Did I REALLY sign up for this??

Still have a several more weeks before I start school & I'm always surprised by how quickly I decompress after school's out.  Of course this semester was pretty relaxed in the first place so I guess that's why it was easy.  I have done nothing since the break.  Well, that's not true, I did get together with 2 of my other nursing buddies & their significant others for dinner one night, that was nice.  It was interesting because I really like the two girls, they are very sweet.  But after we left the restaurant I asked my hubby what he thought about them & he said "They aren't someone I would see you hanging out with."  It was an interesting observation, b/c he was probably correct.  Those two particular girls are very smart, sweet & on the shy side & I am about as far from that as you can get (well not the smart part ;).  But, like I said, I really like them alot & we had a great dinner. I like getting to know my classmates ...

 Charlotte Bacon, 6 Rachel D'Avino, 29 Olivia Engel, 6 Dylan Hockley, 6 Dawn Lafferty Hochsprung, 47 Jesse Lewis, 6 Ana Marquez-Greene, 6 Grace McDonnell, 7 Anne Marie Murphy, 52 Emilie Parker, 6 Noah Pozner, 6 Jessica Rekos, 6 Mary Sherlach, 56 Lauren Rousseau, 30 Victoria Soto, 27 Daniel Barden, 7 Josephine Gay, 7 Madeleine Hsu, 6 Catherine Hubbard, 6 Chase Kowalski, 7 James Mattioli, 6 Jack Pinto, 6 Caroline Previdi, 6 Avielle Richman, 6 Benjamin Wheeler, 6 Allison Wyatt, 6. 

 1 1/2 more to go.... So, 2nd semester is IN THE BOOKS!  Here's the damage.   Pharm - A, Research - A, Intro to Nursing Practice - B.  All in all, I have to say, pretty good for someone that hardly ever went to class.  Seriously, although I love my program I will have to admit that some of these teachers need to invest in a class on "how to teach".  For our Pharm midterm & final, the professor gave us a list of questions that were in the data bank (277 for the midterm & 355 for the final) & said "Here's the questions, happy studying."  I promise you, I learned more from researching those questions than I learned in the whole class.  Since when did teaching become posting a ppt & then reading it in class??  How are you actually TEACHING me anything?  No need to go to class, I mean dang I can read a ppt for myself....BUT, it's done & over with now & I am finally on to 3rd semester!!! Well, not t...

Monday is Pharm & Tuesday is Fundamentals and then semester 2 of nursing school is IN THE BOOKS!!  Soo excited that it's almost over.  I finally got my grade in research & after all of the little "projects" that she had us do I was able to pull off an A!!! My final grade came up to an 89.8, which gets rounded up to an A, whew, so excited!! As of right now I have a 92 in Pharm and a 79.8 in Fundamentals.  So, I am hoping to keep my A in Pharm & I think it's pretty safe to say that I'm only going to pull off a B in Fundamentals, but hey that's better than a C (but yet not an A)!!  It's really my fault, I totally slacked in that class this semester. Ok, I'll be honest, I slacked in all my classes this semeter.  Well, not so much slacked, as didn't attend.  Our pharm teacher & our Fundamentals teacher put everything on PPT slides & then they would have us meet & they would just read over/go over the PPT's.  I'm sorry, ...

Ok so, so far in my schooling career (well the nursing school part anyway) I have not had to work.  I have been blessed to be able to draw unemployment since I started school, but it looks like that might be ending soon, in which case I will need to get a job.  Since school next semester is M, T, W, (some Thursday's), F, that means it'll probably be better for me to find a weekend job, which is fine, I don't mind working BUT what I'm worried about is that this next semester coming up is our hardest semester.  It's the semester that everyone says NOT to work during, it's our MAIN weedout semester.  I know that a lot of people have to work, so that's not feasible for everyone, but everyone ahead of us that we talk to says if at all possible, DON'T work during 3rd semester.  I am kind of bummed because I was hoping that my unemployment would juuuuuust squeak by & get me through 3rd semester & then I was planning on getting a job anyway.  Anyhoo, my...

So I've seen everyone with "buttons" for their blog & I want one too!  I'm not really sure how to make one, but this is the picture I want to use for it.  Isn't it cute!! We'll see how it turns out.  **After an hour & a half working on it, I gave up**  If any of my nice friends that know HOW to make a button would like to make one for me as a Christmas present I would soo appreciate it :D I wanted to put the title at the bottom so that I didn't cover up the scissors. 

