Use Your Resources!

One important thing I have learned since starting nursing school is that you can't do it on your own. You can try and some do, but many are not successful. What do I mean by doing it on your own? Not using your resources! And what are your resources? All the instructors within your program, study groups, exam blueprints, your fellow classmates, other nursing students in your program, supplemental materials. They're all important!

Recently, I was having a little trouble with a certain subject...electrolytes! The instructor who went over electrolytes was all over the place in lecture. Nothing was sinking in! Reading helped a bit, but not to the point I needed. So I asked my clinical instructor to go over it with our clinical group. We all had this AHA! moment when he began explaining things. Especially when he started relating it to patient care.

This is just one simple example of using resources. Don't rely on just your notes and textbooks. If you need help, ask for it. Go to the other resources. Your report card will thank you!

Just an update...

I do actually plan to blog. Like a real blog post. Not an excuse post. A real post. Soon. After I plow through some of this work. Holy poo, there is a ton of it.

Practice, Practice, Practice

"Practice makes perfect." I have always hated that saying. Mainly because I can be kind of lazy. BUT in the world of nursing and nursing school, you have to practice.

My 1st semester of nursing school was last semester, Spring 2013. In that semester, I learned how to place urinary catheters, administer medications via injection, give oxygen, how to do aspectic technique, and place a nasogastric tube. That's a lot of stuff. And then my first semester was over and I had a lovely, loooooooooong summer break. WHICH MEANS not a lot of practice going on!

Well, I am back in school for my second semester. And this past week and last week, we have been reviewing and practicing. I am beyond grateful for the review. It helped reinforce everything I learned last semester. It all came flooding back to me. But I can't help but think what if it didn't? This is where practice comes in. So practice your skills, read up on the procedure, and keep it fresh in your head!

Personal Struggles in Nursing School

In nursing school, we explore a variety of content. And there will be times where a nursing student will relate to it - on some level. I have seen students in my classes get emotional about certain topics, I have seen topics affect my friends, and this past week, the content affected me. The important thing about all of this is how you will use it once you become a nurse.

I am currently in my med-surg class. Right now, our topic is on OB. OB is definitely an interesting topic. And I didn't feel any effect from it the first day when we were discussing a typical, textbook birth. The following day, we went over augmentation and interventions in the labor process as well as cesarean section. And that is where I had a moment

You see, I have 2 kids. My son was born eight years ago. I went into labor and when I arrived at the hospital, I was dilated to a 4. However, the admitting people put me into an observation room until a birthing suite was ready. There were other women in there - one with her 3 kids. They were running around and my focus was thrown out the window. The pain got intense and I asked for an epidural. The problem with epidurals is that they can slow labor down and that happened to me. And from there out, my labor was augmented and I had multiple interventions. I feel those interventions helped lead to a c-section.

With my daughter, I had hoped to have a VBAC ( vaginal birth after cesarean). My OB/GYN was 100% on board with this. But for a multitude of reasons, I ended up having to have a repeat section. Yes, at the end of the day, I had 2 beautiful, healthy babies. But my plans for my births were not what I imagined and it makes me sad. Labor and delivery isn't just about healthy babies, it also about moms and their feelings.

So what am I going to take away from this? Should I ever become an L&D nurse, I know that I will advocate for my patients and their birth plans. I know that I will be able to be empathetic to a mother that cannot have her baby vaginally. I know that I will be able to a better nurse to my patients.

Ask Me Anything

No really. I don't mind.

http://ask.fm/RamblingSN

So You're About To Start Nursing School

For many of us, school starts back up in the next week or two. And if you are about to start nursing school, I am sure you are nervous. I know I was. So I thought I would offer a few more tips to get you ready.

• Get everything ready the night before school starts. You do not want to be scrambling in the morning. You'll want your tablet or laptop, books, notebooks, planner, pens, pencils, etc. Pick out your clothes/scrubs, sock, shoes, everything! 

•  Get some sleep the night before. You want to be well-rested! Take a melatonin, some Z-Quil, drink warm milk. Not necessarily all of them of course! 

