Stressed Nursing Student

Okay, I was a bit upset last night.

Time to move on.  We have our first mental health exam tomorrow.  I have really enjoyed the mental health rotation at the hospital.  In this rotation we really just talk with the patients, but you meet some of the most fascinating individuals and have a chance to learn much more in depth about various mental disorders.  I do not think that I will ever work in a mental health capacity, but I am sure that the experiences gained working with these individuals will create life long memories.  How many people do you know have been locked in a room with 30 bipolar and schizophrenic patients?  It really has helped me to see the thin line that separates sane from insane or mental health from mental disorder.  I will always be grateful for the appropriate balance of chemicals in my brain.

DON"T GO TO MCON

Granted I currently hold a 4.0 GPA at MCON, but I will tell you. . . go anywhere else!

Fall Semester

This semester we are only taking three classes; Complex Med Surg, Mental Health, and Quantitative Research.  We now have two clinical days so we get to be in the hospital much more which is good.  Now that I am beginning to acquire some skills nursing is starting to become much more enjoyable.  On Saturday mornings I am on the lock down mental health unit (which is a lot of fun)  then on Sundays I am on the Oncology floor.
This Saturday we have a big Cardiac test in Complex, it will be our first grade for the semester and actually accounts for a total of 13% of our total course grade.  I have been working really hard (my wife tells me to cut back on my study time) and it has paid off, I was able to squeak by the first two semesters with a 4.0 GPA.  The program is front loaded so if I can pull off another decent GPA this semester I will really be in the clear.
I need to add some study tips on here eventually because I have found several things that really seem to help out a lot with learning the material.

Summer Almost Over

This has been a VERY busy summer.  We moved, my wife started a new job, I took 16 credits, my son had surgery. .. . It has been a bit stressful.  I have enjoyed clinical much more this semester as we are now able to give shots, starts IVs etc. . . I started my first IV a couple weeks ago.  That was a bit stressful as the patient was 88 years old and I had only ever done it on a rubber arm or on the young arm of one of my classmates.  I am proud to say I started it on my first try and it went very smooth.

Summer is almost over so I am beginning to prep for finals.  Then Fall starts right away. . . No rest for the nursing student!

Second Degree BSN

Second Degree BSN semester two. So first semester is finally over.  I managed to squeak by with a 4.0 at the end and more than anything I am just happy that it is over with.  This semester will be BUSY!  We are studying Med-Surg which is a six credit class and 5 other courses on top of that.  Oh, and since it is a summer semester it is only 12 weeks long.

How to prepare for your first day of nursing school.

First of all RELAX! Yes, nursing school is hard and it will beat you up a bit but you will not survive if you are stressed out. You will hear horror stories from friends, family, other nursing students about how rough it will be, but don't listen to all of this.

Take sometime to think about your life and how to keep it in order, set your priorities (nursing school should be up toward the top), make sure you are balanced and you will be fine.

As far as being prepared for the first day, I would suggest taking a crash course in critical thinking. If you plan to pass the NCLEX you must learn how to think critically. Buy a book off of Amazon.com or from Barnes and Nobel that talks about basic test taking strategies and critical thinking steps and work though it. One book in particular that I study almost more than my text books is: Test Success for beginning nursing students. It provides some test taking tips and strategies as well as critical thinking basics.

Seriously, relax. Get a gym membership or find out if your school has a free gym (mine does). If you are not taking care of yourself you won't make it. Take a speed reading course or learn how to improve reading comprehension. There is a lot of reading in nursing school, and if you are like me you don't really learn by reading. Learn how to comprehend more of your reading.

Go to the VARK website and find out what your preferred learning style is. Take the simple test on that site and then spend sometime researching ways to enhance your learning through that method. I am a kinesthetic learner, which means I learn by doing so I take TONS of practice tests per each chapter. I also draw pictures and go to the lab a lot. This is how I learn but it is different for everyone. I can't read my text word for word, for me that is just a waste of time.

Websites Heart & Lung Health Assessment Study

I found some websites that are pretty helpful with Heart and Lung Study:

http://www.lawrencegaltman.com/Naugbio/CADAVER/GALLERY.htm

This website has some cadaver dissection videos. . . do not click if you are not comfortable seeing human dissection. They are very informative and provide excellent visual instruction.

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/hhw/hhw_electrical.html

Very simple animation depicting the electrical conduction of the heart.

http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0072495855/student_view0/chapter22/animation__the_cardiac_cycle__quiz_1_.html

Simple animation with narration and quizes, covering electrical conduction and diastole and systole.

http://depts.washington.edu/physdx/heart/demo.html

Heart sounds.