It's over!!!

I'm trying to decide - which is most annoying: lawyer commercials, car dealer commercials or those ridiculous weight loss pill commercials? They are all pain, aren't they?

Anyways, I took the nclex today <sigh> 75 questions. It took me about 40 minutes & I was hoping it would shut off at 75 as most usually say that is a good indicator that you've passed. So needless to say, when I pressed the enter button on question 75 & the screen went blank, I was relieved. Gina ended up with about 85 questions, she is very nervous but I'm sure she did fine. The soonest we can find out is on Wednesday - so I'm trying to keep my mind elsewhere for the next 36 hours or so. We stayed in Orlando last night at the Quality Inn. That name alone is misleading because there wasn't much quality at all. Oh well, it's a place to sleep & it kept us from having to deal with the crazy I-4 traffic. I am soooooo hoping I passed so that I can start living life again. It will be so nice to be able to make plans or go on vacation without having in the back of my mind what I should be studying or reading for nursing class.

Tracy is being super sweet & very supportive. I'm not really sure why there has been a change in him, but I do like it. We'll see if he can maintain it & see what the future holds for us - time will tell. I have to say - I've got really great friends & family. They have all been very supportive & encouraging. I love y'all.....mom, dad, Julie, Maria, Carole, Dawn & everyone else that has been patting me on the back & building up my confidence. You mean the world to me.

I'm exhausted & ready for bed. What has happened to me? I used to be a night owl, now I'm ready for bed by 9 pm & up at 4 am. I got my work schedule today - I have 2 months left of having a preceptor, then I'll be on my own. Seems so far away yet I know it will fly by. I can't stop yawning, time to get to sleep. :)

Trying to relax

Ahhh, the countdown is coming to an end - 24 hrs from now the nclex exam will be over (hopefully). Gina & I are driving down to Orlando later tonight. I cannot wait to be done with this. I received some good news this weekend - both Kelly & Tema passed the exam!!!

It was raining earlier, but now it's stopped - I don't like driving in the rain. I'm going to go do a few more practice questions, pack & get ready to go (all while watching the Nascar race - go Dale Jr!!!) - I'll give an update tomorrow! Wish me luck!!!!!!!!

Keeping busy, busy, busy

I've been keeping busy this week to keep my mind off of the big test on Monday.  I can't believe it's the end of February already!  I have thankfully gotten back to a day schedule by going to sleep very early & waking up very early.  I worked Wednesday night, had an EKG med class on Friday, went to dinner last night with Julie & Shawn (love the Olive Garden!) and then met up with Kelly to see a movie (The Wedding Date - it was ok).  Today I'm meeting up with Gina to go shopping & to check out where the testing center is that we have to go to on Monday as well as find a hotel in the area to stay at tomorrow night. 

We keep hearing the same thing from anyone that has taken the exam: "I think I failed."  They can't even give us any idea as to what to study.  I feel so very unprepared - it's not a good feeling, but then I keep hearing that no matter how much you prepare, you still feel unprepared.  I won't find out the results until Wednesday - it's gonna be a long 2 days next week waiting to find out. 

