Wow - it seems like it's been months since I've written, but it's only been a week and half. During this time I have taken 4 tests and turned in one big assignment. Not only did I make a 100 on that assignment, but my teacher wrote "Great job!" next to my grade. That's like getting a GOLD STAR! Apparently, I am very good at documentation. This is good since the prevailing mantra in nursing school is "If you don't document it, you didn't do it." And as much as I would like to think this notion gives me the total go-ahead to screw up so long as I don't document it, I'm guessing it doesn't actually work that way. All these little rules and nuances are so tedious.
One thing about nursing school that is starting to dawn on all of us is that the stuff covered in class is completely unrelated to what will be on exams. Exams are a total crap-shoot. And no one has come up with a magic formula on how to approach these things. It basically comes down to having a 1 in 4 chance of guessing the right answer - 1 in 2 if you can narrow it down that far. I find that I do much better on the guessing game if I DON'T narrow it down to 2 possible answers. Because if I have a 50/50 chance? I will ALWAYS choose the wrong answer. During my last Health Assessment exam I actually heard Clint Eastwood in my head asking, "Do you feel lucky, punk?" No, Mr. Eastwood, I do not feel lucky. In fact, I feel miserable and stupid so why don't you just go ahead and shoot me.
On the administrative side of things at the CON, there seems to be a serious failure to communicate ... or maybe just some heavy-duty crack-smoking. These folks sent out a packet of information to all the nursing students upon acceptance to the program detailing everything we needed to get, have, do, or have done to us. So most of us got on it right away and took care of business. Part of this business included getting a lab coat with the CON official patch on the left sleeve. This was a clearly stated requirement. So I got my super cool lab coat with its nifty patch (actually, the patch is pretty ugly), only to be told a couple of weeks ago that they changed their minds. Instead of the patch, they want the front of the lab coats embroidered with "CON BSN STUDENT". This proved to be a bit of an issue for those of us who already had the patch. Why? Because this patch is a weirdly shaped 4-pointed iron-cross type thing which means lots and lots of stitching. Which means lots and lots of holes if removed. So, those of us with patches were told to keep the patch AND get the embroidery. Now, I have the coolest lab coat in the world with an ugly-ass patch on the left sleeve and a pile of embroidery on the left front. All that coupled with my ID badge which also says CON nursing student kind of makes me feel like a walking billboard for my school. Only twelve more items and I'll have my 15 pieces of flair.
On the fun side of life ... oh, yes, there has actually been a little bit of fun in the sun ... I have discovered the river. Last week, E and I went around our little town to interview various folks in different health agencies for this ridiculous community assessment paper we have due this week. Our venture proved pretty futile, but then E mentioned that she and her husband found this cool place to get in at the river. We drove over and checked it out, and decided that the next day we would bring our dogs and play. I only took my girl dog because the boy dogs are way more interested in running off into the woods than playing in the water. The four of us dog-paddled our way down the river, and now my legs are completely banged up, bruised, and scraped from all those insidious rocks lurking below the surface. Oh, and my back got a bit red from overdosing on sunshine. BUT IT WAS GREAT!!! I'm thinking next time we need to score some inner tubes. And sunscreen.
I also ventured back home for an afternoon of volleyball and cookin'-out at J's house. It was great to see friends I haven't seen in FOREVER. It was just the soul infusion I needed.
Coming up, I have a final exam in Health Assessment on Monday, and the big skills assessment check-off next Thursday. So, I'm hunkered down studying my butt off as per usual. Hopefully, these things will go well and by next Thursday afternoon I'll be floating down the river again. And then I get TWO WHOLE WEEKS off before fall semester starts.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Havin' A Blast, Wish You Were Here
The war has been won. I took the wretched comprehensive Pathophysiology final exam this past Monday ... and I PASSED! WOO-HOO! I went into this thing having made peace with the very real possibility of having to take this class again. I mean, I went in as fully prepared as I could possibly be, but given the way the rest of the exams have gone, I knew I was riding the fence on whether or not I could pull it off. I appreciate all the prayers and small animal sacrifices that were performed on my behalf - I think that's what pulled me through. FINALLY, Dr. G's voice will stop ringing in my ears. (note: If anybody actually sacrificed small animals, I do not want to know about it.)
