Ah yes... I did forget to vent! lmao.... Well, my vent of the day is that I'm tired of people shrugging me off and expecting me to know everything!!!
It seems like, since I'm doing well in classes, that suddenly it's just expected of me. And, on top of that... everyone expects me to just be normal about it... If I fret over a test, because I'm generally concerned, let me fret!!! Don't simply tell me, "Oh, you're a genius... you're going to get a hundred.". I mean, thank you for the confidence in my abilities, but understand that I have test anxiety too.... I worry about my marks!
The kicker is, is that everyone seems to think I just know it. That it magically pops into my head our of thin air... I study!!! I study lots and lots, but I study correctly for my way of learning.... which is what I'm attributing my good marks too. I prepare myself for class, I listen and takes LOTS of notes... if you could see my powerpoints... there is so much scribbled on there! I do the review questions... I read the chapters... I write out more notes! Please don't down play my success, either celebrate (and celebrate your 94%) or don't... just please don't sneer and make annoying and hurtful jabs that I don't do anything to deserve my marks... I really really do.
But anyway, that's just my vent for the morning!
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Six Weeks In!!! - and I forgot to blog it!
Heyo....
So yes.. I do still live. The monster that is nursing school has not eaten me up yet. I am currently six weeks into my nursing program and boy do I have alot to tell.
First off, the first week of LPN school was..................................... well it was................. yeah, it just wasn't what I expected at all. We didn't really learn anything so much as sat around and went over policies and syllabuses for each class for about a week. My class is fairly big right now, there is about 33 of us at the moment. The reason for the high number is for the first semester, the lpn students are mixed with the personal support worker students... so we're all intermingled right now... but come next semester we'll all be split up. Once we are split, my class will be a tiny 18 students. Should be interesting!!
But yeah, so far things have been a bit hectic. We have Anatomy and Physiology, Elder Care, Healthy Living, Interpersonal Communication, Medical Terminology, and Clinical Skills class.... so we have a lot of courses for the first semester. So far though, I seem to be doing surprisingly well. I was never much of a student in high school and I always did poorly on tests, but I think this time around I'm doing awesome!
For our first Anatomy and Physiology test I scored 102%!!! It was one of my most proud moments, to see that mark..... but it gets better, here's a quick run down of my marks so far.
Anatomy and Physiology test 1 - 102%
Anatomy and Physiology test 2 - 108%..... best mark I've ever made in my entire life
Clinical Skills Theory Test - 92%
Medical Terminology test 1 - 99%
Healthy Living Group Assignment - 98%
So, so far I'm rocking the awesome marks! I just hope I can keep it up... things are getting a lot harder in Anatomy and Physiology and the skills check offs are getting more and more complex each class.... so it's been a challenge, and will definitely continue to be a challenge, but I like that it is... I had no illusion of nursing school. I knew it was going to be one of the hardest things I'm ever going to do... but it's going to be so worth it in the end. And plus.... my Grampy wouldn't expect anything less then awesomeness from me, so I have to live up to his expectations. I can't let him down.
But yeah, I have a test Friday in Medical Terminology... possibly a test next week in Anatomy and Physiology, I just finished a test yesterday in Elder Care (hope I did well!). We were supposed to get checked off on vital signs today, but there are a few people in my class that don't feel ready, so we're postponing it.... I'm kind of hoping I can get checked off today though... it would make life so much more awesome.
So yes.. I do still live. The monster that is nursing school has not eaten me up yet. I am currently six weeks into my nursing program and boy do I have alot to tell.
First off, the first week of LPN school was..................................... well it was................. yeah, it just wasn't what I expected at all. We didn't really learn anything so much as sat around and went over policies and syllabuses for each class for about a week. My class is fairly big right now, there is about 33 of us at the moment. The reason for the high number is for the first semester, the lpn students are mixed with the personal support worker students... so we're all intermingled right now... but come next semester we'll all be split up. Once we are split, my class will be a tiny 18 students. Should be interesting!!
But yeah, so far things have been a bit hectic. We have Anatomy and Physiology, Elder Care, Healthy Living, Interpersonal Communication, Medical Terminology, and Clinical Skills class.... so we have a lot of courses for the first semester. So far though, I seem to be doing surprisingly well. I was never much of a student in high school and I always did poorly on tests, but I think this time around I'm doing awesome!
For our first Anatomy and Physiology test I scored 102%!!! It was one of my most proud moments, to see that mark..... but it gets better, here's a quick run down of my marks so far.