I worked this past Wednesday night & it was frustrating.  Between having very unstable patients & a preceptor that would ask me to do something & then change her mind when I started doing it was wearing on my nerves.  She gave me one patient that had a heart rate in the high 130's, low 140's & then tells me we need to get this person to the ICU as soon as possible.  The day nurse pretty much did not do her job - she had the unstable patient for an hour & never addressed her serious problems.  Instead she was orienting her to the room & how to use the call bell.  Hello......the woman is practically having a heart attack & the top priority is to show her how the room works???  Dumb, dumb, dumb.  The nurse didn't want to call the doctor, didn't want to give the lady her meds - I sat there thinking this woman could die simply because of a nurse that is not too bright or is more focused on going home than taking care of a patient in serious condition.  I understand wanting to pass off a difficult patient, but not when the patient's life is on the line.  We finally do all we need to do to get her a bed in ICU.  I ask my preceptor "Don't we need to get the heart monitor off the code cart to put on her during the transport?"  Shesaid no.  No????  I thought it was something we always did while transporting someone to the ICU.  She replied "Only if the patient is unstable."  Ummm....heart rate in the 130's, showing signs & symptoms of an impending MI, being transferred to the ICU & she's not considered unstable?"  What does it take to be considered unstable in my preceptor's eyes???  Next the patient care tech & I were transporting her to the ICU when the tech says "Hang on a minute, I have to get this new admit (different patient) into bed."  So we stop outside the door of this new admit so she can run in there really quick & get the patient into bed.  Well, what was supposed to be really quick ended up being not quick.  So I'm standing there in the hallway with our unstable patient who is telling me she feels lousy, that it's like nothing she's ever felt before & my transport partner is taking her time doing not so important stuff.  Another nurse was walking by & yelled at the tech "This woman is going to ICU - that is your priority right now."  The tech got a little pissed off, but come on - the patient is going to ICU for a reason!!!!!!  Needless to say, I was less than happy with how the night was going so far.  Later that night I got a new admit - a woman that was practically in the same boat as the one I had just transferred to ICU only add on top of her heart attack, a really bad infection of unknown origin (WBC 39.6).  And the doctor did not prescribe any antibiotics.  Because this woman was a DNR (do not resuscitate), she ended up on our floor rather than the ICU.  She already had a heart attack sometime within the last 48 hours of arriving to the hospital.  She was doing ok when she got to my floor - suffers from dementia also so she was somewhat confused.  Got her admitted, she's resting quietly, everything is good.  A couple of hours later, her heart rate is in the high 130's - go assess her & she is shaking, breathing is labored, she's disoriented.  She had not gotten any of her meds in the ER (starting to see just how incompetent they are, but that's another story).  My preceptor used her critical thinking skills & decided that since this woman hadn't urinated at all in the 3 hours we had her - that she would insert a foley catheter (without a doctor's order).   It was a good thing she did because this woman was unable to urinate on her own because she has a RAGING urinary tract infection - we're talking thick nasty looking pus-like urine - I've never seen anything like that ever before.  It was gross what was coming out of her bladder.  Again - why was this not addressed in the ER???  Especially with a white blood cell count of 39.3!!!!!!  My preceptor put in a call to the doctor, told him what she had done & that we need an order for a urinalysis.  Meanwhile her heart rate came down, she was doing better. 

I had another patient that had a heart cath done earlier in the day & it showed 99% blockage in one of the main arteries.  The doctor then scheduled the guy for surgery at another hospital for Friday (we don't do major heart surgery at our hospital).  I don't understand why it had to wait until Friday unless the doctor was busy.  99% blockage is not a good thing.  Maybe it's because we aren't a trauma hospital that things are not taken so seriously - I don't know.  Or maybe cause I'm new, anything that raises a red flag I do take very seriously.  It was just a frustrating night. 

Ok, time to go shopping!!!!! 

Up early

I went to sleep at 9 pm last night - one day I'll have a normal sleep schedule. Of course now I'm up early. I plan to study a little & then go back to bed since I'm working tonight.

I had an awful dream last night. I guess the anxiety of the nclex is starting to set in. I dreamt that my classmates & I were taking a test. The instructor made us answer one question first & if we got it wrong, we had to have an ABG drawn (blood draw from an arterial line). Well I was the only one that got it wrong. So while my classmates got to continue with the exam, I had to have blood drawn by someone that had never done it before. Needless to say, it took way more time than necessary & it hurt! After that was done, I was sent back to take the exam. I was scrambling to get it done on time. Most of my classmates were finishing up & I was nowhere close to finishing. So the instructor said I could go into a private room to finish - Goldie Hawn then appears & takes me to the room. Instead of having peace & quiet to finish the test, Goldie just keeps talking & laughing so I never got to finish the exam. Grrrrrrrr! It is so strange how the mind works, isn't it? I hope the rest of the week isn't filled with dreams like that.

