been sick the past two weeks with a head cold and while I feel better now, it was still very hard to push through to do my school work when my body was so tired. Glad I'm not getting sick this week...that would be AWFUL.

I studied all day yesterday (with regular breaks to capture stinkbugs that have mysteriously found their way into my house) and picked up again at noon today. Will spend all of the next two days focused on school stuff. It's sad, I have not left the house (except to walk to my mailbox) since I got home on Friday afternoon. I do need to go to the grocery store, so hopefully I will leave house before clinicals on Wednesday!  

Secondary to school, the homeowners are coming into town on Thursday (day before exam) and so I'm also thinking about cleaning bathrooms, Swiffering the kitchen/hallway floors and decluttering the downstairs. This past week I've "taken to" the kitchen table for studying. A little too close to the refrigerator, but is better than the sofa (temptation to snooze) and better than the office upstairs (warm/chair that hurts my back). Since the homeowners will be here for the next three weeks, I'll need to find another location other than the kitchen table. I enjoy having them in town, but it's really hard to get and stay focused on school when there are people around. So I may be living at the library a lot over the next three weeks! 

Here's a photo (my first for this blog, I think) of my current study setup. You'll notice that my 7.9 lb. Fundamentals textbook is supporting my laptop. So no textbook reading going on this evening...just working through an online F&E tutorial today along with focusing on normal lab values for the 6 main electrolytes (reviewing various sources).

Well, enough of my procrastination. I think I will cut off the studying for this evening. I will spend the next 20 minutes printing off school documents & assignments, then maybe take another 20 minutes to Swiffer the kitchen floor and carry up belongings from den to my bedroom...every little bit helps. And then I'll climb in bed for a little lite reading to relax me. Oh, and probably another glance at normal lab values so that my brain can be memorizing them all night long. haha.

Working the List

Letter accepting offer.  Check.
Dr. visit / physical.       Check.
TB Test.                       Check.
MMR Booster.                Check.
Drug-Screen.                 Check.
Background Check.        Check.     Can't you tell I love lists?
Upload Records.            Check.
Enrolled in CPR.            Check.
Registered for Classes.  Check.        See below.
Buy uniform patches.     Check.
Buy textbooks.              Check.


So I've been screened, immunized, poked, prodded, evaluated, & registered. The only things remaining on my Nursing School check-list: take CPR class in June; buy uniforms (sew on school patches), stethoscope, pen light, 24 hour watch with second hand; research medical insurance; and write thank you's for my scholarship.


I'm also getting closer to selecting a departure date for leaving work. May not know exactly until I see my course syllabi at the end of this month...but it's looking like second week of August. My only question is when will final exams for each class happen? Nothing like trying to train someone to do your job while your brain is really focused on wanting to study for exams! I could leave earlier...but I do want a paycheck and insurance for as long as possible.


Here are the classes that I am registered for this summer: 

• NUR 226 Health Assessment (2.0): Teaches the systematic approach to obtaining a health history and performing a physical assessment. (10 weeks) 
• NUR 100 Introduction to Nursing and Health (1.0): Introduces concepts of nursing and health. Includes historical and cultural aspects, legal, and ethical responsibilities and an overview of health and the health care delivery system. (First 5 weeks) 
• NUR 135 Drug Dosage Calculations (1.0): Focuses on apothecary, metric, household conversion in medication dosage calculation for adult and pediatric clients. Provides a practical approach to learning to calculate and prepare medications and solutions. Includes calculating intravenous flow rates. (Second 5 weeks)

_____________________________________

Expenses To Date:
$    820.90  Actual nursing school exp.
$ 2,171.97  Expenses for 4 pre-nursing classes
________________
$ 3,042.87  TOTAL


I may later decide that it's easier to upload this to a Google doc and link it...but I'm not there yet.

Registered for My First NURSING courses!

This morning was the first day that we could register for Summer Nursing Courses. I was able to register for the Intro to Nursing course and the Health Assessment sections that I wanted. Unfortunately, the Drug Dosage Calculation class was full. There was only one section offered. Maybe they'll open another.

I'm headed over the campus this morning to pick up a Drug Screen document, so I will try to connect with my nursing advisor assigned to me and to ask about the Dosage class and see if I can be put on a wait-list or something. If that doesn't work and they don't open another section, I will probably contact the instructor for copy of her syllabus so that I can just work through the text myself. Two days ago, I ordered all the textbooks for all three classes (premature-maybe, but I knew I'd need them eventually!) which includes the text for the Dosage class. So at the very least, I can start working through the book on my own. Maybe there are others who couldn't get in and we could form a study group of sorts. The school did provide a sheet of dosage "problems" for us to review to see if we wanted/needed the course, so at least I have an idea of the kinds of questions. Might need to get some tutoring from my Math Teacher sister on word problems. :)

Afterthought:  As an explanation, the dosage class is not required for the program. It's a 1 credit class offered for the last five weeks of the summer. I've been told by a current student in the program that every semester they give you a drug dosage quiz/test which you MUST pass or be kicked out of the program (even first semester!) Which is probably why everyone is eager to take the class. Gotta brush up on those math skills!