Final posting before the final

All I can say is that I hope I didn't overstudy.  I Will be glad when lunch time rolls around tomorrow because that will mean Session A will be a past event.  There has been a lot of information crammed into my brain these past eight weeks.

Final Clinical Session A Fall Semester

     I'm curious about the upcoming schedule and group assignment. 

Head to Toe Assessment

This weeek in clinicals we were assigned to do a complete assessment.  It took longer than I thought it would.  We also had a lot of experience dealing with contact isolation issues.  Learning taking place.

Information Overload!!!!!!

I feel like there is too much information available to study for this course.  It can be really confusing deciding which resource to use.  For me, the "browsing" of all the resources available takes more time than I actually utilize studying the class topics, so for the remainder of fall semester (session A) I plan on utilizing only the resources purchased at the beginning of the semester (Fundamentals of Nursing, and Fundamentals of Success)

The midterm is over

Wow, the midterm really had the gears turning in the brain housing group.  Interesting.  I'm looking forward to the upcoming week, it sure doesn't seem like we've been back in school for a month.  Time is flying.  Only 19 or 20 months till the NCLEX.

First Clinical

Wow, time is flying by.  This week we had our first quiz and first clinical.  The clinical experience was definitely unexpected, I did not expect to be entering a hostile environment but that's what I got.  What helped me get over the barrier was understanding that my patient was simply not ready to surrender her independence and with empathy and understanding the communication barrier was breached.  I discovered, that by discussing what the vitals actually tested, I gained a little more trust and respect from her.  Also, sharing that knowledge helped boost my confidence.  Well, the midterm is almost upon us, I must force myself not to procrastinate and get some good studying in this weekend (Between the football games, of course.)  Good luck to all on the midterm.

Week Two

As week two winds down and Labor day approaches I feel relieved.  Me and a fellow nursing student, Gary Atkins, were talking about how good it felt to finally be doing things directly related to our future nursing duties and applying them with hands on training of taking a book or a model and trying to remember all that is labeled and listed.  I know it's not going to be a walk in the park but I feel really confident in the decision I made to choose nursing as a career.  I spoke to some second semester nursing students and they stated that they "hit the ground running" (An old military saying meaning they were busy from the first day of the semester.)  They stated that they had no free time to speak of.  I purchased an Aneroid Spyrogmomanometer (Blood Pressure Cuff) from G Willies for $28, another student said Helen's had them for $25, I know we didn't need our personal BP Cuff but I plan on using the family as guinea pigs.  I know it's pride, but does anyone else feel others looking at you differently when you wear your scrubs?  Well that's it for this week, can't wait till next.

Week One

     Hello fellow nursing student bloggers, my name is Greg and I am a first semester nursing student. I just turned 41 years old and will have just turned 43 upon our expected graduation date. If you think this is pretty late to be starting a career, your right, but it is actually my second career. I retired from the Marines after serving 21 years with no regrets, and the monthly retirement check isn’t bad either. I retired in April of 2008 and discovered that I missed the varying challenges, the camaraderie, and the diversity that is associated with work and school. That, combined with the assumption that I should live at least 50 more years, is the reason I started preparing for a second career. Being a nurse hasn’t always been a lifelong dream of mine, only recently did I decide that this was a profession that I thought would fit who I am. Over the past 2 years I have spent time in the hospital both as a patient and a visitor, on all occasions I was impressed by the professionalism, knowledge, and structure of all the nurses I encountered(All TCC Grad’s of course.) In my opinion a nurse should be an extension of the physician, the one who is there most of the time providing care and answering questions. I have learned that to be truly successful, you have to enjoy your job and look forward to doing it. I don’t know why, but as far back as I can remember I have gotten a great sense of satisfaction and enjoyment by helping others. I would sacrifice my own wants before I would fail in my responsibilities to others. It is my belief that to want to be a nurse you have to be a pretty unselfish person. So, I guess I chose nursing as a career because I like to help people, I like working with unselfish people, I like structure, and I think I would look forward going to work every day and experiencing the challenges that each shift would bring. One day I would like to work in a cardiac unit or as a surgical nurse. My father died of a heart attack, but this isn’t the only reason I want to work in a cardiac unit or as a surgical nurse, I just feel these two areas would be a good fit for me.

     I have no preconceived notions of what the (Hopefully only) next five semesters might be like. As for the first week, it has been easy. That could very well be the quiet before the storm. I would have to describe the first week as being filled with the anxiety of the unexpected. We have been warned that we would be overwhelmed with bookwork and studying. I’m not too worried about the academics, what scares me is the one on one contact with future patients, performing nursing duties for the first time. I have been in and survived combat engagements, supervised hundreds of people and multi-million dollar budgets, and been responsible for millions of dollars worth of equipment and supplies. I did all of these things successfully and with supreme confidence. But right now, regardless of what I have accomplished in the past, I’m starting over and what scares me the most is a mental image of a frail old lady in her 80’s and it is my responsibility to give her an I.V. or a catheter, I don’t want to cause her any discomfort because of my inexperience, I want to give her the kind of care that I would want someone to give my own mother. I’m confident that my life’s experiences will be beneficial but I hope to always maintain some fear, because I believe fear will be what will help me prevent mistakes. I look forward to working with my fellow nursing students, learning from them and sharing some of my knowledge in return. Lastly, I am just as proud of being known as a nursing student today as I was of earning the title Marine over twenty years ago, both were tough to get.