spring "break"

At this very moment I'm pretty overstimulated, so much so that it's pretty much impossible to do any studying. What better time to blog, than when you're all excited about life's goings on?

First off, there's only 53 days until pinning. If I can survive this next week and a half, it's smooth sailing from April 1st onward. This next week we have a PPT project that is due, we have class on Monday, after which I plan on taking my eye & ear unit exam (or my pharmacology ATI, depending on which one I feel more confident in taking - heck, maybe both!) If I don't take the ATI Monday, I'll take it Tuesday. I have to retake the Comprehensive Predictor practice ATI this coming Sunday as I just took it and didn't quite get benchmark. (We take the CP on the 29th.) Hmmm... Wednesday we have our day in the lab with Sim Man. All the while I'm studying for NCLEX and ATIs, which is pretty much doing the same thing. After the 1st of April all that's left to do is my preceptorship, write up my resume and a cover letter for my professional portfolio, and study for our med/surg final.

What has my adrenaline pumping today? Well, let me tell ya!

I have plans.

I'm taking a couple of breaks from nursing school reality and delving into my family life. This evening LB has an away baseball game. I don't know if I've mentioned it before now, but he made the Varsity team. He started at this past Wednesday's game and played an awesome game. Tomorrow we're heading out to Baltimore to a Medieval Times dinner with some of Big B's coworkers and one of my BFFs from school, and her beau.

I am so excited. I've been working my butt off and have decided to take a little bit of a time-out of my Spring "Break", that has been nothing of a break from studying, to have a little fun and to be re-energized. Rest assured the remainder of the time will be spent with my nose in the books and online doing practice ATIs.

otto giorni

eight days

That's all that's left until I become a second year nursing student. Of course that's all bearing on my passing my classes, which at this point isn't much of an issue.

Looking back, sometimes it seemed as if time was standing still. Other times it seemed to be rushing past like a marathon runner.

I still have a considerable amount of things to do to tie up this semester. I have to continue studying for my ATI tests. Then I take them this Friday. So far everyone is passing. Some are even getting really good scores back. Sixty-five is all that's needed to pass, and right now I'll be happy with just that. It would be nice to come away with a high score, but I'm not striving for it. That may sound bad, but it's more about the reality I am living right now. I don't have the time, haven't had the time, to study as much as would be necessary to score highly. Life happens, and let's face it I live with teen and pre-teen boys. If it's not baseball or some other activity, it's some new challenge we're facing with the need for wings to be outstretched and boundaries to be tested. I won't go into details of the latest trials and tribulations. Let's just say my skin should be as thick as an elephants by the time both my boys leave home!

I also need to finish up my careplan, and study for finals.

That mountain of mulch is still sitting on my driveway, even though I put a dent into it yesterday morning. I wont get to it this week as Big B is out of town, and I am therefore playing mom and dad. We have two home baseball games to go to, but as usual they'll be used as study relief. I also have to be the resident taxi driver from baseball practice/lacrosse games tonight.

I've been taking my antibiotics, so my sinus infection is resolved. The Prilosec isn't doing much for the suspected GERD/lump in throat feeling I have when I swallow. The referral for a barium swallow is still sitting on my desk, so I suppose I can always reschedule. I do go back for a follow-up to my PCP on the 6th, and will address the issue with her.

Our last two clinical days are this week. When I've gone to dress my resident I've always had trouble finding socks for her. Today I had to pick up a few things and bought a bunch of cute, and colorful pairs for her to keep. I meant to do her nails last week as they're pretty jagged and in desperate need of filing, so I also bought a 7-in-1 file that files, buffs, and does all sorts of good things. One of my nursing diagnoses has been social isolation r/t diminished mental capacity AEB limited social interactions, so I've been changing her brief, dressing her and assisting her into her geri-chair and then we head out into the halls. We visit others who happen to wonder by, and go and look outside or sit by the aviary and watch the birds. This week I'll do nail care, and then we'll venture out for some socialization. Thursday we'll be having a little get-together with the staff and residents to say good-bye. It'll be bittersweet since so many of us are so done with the semester, but at the same time we've grown somewhat attached to our residents.

back to work...

may 6th, come on down!

Have I mentioned how eager I am for the arrival of that very date, May 6th? Let's take a walk up the path leading to the day I will shout to the high heavens rejoicing the end of this, my second semester of nursing school.

Today...must pay bills, gather stuff for the American Legion yard sale tomorrow, work on careplan, study, LB's baseball game at 5 (away), and somehow AW has to get to the local skating rink with his friends--and I'll be in a town, at the baseball game in the totally opposite direction.
Tomorrow...yard sale (o'dark early until I wanna leave), possibly nap, study
Sunday...need to get out in that garden and at least clip back perennials, LB has his driving test/last day of Behind the Wheel, work on careplan, write up case studies for Nursing P&C, study
April 20...class from 9-12, home to study, work on careplan
21st...study in the morning, class from 1-3, LB baseball game at 6, away
22nd...clinicals 0645-1230, home to study, work on careplan (hopefully should be somewhere near finished)
23rd...clinicals 0645-1230, home to study, LB baseball game at 6 @ home
24th...Fridays are study days, maybe I can actually do some housecleaning....nah that's what May will be for! We keep the house pretty straightened up anyway (Big B has slight OCD issues), LB baseball game at 6 @ home
25th...nothing planned other than studying, and LB baseball game at 1, away--may or may not go....depends on how much studying I've done, and how I feel about it
26th...Sundays are usually pretty open unless we go do something like going to the mall, otherwise I have them scheduled for studying. The careplan is due Thursday and will make sure it's done, if it hasn't been finished already.
27th...class from 9-12, home to study
28th...study in the morning, class from 1-3, LB baseball game at 6 @ home
29th...clinicals 0645-1230, home to study, LB baseball game at 6 @ home
30th...clinicals 0645-1230 (careplan due), home to study
May 1st...ATI exams, 1100 and 1300 , LB baseball game at 6 @ home
May 2nd and 3rd...nothing planned other than studying and the occasional family outing
May 4th...final exam for NUR108, Nursing Principles and Concepts, study for Nur203, Mental Health Nursing final exam
May 5th...final exam for NUR203, Mental Health Nursing
May 6th...wake up with the biggest grin on my face and shout to the highest heavens!!!!!!! and start cleaning, gardening, and doing everything else that I haven't been able to do!

Oh and how about let's rejoice at being a SECOND YEAR NURSING STUDENT!!! We have to get there first by way of passing ATIs and finals, so....

back to the books and all the regularly scheduled programming!

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