Anatomy and Physiology test 1 - 102%
Anatomy and Physiology test 2 - 108%..... best mark I've ever made in my entire life
Clinical Skills Theory Test - 92%
Medical Terminology test 1 - 99%
Healthy Living Group Assignment - 98%
So, so far I'm rocking the awesome marks! I just hope I can keep it up... things are getting a lot harder in Anatomy and Physiology and the skills check offs are getting more and more complex each class.... so it's been a challenge, and will definitely continue to be a challenge, but I like that it is... I had no illusion of nursing school. I knew it was going to be one of the hardest things I'm ever going to do... but it's going to be so worth it in the end. And plus.... my Grampy wouldn't expect anything less then awesomeness from me, so I have to live up to his expectations. I can't let him down.
But yeah, I have a test Friday in Medical Terminology... possibly a test next week in Anatomy and Physiology, I just finished a test yesterday in Elder Care (hope I did well!). We were supposed to get checked off on vital signs today, but there are a few people in my class that don't feel ready, so we're postponing it.... I'm kind of hoping I can get checked off today though... it would make life so much more awesome.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
First Day of School!! - early morning edition
Hi all! Today is my very first day of nursing school! Imma be a nurse!! As you can tell, I'm very excited and cannot wait until 8:30am rolls around and I enter the school for the very first time as an LPN student. (Well, not the first time... but let me have my dramatics).
Right off the bat, I'm running to the school bookstore with my husband in tow... we're going to go buy all my books! Thanks to an amazing friend, Andrew... I'll be able to buy them on time. As you may have read before... that wasn't going to be the case because of my issues with Student Loan. So, as I complained about it to everyone who would listen in the facebook world, Andrew came out of the blue... insisting that he be allowed to pay for my books and then I could pay him back when my student loan finally decided to arrive. So, I'm astounded at how amazing of a friend he is. I mean, how many people do you know that would lend you $800 for school books out of the blue??
Anywho, I'm so excited!!! I barely slept at all last night, I spent the whole time tossing and turning... unable to calm my mind down for even a second. So right now I'm running on practically no sleep and lots of nervous energy. I'm scared and excited at the same time... I know what to expect from my first two classes, but that doesn't make it any easier :P. Today I have 3 hours of Anatomy and Physiology and then another 3 hours of Elder Care. So, I suppose we'll see how that turns out. I'm pretty sure both of those classes are a shared class between my lpn group and the personal support workers group, but we'll see.
From what I understood at our brief orientation, we'll be going over the syllabuses for each class, as well as policies and the whatnot for the school... getting our lockers, etc.
I'm all prepared, my book bag has been packed for the last few days and I just my scrubs hemmed, so I'm good to go!
I'll be back after school to let you know how the first day went... until then.... BAI!!
Right off the bat, I'm running to the school bookstore with my husband in tow... we're going to go buy all my books! Thanks to an amazing friend, Andrew... I'll be able to buy them on time. As you may have read before... that wasn't going to be the case because of my issues with Student Loan. So, as I complained about it to everyone who would listen in the facebook world, Andrew came out of the blue... insisting that he be allowed to pay for my books and then I could pay him back when my student loan finally decided to arrive. So, I'm astounded at how amazing of a friend he is. I mean, how many people do you know that would lend you $800 for school books out of the blue??
Anywho, I'm so excited!!! I barely slept at all last night, I spent the whole time tossing and turning... unable to calm my mind down for even a second. So right now I'm running on practically no sleep and lots of nervous energy. I'm scared and excited at the same time... I know what to expect from my first two classes, but that doesn't make it any easier :P. Today I have 3 hours of Anatomy and Physiology and then another 3 hours of Elder Care. So, I suppose we'll see how that turns out. I'm pretty sure both of those classes are a shared class between my lpn group and the personal support workers group, but we'll see.
From what I understood at our brief orientation, we'll be going over the syllabuses for each class, as well as policies and the whatnot for the school... getting our lockers, etc.
I'm all prepared, my book bag has been packed for the last few days and I just my scrubs hemmed, so I'm good to go!
I'll be back after school to let you know how the first day went... until then.... BAI!!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
One week in counting
So... one week in counting! Nursing school is starting very soon to be starting. I have one more week and then I'll be studying my butt off and enjoying the awesomeness that is nursing school.
That being said, I've been having some difficult time with student loan. They decided this year to change up how and when they were going to distribute the money to people's bank accounts. They decided that NOTHING would be released until the first of September, leaving everyone who was relying on the money to do all their purchasing at the last possible moment. I myself have nothing for school, and I need a laundry list of supplies/book/clothes and everything else.
