Needles and Oranges

Today I got to spend all day practicing giving shots on an orange!

Oh man, I was so ridiculously excited for today's lab I don't think I've ever been so stoked to go to school. We all practiced so much that when we injected fluid into one part of the orange, another hole from a previous injection would start to squirt out! Now I just love needles even more. It's weird, I know because I've been told it's a strange obsession by several people over the course of my life (especially in this last week or so). But I can't help it. I'm find being poked and I'm getting comfortable poking other people. In fact, I donate platelets just to watch the needle go in my arm and

also to watch my blood be separated so I can see the platelets. You know, now that I think about it, that's probably what catches people off guard. Mostly because I tell them that story when explaining that I enjoy needles...


<- Platelets

We also practiced opening ampules. Those things are terrible and need to be discontinued from use! The bottle cut at least one person and that was just from my clinical group of 6. Not to mention you have to remember to use a needle with a filter on it to draw up the meds (due to SHARDS OF GLASS in the medication itself due to breaking the glass bottle).  Then you have to make sure to remember to use a different needle to actually administer the medication to the patient. Folks, these things seem so outdated and dangerous, why are they still being used? Seriously.

What makes anyone think breaking glass with your hands would be a good idea? Especially when the glass contains medications that may/may not be dangerous to bare skin? C'mon folks, let's use our brains here...








Hospital mindset:



















So, that was my day. How was yours?

Daily Thanksgiving: G-d's grace is abounding and He doesn't get impatient with me regardless of how many times I mess up my life. He is currently teaching me long-term forgiveness and how to talk through tough life decision with Him before turning to those around me. Believe it or not, I'm actually learning how to do it! Talk to Him without talking to the people around me, that is. It's hard because I used to rely on Him for everything because I didn't trust anyone else, not even my parents. He taught me how to trust people a bit more and then I trusted them too much instead of continuing to rely on Him. Life is all about finding an equilibrium and following what G-d tells you to do. When you do, regardless of how hard it is in the moment, your life can only improve instead of stalling and beginning to reverse or go down a bad road. Praise the L-rd for instructing us because He loves us.

Verse of the week/month for me is Proverbs 3:11-12 "My son, don't despise Ad-nai's discipline or resent his reproof; for Ad-nai corrects those he loves like a father who delights in his son." (Complete Jewish Bible)

ALL DONE!!!

Folks, I finished all my finals!!! Better yet, G-d let me pass the first semester of nursing school when I was certain I would fail at least 1-2 of my 5 classes!

The feeling of being done is so beautiful I can't even describe it. But G-d got me through. Oh man, I just can't get over that fact. Now I get to move onto clincals and get into some actual nursing.

My last final today for Foundations I studied for a total of probably 30 minutes because I could get a 0% and still pass. Man, 95% of the questions had an answer of "All of the above" and 4% had matching. Seriously 2 questions actually required me to pick out the answer that was an actual answer besides "All of the above". How crazy is that!?! Granted, I was a bit paranoid at the time and my Scantron was filled with the answer D, but my friends said their was the same way so I think I may get to keep my one A for this semester!

The teacher for that class is also my teacher for Basic Assessment and I may end up getting a solid B instead of a B- for that class because she is dropping the 2 quizzes that were ridiculously hard and that counted for 10% of our grade. Instead, she is making our final grade go from 10% of our total grade to 20%. Moral of that long-winded story is that I may get one less B- than I thought!!!

Yesterday was a good day and it just kept on getting better. Today is even better than yesterday and it continues to get better. I'm scared for tomorrow because this is either a manic episode or G-d is just letting me have a slight break from the craziness that surrounds me on all sides. Either way, I can't tell. Oh well, I think I'm going to enjoy a little down time before I work tomorrow at my IT job and I'll let you guys know how Friday night out with my nursing class goes, if we end up going out. Now, that I got the day back off from work (after they called me in, I ended up emailing my boss and backing out) nobody even knows if this shindig is still going down!

Icing on the cake that was my day, my hair curled enough to look absolutely adorable. Aaaaaaah, this was a good day.

Finals Week Is Upon Us

Many of you out there are aware that it is finals week. Whether you are in school currently or not, it's all over my Facebook and I hope I'm not the only one. Due to this dreadful week, I have good news and bad news. Ready?

Bad:
I got a 76% on my pharmacology math final. That is because I did it mostly by hand and I'm sure my math was incorrect. So, I get a B- for that class. Moral of the story: before taking a math exam, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE PENCILS AND CALCULATOR IN BACKPACK/BAG!!! They were conveniently situated on my bedside table at home when I arrived at the final. Terrible, terrible day. I hate getting a bad grade when I knew the material but forgot my tools at home. Totally my bad, but it suck all the same.

I was unable to bring my Patho grade up beyond a B-. Again, my bad for slacking the first part of the semester.

Basic assessment class finishes with a B- due to unknown circumstances. Really, I had no idea what was going on in that course and we were not tested on anything that we were taught... I have good news about this class later.