Yesterday was the last day of my first clinical and I can say with 110% assurance, that LTC is NOT where I want to work.  Basically all the nurses did ALL day was pass meds.  I mean seriously?  I honestly feel like working in that environment that I would lose just about any real nursing skills I had learned.  And not to offend anyone in that field, but really what good is going to school to learn ALL of this information to then just stand at a med cart & hand out meds all day?  Uh, no thank you! I am so happy to have that part over & done with, and not because I didn't enjoy it, clinicals are actually my favorite part, but just because I am ready to move on!  Next semester is Med/Surg & OB & I can't wait to be in an actual hospital, doing real clinical stuff.  I am totally going to feel like a real nurse at that point (well 1/8 of a real nurse)!! I'm so excited that there's no break in between! So the countdown to the end of my...

into the future...." I couldn't help myself :) It's so weird when I look at the time keeper on the side of my blog, and watch as it just keeps getting less & less.  I think when I first put it on there I had like 800 something days before I graduate & now it's already down into the 500's!! Can you believe that many days have gone by since I've been in school?  I can't!! I was talking to my nursing bestie yesterday & we were talking about the upcoming semesters & I was blabbing on & I said something about two more summers & he goes "We only have this summer left with no school".  What?!  Can it be I only have one torturous summer left!! ?  Yes for those of you that don't know, I don't like the fact that our school doesn't go straight through the summers like some other programs.  So I was very excited to realize that this will be my LAST summer of freedom!! Don't get me wrong, I loves me some summers.  I me...

So last night as I was taking my Research test and working on my care plan for Intro I got to thinking about my grades.  I thought I had 2 high C's & an A, but after talking to my friends about adding in the extra little points that we get for doing small assignments, I decided to actually calculate my grades. Lo & behold I have now have 2 B's & an A yay!!  And the B's are actually pretty high, so if I can pull off some much better test scores for the next couple of tests then I think I can actually pull straight A's this semester!  And boy do I need it.  Yesterday at lunch I was talking to two of my nursing friends & we started talking about getting into school.  We all agreed that NONE of us got in based on our GPA's.  The minimum GPA to get into our program is 2.8.  At our table, my bestie Gregory had 2.8, I had 2.9 & my friend Kristina had a 3.0.   Now mind you my GPA was so low b/c they averaged in my grades from when I we...

So drove all the way to school today for my 2 classes only to have them cancelled because the power was out.  The bad part is that classes were cancelled and we all left around 9 am and guess what time the power came on?  RIGHT AFTER WE LEFT!!  So, not only did I waste time, which is ok, but I wasted money & gas, which is way more expensive than my time!! :(  Ugh...I wish I didn't live so far from campus... Anyhoo, I'm getting close to the end of the semester & things are coming up, namely group projects.  Can I just say how much I detest group projects?  Well, actually that's not true.  I only dislike the group projects where you don't get to pick your groups. This semester we have 2 group projects due.  One is in Pharm, which luckily we have a great group for that one.  The other is in Research & it's not that that group sucks, it's just that we all have a really hard time making a group decision & I already...

So today was the halfway mark in clinicals, three down, three to go and we've only got like 7 more weeks until semester 2 is over, but I have to make a confession.   I still don't feel like I know a darn thing!  I just don't feel like I'm studying enough & learning enough.  I mean seriously, I just don't see myself being able to see a patient any time soon, hell when it came to assessing my patient I had to go to last semester's book & look up some things to assess (& I wasn't the only one)......Am I ever going to feel like I actually know something? Please tell me there are other nurses out there who felt like this at first, but now they are seasoned nurses who know EVERYTHING!!  Ok, I know you don't know everything, but at least you know stuff, right?  Nerves are kicking in!!  Maybe I should study a bit more you say?  I agree!!  Thanks for the advice... Blessings,

Today was my first "real" clinical day.  I was able to work alone (which I much prefer) with my patient and I have to say I REALLY enjoyed this.  Of course, although I was the only one responsible for my patient I was sure to help out my fellow students when they needed it.  And I have to say they are all pretty great!  We have 7 people in our clinical group & I am so glad that we all get along & help each other out, I feel really blessed to be with this group of people.  Of course like I said in my last post, our actual "hands on" patient time today was only around an hour & a half. Once again we were in pre-conference from 6:30-8:00, we then had to go & sort out our medications which took until about 9:30 for all of us to get done & by the time I got my patient out of activity & finished her assessment it was 11:00, which is their lunch time.  So then  about 11:30 or so we all went to lunch where we stayed until 1:00!!!  ...

This week is our wonderful  miniscule fall break.  We actually only get 2 days of fall break, but luckily our teacher gave us a break & is giving us Friday as well, yay! Of course in the middle of our break is our 2nd clinical on Thursday.  Speaking of which, last week we had our first clinical and I have to say it kind of went how I thought & it kind of didn't. First of all, the actual "hands on" patient time was shorter than I expected seeing as our professor kept us in pre-conference from 6:30 to almost 8:00 & then we were in lunch from 11:00 to like 12:30, and when we went back upstairs we had to report BACK downstairs for post conference at 1:00.  So much for 6:30-2:30 & a 30 minute lunch.  Now don't get me wrong, I am TOTALLY not complaining about this, actually I was very happy with this arrangement, I'm just mentioning it.  Second, it wasn't as boring as I thought but there was quite a bit of walking around checking to see if ot...