SO.... as if that wasn't hard enough to deal with, I received a call from Student Loan today stating that while I had been paying off my previous student loan leading up to this year, they wanted me to pay them $60 in interest fee's. If I didn't then I wouldn't be able to receive my student loans for this year. Alright, fine... a bit of a surprise and big scramble to get this sudden money that I didn't have, but whatever. So, I called them up and paid them the money that they wanted. But, when I was talking with them, they said that because of this 'situation', I may not be able to receive my money in my account until possibly the second day of school... which is totally useless to me! Well, not useless.... but pretty damn annoying.
As anyone who's been down this road knows... nursing school is work intensive from start to finish and to not have books or supplies for possibly the first and second day of school is catastrophic! As it is, we have orientation on the 3rd of September, and we've been warned that we will have assigned reading given to us for the first day of school. If I don't have to books, I'll be behind already.... and I simply can't afford that!
At any rate, I'll have to just wait and see I suppose. I get my immunizations finished tomorrow, and then whenever I get my student loan... I can get my criminal record check done and get my supplies.
But yeah, at the very least... I get to have fun Friday. We meet our teachers and fellow classmates, take a tour of the campus, get book and supply lists, orientation kits and possibly a tour to the clinical sites we'll be going to. So I can't wait for that...
In other news, my husband has decided to return to school to pursue Graphic Design. It should open up quite a few doors for us in terms of where we can live and raise a family. So we'll be graduating with each other in two years!
That being said, I've been having some difficult time with student loan. They decided this year to change up how and when they were going to distribute the money to people's bank accounts. They decided that NOTHING would be released until the first of September, leaving everyone who was relying on the money to do all their purchasing at the last possible moment. I myself have nothing for school, and I need a laundry list of supplies/book/clothes and everything else.
SO.... as if that wasn't hard enough to deal with, I received a call from Student Loan today stating that while I had been paying off my previous student loan leading up to this year, they wanted me to pay them $60 in interest fee's. If I didn't then I wouldn't be able to receive my student loans for this year. Alright, fine... a bit of a surprise and big scramble to get this sudden money that I didn't have, but whatever. So, I called them up and paid them the money that they wanted. But, when I was talking with them, they said that because of this 'situation', I may not be able to receive my money in my account until possibly the second day of school... which is totally useless to me! Well, not useless.... but pretty damn annoying.
As anyone who's been down this road knows... nursing school is work intensive from start to finish and to not have books or supplies for possibly the first and second day of school is catastrophic! As it is, we have orientation on the 3rd of September, and we've been warned that we will have assigned reading given to us for the first day of school. If I don't have to books, I'll be behind already.... and I simply can't afford that!
At any rate, I'll have to just wait and see I suppose. I get my immunizations finished tomorrow, and then whenever I get my student loan... I can get my criminal record check done and get my supplies.
But yeah, at the very least... I get to have fun Friday. We meet our teachers and fellow classmates, take a tour of the campus, get book and supply lists, orientation kits and possibly a tour to the clinical sites we'll be going to. So I can't wait for that...
In other news, my husband has decided to return to school to pursue Graphic Design. It should open up quite a few doors for us in terms of where we can live and raise a family. So we'll be graduating with each other in two years!
Monday, August 23, 2010
The Wait!!
So... it is now August 23rd. I am 15 days from the first day of class and getting started on my nursing dreams. So far, the wait has been terrible. I've been all but pulling my hair out, waiting for things to finally get rolling so I can finally get on with school and the rest of my life.
Unfortunately, due to how the college and student aide situation works out in New Brunswick, Canada... I have to wait until tomorrow actually before I can finally register with the school, get my book lists, get my id badge, and finally get my student loan papers to send away. So, tomorrow morning, bright and early, I will be taking the quick drive up to the school and registering for class! ^_^ I'm so excited.
Once a register, I can take my student loan papers to the post office and send my money away... hahaha. Basically what's going to happen is my papers are going to be processed and the money deposited into my account. So, once that's done... I should have my money within 5-10 days. AND THEN.... I can go a buy all my books, my supplies and my fall/winter wardrobe ^_-.
I also have my CPR class setup. I pay for everything on the 27th for that, and then the class is Saturday and Sunday (the 28th and 29th). So that'll help me keep busy. After that, there are orientation activities going on at the school from the 1rst to the 3rd. Nothing special... just stuff to help the student's get acquainted with the school and city. I probably won't stick around much for that... I've done it all before and while it's fun, I'd rather get a head start on reading some of my text books... that and shopping ^_^
All in all, it should be good. I'm looking forward to being that busy and getting stuff done. It's been a very hard month for both myself and my family and I know we're all looking for things to keep us busy and focused. My Grampy passed away suddenly on August 5th. He meant a great deal to me and to my family and it was probably the worst and most shocking thing to have ever happened to us. He was such an integral part of our family, always caring and always ready to give you a smile. When I found out, I was spending time with my younger brother and my husbands family. My mom called and told us... it was the worst call I had ever received. I didn't sleep much or eat much of anything up until his funeral. His funeral was nice, but the hardest thing I've ever done.
