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  :-)

I got my practicum assignment today!

I'll be on the cardiac telemetry unit at THE hospital, night shift (7p-7a), weekend option.  Probably starting my first shifts next weekend, depending on my preceptor's schedule.  EEK!

I'm so thankful I got night shift hours, very satisfied with the tele unit, but a little on the fence with the weekend option part.  Granted, I'll get probably 36 hours every week, which will help me get through my required hours quickly...and other than weekends my preceptor has off, I pretty much know my schedule already...and none of my practicum hours will interfere with classes and exams (although it will cut into my Sunday night library-campout studying night).  But I'll be in clinical every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night, then sleeping every Friday afternoon, Saturday, Sunday, and most of Monday...no relaxing weekends for awhile...and I'll have to miss weekend activities with my kiddos, and with soccer starting up next weekend...perfect timing!  :-(  But it's temporary...as soon as I get my hours logged, I'm done.

So now that I know my assignment, the next step is waiting until our director gives me permission to contact my preceptor and set up a time to meet n' greet and get schedules coordinated.  Then let's get this thing going...I'm ready to get back to direct patient care!

In other news...it's now the middle of the 2nd week of classes, day 8 of the semester...and I've been to class only 3 days.  I'm really liking this schedule!  All day Wednesday for critical care class, and select Thursdays for Transition to Nursing Practice class...and that's it as far as face-to-face class times for the rest of the semester.  Then with my weekends for practicum hours...I have my weekdays free!  Well, relatively, since I'll have plenty of school work and studying to do.  But still!  I can make this work  :-)

So I passed my med dosage calculation quiz last week (no problem!) and have learned a crap-ton about EKG's.  I'm really looking forward to being on the tele unit so I can see and hear some of these disrhythmias in real patients.  They make sense, mostly, but I think seeing the monitors and strips will really help tie it all together.

Now time to read up on more cardiac stuff and get my weekly journal started.  Off tomorrow, although studying disrhythmias with a classmate for a few hours, then all day Epic training on Friday.  Yay...8 hours of training on a computer system I already know how to use!!

Laters  :-)

Summer externship is over

:-(

I worked my final shift last week.  Clocked out, said good-bye to my preceptor and a couple other nurses I'd worked with, and then walked out of Externship Hospital for the last time.  Well, as a student nurse extern, that is.  Who knows...I might be back there as a PRN RN at some point (holding on to that as an option!)

What can I say about my experience as a student nurse extern?  For one thing, I really did enjoy it.  I gained so much more confidence working with and talking to patients.  I feel less awkward doing various assessments, taking vitals, and other tasks.  I've picked up little tips and tricks that I didn't learn in clinicals.  I got used to the flow of a full shift, giving and getting report, and of working with more than one patient at a time.  And I learned the importance of getting charting done ASAP, because you never know when you'll get an admission or one of your patients will require extra time.  I most definitely recommend this kind of experience to any nursing student.  It will prepare you for your senior practicum and for your eventual RN job.  Plus as a nursing student on a unit, you find out you'll get to do a lot of tasks/skills for your skills log because the nurses/techs will gladly pass it on by saying "hey, let the student do it!"  :-)

As for orthopedics, I enjoyed it too.  In Externship Hospital, the ortho unit handles true ortho patients - joint replacement program (JRP) patients and any ortho eval admits from the ER or direct admission - as well as med/surg overflow patients.  I literally did a little bit of everything.  Am I specialized in any one thing after this summer?  No.  But do I feel a lot more knowledgeable about general nursing?  Absolutely!

Up next...semester 4 (!!!  SEMESTER 4!!!) starts in about 2 weeks.  Not sure what to expect since we're not really in class as much this semester.  We did get info on our practicum and got a chance to make our unit and shift preferences known.  I asked for night shift (please, oh please, let me get nights...) and said I was interested in med/surg, cardiac, neuro, and ER.  We'll see what happens.

So I have a couple weeks to enjoy the last little bit of stress-free freedom before classes start.  I have a feeling I'm going to hit the ground running and it's going to be busy right up until the end.  Juggling practicum hours with classwork with kiddo activities with studying with projects..fun fun!  But this is my FINAL semester...I made it through 3 others (4 if you count my Patho/Pharm "pre-nursing" semester), I sure as hell can do this one more time!  Graduation is in sight...NCLEX is coming up (eek!)...the light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter!

On that note, I am off to watch the late night showing of tonight's prime time Olympics - still on night shift sleep schedule, love having something to watch all night! - and just relax.

Laters  <---shamelessly swiped from "Fifty Shades of Grey", which I will admit to reading over the summer.  Yep, I succumbed.  So sue me.  I needed something to keep me awake when we had cooperative patients who actually slept at night  :-)