I'm an all around grump for being mere fractions of percentages away from a straight up B but couldn't break through. That's so frustrating!

Good:
While I am disappointed with my Basic Assessment class overall, I did get a 90% on the final and a 99% on my final assessment evaluation! The teacher originally marked me as 100% because I think she likes me for some reason, but I admitted that I forgot one part so she took a point back. Still, I am so very pleased with that grade!!!

I got a B in Pharmacology! A 92% on my final made sure that I not only passed but I got a B instead of a C or that dreaded B-! Praise the L-rd for getting me through that class and giving me a gracious teacher that pretty much gave us a play-by-play study guide so we could rock the final. Plus, she let us use our books on the test before this. G-d certainly had his hand on my in that class because that was my most difficult one.

In my Foundations course, we have a final worth 10% of our overall grade, but even if I don't take it, I can get a solid B. I may not even show up tomorrow. Well, maybe I ought to, just so I know that I worked to try to get at least one A this semester. Sheesh, it's so disappointing to know that I will never be a 4.0 student EVER in my nursing school career, but hey, by the grace of G-d I may just graduate and pass the NCLEX. That, plus a caring heart and maybe a couple other things, will allow me to pursue my dream to become a full-fledged nurse. Mainly, that's what I want. The OCD side of me, though, wanted a 4.0. Unfortunately, that didn't even happen my first semester... Oh well.

Finally, I PASSED MY FIRST SEMESTER OF NURSING SCHOOL!!! Most people say it gets slightly easier after this because we are building on this first semester knowledge. I sure hope so.

Gross Obsession

I was put into a group with 7 other of my fellow nursing students to do a case study. We finished the project in 5 minutes (of the 30+ minutes allotted) and spent the rest of the time watching a chest tube insertion, thoracentesis, stitches, and the like on YouTube. I no longer feel like such an oddball for watching these disgusting but totally fascinating procedures!!! There are other weird people like me that can watch all the different types of fluid extracted from the lungs and be able to eat in the process. I can watch the strangest, most graphic procedures and think nothing of it. It's just how I'm wired. Anyway, I made friends by bonding over crazy cool procedures that most people can't handle.

If you can watch invasive videos and keep your lunch down (you don't even have to snack while watching the video!) I recommend you search for a thoracentesis procedure because it is so cool!

*Disclaimer: I don't take any responsibility for any lost meals, nightmares, or gagging. Viewing this video is at your own discretion. It can be considered gross and very graphic. Do not watch if you are squeamish about blood and other bodily fluids.*

You may have to go to YouTube to see it better, but man, it is worth it! I linked it here in case you can't see it well in the embedded video. Enjoy!

Who are you?

Interesting question I get to write about for my nursing philosophy paper. Isn't it weird that it's the simple questions like "who are you?" that make you immediately hit a wall? I don't know who I am! That, my friends, is a huge problem for several reasons. Reason #1: I can't finish this paper and it's due by midnight tonight...

Overloaded = Emotional Meltdown

You know how last week was awful for me? That terribleness couldn't be fit into just one week so it is spilling out into this week as well! Joy.

Recap of last week: Patho pop quiz: 50%. BHA pop quiz: 0% (because I was late to class) then I retook it to receive a whopping 20%. Pharm Math and Foundations of Nursing went off without a hitch. Then, Pharmacology... I had to take a test in that class that got me a 76%. Finally, one last Patho quiz: 63%. I know, why did I have to take 2 Patho quizzes in one week? I have no clue! But in addition to those two "fun" quizzes, I also had an exam today. Man, this lady loves piling on all the quizzes and exams onto a weeks calendar, doesn't she? Good news about the exam, G-d gave me an 81% (higher than the class average, finally!) after only studying for about 8 hours. I was so nervous but G-d gave me an amazing grade, considering my sleep deprivation and lack of preparation, and He brought my total class grade from a D to a 79%! Hey, that's almost a B, folks, which turns out to be a really good grade from this teacher because she is tough and Patho is rough!

Today, on a totally unrelated note, I keep running into my friends from the past. I ran into one of my closest guy friends from last year. We've kept in touch so it wasn't weird to see him, it was actually nice to be able to have something be "normal" again. Then I was sitting outside when a guy from a party I went to freshman year of high school saw me and came to say hey. I didn't really know him, but we had Psych last semester. He's really nice, a pre-med student, and he lives in the town my uncle lives in (where my dad grew up). Him and the friend he was with (who I met for the first time today) both volunteer with my uncle for the volunteer fire department. It's weird when people know my family and I get referred to as, "so-and-so's niece/daughter/granddaughter/etc." Don't you feel strange when people introduce you or remember you as someone's sister/brother, daughter/son, grandkid, etc? Then, I saw one of my other guy friends from last year. We sat and talked for awhile, but I really need to work on my conversation skills. What do people ever talk about? What is the point of small talk? It seems like such a waste of time and energy...

Anyone else having meltdowns/psychotic breaks/crying fits?