•  Do not expect the first week to be syllabus week! You will go over the syllabus on the first class, but then you jump right into lecture. If you get your syllabus ahead of time, go over it and read the assigned reading before class. 

• Sit in the front row or as close as possible. It forces you to pay attention and ask questions if you're confused. 

• Your instructors may not let you record the lectures. So make sure to listen extra carefully and take good notes. If you write your notes short-hand, make sure you can interpret them. I personally would rather take notes on my laptop, since I can type faster than I can write. But then I go home and write down key points. Physically writing information down has been shown to stay fresher in the mind than just typing. 

•  Keep up with the reading! Nursing school isn't like other classes where you only need to study sometimes. Studying should be an everyday thing. 

• Nursing school isn't just memorization. It's about understanding concepts and how to apply them to nursing situations. Your instructors will guide you into this process. 

I hope this helped some and if you have any questions, please feel free to comment! 

Things to Know Before You Start Nursing School!

New Nursing Tips

Buy a planner and use it, even if you're the type to use an electronic calendar. It's a good place to write down assignments until you can transfer it over. Plus, if you can't access your computer or phone, you'll have another place with the information.

ASK QUESTIONS! If you need help, ask your instructors or students in a semester or 2 ahead of you. If you're nervous about asking for help in front of your class, talk to your instructors during their office hours.

Read the chapters before lecture. No really. It helps so much with understanding your lecture content. It will help cement the concepts rather than sounding like Greek to you.

Buy a drug guide with an online/digital version of it. Believe me, it is worth it. You will be doing a lot of drug concept maps and copying and pasting over information saves you tons of time!

Use your lab time! And use it wisely. Remember in chem lab or A&P lab when you were trying to get through it as fast as possible? Yeah, you don't want to do that in your labs. Take the time to practice your skills because you will be tested on them. For instance, inserting catheters is a sterile procedure. One mistake and you have to start all over again. If you're having trouble, ask your instructors to give you tips and tricks.

You might gain weight in nursing school. You spend lots of time sitting and studying. You grab junk because it's faster. You might eat because you're stressed. BUT, you don't have to gain weight. Eat sensibly, pack your lunch on school and clinical days, grab nutrient dense snacks over the crap, and avoid the vending machines at all costs! Also, exercise! It's a great stress relief.

Take care of your whites and by whites, I mean your clinical scrubs. Oxyclean is great for keeping whites white. Bleach can actually make whites look dingy. Use peroxide for blood and hairspray for ink stains. Throwing a damp washcloth in with your scrubs in the dryer can help remove wrinkles! Oh and as for underthings, wear flesh toned undies and bras. They are less likely to show up under your scrubs.

Make friends/be nice with everyone in your nursing class. Even if you don't like them. Why? Well, first of all, you're stuck with them for the next 2 years. And secondly, they might have some awesome studying tips, tricks, notes, etc. Or they'll become part of your study group.

Find a carpool group if you don't live close to your campus. Why? You save on gas/money, it's better for the environment, and you have an instant study group on test days!
Buy yourself some smelly lip balm and dab some under your nose when you need to change a patient's smelly brief. It helps with the gaggy smell. I like this one!

Nursing School Sure Does Keep You Busy

Even when you're technically on BREAK! I just checked the special website for my nursing school and I have lots to do. AND they have to be completed before school starts on the 26th. 2 chapters to read, review skills learned last semester, and start working on skills for this semester.

The point of today's blog is that nursing school is not easy. It's not supposed to be. It's supposed to be hard. We may not be doctors, but we do hold people's lives in our hands. We need to know our shit and nursing school is designed to make us learn it.

Pre-nursing students - you might see/hear nursing students talk about how much work nursing school is. It is a lot of work. We really do study...a lot. Why? Because you can't just float by in nursing school! We really do stress over tests, assignments, clinical. We really wonder how we're supposed to pack in school, family, jobs, and a social life. Time management is really important.

