Nursing School Whirlwind!!

Okay, I'm back! Sorry for the delay but this semester has got me going in circles!

First up, our schedule is back on track after the legitimate ice storm. By Texas standards, we actually had a pretty impressive accumulation of ice and school was even closed the next day also. That didn't affect me because I don't have class on Wednesdays. Our test got pushed back one week which was a good thing since it gave me extra time to get caught up on my reading/studying. It will make for an interesting and very busy rest of the semester though! Which, by the way, is already half-way over!!! Remember, this semester is comprised of 2 8-week courses. OB starts after Spring Break.

Test 1 in Theory went surprisingly well. I made an 86!! This test probably stressed me out more than anything has in a while. (let's just say my face has looked like a 13 year old with all my pimples!!) Pediatrics is known to be the hardest class so I have just been really worried about doing well. Actually, most of our class did well so that's good news for everyone.

It only took me about 4 hours into my first clinical day to realize that Pediatrics is not my strongsuit. I just feel like a fish out of water! It has gotten a little better over the last 2 weeks but I'm definitely not feeling called into "Peds." My instructor is great. She's very personable but also expects a lot from you and I seem to do well with instructors who expect you to know what you are doing. So far, I have only been on the Medical floor so I've spent most of my time with kids who have respiratory viruses, like RSV. (it's that time of year!) Although I did have a very interesting patient last week- a 4 month old with meningitis. Sad case actually- won't go into details but it was a good learning experience. I've gotten to give IV antibiotics but that's about it. The children's hospital we are at is very strict about what students can do (understandably so!). We mostly assess our patients and help out in any way we can...not to mention all that fun nursing school paperwork!

Almost forgot to mention...I passed the always-dreaded dosage calculation exam with a 100! In case you forgot, that's the medication math test we have to pass every semester with a 90 or better. Always stress-inducing but I've managed to get by so far.

Our big project for Clinical is called a Teaching Project. The assignment was to locate an organized group such as a school classroom or scout troup of young kids and teach them something related to health/well-being. My partner, Rachel, and I decided to teach 2nd graders about Heart Health...right before Valentine's Day (get it- hearts for V-day?) :) The best part is that we taught my friend Gina's class!!!! We just did it this morning and it was so fun- see picture above. We brought them cheap disposable stethoscopes and let them listen to their hearts. We taught them how to make healthy food choices. We showed them exercises and even danced with them! Of course, after all that activity, we showed them how to find their pulses and tell the difference in them after you move around a lot. Gina's students were great and very polite...she's a great teacher, you can tell they like her!

So, as you can see, I've been busy! Now it's time to take a few days off...our dear friends from New York, Michael and Sheilah Papa, are coming in this weekend to visit. We can't wait to spend some time with them and enjoy their company (as well as some time doing fun things other than work and school!).

Hope you have a very Happy Valentine's Day!