Five Weeks!

Only five weeks until classes start again! I feel like burying my head in the sand. I'm so not ready to go back. Sigh.  

I've already put together my notebooks for next semester for lecture and clinical. Just wish I had the Syllabus and Study Guides so I could print those out in advance too. That first week is going to be enough of a shock to my system--so getting stuff done in advance will be helpful.

My work hours are thin this coming week, so I'm planning to make quite a few batches of soup to freeze for this fall. I've been doing really well with eating fairly healthy this summer, but I know I will need all the help I can get--especially for lecture/clinical prep days! It would be nice to make enough soup to get me through Fall Break... and then during the school year I can just focus my energies on salads, veggies and breakfast. Or at least that's my optimistic plan. Lately I've been baking marinated chicken breasts in volume and freezing them (chopped up) so that I can quickly heat them up and throw them on top of a salad for a quick meal. Yummy, but can't do that months ahead cuz I think the meat gets a different texture after a while. :(  I'm also thinking I need to to come up with a better plan for lunch on clinical days. Cafeteria food is so full of calories and costs $$ but it's quick and like not having to pack a lunch at 5am. I need to start thinking about this and making some mental plans. But I'll probably have to wait and see where clinicals will be.

I'm working on putting together a fitness/exercise schedule that will work with my classes and clinicals. It will be challenging but I really don't want to undo all the hard work I've been doing this summer. My gym privileges expire right before classes start, so the plan is that I would switch over to the campus fitness center (free) once classes start. Right now I'm hoping/thinking that I will simply swing by and get in some cardio AFTER clinicals (two days). But that's ONLY if the center will be open during those house. The hours change from semester to semester based on if there's a class meeting in there or if they have staff to cover it.  It will also require packing an extra bag in advance and actually leaving house with it the morning of clinical.

I'm hoping we'll soon find out where our clinicals will be. I might have to travel over the mountain for my Psych clinical and that may make a difference in my ability to get to the campus fitness center during their open hours. But I also fear the reality will be that I will be too exhausted (up since 4:45am for C'ville hospital) to go.

This past week, I've finally gotten to take a couple aquatic classes at the gym. After an hour in the pool my muscles are so tired, so I know I'm working hard. And the best thing is that I always jump (not literally) in the hot tub afterwards - Aaaaah!  Love it. I only have about four weeks left on my temporary gym membership, so my goal is to hit the pool three or four days a week, plus hopefully 60 minutes of cardio two days a week until school starts. I'll definitely be missing the pool! I should look into possible pool memberships, but I'm guessing my time is going to be limited and definitely my funds are too!

Well, I'd better hit the sack...the pool and a day full of cooking await me!

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.