All I kept thinking was that he was gone, I'd never get to speak to him again. We were the only members of our large family left who had suffered and survived a genetic heart defect. He was the only one who could really relate to me on that and he was gone. Also, he was an inspiration to me to enter into nursing. He wanted me to be the best and was looking forward to me chasing him around with my stethoscope and blood pressure cuff, and I'm never going to get to do that. Those thoughts hit me hard and they still are. I know they're going to bother me for a very long time. But, I'm going to do my utmost to be the best possible nurse I can be, just for him. I know he would be proud of me.
But anyway, I've had enough crazy emotions for one day... this is Nurse Carla to be, signing off!
Unfortunately, due to how the college and student aide situation works out in New Brunswick, Canada... I have to wait until tomorrow actually before I can finally register with the school, get my book lists, get my id badge, and finally get my student loan papers to send away. So, tomorrow morning, bright and early, I will be taking the quick drive up to the school and registering for class! ^_^ I'm so excited.
Once a register, I can take my student loan papers to the post office and send my money away... hahaha. Basically what's going to happen is my papers are going to be processed and the money deposited into my account. So, once that's done... I should have my money within 5-10 days. AND THEN.... I can go a buy all my books, my supplies and my fall/winter wardrobe ^_-.
I also have my CPR class setup. I pay for everything on the 27th for that, and then the class is Saturday and Sunday (the 28th and 29th). So that'll help me keep busy. After that, there are orientation activities going on at the school from the 1rst to the 3rd. Nothing special... just stuff to help the student's get acquainted with the school and city. I probably won't stick around much for that... I've done it all before and while it's fun, I'd rather get a head start on reading some of my text books... that and shopping ^_^
All in all, it should be good. I'm looking forward to being that busy and getting stuff done. It's been a very hard month for both myself and my family and I know we're all looking for things to keep us busy and focused. My Grampy passed away suddenly on August 5th. He meant a great deal to me and to my family and it was probably the worst and most shocking thing to have ever happened to us. He was such an integral part of our family, always caring and always ready to give you a smile. When I found out, I was spending time with my younger brother and my husbands family. My mom called and told us... it was the worst call I had ever received. I didn't sleep much or eat much of anything up until his funeral. His funeral was nice, but the hardest thing I've ever done.
All I kept thinking was that he was gone, I'd never get to speak to him again. We were the only members of our large family left who had suffered and survived a genetic heart defect. He was the only one who could really relate to me on that and he was gone. Also, he was an inspiration to me to enter into nursing. He wanted me to be the best and was looking forward to me chasing him around with my stethoscope and blood pressure cuff, and I'm never going to get to do that. Those thoughts hit me hard and they still are. I know they're going to bother me for a very long time. But, I'm going to do my utmost to be the best possible nurse I can be, just for him. I know he would be proud of me.
But anyway, I've had enough crazy emotions for one day... this is Nurse Carla to be, signing off!
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Month and a half!
So... the countdown begins.
I'm getting more and more excited. The day that school starts is growing closer and closer. I've finally gotten the exact day that school starts.... Sept 8th, 2010.
So, I've been getting myself all pumped up, but haven't had a chance to do much about it yet.
So far I've only managed to get my stethoscope. I wasn't able to get my CPR course done, I still haven't gotten my immunization report done, I have a criminal record check that still needs to be ordered and I haven't purchased any of my school supplies yet.
BUT... I'm getting there. I did finally get an idea of what I needed to get from my school, what kind of scrubs I needs, shoes, watch, stethoscope, bandaged scissors, etc. Plus, I got my student loan estimate back, so I now know how much I'll be getting during the 1rst and 2nd half of my first year. It's going to be more then enough between tuition, books and supplies so that's a huge relief. The only thing is that I can cash it until the last few weeks of August... so I still have a bit of a wait until I can buy my supplies.
In other news, my husband is now a graduated animator, and looking for jobs... He's doing a great job and I'm super proud of him! I was smiles all around on his graduation day. (I can't wait until it's me walking across the stage!)
