GRADUATED!

Well, it's really over. I have graduated from nursing school! No more pencils, no more books... and all that jazz! :-)

I spent a couple days in Louisville for graduation activities last week. Wednesday I drove over so I could pick up my cap and gown and then attend the graduation rehearsal at the Fair and Expo Center. This proved to be a little stressful, as I'm not familiar with Louisville at all, definitely not knowing where I was going on the Belknap campus to find where I needed to pick up my cap and gown. I'm really not used to a college campus right in the middle of a large metro area! Thanks to Google Maps (absolute GODSEND the whole time I was in Louisville!), I found where I needed to go, picked up my graduation garb and checked my eligibility for honor cords. I was *STOKED* to discover that I was graduating MAGNA CUM LAUDE (woohoo!) and got to wear pretty red honor cords (see dorky graduation picture).  After I got all that figured out and made my way back to my car, I had some time to kill before I had to be at the fairgrounds for rehearsal, so I zipped back downtown and visited the Health Sciences Bookstore and shop for some official UofL Nursing swag.  Walked out with a sweatshirt and a window cling for my car!

I then headed back down to the Fair and Expo Center to go through rehearsal. This whole deal was rather lackluster, probably could have made it through the ceremony without having been through rehearsal, but whatever, I was there. Once that was over, it was time to head to my lodgings for the night - my friend's parents who live near Louisville were kind enough to offer me a place to stay, saving me the hassle of getting a hotel room. Before I went there, I made a trip to Hobby Lobby to pick up some supplies so I could decorate my mortar board. Yes, I was just like a little kid playing with fabric puff paint...but I thought I turned out a decent nurse-themed decoration.

The next day I had to be back at the Fair and Expo Center for pinning and graduation. I got there plenty early and took some pictures with my classmates, then we had to line up for pinning. To cut to the chase, I got my pretty BSN Nursing pin pinned on me by my program director, who told me that this was just the beginning for me. More pictures, more visiting with friends and classmates, then it was time to line up for graduation! The whole ceremony took a little less than 2 hours, and nursing was the last batch to graduate. I was, quite literally, the 2nd to last person to walk across the stage! "I declare you graduates of the University of Louisville"...moved tassel from right to left...and that was it!

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So now what? Well, watching the job postings for jobs that interest me, for one thing. Haven't seen anything lately, but I'm sure that will changed. Also still waiting to hear from the jobs I have applied for, hoping to get an interview.

Oh, and there's this little thing called NCLEX..and I'm all scheduled for it, test date noted and countdown started! But I'm saving that for a separate entry. Graduation is such a big thing that it deserves its own billing!

*sings* I'm finished with nursing school, I'm a BSN graduate nurse... :-)

EXAMS COMPLETE!

I am finished with nursing school!  No more classes, no more exams, no more assignments...it's all turned in, completed...just waiting on grades to be finalized in Blackboard.  And of course ~GRADUATION~ in 6 days.

Job front: I've applied for 4 jobs, 1 went to one of my classmates (she's a CNA on that unit...understandable), the other 3 have made it through HR and have gone on to the respective unit managers.  So...I wait until I get a phone calls for an interviews.

BUT...I don't have any more work to do while I wait.  I can sit and watch TV!  I can read a non-textbook!  I can get my crate full of textbooks and binders and folder and notebooks put away somewhere else!  I'M FREE!!

:-)

Classes DONE!

Even though the university doesn't end classes until sometime in December, I have attended my LAST EVER BSN nursing class.  I hesitate to say last ever college class, in the event I lose my mind and go for an MSN at some point...but thinking about that right now...a snowball has a better chance in hell.  I digress...

But yes!  Final class over!  I *technically* have one more class meeting, but it's to take our 4th critical care exam and then review for the cumulative final.  No new content, no additional concepts, and I don't know that it's even mandatory.  I'll go, just to get as much of an edge for the final as possible, and in the odd event she decides to take attendance or something.

I have 20 more days of academic responsibilities THEN I AM DONE, FINISHED, SCHOOL IS OVER. YAY!!

Graduation in 26 days!

1 month left!

Well, technically 1 month and 2 days...

Just a few more classes to go to, a couple more busywork assignments, 3 exams...I think my to-do list is down to just 11 academic things.  My academic exertion ends on December 7th, with my critical care cumulative exam.  Less than 4 weeks until I am DONE with this whole thinking/studying/testing thing.  Well, until I start studying hardcore for NCLEX...but I don't want to think about that right now.