Also - pre-nursing students, if you want some great tips, check out Twitter. There are tons on nursingstudent anons that have great advice. #adviceforbabynursingstudents

A couple of my faves are https://twitter.com/Nursingstress and https://twitter.com/NursingStruggle.

And here's my Twitter too - https://twitter.com/RamblingSN

Nursing School in Pictures, Part 2

My Faves for Nursing School

Care Plan Book - Ackley, Nursing Diagnosis Handbook
You can also access this book online for free. And it helps you to create your care plans!

Stethoscope - Omron Stethoscope
For a stethoscope, I chose something simple and cheap. I admit it's not the greatest in the world, but I know upon graduation, someone will get me a Littman.

Scrubs - Landau V-Neck Scrup Top, Landau Cargo Flare Pant
Pockets are so important. You need them for mints, pen light, pens, small notepad, scissors, stethoscope, cell phone, etc. The scrub top alone comes with 4 pockets!

Shoes - I can't say I have a favorite shoe...yet. But having a good shoe for all the standing, walking, and moving about is very important. Make sure you find a shoe that is comfortable and offers support. And a shoe that is either leather, vinyl, or whatever material that bodily fluids cannot soak through!

Drug guide - Pearson Nurse's Drug Guide
I personally like this guide the best. I have tried the Mosby version, but it just doesn't do it for me. Oh, and try to get an e-version too. When you're doing your drug concept maps, you'll thank me later!

Makeup and Hair for Clinical Days - Examples here
I know that as nursing students we're tired! Long nights of studying, creating care plans, etc. But that doesn't mean we don't have to look professional when we're at clinical.
On clinical mornings when I wake up super early, I like to wash my face with cold water and a cleanser for waking up. I use E.L.F's eye refresher underneath my eyes and let it set while I brush my teeth. Then I apply tinted moisturizer, a little bronzer, and a natural pinky blush, followed by using an eyelash curler, applying a little liner, then mascara and filling in my brows. I will usually apply concealer if I need it. The makeup takes less than 5 minutes. Then I follow up by putting my hair up in a cute top knot, ponytail, etc. I try not to spend more than 10 minutes on my hair! On those mornings, I'm always out the door in less than an hour.

I hate to say this...

BUT, I miss school. Like really miss it. Don't get me wrong - I love being home with my kiddos, but there is just something about school.

Since 2010, I have taken classes every semester including summer semesters. Those summers weren't always fun, but it gave me the opportunity to keep my head in the school game. Now I feel like I am lost. I have been reading ahead a bit. And learning the awesome Tic Tac Toe method.

But it's not the same. Not at all. I miss learning about poop and catheters and therapeutic communication. I miss wearing my scrubs. I miss learning new skills in the skills lab. I miss my clinical instructor dropping F bombs and cracking jokes. I miss pulling my hair out over patient prep. (Okay, I might be going a little overboard with that one.) And it's not like nursing school is fun. It's hard, like really hard. What is wrong with me?!

Guess What Y'all?!

I joined Twitter. https://twitter.com/RamblingSN

Not sure what I am going to do there as of yet. But we'll see how it goes.

It's Like Wearing Pajamas!

Scrubs...it's like getting to wear pajamas to work. So comfy! I love my scrubs. In my school, we wear scrubs for clinical and class days. I love never having to wonder what I should wear to class! I swear picking out my clothes always takes the longest. But just because scrubs are basically jammies doesn't mean you should look like you just rolled out of bed while wearing them! 

As nurses, we are expected to be professional individuals. We're held to high standards everyday. And whether we like it or not, appearances do matter. My first semester clinical instructor was a real stickler for this, too. She expected our scrubs to fit properly, including the length (or in my case, lack thereof). She wanted our hair tied back neatly, not messy. There were a few times where she sent people to go brush their hair. She also wanted us to look rested.

Let's think of it this way. You're a patient in a hospital. Your nurse comes in and introduces herself. Her hair is in a ratty pile on top of her head, no makeup, dark circles under her eyes and she is yawning like crazy. Are you going to want her to put in your IV or catheter? Ummm...I know I wouldn't. I think the same needs to go for us students!