But yeah, so that's my post for today. I hope to continue this as the weeks go on... I'll have pictures and maybe videos as I gather my supplies and get all prepped for nursing school awesomeness!
I'm getting more and more excited. The day that school starts is growing closer and closer. I've finally gotten the exact day that school starts.... Sept 8th, 2010.
So, I've been getting myself all pumped up, but haven't had a chance to do much about it yet.
So far I've only managed to get my stethoscope. I wasn't able to get my CPR course done, I still haven't gotten my immunization report done, I have a criminal record check that still needs to be ordered and I haven't purchased any of my school supplies yet.
BUT... I'm getting there. I did finally get an idea of what I needed to get from my school, what kind of scrubs I needs, shoes, watch, stethoscope, bandaged scissors, etc. Plus, I got my student loan estimate back, so I now know how much I'll be getting during the 1rst and 2nd half of my first year. It's going to be more then enough between tuition, books and supplies so that's a huge relief. The only thing is that I can cash it until the last few weeks of August... so I still have a bit of a wait until I can buy my supplies.
In other news, my husband is now a graduated animator, and looking for jobs... He's doing a great job and I'm super proud of him! I was smiles all around on his graduation day. (I can't wait until it's me walking across the stage!)
But yeah, so that's my post for today. I hope to continue this as the weeks go on... I'll have pictures and maybe videos as I gather my supplies and get all prepped for nursing school awesomeness!
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
uggg.... I cannot wait for summer to be over!
haha, I've been saying this for the past few months now and have been driving my husband and friends who are currently finishing up college programs up the wall. They don't want summer to come (because then they have to get jobs) and I can't wait for summer to be over so I can quit my job and start nursing school!
So far I haven't heard anything from the school in terms of what I need to have done before the start of classes. I think I've figured out the basics from the school website, but I emailed them today to find out for sure. Hopefully they don't take forever and a day to email me back.
I'm signing up for my CPR class this weekend. It starts on May 22nd and thankfully runs only one day. Mind you it's ALL day... 8am until 430pm, but whatever. It'll be fun just to do some hands on stuff and it takes on a whole new meaning now versus the last few times I've done it. I really need to know this stuff now, it's not just something I have to do to pass a course. Me knowing this info could possibly mean life for death for someone down the road... it's quite the eye-opener.
At any rate, that's my ramble for the day... more to come as the countdown to Nursing school begins!
125 days and counting!
So far I haven't heard anything from the school in terms of what I need to have done before the start of classes. I think I've figured out the basics from the school website, but I emailed them today to find out for sure. Hopefully they don't take forever and a day to email me back.
I'm signing up for my CPR class this weekend. It starts on May 22nd and thankfully runs only one day. Mind you it's ALL day... 8am until 430pm, but whatever. It'll be fun just to do some hands on stuff and it takes on a whole new meaning now versus the last few times I've done it. I really need to know this stuff now, it's not just something I have to do to pass a course. Me knowing this info could possibly mean life for death for someone down the road... it's quite the eye-opener.
At any rate, that's my ramble for the day... more to come as the countdown to Nursing school begins!
125 days and counting!
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Heyo.... first entry!
Hiyo!
So this is my first entry in my new blog. I want to use this blog to chronicle my life as I make my way through the adventure that is nursing school.
This past Feb, I was offered a position at the New Brunswick Community College - Miramichi campus in their Practical Nursing program. I'm super excited and can't wait for September to get here so I can finally get started.
And just for interests sake, I am a 21 year old from Canada. Married with 2 furrbabies in the form of Sarge, our 20lb long hair cat, and our smaller, orange tabby named Cheeto.
So far, I've started to purchase some of my supplies, nothing to fancy just yet, but I did get my stethoscope!
It's blue (favorite color!) and awesome! haha, I've been playing with it sense I bought it, running around after the cats trying to listen to their hearts.
But enough for now, I will update soon as the countdown begins!
So this is my first entry in my new blog. I want to use this blog to chronicle my life as I make my way through the adventure that is nursing school.
This past Feb, I was offered a position at the New Brunswick Community College - Miramichi campus in their Practical Nursing program. I'm super excited and can't wait for September to get here so I can finally get started.
And just for interests sake, I am a 21 year old from Canada. Married with 2 furrbabies in the form of Sarge, our 20lb long hair cat, and our smaller, orange tabby named Cheeto.
So far, I've started to purchase some of my supplies, nothing to fancy just yet, but I did get my stethoscope!
It's blue (favorite color!) and awesome! haha, I've been playing with it sense I bought it, running around after the cats trying to listen to their hearts.
But enough for now, I will update soon as the countdown begins!
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