My sister-in-law sent me some pictures of my oldest nephew Eric. I can't believe how grown up he is. He's 17 so of course he's growing up, but I still remember him as "baby Eric." He was the first grandchild in the family. It's weird how you don't feel like you've aged at all, but then you look at the children that used to be babies & now they are practically adults - such a reminder of how much time has gone by. I was 18 when he was born & here he is almost 18. Where did the time go?

Yawn

I'm getting sleepy!  I had grad nurse class today - only 3 more days of it...woo hoo!  It just seems like a waste of time.  Everything they are reviewing is stuff we already know or stuff that we really don't need to know.  They did show us one good thing today though - the code cart.  I don't think I'll be using it anytime soon, but it is nice to have it explained & shown how to use the necessary items. 

More & more classmates have passed the nclex - that's a good thing.  Gina is starting to stress, she's getting all nervous & uptight.  I'm the opposite - I feel that I either know it by now or I don't.  And if I don't pass, it's not the end of the world - just a pay cut.  However, I am being optimistic & planning to pass the first time around.  I just want it over with already!!!!!!

Not too much else is really going on.  I work tomorrow night, then have an EKG class on Friday.  That's about it for now.

Daytona 500

I'm picking up good vibrationssssssss - I love this song.  Brings me back to my childhood - the 70's.  Gottaaaaaaaa keep those loving good vibrations a happening with her....gottaaaaaaaaaa keep thoseeeeeeeeee lovinggggggg gooddddddddd - good, good, vibrationsssssss.  How can you not sing along & be in a good mood after hearing this song?  As you can tell by my subject line - it's the Daytona 500 today.  The song is being sung in one of the opening acts at the Speedway.  Now 5 for Fighting is performing - since when did stuff like this happen at Speedways?  I am a new fan to Nascar.  For some reason I got hooked on it last year & have been watching ever since.  Of course I always would know who won the Daytona 500 since it is just 35 miles down the road, but I never sat & watched the races.  I do remember turning on the tv 4 years ago & watching the accident that would kill Dale Earnhardt.  I liked his style of racing - always causing trouble on the track (aka "Dirty Dale") & making it interesting.  You either loved him or you hated him.  Now his son is my favorite driver...go Dale Jr go!!!!!  He is the favorite in today's race because he won it last year. 

It is amazing what they've done to the infield at the track - it is like a theme park now.  Vanessa Williams is singing the Star Spangled Banner now.  Now I'm trying to find "Fanscan" so that I can hear my favorite driver talk to his team on the radio.  I'm starting to sound obsessed with this, aren't I?  What can I say, a large majority of these drivers are good looking.  I can't help myself.  Ok, time to switch subjects.

I went to sleep at 9 pm last night!!!!!!  Talk about a messed up sleep schedule.  I either stay up way too late or go to bed way too early.  Since I went to sleep so early, I have been up since 4:30.  I have been reading "Nclex-RN made ridiculously simple" - the exam is just over a week away so it's crunch time.  I feel like there isn't anything more I can possibly learn, but I do need to be refreshed about the ob & peds material.  I want to pass on the first try!!!!  Then all of my nclex books are going for sale on Ebay.  I cannot wait for the day to be able to come home & not have anything that has to be read or that I have to study for.

I talked with Tracy again yesterday afternoon - he's confused, I'm confused, we're all confused...lol.  I'm too busy to really worry about anything with that right now. 

It's been nice having a few days off from work.  I still can't wait until orientation is over with & I'm able to be on my own, but it's nice having preceptors to help out also.  My toughest struggle right now is in giving report to the charge nurse.  One of them is supercool & helps me to differentiate as far as what information she needs to know.  The other one is/was a nursing supervisor who dealt with case management - so she's constantly asking me about discharge planning & I have no idea what exactly it is that she wants to know or what my role is in the discharge planning process. 

