Did I REALLY sign up for this??

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...