Now in nursing school, we have patient preps, long hours of studying, creating drug and concept maps, care plans, etc. We run on caffeine and hardly any sleep. We're going to be tired! But there is something we can do. Cara of maskcara.com (seriously amazing blogger!) has an awesome tutorial for hiding those under eye circles! Check it out here.

It All Changes...

When you become a nursing student, your life changes. I know. Everyone says that. But as a nursing student who just passed her first semester, I can honestly say that my life has changed. And here is how.

I was a full-time student prior to starting nursing school. I studied and did a lot of homework. Or at least I thought it was a lot. Nursing school is a whole new arena. I study longer and harder, I ask more questions, I over-think concepts. I make sure that I get concepts clarified.

My home life is different. As a wife and mother, my priorities have changed. Laundry doesn't get done quite as often. I do minor cleaning vs. the deep kind. Long gone are the elaborate meals I used to make. Rather than doing all these things, I try to use my time for my family. It's more important for me to play with my kids and spend time with my husband than having a pristine house. I am sure my neat-freak mother has a coronary every time she comes over, but I don't care.

I don't get much "me time." Studying alone in my room is not me-time. When you're in school 3-4 days a week and studying the rest of the time, me-time just doesn't happen often. So I try to schedule in some things that make me feel good. Like watching my guilty pleasure shows, ie Grey's, Scandal, and Days of our Lives.

My last post was about not knowing what to do with myself. So after saying all that and writing this, I know what to do. Spend time with my kiddos, get my house organized and clean, cook delicious meals, read, watch TV, go to the water park, and just enjoy these short weeks before it's back to the grind.

For those about to start nursing school in the fall, take the time to organize your life. Start a routine. Set a cleaning, laundry, whatever schedule. Follow it. It takes 5 minutes to throw a load of laundry in, 10 minutes to fold and put away. Dust on Monday, vacuum on Tuesdays. Hell, vacuum at 2am when you're up thinking about patient X and how to prioritize their care plan.

I Don't Know What To Do With Myself!

I took my last final on May 7th. That is almost 3 weeks ago. THREE WEEKS AGO! Since then, I have had this strange feeling. It's a nagging feeling, like I keep forgetting something. I am not thinking of nursing diagnoses or what interventions are appropriate for which patient, or prioritizing my patients' needs. After a whole semester of thinking about all of this, it's strange to NOT think about all this.

So I have decided I need to find something to occupy my time until my next semester begins at the end of August. And what did I come up with, you might ask. Reading ahead. No, seriously! I download second semester's syllabi and I am getting ready to read ahead. What is wrong with me?

Give Me Your Ideas!

No, really. So far I have written 11 blog posts. I have ideas, but I want to hear/read yours. I would love input! I want to tailor my blog towards my readers and make this blog more enjoyable for you.

So...let me know what you think. Do you want suggestions to survive nursing school? Do you want to hear more about my program? Do you want to read about X, Y, and Z? Please leave your thoughts in the comment section!


One last thing...if you are a male reader of my blog and you're in nursing school, I would especially love to hear from you. I would love to have a guy be a guest blogger on here. Thanks!

What is a Nurse? And Who Should be a Nurse?

I am going to preface this post with a warning. I know I am going to sound judgy, but for some reason, I feel like I need to say this. Okay...so there's your caution label! 

What is nursing? I really like this answer from Wikipedia (not a trusted source, but whatev!)

"Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life."

Okay, so before I get to my main point, let me share something with you. I don't like people. Meaning, I don't like everyone I meet. I just do not connect with everyone. (But when I do connect with someone, we're besties for life!) Sometimes, I just pretend that I like people and other times, I am not very subtle about my real feelings. It's just who I am.  But for the most part, I try to be a polite person and follow the golden rule.