Oooh Matthew McConaughey is at the Daytona 500 - what a cutie!  "Gentlemen.....start your engines!!!!!"  Time for me to go watch the race.

So sleepy

My sleep schedule is so screwed up - guess that's all part of working the night shift.  I worked last night with yet another preceptor - M.B.  I like her a lot, she makes it so easy to ask questions & she really enjoys having an orientee to teach things.  I had 2 patients of my own again - one with a GI bleed & anemia, the other status asthmaticus & pneumonia.  My poor little lady with the GI bleed had a stroke last year & just wasn't with it mentally.  One time I checked on her & she says to me "Are you being nice to her?  She tries so hard to be nice to you."  I said "Who?"  She replied "Your mother-in-law."  Ummmm, I don't have a mother-in-law, I don't even have a husband.  :)  Then she asked me if I had a bed in the hospital & when I said no, she was shocked.  Makes me wonder what exactly was going through her mind & who she thought I was.  My other patient loved to talk & talk & talk & talk.  I really enjoyed them both.  I also helped my preceptor out with her patients.  We had one lady with low blood sugar - we could not get it to remain increased for very long.  First it was 49, so we gave her orange juice, peanut butter & graham crackers & milk.  20 min later it was 59, then back down to 49.  We tried more food & juice - it didn't help.  So we did the D50% glucose - that got her up to 71, then back down to 69.  So we pushed some more....got her to 111, but by morning she was back down to the low 80's & dropping.  So strange considering she's a diabetic & usually requires diabetic medications to keep the blood sugar from getting too high.  Her medications were even held that day & yet she was still having really low blood sugars.  On another spectrum, we had a gentleman whose heart rate remained in the 130's all night long - all he was doing was resting in bed.  And the last thing on the list to do was shave a man's groin area because he was having a heart cath today.  It has to be one of the most awkward parts of nursing that I've run into...especially when it's someone that isn't too much older than I am.  Ya gotta do what ya gotta do, right?  I'm off now until Tuesday & planning on going to bed early tonight so I can get back to a normal day schedule.

One of my classmates/co-workers took the nclex on Wednesday.  She got all 265 questions - took her over 5 hours to take the test...ugh.  But she passed!  So it makes it all worth it.  10 more days until it's my turn...eek.

I talked to my fireman/paramedic friend Gary 2 nights ago for over 4 hours on the phone.  It was one of those conversations where I can't believe how the time flew by.  We are definitely on the same wavelength which is refreshing because it's been a long time since I've encountered that.  It's kind of neat how there are certain people in this world that just seem to understand how you think without having to explain it to them.  Am I making sense?  I've only had 2 hours of sleep in the last 27 hours - so I may not be making sense. 

Time to get ready for bed!

Losing track of my days/nights

Time just flies by! I have been on the job for a month now, I can't believe it.  I worked Sunday night & got yelled for the first time by a patient's daughter & I got hung up on by a doctor.  Fun, fun, fun...let me tell you.  The daughter was upset because her father was moved from PCU to Med-surg & she was not notified.  We had told another daughter of this move, but I guess she didn't let the rest of the family know & the daughter that called me flipped out.  I apologized even though I really didn't do anything wrong - it's not our responsibility to notify every family member when a patient is moved to a different floor.  And the doctor ordered the move & she kept asking "Why did the doctor order it?"  That's something you need to ask the doctor, but of course I didn't say that to her.  I did, however, understand that she was upset because Hospice had been in that day to get the paperwork started with her father & he wasn't doing very well when she left that evening.  So I apologized & then let her know that we made sure her father was comfortable before we moved him to the other floor - which was the truth. 