Ok so for all of my nursey students/followers or for anyone that wants to read a REALLY great blog.  You seriously need to head over to  "Life in the Clinic"  and follow it.  This is written by a fantastic pediatric NP! She writes about interesting cases, frustrating job experiences and just every day things that us nursing students will probably one day deal with, plus she pretty stinking smart! So, seriously, why are you still reading this blog?  Head over there RIGHT NOW & check it out!!! :D

Honestly I just don't even know where to begin.  Just trying to type this post makes me want to pull my hair out!! Here goes anyway, in Pharm we have this teacher that lectures instead of teaches.  Lecturing is all fine & well if you're teaching PSYCHOLOGY but this is a SCIENCE course with actual working parts of the body and responses that we need to UNDERSTAND.  Don't just lecture to us, tell us to read the 26 chapters & then expect us to teach this to ourselves!!  I have literally been on the verge of tears AND in tears all day today over the frustration that is our Pharmacology class.  Then on top of no explanation of what we're supposed to be learning, we only have FOUR, count them FOUR grades in the whole class & two of them are the midterm & the final.  So what do we get to study for the midterm?  A test bank of 270 possible questions that we have to answer ourselves and then HOPE that we have chosen the correct answer & ...

So after my last post there was definitely some drama that ensued over the whole sharing fiasco.  One girl (one of the non-sharers) even blocked me from seeing content on her FB, lol.  Probably because when she posted "Will.Never.Happen.Again" I posted under that "Agreed".  I mean seriously, people's selfishness never ceases to surprise me BUT what I did learn from this experience is that some people need to be kept at arm's length.  I try really hard to stay OUT of the drama, which unfortunately there is plenty of.  I just don't understand why though.  Believe me nursing school is hard enough without creating extra drama.  I got some really good advice from a 3rd semester.  She told me to stay away from certain people and stay off of FB!! Well, although I do like that advice, our class communicates a lot through FB.  We have a specific FB page just for our semester & then we have one for the nursing program.  It really is a great to...

Ok, so in our Pharm class we have a midterm coming up.  So the teacher gives out this long (275 questions) study guide that has all the questions from the test bank that could possibly be on the test.  Problem is the questions are unanswered, which means mucho time spent looking up the answers to all these questions, which in turn means MAJOR TIME!  So, my bestie & I decide (ok  it may have been his original idea) that we need to contact a few of our friends & see if they want to divide & conquer.  Great idea right?  Well, what was supposed to be a small group of about 7 or so people blossomed into 25 people (which is almost HALF the class) & then another group that totally split off on their own.  I mean once the word got out it was like "Oh well so & so would want to do this too) & of course the more people the less questions we each have to answer.  Sooo, we ended up with about 16 questions a piece, which isn't too ...

Tomorrow is my 2nd check off.  NG tubes/feeding tubes   catheter's & wound dressing.  I am SO nervous after last weeks fiasco, I swear if I could just have a different teacher I would be better.  I know that these aren't that hard of skills but I get so nervous and then I start thinking "Gosh this seems too simple, you must be missing something" & then I start trying to add stuff that I don't need to add.  Ughhhh, NERVES!!!!!  The teacher did say that the most important thing (of course) is not to break the sterile field, which I'm pretty good at paying attention to that, but I just hope I don't blank.  When the teacher starts asking pointed questions I just tend to blank, even if I know the answer.  But this week I have practiced & read all the sheets (as opposed to last week) so I shouldn't be surprised by any of her questions.  We'll see.   At 10:15 tomorrow say a prayer for me!!! Goodnight peeps. ***...

Oh my Lord, could I have been any more ridiculous in my first check off????? And lest you think I'm exaggerating let me replay the scenario: "Hello Mr. Brown, my name is Candi and I'm going to be your student nurse today.  First of all I am going to check your blood glucose" (did that no prob).  "Ok, now I'm going to give you your insulin."  So I go with the whole NRN steps.  I draw the 10 mL of Regular, then add the 8 mL of NPH to equal the 18 mL that is on the Rx.  At which point the teacher says "That's only 17 mL, you need 18".  First of all, it was NOT only 17, I can see, but I wasn't going to argue so I proceeded to pick up the vial to make sure it was 18 mL's (which was actually 19 but whatev).   At this point I hand her back the syringe so that she can check to see that it's now 18 & she goes "It's 18 but you added R, not N" (with a look that says "You're a complete moron".)  Oh holy hel...

