I AM DOING THIS!!

Well, the title says is. I am doing this! 

I passed my two exams (last Thursday and the week before). It's been very stressful to say the least. I've been attending every possible opportunity to get help. Something that is offered to students is called 'SIP-N'. It's a peer tutoring type session. Former graduates from our program who are working full time as RN's come in to try and help us understand what we are learning (or reinforce what we are learning). These sessions have been very helpful. They also have sample NCLEX questions to help us to 'think like a nurse'! It has become evident that the questions are getting harder each time.

I have also been blessed with another scholarship! This is the third scholarship I've been awarded! So very happy as this takes a bit of the burden off trying to figure out how to pay for school and bills, etc.

There are two exams left (one in each course) and I must do well on those. I would love to bring my average up but I'm striving to pass right now and the letter grade is not as important.

I've been working two days a week at the hospital. I really enjoy all that I'm getting to do there helping those who are trying to get back home following either strokes, joint replacements, brain or spinal injuries. It was nice to have the same patients several times as I would get to really see improvement in them. Had a really stressful night one shift and was very overwhelmed but thankfully the next day was much more manageable.

I will be back in a few weeks to update you on the end of the semester. I am very much looking forward to a break (even though it is only a few weeks), it is a very needed break.

Discouragement & Encouragement

As several have asked, where's my blog . . .   I am finally getting a chance. I love blogging about what I am learning and doing but finding the time to do it as regularly as I'd like is not always an option. So when I last posted I was preparing for my next exam. I did pass that, thank you Jesus, but not with as high of a grade as I would have liked. I had heard from previous students that the diabetes test was the most difficult. Having not done well on the first exam for this course this semester, I was very stressed. I studied so much on the diabetes that I didn't focus enough on the stroke of peripheral vascular disease portions. I did pass but as I mentioned not by much. Due to this, at the half way point for the med-surg portion of this semester I was not passing. I was 'strongly' encouraged by one of my instructors to drop out of the course and continue part time this semester with the maternity and peds course and then retake the med-surg course next semester (thus still as part time). She told me I'd be much 'happier' part time. Mind you, I just lost my full time job (stress), my son had a seizure just before my first med-surg exam (stress), started a new (very part time) job (stress)! How would I be happier part time??

You cannot go on to the 'next level' until both of these courses are done. I was heartbroken. I have been working towards this since May of 2010 and I was not ready to throw in the towel. Today I learned that this same instructor told another student who is not passing at the moment that she is trying to 'dig herself out of a box!' What a way to tell someone buckle down and get it done, NOT! 

I spoke with another adviser and she keeps statistics on students and the pass/fail at each point. With her encouragement and my determination, I am NOT withdrawing and going to do everything I can to get my grade up and pass this course.

I have every possible thing on my calendar. I am attending weekly 'Sipn' (tutoring type of sessions) for each of the courses (some are twice a week), I am attending all test reviews to see where my mistakes are made and hopefully understand why I chose the answer I did. I am working two days a week at the hospital and two days of clinical at the hospital and still trying to find something to fill the BIG gap in the pay. All of this fills up the ENTIRE calendar. There are only three days this month that something is not on the calendar (and they are devoted to studying most of the day). It's crazy, but I'm taking advantage of every opportunity that I have to do better and get a better grade and learn more.

So, just a bit from last update . . .

While on my maternity rotation I was able to observe a baby being born via c-section. I was initially disappointed that I was not seeing a vaginal birth but watching the team of doctors PULL this baby from it's mother was such an amazing experience! (I was concerned since I didn't care for my OR observation day last semester). I also did a clinical day in the NICU. I am thankful that I live in an area with such an amazing teaching hospital that allows us students to see first hand so many amazing experiences.

This coming Monday I will have my first clinical absence. I hate to have to miss a clinical day (and may have an advisement due to it) but I MUST take my new employee orientation for the hospital. I didn't get to take it last month due to my maternity rotation so I HAVE to take it Monday. Bummed as I really am enjoying my med-surg clinical instructor so much more than my first rotation earlier this semester.

Also for my job at the hospital, I have had to take two other courses; one was on patient and employee safety (not getting hurt while helping a patient) and the other was a self-defense course. I was a bit blown away at learning some of these things as I did not realize how easily a situation could turn bad. Granted most of the employees in that course work in the ED or Psych unit but thankfully I know what to do if something happens (just hope my brain remembers it).