As far as my second doctor call - it was 1 am & one of his patients couldn't sleep.  So I called the doctor's answering service, they gave me his home number & when I called it - I got his answering machine.  I didn't know what to say so I hung up - smooth, aren't I?  My preceptor said "call again."  This time he answered, I could tell I woke him up.  I told him what I was calling about & he starts asking me questions about the patient - like what was he admitted to the hospital for & what kind of medications was he on?  My preceptor was in the background saying "Doesn't he know who his patients are?"  So I get done reading off the list of meds & then I hear nothing at all.  "Hello????"  Nothing.  "HELLO????"  Nothing.  He hung up on me!  I tell my preceptor that he hung up.  She laughed & said he probably fell asleep.  Lovely!  Her reply..."call him back."  Ughhhhhhhh!  So I dial the # & say "I think we got disconnected."  He ended up ordering Restoril but he was talking so softly that I couldn't understand him.  I told him I couldn't hear him...so he mumbled it again.  I read it back & he said "yes, anything else?"  Nope, thank you.  Since it was after 11 pm, I had to go to the ER to get the medication (our pharmacy is closed from 11 pm to 6 am).  So after writing the order, I told my preceptor I was going to get the med & her reply was "Already?"  As if I had anything better to do.  My patient was restless & needed sleep - so why not get him his medication right away?  I went to the ER & came right back.  She said "You're fast!"  I figured the quicker my patient got his medication & went to sleep, the more time I had to do my charting.  I also got a new admit...a lady with syncope.  I got the lovely task of waking her up every 2 hours to do neuro checks.  She was really happy about that (NOT!).  She must have thought I was a pest.  Anyways, I'm starting to see the difference in how my night flows seems to depend on my preceptor.  R is very organized, she doesn't mess around & she doesn't try to find me busy work.  J isn't very organized & is very eager to have me experience anything & everything she possibly can during the shift - even if it means the charting is pushed back.  I prefer R's style, although I am appreciative of J trying to find me new opportunities.  I work Thursday night with J & then I'm off until next Tuesday...yay. 

That means I have Sunday off so I can watch the Daytona 500...yay.  Go Dale Jr. go! 

The charge nurse the other night made a comment about my eyes.  She says "You have A Bug's Life eyes."  Uhh, ok (not having any clue what she was talking about).  I thought she was saying I had bug eyes or something & I was thinking "How rude to say that to someone...lol."  Then she went on to explain the movie & how they have amazing eyes or something - I still have no idea what she is talking about, but I realized it was a compliment.  Today we went over to the cath lab, echo & where the stress tests are done.  The two nurses there start talking about how they like my rings - one of them has a Tanzanite stone (purple color) & they both start talking about how my eyes are a pretty color.  One said "I know your eyes are blue, but they look violet & sort of match your ring." Ummmmmm...huh?  When it rains it pours.

Speaking of work/class today...what a waste of a day.  We spent 3 hours doing nothing - just chatting with the nurses in these other areas because they had no patients that they could show us the procedures.  Then we had a cardiac class in the afternoon. 

I'm watching Jay Leno - he has John Travolta on.  He is just adorable.  I like listening to him talk...John Travolta that is.  Jay is ok, but John is amusing.  He has a new movie coming out...woo hoo.

I played volleyball last night - what an exciting Valentine's Day, huh?  To top it off, the team we were supposed to play didn't even show up!  We managed to get a few people to join us & had few competitive games.  Mark & I played on Danny's team...he's such a nice guy.  I've been talking to my guy friend Tracy again - I guess I missed him more than I thought I would.  I don't know if we are like a security blanket for one another or if there is something real there.  I guess time will tell.  You'd think I would know after 5 years, but I don't.  Sometimes he seems so ideal & other times it is so opposite.  I don't know what to think. 

Gina, Tami & I ran to Target during lunch today & ran into Kelly.  She showed us her engagement ring from Ivan.  We were shocked considering 2 months ago she was acting like they were only friends & nothing more.  Oh well, she seems happy & that's what matters. 

