Spooner2013

Flashcards, and Quizlet.com in particular. I got through my 4-year degree with a GPA of 4.0. I think it would be fair to say I'm of average intelligence, I'm in my mid 40's and using flashcards helped me a lot with learning. They have some limitations: they don't help with learning analytical or synthesis skills, or writing essays, but for the rest: flashcards. Best tool.

I guess it's just what you're culturally used to. When I first came to the US, I noticed how few people have eyebrow rings compared to back home. I don't notice it anymore. I've often thought that aliens might find us a bit primitive with our ear piercings (a bit of metal stuck through a flap of skin)...y'know, like we look on tribal people in jungles around the world with a bone stuck through their septum. Personally, I find makeup a bit gross: waxy creams like lipstick and powdered minerals like eyeshadows smeared over sections of our faces, but that's probably just my personal reaction to the way I find makeup suffocating and sticky...almost unhygienic. Of course, I see people with makeup every day (even though some people wear so much makeup that I think they mustn't be able to see it in the mirror when they prepare to go to work), so I'm accustomed to it. Back to the piercing thing: I have always wondered if the neck of a sweater catches on the eyebrow and nose piercings when they pull one over their heads, like I used to frequently catch my engagement ring in the sleeve of my sweater when I pulled it on. Really, I think it's all OK if you keep it clean and take care of it. It's just what you're used to. Society changes and soon we'll be used to something else.

Hi Petty2618 I did the test in mid January this year. I passed the written test easily but failed the skills test. What made me angry were two things. I failed the skills test fair and square because I made three errors. However the examiner listed heaps of other errors that I definitely did not make. What's more, she actively prevented me from checking the temperature of the water with the patient on one occasion. She told me at the sink that I hadn't asked the patient to check the water temperature, but I hadn't even walked away from the sink yet; I hadn't had a chance to offer it to the patient yet! I think she knew she'd mucked up and threw the book at me after that out of some sort of small mindedness. This was made even worse when the other girl tested with me made plenty of errors, only some of them she corrected, and she passed! As I said, I failed fair and square but I have no confidence in the system anymore because my result and the other girl's was also so arbitrary. The second thing that peeved me was that when I registered to re-sit the test, I had to pay to have my security check done all over again (they'd just done it 4 weeks earlier). That is, I had to pay to re-do the test AND pay to re-do the security check. On January 1 they introduced a new rule that you have to have a photo taken as part of your security check. Why I have to pay for a full security check? Why shouldn't I have the option of only paying $15 for the additional photo? Anyway, I'm practicing, practicing, practicing to take the skills test again this week. Most of the time I don't have anyone to practice with. My husband is great and is helping me out on the weekends but he travels out-of-state each week (Virginia this week coming). I'm not American, so don't have friends or family here who can be my willing victims the rest of the time. My souvenir teddy bear is getting his dentures cleaned and catheter cleaned several times a day. My webcam has been converted into my examiner. I record my tests and "mark" myself afterwards. It's a slow process and not very effective (but better than nothing). If you (or anyone) live near Tampa and want to practice the skills test with me this week, reply here and we can organize something.