Other than classes, I've been working on applying for my RN license.  We discussed the whole procedure in Transition class a couple weeks ago and were told to go ahead and start the process now so we don't have to deal with it later.  So after I got my fingerprint card this past week, I went ahead and got started.  Went to the police station and got my fingerprints on Friday, then Friday night I got on the Kentucky Board of Nursing website and filled out my application.  Got my criminal background check run - in the clear! - and tonight I went through the jurisprudence lessons and took the exam.  Just waiting on fingerprints to come back, waiting until UofL releases my records post-graduation, and then register to take NCLEX...and that concludes my initial licensure responsibilities with KBN.

26 days until my last exam...32 days until graduation

Practicum hours completed!

All 210 required hours are now logged!

I did my last night shift last Saturday night.  It was definitely bittersweet...I wanted to be done with my hours because it significantly frees up my weekly schedule, but at the same time, I am going to miss my experience on the floor.  I really do enjoy direct patient care and cannot wait to get back to it in a few months.  But then, I'll be getting paid for it!  Always a bonus.

So now what am I going to do with all this free time?  Well, we've got our community project that we're presenting next Thursday...and I have my 3rd critical care exam on Halloween...and a huge research paper due November 2nd....plus random busy work items.  So much for "free" time.  But I have to do this for only 55 more days.  I can swing that.

So on the job front...we were told to go ahead and start applying this month.  I haven't yet because there aren't any jobs at The Hospital that I am interested in.  But I keep watching the job postings and hoping for something that sparks my interest.  The only listing on there right now that I would consider is an L&D job...night shift, 2 shifts a week.  I was hoping for 3 shifts a week, and while I have an interest in L&D, that's not the highest on my list.  But a job is a job...so I may go ahead and apply and at least get my name out there.

Other news...we ordered our nursing pins a couple weeks ago and they came in this week.  Squee!  And we got our pictures taken this week as well...but no Florence Nightingale dress and cap look for us  :-(  We actually looked like sorority girls...hair did, makeup on, and a black velvet off-the-shoulder drape.  Not that there's anything wrong with sorority girls...but darn it, I wanted to look like an old skool nurse for just once!  Oh well.

And now I get to enjoy my first non-clinical weekend since before Labor Day!  I'm actually awake and getting things done today instead of sleeping...will be home tonight relaxing (well, probably working on my paper...but still) instead of at the hospital...will get to see my kiddos' soccer games instead of sleeping.  I might as well enjoy this while I can because soon enough I'll be back on a similar schedule...but with a paycheck  ;-)

Happy Friday, Happy Weekend!

And half a month later...

I'm neglecting a lot of things this semester, this blog is one of them.  I've just been so busy with practicum and other stuff, and it really doesn't look to get much better any time soon.

Practicum - only 6 more shifts and I am finished with my hours!  I'm still enjoying being on telemetry, although I haven't seen any major cardiac patients yet.  Oddly enough, the most pressing issues I've had with my patients so far was hypoglycemia - 2 different patients were down in the 30's, so they got a little boost of IV D50 - and I've had 3 alcoholics in for chest pain issues.  Not really sure why they got sent to us, none of them had major cardiac issues going on, and they could have easily gone up to the floor that generally handles the detoxers and been on remote telemetry...but not my decision.  But I did start an IV the other night, and was *this* close to starting another one.  And this will sound a little morbid, but I watched a patient die on the tele monitor.  It was a patient on another floor on remote tele, and while I was sitting near the monitors, I heard the alarm ring.  This patient was brady down in the 30's, but would go back up to the 50's, then would alarm back down in the 30's.  Then the monitor showed asystole, but it wasn't actual asystole at that point, it was just a really long break in between impulses.  So I watched awhile longer and the impulses really widened out and were getting fewer and fewer...showing an agonal pattern.  Then asystole again, this time it stayed flat.  So I watched the monitor show NSR to SB to agonal to asystole.  All this happened over the course of maybe 10 minutes?  Kinda sad, knowing that a patient a floor below us had died and there was nothing we could do but watch.

School - Hating it.  Ready to be done.  Frustrated with all the stupid stuff we have to do, the ridiculous guidelines and assignments and such.  OVER IT.  72 more days until graduation and I hope I make it without strangling someone!  I've had my bad days in other semesters, where I feel a little overwhelmed, but it usually passes.  This semester it's not really passing...which sucks!
The good news is I'm getting information for ordering my nursing pin this week, plus we should be getting information on getting our senior pictures taken soon.  I'm excited about getting my pin, even though I won't really get it until December.

Not much else going on...school takes up a disproportionate amount of my life and I'm ready for that to change.  I hope December gets here quickly!

Practicum update

...and I've managed to get 63 hours done already.  I'm just under 1/3 of the way through!

