Semester grades are official

It's on the transcript -- my first 4.0 semester in nursing school!

My cumulative GPA is now the highest it's been since I started at my program, a 3.71.  I'm really happy with that.  Now if I can keep it for one more semester...

Not much else going on...just been stalking blackboard and the online transcript service to verify grades. OB was the last one to post earlier this afternoon. I got my rented textbooks sent back in, got my transcript printed and ready to turn in to the hospital PTB so they can give me my final semester of tuition money, and got my books and notes for this past semester all organized and filed away.  All that's left is to wait until my externship starts.

Until then, I continue enjoying the break and doing the little things that I hadn't been able to do during the school year (like clean my house...)

Later  :-)

Last day of 3rd semester

And I am now on my summer break!  It's a very welcome feeling to not have studying or schoolwork hanging over me and to not have to deal with it until August.

It's been a long semester and I'm just glad it's over.  What was, in my mind, supposed to be a great semester, turned out to be not so great.  Ironically, I've done the best, grade-wise, that I ever have since starting at my nursing school, but getting there was tough, almost impossible.  And while that sounds like I might be exaggerating, I'm really not.  I can't go into great details in the event people affiliated with my school read this, but I will say that nursing school is hard enough on its own, much less when an instructor does her best to keep you from getting an A.  I ended up with the A (barely), but an A is an A.  And this one was a hard-fought A.  Plus it got me a 4.0 this semester, which I'm thrilled about. This is my first 4.0 since I was taking my pre-reqs a couple years ago, and anyone who's been in nursing school knows that a 4.0 semester is a pretty big deal.

So I'm now off for a couple weeks before I go in for 2 days of hospital orientation and then 2 days of extern orientation, 7:45-4:00 every day.  At least I get paid  :-)  Ahh, that's going to be fantastic...getting a paycheck of my own after 10 years being a stay-at-home mama.  Granted my salary this summer will be going toward paying my tuition next semester, with anything left over going for books and such, but still.  My work, my paycheck.

I also have to finish getting my scrubs for this summer.  We were told student nurse externs wear navy and white, either solid navy, solid white, or a mix.  Umm, yeah, I'm going with solid navy.  I have one pair of scrub pants, because the scrub shop here happened to have only 1 pair in my size when I was in there recently, but I need another one yet.  Plus a couple scrub tops, and I'm quite the girl when I'm excited that I get to choose girlish scrub tops -- ones with a feminine shape rather than the unisex feedsack-looking shape (like our school scrub tops).

So...no more pencils, no more books...  And a couple weeks to chill before my externship starts.  That works for me  :-)

For those still slogging through final exams...good luck!  And those lucky enough to be graduating soon...congrats!

Later

Grades confirmed!!

3 A's, 1 B, 3.71 semester GPA.  I'm happy with that!

That gets me on the Dean's List and that's plenty good to keep my hospital funding, which is pretty darn important to my being able to stay in nursing school.

So I've been finished for a week now.  It's been so nice to not be stressing about some paper or quiz or care plan or whatever.  I feel much more calm and relaxed already.  I'm able to sit here at night and watch TV or read a non-textbook and actually enjoy it.  I'm really thankful for the mental break from school.  Although I'll admit I miss my classmates and the daily interaction with people older than 4 and working with patients in clinicals.

On a related note, I've finished season 1 of Mad Men and am starting season 2 tonight.  I love it!  I mean, the way the men treat the women has made me raise an eyebrow more than a few times, and I can't believe how much everyone smokes (everywhere...in the office, in restaurants, on the train, in doctor's offices...).  But the storyline and the characters have sucked me in and I intend to get all 4 seasons watched as I can get the DVD's from the library.  It doesn't hurt that the main character is ~hot~ and so nice to look at.  I would gladly be Don Draper's secretary  ;-)
 
And on that note, Don Draper et al beckon, so it's time to curl up for a few hours of indulgence.

Cheers!