I found out today that another one of our classmates didn't pass the nclex - she was someone we thought for sure would pass.  Especially since she's been through a nursing program more than once (she moved to Florida from another state mid-way through the program & Florida wouldn't accept her previous nursing credits so she had to start from the beginning).  As far as the rest of my classmates, everyone but 1 person that has taken it has passed...so that's like 42 people.  Tami takes her exam tomorrow.  Gina & I are on the 28th....it's coming up!  Time to go study yet again.

 

First Doctor Call!!!

I made my first call to a doctor this morning - bright & early....6:15 am.  I have already discovered that it is not much fun calling & waking up doctors - especially over information that is not vitally important at the time.  However, they are the ones that write "call with any abnormal results", so what is a nurse to do?  I did have a little mercy on him - I got the results on a chest x-ray at 3:30 am, but waited until after 6 am to call him.  It went sort of like this - called the doctor's phone number, which is basically an answering service - then the answering service patches you through to the doctor.  I could tell I woke him up, but anyways...I read the results of the x-rays "possible atelectasis in the lungs."  His reply:  "ok."  That's it, that's all he said.  I was all eager to write up new orders, had my pen in my hand, the chart turned to the section of doctor's orders & all I get was "ok."  It wasn't even an energetic ok, it was more like when you ask a guy to take the garbage out & he mumbles "ok."  Soooooo, being the curious one that I am, I say "Would you like to order anything for this?"  I'm thinking obviously this lady needs a pulmonary consult ordered.  The doctor's reply: "no."  So much for that!  Instead of writing up some doctor's orders, I wrote in my nurse's notes "Called Dr. at 6:15 to inform him of the results,  no orders given at this time."  Sounds so professional, doesn't it?  The night I had was a little crazy - not because of my patients, but because of my preceptors patients - they were all having trouble breathing.  I had 2 patients last night - one was a little old lady that only spoke spanish & slept pretty much from the time I got there until the time I left.  My other patient was the atelectasis patient.  She came in with chest pain, went to the cath lab, then was admitted.  I did her entire admission - not too shabby.  She has been a nurse for 40 years, but she didn't seem like she knew all that much.  Another one this morning was prounouncing dyspnea as dyspenia.  She had no idea how to say dyspnea.  The night went by quickly, which is always a good thing.

I'm watching Nascar now - my latest favorite sport.  I really like Dale Earnhardt Jr. #8.  The Bud Shootout is on right now& it's taking place in Daytona.  I like the night races, but I would never want to go to the track - wayyyy too crowded for me.  Although Daytona has made a lot of changes to the infield of their track - it's like a mini-amusement park now.  Still though, I have no interest to being at the track.  I went one time to the Gator Nationals & was down on pit row - wayyyy too loud for me.  I'm listening to Dale on the raceday scanner.  It's pretty cool.  He's in 5th place right now...go Dale go! 

Speaking of cars, I got into my SUV last night to go to work & saw one of the lights on the dashboard lit up.  Ugh!!!!!  I hate when that happens...lol. It looked like an exclamation point with some waves underneath it.  I was thinking "What the heck does that mean?"  Turns out I had a nail in one of my tires & that light was letting me know that the tire pressure was low.  Isn't that amazing?  I would have never known otherwise until my tire became flat.  I discovered the nail when I got home from work this morning.  I decided to take it to a tire shop so I wouldn't have to worry about it later.   One hour & $24 later - my tire is fixed.  Yay!

 

There are crazy people in this world

What a crazy day yesterday - a 29 yr local guy decided to shoot 3 cops yesterday.  They were responding to a domestic violence call from his gf - he had been beating her for the last 4 days, 3 weeks, 3 years, etc....why do women stay in such bad situations?  Anyways, after shooting the cops, he took off into the woods & next thing you know - there are over 500 cops from around the state in the woods searching for him.  It took 9 hours, but a bloodhound finally found him, more shots were fired & the suspect is in custody.  He's at a local hospital in critical condition - rumor has it that he's paralyzed.  Meanwhile, one cop died, the other 2 were taken to the hospital I used to work at.  They'll both make a full recovery.  It was like watching a movie yesterday as the media were right there via helicopter watching the capture in the woods & transport of the lunatic gunman to the medic helicopter.  I can't help but feel sad for the fallen officer's family.  It leaves me trying to figure out what the gunman was thinking, like what was going through his mind.  I know it's something I'll never understand, but I can't help thinking about it.