It's been interesting so far.  My preceptor is great, she and I get along well (which is always a good thing, makes it much easier), and she can see that I take this role very seriously and am not just going to be a hot-shot know-it-all type.  I definitely do not know everything, far from it, but I apparently know enough of what I'm doing that she's letting me do some of the patient care activities on my own. Nothing major or invasive...she's front and center for anything like that, I don't even try to go it alone on certain tasks...but she'll have me do admissions, plus assessments, PO med passes, any comfort measures, and I do most of the required charting myself.  Knowing Epic has really helped...thank you again, Externship Hospital!

Other classes are going OK.  Didn't do as well as I had wanted on my cardiac exam, but it was my fault, really.  She told us what to study, and I focused on EKG/dysrhythmias too much and not enough on the drugs and treatments.  The questions I missed were drug questions and if I had paid more attention to that section when studying, I would have gotten a lot higher score.  I'm bummed, but I'm not going to let it ruin my semester.  I know what to do for the next exam, so I hope my score will be better!

Other than that, not much going on. I'm definitely keeping plenty busy with school!  So ready for this semester to be done.  It's really hard to believe that with the end of this semester comes the end of nursing school.  Seriously.  I mean, I start applying for nursing jobs NEXT MONTH.  How insane is that?  I would *love* to have a job lined up by graduation...that would be so awesome.  I would be able to work as an RN-A (A for applicant)...getting RN pay (!!!), doing RN work, just with a preceptor until I get my license.  I've got my fingers crossed that the ideal job opens up!

Before I sign off, I wanted to answer a couple of questions from my last post (and I will admit I am really bad about this...I do read all comments on my posts and I'm thankful for the words of support and encouragement...I just really suck at verbalizing that appreciation in subsequent posts!)

Azmomo2 -- yes, this is the only clinical component we have this semester.  Once we get our 210 hours done - at least 155 have to be direct patient care, the remainder can be direct patient care, observational hours, professional hours (attending unit meetings, conferences, classes, etc. with our preceptors) or other miscellaneous hours - we are finished.  Being WEO and getting 36 hours almost every week, I will probably be one of the first of my class to be finished...right now I'm looking at being done in mid-October.  I'll miss patient care, but it will be nice to be able to really focus on my other classes.  I requested night shift hours, and cardiac was one of my preferences.  Looking at the units my class got placed on, telemetry is definitely my first choice!

Heather -- I would have loved being on NICU, but it wasn't an option.  We do have the option of taking up to 12 shadow/observation hours with a different unit (if it can be worked out), and I requested an observation day with my hospital's Neonatal Nurse Practitioner.  My future career goal is NICU (well, as of right now)...but I know it's tough to get in there, there isn't much of a turnaround, and I want to get some general skills and knowledge built up before I go into a specialty.

Curlygirl -- Welcome!  Glad you've found my journey through nursing school interesting.  :-)

On that note...I have some busywork to get done - have to stay up late tonight, sleep tomorrow, because I have clinical tomorrow night.  I hope it's an interesting night!

Laters  :-)

Externship...4th semester...graduation...

...lots on my mind right now!

Externship: 2 more weeks and my summer externship is over.  It's a little bittersweet...the end of my externship means one step closer to being done with school, but at the same time, I've really enjoyed having a job this summer, earning a little money, learning all kinds of things, and being an important part of the patient care team (as opposed to being just an observing student).  I'm pondering a gift for my preceptor, planning to take some sort of food/goodies on my last night (especially since night shift often misses out on any goodies that are brought in on day shift...grrr).  And I'm planning on getting contact info for a couple of the nurses I've worked with, in the event I need a reference when I start applying for jobs.

4th semester: 2 of my 3 needed books have arrived, the other will be rented closer to the start of the semester.  The 2 I have - cardiac.  Cardiac is really not my strong point, so I'm going to have to do a lot of cardiac review before the semester starts.  I've started reviewing cardiac meds...beta blockers, ACE inhibitors, antiarrhythmics, CCB's...remembering side effects, dosage parameters, contraindications.  Also need to review disorders, although I'm pretty good on CHF, HTN, and CAD.  Probably should review the congenital disorders as well.  We had an excellent cardiac section in Patho and I'll probably dig those notes out for review.  I'm a bit nervous about this class, hoping that I get through it OK.

So this semester I get to apply to graduate in August...and then we have our pictures taken...and our pinning ceremony...  I have a lot to look forward to  :-)

Graduation: December 13th, 7:00 PM eastern time, Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky.  142 days left.  Not that I'm counting down or anything!  ;-)

And on that note, I'm off to be lazy and watch TV.  Nothing like enjoying a night of not working.