When I had my aha moment and decided to go to nursing school, I knew I wanted to help people. I knew I wanted to educate people. I also knew that I had to make the conscious choice to not let my people dislike get in the way. I knew I had to let the polite part of me shine through. Well, at least while I am in my nurse role. Unfortunately, I have met quite a few student nurses who...how do I say this? To put it nicely, lack politeness and common courtesy. And these are students who are further up in the program.
Can I give an example? Seeing someone carrying an armload of stuff, walking past them, opening the door, going through it, and allowing the door the close. Or rather than speaking calmly about a situation, they get angry and defensive and others around them become embarrassed. And honestly, it's sad. I think these people are good people, at least from what I have gathered. But are they the type of person who should be a nurse?

When one decides to become a nurse, I am sure they take the salary part into consideration. Along with typically only working 3 to 4 days per week. Being an RN has its benefits! But when deciding to become a nurse - a patient advocate, the person a patient should trust - there needs to be some self-reflection involved. You need to look at why you would be a good nurse, who you are in real life, if you can check parts of your personality at the door.  Now I am not saying you should be Mary Effing Sunshine, but you should know what you are really capable of. 

Do You Want to Know What is Crazy?!

THE END OF A SEMESTER!!!

Holy moly! I have had so much stuff due in the recent weeks. And everything is getting clumped together before finals begin on May 6.

Here's what I have been up to:

• Medication check-offs
• Head to Toe Assessment check-off
• Math Tests (yep, math is very important in nursing!)
• Skills test
• Fundamentals test 
• Care Plans and Concept Maps
• Teaching Plans
• Clinical 
• SNA (student nursing association) Events

So yeah. Busy, busy, busy!

But have no fear, I will have an interesting topic for next time! I should have a new post up on Thursday. 

Good Lord! I have been one busy student nurse!

Life has been hectic, to say the least. I have several assignments that are coming due, tons of reading, on top of practicing my assessment skills. Woo! I am tired!

But I promise I will have a new blog post soon. I have several topic in mind. I just have to find the time to write them.

Check me out on Pinterest!

Check me out on Pinterest.

You can find me HERE!

Applying to Nursing School? Here are some important things to remember.

I don't know what your choice nursing school is like, but with mine, it's getting close to the application period. There are some things you should start working on. You do not want to wait until the last minute to get this stuff done. Believe me...

1. Get your immunizations done NOW! If you need them, of course. You probably have already started your Hep B series, but you'll more than likely need a flu vaccine, varicella, MMR, and a tetanus shot. You might also want to get your titers if you need them. If your titers are too low, you may need another immunization series and some of them can take a few months.

2. If you haven't had a TB test in the past year, you will more than likely need a 2-step TB test. Let me explain a 2-step TB test. You get a Mantoux test done, go back 48-72 hours later to get it read. Then a week to 21 days later, you have to go back and get a second test done and get that one read in 48-72 hours later. I didn't know this and barely made it in time before clinical started.

3. Learn Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and Erikson's Psychosocial stages. You will use them in patient prep, care plans, etc. Commit them to memory! And I'll be nice and include them here!

4. And finally, start saving some money for books, uniforms, etc. Expect to spend over a $1000 in books alone for the 1st Semester. But from what I hear, they last you through the whole 2 years of nursing school. And check out amazon.com. You can really save on your care plan book, drug guide, medical encyclopedia, and lab and diagnostic book. I bought most of my books through Amazon and I am very happy with the savings! Also, they have Amazon Prime for Students. You get 6 months for free and then it's $49 a year vs. the $79 for regular prime.

What Nursing School is like...In Pictures. Dun, dun, dun!

One More Post...

Today is World Autism Awareness Day. If you can, please LIGHT IT UP BLUE and show your support. You can buy blue light bulbs at Home Depot and the proceeds go to Autism Speaks...or you can just buy a regular ol' blue light bulb at Wal-Mart, Target, or wherever.

My family and I are Lighting It Up Blue for the whole month of April to show support for my little boy. 


And one last thing... this is an absolutely amazing blog post. Please take the time to read if you can!