I worked last night & overheard another nurse say that most of nursing is based around allowing people to die with dignity.  It kind of shatters my belief that we are there to help them regain their health & continue to live life.  I suppose it depends on where you work in nursing.  I feel like our ICU is mostly filled with people that are very close to death.  But then there are the few that will recover & go back to living life.....but those are more the exception than the rule.  That is sad, isn't it?  I suppose a lot of it has to do with the location of the hospital - the average age of our patients is 67.  We have no peds or ob floors, so it is mostly the older generation who are our patients.  I don't think I'm making any sense here - just lots of thoughts going through my mind. 

I had 3 patients last night.  One was a lady that had an episode of syncope at her doctor's office.  For some reason her blood pressure drops when she sits down - then when she goes to stand up, she gets dizzy.  They haven't been able to figure out why - but they discharged her today!  My other patient got transferred to med/surg - he came in last week with a necrotic bowel that had to be surgically removed immediately or he would die.  He was doing very well post-op, hence the reason he was downgraded to med/surg.  My last patient was a new admit - a lady with small bowel obstruction.  She has high blood pressure, so they needed to get that under control before doing surgery.  It was a pretty good night.  I got to talk to my precptor quite a bit.  She is very helpful & amusing.  She has me do pretty much everything on my own, which is a little stressful, but at the same time - the best way to learn is by actually doing it.  She is there for guidance if I need it - which I often do.  She says I'm doing a good job, which is nice to hear.

So tired & my week has just begun

I didn't sleep very well last night - got maybe 2 hours at the most.  I had grad nurse class today & learned all about IV's.  I'm trying to remember what the first speaker talked about, but I honestly cannot remember.  Eeekkk!  I need sleep.  However, I am trying to stay up as late as possible tonight so I can sleep at least 8 hours during the day tomorrow - so that I am well-rested for work tomorrow night.  I'm sleepy now though..sigh.

My guy friend Tracy called yesterday wanting to know why I never have time for him anymore.  It just seems like the days are flying by - where does the time go?  I remember being (much) younger & it seemed like time moved so slowly.  Now it seems like it goes by so quickly...sigh.  I thought for sure when I was done with nursing school I'd have some extra free time - but that hasn't happened yet.  Hopefully after orientation is over (6 more weeks I think) & I can have a schedule where I work 3 days straight & off 4 days - maybe then I will have some free time to catch up with my friends & family.

Alright, time to go study for the state exam - I'm getting tired of studying, but I don't want to underestimate the exam.  Two of my classmates took it on Friday & we're still waiting to see if they passed.  I cannot wait until it's over!!!!!!

 

 

 

It's Monday

The New England Patriots are the superbowl champs once again - they defeated the Eagles.  That's the team I picked to win - I choose my teams by "who has the cutest quarterback."  So scientific, aren't I?  But come on - Tom Brady is good-looking.  Anyways, they did a good job.  Guess what I was doing while watching the Superbowl!  Could I have been at an exciting party having a good time?  Noooooooo.  Could I have been watching all of the new catchy commercials??  Noooooooooo.  Could I have been studying for the nclex & missing most of the game & the commercials???  Ding, ding, ding.........yessssssss.  3 weeks from now I'll be just sitting down to take the exam.  Finally!  I can't wait.  I am going to get a hotel room because after waking up this morning & seeing the back-up on I-4, I could only imagine that somehow something like that would happen on Feb 28th & I'd be late to the testing center & not be allowed to take the test.  So to play it safe, both Gina & I are going to get a hotel room so that we don't have to stress out if there is traffic.  Plus we can go to the uniform shop we like in Orlando.......spend more money! 

