Get my LPN

Got my progress report grade today, 82. The professor said any grade over 80 is really great, because this course is designed to be very hard. So my B is like an A in anything else I’ve done in my scholastic career. The only people who got higher grades than me were already in the health care field and had a background I don’t. So I’m really happy with myself.

Then she announced there will be a comprehensive test on all this, something they didn’t announce before. I see a pattern, unannounced things, and on assignments such as the vocabulary, there are deliberate misspellings and made-up terms just to see how hard we will try to get this thing right. Critical thinking. I don’t take anything for granted and just keep working hard and looking for the traps. Then I remind myself I choose this school because it is supposed to be the hardest and the best.

I love this course. I really find that I am becoming more and more whom I was meant to be.

Pulling another all-nighter studying for all the tests this week. It is crazy, but I’m doing okay and keeping a good GPA so far. I think this is the hardest part of the entire term, so all I have to do is get through the next two weeks.

I can do that.

Plus it is fascinating to be learning all about the body, which is the focus right now, theory. We switched teachers after one week, and the new one, who is in her 70s, maybe 80s, is well, interesting. And I’ll leave it at that.

I figure that dealing with pneumonia, the substitute teacher, the kickback of strong antibiotics, the hardest tests, and a record setting heat wave will just make me stronger and more determined. The air conditioning really doesn’t work when it’s this hot, so I sleep when I come home, then study all nite while it’s cool and my mind is clear. So far it’s working.

my books, uniform, etc.

The books so many they won’t fit in my rolling travel bag and boy are they heavy! I will have to bring the rolling suitcase and a backpack to the first class! I start Monday morning.

My heart is singing…

so I am really truly in!

Also got second Hep B shot, turned that paperwork in.

On Babystep at a time, I am going to be an LPN!

Je and I went to pick up my official “I am in the June class slip”. It is so beautiful. I will come up with the money in the next week to register, it has to be done by May 8.

Getting there.

Finally, happily, ALL the tests are taken, paperwork is done, every little hoop is jumped through successfully. I have also finished the CORE beginners health care class.

I am on the list for the full-time day class that starts in June. Go me!

Went to the doc, and got all sorts of bloodwork done to see if I have TB (so far looking good, no weal) have had chicken pox, and other such things.

Got vaccinated against tetanus, first Hep B. I feel like a pincushion. And boy was it all expensive, which is why I’ve put this part off till the end. But it’s worth it to be able to go to school. So this part of the goal is done, and will find out all results and hopefully register this week.

The clinic I went to is very efficient, fast, and nice staff. (I will probably use this place in the future, if needed.) The lady working there knocked off some of the price because she supports students. And I was happy to be at a health clinic because I needed work done, and not because I was sick, and was the only healthy patient there! So those things are blessings.

School, here I come!

i’ve truly learned the meaning of “one day at a time” now that i’m 28 and in nursing school. every day is a struggle…if it’s not the 80 women packed like sardines in a tiny, hot classroom, it’s studying for one of the 4 tests we have weekly.

my key is to set mini-goals for the day, a list of things i want to get done. i usually do this during our nursing 100 lecture on monday…i set my daily goals for the week ahead…it only takes about 5 minutes. i look at all the syllabuses and pull them together on a monthly calendar and delegate daily tasks accordingly.

daily goals are difficult for me because i work on linear time, i just do as my body tells me to do…i don’t go by the clock. so tonight my list was to finish my drug cards, my case study/plan of care and do a few pages in my a&p workbook. what usually falls short is preparing the next days meals, grocery shopping etc. this is bad because then i’ve got nothing in the fridge and opt for fast food :/ club soda in all of it’s sodium glory, has become my favorite crutch…along with raw green beans, baby carrots and clementines.

i started out being anal about my grades. our school is on a modified grade scale: 94-100 is an “A” etc. i “failed” my very first nursing test with a 74% and bawled my eyes out. i’ve learned that it’s the bigger picture that matters. a failed test here, a 100% there doesn’t matter in the long run. 3 weeks from the end of term 1 and i have a solid 92% gpa. i’m going to be a damn good nurse.

what i am having a hard time with is clinicals. they’re lllooonnggg 9 hour days in an upscale nursing home in peg leg white scrubs that i swear are made of out fabric 1/8 of an inch thick and chafe your skin. our patients are assisted living, there’s no skilled care there. it’s only our first term and i really don’t feel solid in my assessments, i’d rather buddy up with another student. i’ll get better, i know, i just don’t like having to look back and forth at my assessment sheet to make sure i have everything covered…not being sure if i heard a heart or lung sound or if the $10 scope they gave us in our kits is muffeling things, or if my ears are just that naive.

i’ve finally gotten sick. almost seriously so, need to go the the ER sick…i rarely get sick. (i swear by multivitamins.) but i’ll be damned if i let that stop me. they’ll have to drag me out of that classroom unconscious before i get in trouble for having too many absences. this is my future, my only hope, my very last chance. if i don’t get this…

working out has gone by the wayside. it’s sad how workouts get the short end of the stick when we are pressed for time…they’re usually the first thing we cut out of our schedule. a shame because they do nothing, nothing but improve yourself. after a quick cardio…just something quick, nothing intense or strenuous, you feel better, sharper, more able to focus. yet what do i do instead?-i’d rather lay down and sleep.

working on this right now. fingers crossed for november ‘09. first term is almost over, thank god. former students of my school say it’s the most difficult, and it’s a good thing because i don’t know if i can deal with 2 more terms like this one was.

i feel like once the LPN is in hand, all the doors open for me again. i’ve met some girls i really like and might even entertain becoming good friends with.

i wish i had other goals, but right now, school is my focus!

I did the first part of it today. Within two weeks I will get all the shots and titers and tests, and then I can finally register for the rest. That is the final hoop I have to jump through to get in!

I found out how I’m going to pay for the next session too. I am so psyched!