So as I was sitting in Pharm class today thinking that I should have TOTALLY skipped I just couldn't help but shake the feeling that I was wasting my time.  Now, I'm not 100% sure that that's true, it was just the feeling that I had.  I mean seriously, who KNOWS this stuff besides pharmacists?  I seriously doubt if I were to walk up to a nurse working on the hospital floor & ask them what the difference between a muscarinic agonist & antagonist were they would have NO clue what I was talking about.  Please tell me how, exactly, this is supposed to help me be a nurse?  Now, don't get me wrong, I do find Pharm very interesting (the book more than the actual class) but I just can't help thinking that this is not "real" nursing.  As a matter of fact I know for certain that some nursing programs don't even include Pharm, so why am I being tortured?  Or should I say "Why are we being tortured?" because believe me I'm not the only one.  ...

Today was it, the first test of my 2nd semester in nursing school and well, at least I passed.  I couldn't study. I just couldn't get into the groove and I never got around to really getting the information into my head.  It's one of those things were you get so overwhelmed that you don't know where to start so you just do nothing. That was me.  Fortunately I had taken the CNA class over the summer and so I had a pretty good idea of the answers.  Not enough for a B, but what's the saying "C's = degrees"?  Well C's don't equal a nurse practitioner degree, so I know I have to buck up & get a grip on these studies.  What I hate about the first test is that you never really know how to study for it.  You're not sure exactly how the questions are going to flow and so the first test is always the barometer, so it can only go up from here right?  I mean now I know what to expect and how to study, so the next test should be MUUUUCH better :...

My clinical group!!  And no I do not fix my hair & do my makeup before school.  I mean seriously, I get up early enough with doing all that stuff!!! And btw that's my nursing bestie Gregory, the 3rd one from the left if your looking at the picture, which of course you are.  :D

Hmm, it doesn't feel like week two, honestly it feels like school hasn't even started yet.  Even though I've turned in one assignment & taken one quiz I am still behind.  Future note to self, do NOT plan any trips the week before & the week after classes start, especially BOTH.  I am so disoriented about my classes.  Today I went to school with my Pharm book, my Research book, my Dosage Calculations book and my lunch.  On the way to school I talked to Gregory & he then informed that today is a short day & the only class we have is Nursing Skills.  DUH!!  Thank goodness we have tomorrow off.  I HAVE to use that as a catch up day for sure!  I've got to get it together.  I have done 1% of the reading I should have gotten done by now and I am wiped!!  Thankfully my husband took my lab coat & scrub shirt to the cleaners to have them sew my patches on for me since this Thursday is our first day of having to wear our un...

So tomorrow starts the beginning of my 2nd semester of nursing school and I'll have to admit, I am terrified.  Just seeing the word Math breaks me out in severe hives and starts the nauseous feeling in my stomach.  I mean seriously.  17 Math chapters/quizzes!! I got into nursing so I wouldn't HAVE to do any more math but then here it is, back again.  I can already tell I'm going to worry myself to death over this!!  Then there's the EKG.  I don't think we learn that this semester but just reading my friends blog & seeing her talking about it gives me double hives.  I feel so lost and classes haven't even started  yet!!! Between Pharm & Research, I'm dreading this semester.  I'm starting to think this is just going to be an ongoing feeling at the beginning of each semester.  I guess I just need to remind myself of how nervous I felt at the beginning of last semester & of the fact that I did pretty well despite of myself. ...

One of my first nursing bloggy friends was Rachel and today she is guest posting on this here little 'ol blog.  If you read this blog you probably already read hers, but if not then head on over there.  Again without further ado here is my 2nd guest post: Hello everyone, my name is Zazzy and I'm an avid reader of Candi's nursing school blog and I'm honored she's chosen to have me host for a day while she's out relaxing in the sun having fun! (I wish you would have taken me in your suitcase CANDI :D) I have two more semesters of my own to complete before I graduate this May from nursing school, and I also have a fun blog detailing my journey. You can read more at Frazzledrazzlern.blogspot.com In the meantime while going to nursing school I've been gaining experience as a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) and I finally figured out a system that works for me. I was pretty disorganized when I first started and felt overwhelmed with not knowing what to do w...

So one of my favorite posters has generously written a post to keep you entertained and informed while I'm gone, so without further ado meet Sherry: Hi, I'm  Sherry !  A big southern welcome to all of you!  Grab yourself a big ol' glass of sweet tea and sit and visit with me a spell.  I write over at  The Sweet Life of the Reeses .  I'm the only Reese who ever posts on that ol' blog -- the other Reeses choose to be actors and not writers.  Today, I am filling in for Candi while she is on her nice, little, much deserved vacation.  Vacation...I just love that word!  Instantly, pictures of tropical sandy beaches, clear blue water, and cold beverages with little umbrellas enter my mind.  *Sigh*  Those kind of vacations don't really happen much when you have kid, do they?  We just had our first family trip to  Disney World , and while we all had a blast, it was not very relaxing -- although I did manage to take a couple of ...