My neck hurts today.  I must have slept wrong.  Either that or the stress is getting to me & I need a massage.  I'm debating about whether to rejoin the gym I was at last year.  I didn't really go that often, but I know that it is a good idea & they offer a lot of variety.  They even have a massage therapist.  Hmmmmm......decisions, decisions. 

Ok, back to my favorite (grrr) activity - more studying.  Then I think I'm meeting Julie for lunch.  Volleyball tonight at 8.  Class tomorrow at 8:30.  Working Wednesday night, Friday night, Sunday night.  Ugh, it's gonna be a long week. 

A relaxing weekend

I worked again this past Thursday with my other preceptor J.  She had been trained 2 years earlier with my first preceptor, so their styles to organization are similar.  I like her - she is very helpful in finding new opportunities to learn.  Even though our patients didn't need any blood transfusions, she found a couple of other patients on the floor that did & asked their nurses if we could handle it.  Before nursing school, I never really even thought about how blood transfusions were done.....now I know how & also what reactions to look for.  Both patients ended up having some adverse reactions.  One became short of breath & her blood pressure went up.  Ended up having to give her a diuretic (Lasix) to help her get rid of that extra fluid.  The other patient had the chills & her BP went from normal to high after the transfusion was completed.  Both required calls to the doctor - seems no one likes calling doctors at 3 am.  Gee, wonder why...lol.  Hey - that's why they get paid the big bucks, right?  The jury is still out as far as my opinion of the doctors at that hospital.  My personal doctor does rounds at this hospital.   Everyone is afraid of her.  They say she isn't very nice to the nurses.  I wonder if she'll be the same way towards me.  She's been my doctor for 15 years now (wow, long time!). 

It's tough getting back to a daytime schedule after working a 12 hour shift at night.  When I am on my own, I am going to try to work 3 or 4 nights in a row & then have 3 or 4 nights off in a row - so I'm not constantly mixing up my sleep schedule.  I took tylenol pm tonight so that I can get to sleep soon.  I'm heading over to my parents house tomorrow.  We're celebrating my nephew's birthday - he'll be 6....wow! 

I've been studying the computer questions for the nclex.  I've been scoring between 68 & 81% pretty much & supposedly that is a good score.  You only need a 51% on the nclex.  About 30 students in my class have passed.  However, only 2 from the campus I was at my first year have taken it.  Seems the other 16 of us are putting it off a little while.  Either that or some have taken it & haven't passed - I can only see the names of those who have passed.  22 more days until it's my turn!!!

I'm getting sleepy..........so nite nite.

A day off!

It is so nice having a day off.  I have done pretty much nothing today.  Well, other than chatting on the phone, playing a computer game & having some pizza.  I also got my first paycheck - yay!  Money in the bank...woo hoo! 

Yesterday we had class - we listened to someone from the lab department, someone from radiology, someone from dietary - seems like there were more people than that.  Oh, a charge nurse came in to motivate us & help organize "a typical day on the floor."  We had lunch with some of the human resources people & our supervisor joined us also.  We learned a little more about charting, then took a tour of the hospital - to places we haven't really seen - like materials management, the kitchen, radiology, endoscopy, etc.  Pretty easy day.  Next week they will let us practice IV's so that we are more comfortable with it & improve our technique.  I'm pretty comfortable with attempting to start them, I just haven't been real successful.  I've had 2 attempts & got one of the two.  That is one skill I would like to perfect.  I work tomorrow night with a different preceptor - it will be interesting to see how she is different than my first one.  Then I have the weekend off...yay. 

It's superbowl Sunday coming up.  I don't care who wins - don't really like either team.  I mostly want to see the new commercials.  Ok, time to go back to relaxing!!!