ShaynaSmart

Good luck to you all graduating soon! 4 months to go for my class. Luckily, my last semester falls in summer so the length is shorter, but I know the work load is going to be cruel!

I feel your disdain for drug cards! I type write them, then type them and I don't retain any of the information until I read them over on my own!

One of my classmates just announced her pregnancy a month ago. Very fitting, since we are in our OB/PEDS section! She has every intention of finishing and she also plans on becoming a NP someday!

Basically, I told myself that during Spring Break, I would say, "What nursing school?" I was fortunate to not have any big papers/assignments/reading to do over break, so it has worked out pretty well. I've slept in, read FOR PLEASURE, had movie marathons and will be spending the weekend with my sister and brother in law in Virginia Beach! Don't beat yourself up over using this time to relax and unwind!

Hello all! I'm in my 4th semester, one more to go after this! I just picked up Lippincott's Q&A review. I really like it and I'm using it to help me study for my pediatric/OB tests. To the OP: Clinical is what you make it! If the floor is not busy (like mine was last semester), get involved! Ask if you can follow a nurse around, - it can help you see how to prioritize care and they can teach you a lot of tips/tricks! And speak up! If there's something you are struggling with and want to perform a certain task, say it at the beginning, and keep reminding your instructor, if necessary.

Ah! Yes, I do go to HGTC! They are setting up a session (I think one of the adjunct clinical instructors will be there) where we can practice anything we need to. I will definitely take a look at those DVDS!

No, as long as we pass, we are considered "golden." We may have separate check-offs for the specific semester that we are in, however, to practice new skills we have learned.

Hello, all! I'm a 4th semester in an ADN program. My school just initiated what they are calling "March Madness" for all of the nursing students, except 1st semester. It allows them to make sure we are all progressing and performing competently. They give all the semesters a different day to come and we check off on 7 skills stations: VS, assessment, IV starts, catheter insertion etc. Just wondering if any of the other schools out there are doing this kind of thing!

oops!

"You think this is bad? JCAHO was here earlier!"

I'm starting to get worried about that. I'll be graduating in August with my ADN and I basically just signed for my loans because at the time, I didn't have another option, no money saved up, no scholarships. Now, with my hindsight, I really wished I would have done some work-study or something! I think I'll be under the 20 k mark when I graduate.

This really makes me reevaluate some of the patients I had last semester with uncontrolled HTN and worsening CHF.

May I come and work with you when I graduate? : )

I had just gotten a job in an assisted living facility. I was getting dropped off and I couldn't walk in there. I got warm, my heart was racing, my breathing increased and I felt like someone was choking me. I told my partner to circle around and we stopped at a gas station and I said, "I don't think I can go in there!" so I didn't, but I didn't call either. All weekend, I beat myself up, especially on Saturday when I realized it was a panic attack. (I had worked at several awful nursing homes and didn't go because I hated it there, but this place was different). I called on Monday, but of course it was too late. I haven't worked steady in over 2 years because I've been going to school and my partner has been working. Now, today I got my first and only paycheck, and I feel awful. I feel like someone ripped out a part of me and now I'm just floating around, invisible. Everything feels foggy. I can't talk to my partner about this anymore because I'll drive her nuts. She says she doesn't care I quit, she just wants me to be happy. I had a thought that cheered me up last night, which was in 8 months, I'll be graduating and becoming a nurse, and that calmed me down. But I had all these plans since I started working, and now with one income, I can't do that anymore, and I feel awful. I know not calling was unprofessional, not going was a mistake and going over and over it in my head is killing me! Just needed to vent. If I had realized it was a panic attack (I've only had one other one before) I would have waited and calmed down. I thought it was the job that was getting me worked up. I'd do anything to get a second chance at working at the facility, but no luck.

I feel the exact same way! I was never any good at making friends when I was a kid, and I don't know how to do it properly as an adult! In response to the original post, I was feeling the exact same way and when I read your post, I felt better knowing I'm not the only one. When I started nursing school in January, there were 4 other girls in my age group and one guy. I thought we'd become friends and we were in all the same clinical groups and everything. And then, during our third semester, I noticed all the girls got really "clique-y" (waiting until I pulled up to the clinical site to start walking into the hospital together, sitting next to each other during class, talking on facebook, studying, texting) and I was like, "I'd like to do those things, too!" So, I would come home from class everyday feeling a little down. Being home with my love and my puppy cheered me up and made me realize, "I'm awesome and a great friend and they missed out!" I still get a little down once in a while, but if I had my own group of friends it probably wouldn't be a big deal. I just haven't worked anywhere long enough to make friends at work, and we moved to where we are living now as adults, so don't have any friends we grew up with down here. But we have been making some couple friends that we can hang out with once in awhile, so that's better anyway!