I was very distressed at missing my friend J's 40th birthday/July 4th extravaganza. I told him a while back that I would have to sit this one out thanks to the Patho exam. I pictured myself sitting in my loft studying away with the distant sound of fireworks going on around me. But my little community had other plans. When I got home from school on Tuesday, a team of Mullet Men were in the field next to my house clearing every little piece of growth that had found a strong-hold there. They cut down the honeysuckle that was growing next to my house, and this distressed me to no end. My first thought was that something dreadful was going to be built next to me. Something like, oh, I don't know, maybe a home for juvenile deliquents. But the next day, the field had been cordoned off with bright yellow tape, and it dawned on me that perhaps there was a July 4th thing happening. Turns out FREEDOM FEST was the big deal that was going to blow up right here in my little corner of the world. I spent most of the day studying with my newly adopted study group, and later in the evening my friend E came over to watch the show. And she brought me a freshly baked blackberry thing ... SCORE! I think this county blew its entire budget on the fireworks because it was quite impressive. And every single neighbor around me seemed to be having a competition to see who's personal fireworks display dominated.
Nothing more exciting than that going on here. Nursing school does not lend itself to having anything more than "studying for an exam" to report. I have a Health Assessment exam on Monday and a big research paper to work on for that ridiculous on-line class. That is my life right now. And I have to say, I miss my old life. I miss my friends back home. I miss my fire department. I miss Sunday brunch followed by a lazy afternoon of croquet and volleyball and horseshoes. I miss coffee at Espresso News, and gallery openings, and quiet nights out in the country where the stars were so amazing that it took my breath away. I miss my porch swing, and the sound of Cove Creek. But I DO NOT miss my former neighbors: the weirdo Rabbi and his motley crew of wayward young men. My current neighbors are fabulously normal people who play volleyball in the pouring down rain, and who do not speak English. And I adore them.
Other things that I've grown to appreciate in this strange world I now call ... um ... headquarters (I still can't bring myself to call it home) include: the totally hot motorcycle cop (this county not only has money for fabulous fireworks, but they have all kinds of fancy toys for the local law enforcement folks to drive); the way the railroad track is on a slight hill so that when I drive over it at just the right speed, I feel like the Dukes of Hazard; the fact that the local diner, the post office, the town hall, the elementary school and the fire department are all within spittin' distance of my house (seriously, this town is THAT SMALL); I love that when school is in session I can hear the morning announcements from my backyard; but mostly I love that there are always folks out and about here: a pack of kids riding bicycles and older folks walking on the track at the park and neighbors working in their gardens and people at the church across the street playing kickball ... basically, I almost feel like I live in a Norman Rockwell painting. Almost.
I was very distressed at missing my friend J's 40th birthday/July 4th extravaganza. I told him a while back that I would have to sit this one out thanks to the Patho exam. I pictured myself sitting in my loft studying away with the distant sound of fireworks going on around me. But my little community had other plans. When I got home from school on Tuesday, a team of Mullet Men were in the field next to my house clearing every little piece of growth that had found a strong-hold there. They cut down the honeysuckle that was growing next to my house, and this distressed me to no end. My first thought was that something dreadful was going to be built next to me. Something like, oh, I don't know, maybe a home for juvenile deliquents. But the next day, the field had been cordoned off with bright yellow tape, and it dawned on me that perhaps there was a July 4th thing happening. Turns out FREEDOM FEST was the big deal that was going to blow up right here in my little corner of the world. I spent most of the day studying with my newly adopted study group, and later in the evening my friend E came over to watch the show. And she brought me a freshly baked blackberry thing ... SCORE! I think this county blew its entire budget on the fireworks because it was quite impressive. And every single neighbor around me seemed to be having a competition to see who's personal fireworks display dominated.
Nothing more exciting than that going on here. Nursing school does not lend itself to having anything more than "studying for an exam" to report. I have a Health Assessment exam on Monday and a big research paper to work on for that ridiculous on-line class. That is my life right now. And I have to say, I miss my old life. I miss my friends back home. I miss my fire department. I miss Sunday brunch followed by a lazy afternoon of croquet and volleyball and horseshoes. I miss coffee at Espresso News, and gallery openings, and quiet nights out in the country where the stars were so amazing that it took my breath away. I miss my porch swing, and the sound of Cove Creek. But I DO NOT miss my former neighbors: the weirdo Rabbi and his motley crew of wayward young men. My current neighbors are fabulously normal people who play volleyball in the pouring down rain, and who do not speak English. And I adore them.
Other things that I've grown to appreciate in this strange world I now call ... um ... headquarters (I still can't bring myself to call it home) include: the totally hot motorcycle cop (this county not only has money for fabulous fireworks, but they have all kinds of fancy toys for the local law enforcement folks to drive); the way the railroad track is on a slight hill so that when I drive over it at just the right speed, I feel like the Dukes of Hazard; the fact that the local diner, the post office, the town hall, the elementary school and the fire department are all within spittin' distance of my house (seriously, this town is THAT SMALL); I love that when school is in session I can hear the morning announcements from my backyard; but mostly I love that there are always folks out and about here: a pack of kids riding bicycles and older folks walking on the track at the park and neighbors working in their gardens and people at the church across the street playing kickball ... basically, I almost feel like I live in a Norman Rockwell painting. Almost.
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