Autism Awareness

I am going to take a minute and talk about something important to me. It doesn't necessarily pertain to nursing life. But it is apart of my daily life...autism.

My son has Asperger's Syndrome, a form of high-functioning autism. He is an absolutely amazing, sweet, loving, kind-hearted kid. If you look at him, you would think he is just another normal kid. And then he opens his mouth. You'll hear it in his tone of voice and the volume at which he speaks. You'll also notice it in the way he obsesses over Mine-craft and Super Mario Bros. He doesn't always see that you are getting annoyed with him. Although, he is learning about sarcasm, thanks to his older brother and me.

Tuesday, April 2nd, is World Autism Awareness Day and April is Autism Awareness Month. For the entire month of April, we change out all of our outdoor lighting to blue lights in support of those with autism. 1 in 88 children has autism. It is that prevalent. And that is why we need to spread awareness!

I want to use my blog to ask anyone who reads this to change out their porch light to a blue one for the month of April. You can get them at Home Depot and a portion of the money goes to Autism Speaks.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Autism-Speaks-Blue-25-Watt-A19-Incandescent-Light-Bulb-A19-120v-25w-E26-24/203178912#.UVjY2lekOrM

To my readers, please feel free to share about how autism has affected your life.

Competitiveness

Getting into nursing school is competitive. It's the elephant in the room that needs to be talked about! It really is competitive. Someone next to you in your A&P class talks about applying to nursing school and you know you feel that little twinge. That twinge where you secretly hope that they don't have as many priority points as you do. The twinge where you just don't want your spot taken away. Competitiveness! Or how about after you take the HESI, TEAS, or Kaplan entrance tests? You compare scores and get secretly excited when your score is higher. Competitiveness!

But there is a secret I need to share with you. It kinda goes away when you get into nursing school. At that point, everyone is in the same boat and there is this camaraderie between you and the rest of your nursing class. When someone drops out and yes, people do drop out, everyone feels sad and wonders what happened. Now, don't get me wrong. There WILL be people who you will not like...at all! But they're in your boat! You can't let someone fall off your boat. And for some reason, you end up being nice to them and helping them when asked. It's all very...interesting. If I had to turn this into an analogy, it's like "Dirty Uncle Sal. The one who embarrasses everyone at holidays and family reunions and who can't be left alone with the teenage girls, but you have to invite him anyway." Ya know, because he is family.Yes, that is a Grey's Anatomy reference.

TV Medicine

Let’s talk TV for a minute. Medical dramas, to be exact. I love E.R. (the show). Or is it loved? Whatever. The fact is E.R. was an awesome show. I mean, come on. George Clooney, Noah Wyle. Hello! Spoiler Alert: I cried like a little bitch baby when Dr. Greene died.They made the world of medicine seem so cool and fun and interesting. But the show concentrates mostly on the doctors. Throughout the show’s run, there were only three main characters that were nurses. The rest were secondary characters. And one of the nurses became a doctor. Like nursing wasn’t good enough! Pshaw!

And then there is Grey’s Anatomy. I love the storylines (although this season is seriously craptastic!). But where are the nurses? There was Nurse Olivia, but she was George’s syph nurse. Not a shining example of nursing. There was the strike with the nurses where they all acted like little children towards the docs and then the docs totally belittled them. And what is up with all the doctors acting they are nurses? Really? Nurses are the ones that are typically in charge of comforting patients. Not that there is anything wrong with doctors stepping up! It’s just not…common.

Just so you know, I do have a point to this particular rambling. My whole point of this post is that before I really decided to become a nurse, I thought nursing life would be like TV shows. But is anything on TV really real? Reality TV isn’t even that real. Nursing is completely different, but it’s a better type of different. I am not medically diagnosing anyone. My job is ADPIE. I make nursing diagnoses. I get to focus more on the person as an individual; a person with not only physical needs, but emotional ones as well. And that is awesome.

P.S. It is so much fun to watch Grey’s and completely pick it apart. HIPAA violation here, incorrect pronunciation of a medical term there.