Is there anyone else out there, or is it just me? :)
I'd love to connect with others who are applying for the Fall 2017 nursing program.
I am signed up to complete my prerequisites in the spring. English and Public Speaking are already done with an A, from a prior degree with Ivy Tech. They are also going to waive the IVY112 class because I am an Ivy Tech grad.
So I am signed up for APHY101, MATH123, PSYC101, and SOC111.
On one hand, I can't wait for classes to start! On the other hand, with the Holidays, I know the time is going to fly by.
About me: My degree is in Business Administration and my work history is mostly in accounting, but I've been home with our 3 boys for the past 16 years. We have homeschooled for the past seven years. They all went to public school this year, and they are doing GREAT! Now I need a new direction, as well... I've got maybe 30 years of working ahead of me, and I want to have a solid career. I hated being stuck at a desk. Nursing ~ here we go!
The online chem class was very tedious, especially that intro thing ur talking about. I have mental health clinical and complex med surg clinical this semester. Mental health is an 8 week course though so it's not bad. I planned this semester to take advanced physiology because it was supposed to be the lightest semester for us here in Lawrence. We were supposed to have mental health class and clinical for 8 weeks then switch to ob/peds class and clinical for 8 weeks and that's it. Next semester was supposed to be complex med surg and our capstone class. So I'm adjusting to the busier schedule.
First week was definitely overwhelming just getting oriented but once I organized everything I'm feeling a little better. There's definitely a lot of good resources for studying provided to us and I enjoy all the professors you can tell they love what they do. Leadkrm, any advice/tips on studying for test for fundamentals and med-surg for lawrence? Is it possible to get an A on the test lol? Fundamentals is a ton of information although not difficult to understand and this first test has the least amount of content (btw I can't even imagine taking it over 4 weeks) but they said half of students usually fail the first test. I know once I take the first test, I will have a better idea of what and how to study but definitely nervous and want to do well. Any advice will be greatly appreciated!
Yep, 4 weeks. Our first exam was over 15 chapters + 4 math for meds chapters -- and we took this after just one week of class. I got an 89%... but much of the class was pretty unhappy.
Yea it's possible. You are going to put in a lot of time for that A though. Fundamentals was way harder for me than medsurg. The thing about the fundamentals tests that got me was that the questions seemed to be a lot more diverse than medsurg. What I mean is that the tests seem to cover a wider range of concepts vs medsurg tests. So my technique was to cover as much material with a moderate amount of detail vs knowing the ins and outs of a few select concepts. But hey, it could be different for each person. What worked for me may not work for you. After the first test, it's like you said. You will see what study style you will benefit most from.
Just checking to make sure everyone is still alive! Hope all is well in the nursing school world for you all.
This is SO weird..... I was just watching the detailed videos for catheterization, and thinking about messaging you! :)
I was told by an instructor today that we may be expected to insert a catheter during clinicals, possibly having never watched one being done in real life. I'm trying not to freak out about that idea! haha... Have you had to do one yet? Male? Female? Did you get to watch in a real-life setting first? If you have already done this, I'd love to hear how that went...
During my first semester, I had only anchored a foley in nursing lab. Literally next week my patient in clinical was ordered a foley cath. It was a male and went very well. I had my instructor in the room but I had never seen a real life demo before. It was nerve racking but I got through it. I received a very good score for clinical that day. I know in lab, a bunch of these skills seem odd or complicated, but they aren't. The concepts are exactly the same except the amount of reassurance is increased because he patient is not fake. I also ran into this with dressing changes. You will be fine. Just follow the steps from your nursing lab class. The patient ended up going home with the one I inserted and I found out he didn't get any infection from the procedure when he came in a week or so later to have it removed. Same with an NG tube. It seems hard, but it isn't in real practice. You will be fine.
I think part of what surprised me is just that we don't have anything close to real life in lab... I mean, not one anatomically correct male we can cath, and even the females -- they're basically telling us just to "pretend" to insert, because our tubing is too large to actually fit in any of the holes...?! Lol. I don't know... I guess it's just one of those things where you won't know what real life feels like until you actually do it. {shrug}
I understand the pace of nursing school is intense. I really do get it, and feel I was mentally well-prepared for it. But jamming Fundamentals into 4 weeks has made it pretty ridiculous. We are already over halfway done with the course. Had Exam 2 today -- I scored 85% -- fine with me. Exam 3 is going to be take-home. We'll have about 48 hours to complete that before it's due. Then the final exam is the very next day. o_o
Your program is so very different from mine too. Rest assured though, lab is strictly to get the muscle memory of the procedure down so when you go to do it in real life, you have the mechanics memorized. I see your worries. Fundamentals was 16 weeks for us. No take home exams for anything so far. I'm surprised you get a take home exam. I would kill for one!
People are sweatin' as it is.
Leadkrm, RN
211 Posts
The online chem class was very tedious, especially that intro thing ur talking about. I have mental health clinical and complex med surg clinical this semester. Mental health is an 8 week course though so it's not bad. I planned this semester to take advanced physiology because it was supposed to be the lightest semester for us here in Lawrence. We were supposed to have mental health class and clinical for 8 weeks then switch to ob/peds class and clinical for 8 weeks and that's it. Next semester was supposed to be complex med surg and our capstone class. So I'm adjusting to the busier schedule.