Starting Week 3..

Well, I've made it to week 3 of school. So far, so good. Although the reading and actual assignments are a LOT to handle, I think I'm doing pretty good and I'm so glad I don't have to work through this. Thanks to my wonderful husband Kyle for supporting us while I accomplish my goals! :) I'm very grateful for all of his support through this. Only 61 more weeks and I'll be an RN...haha...WOW, that seems like a long ways off, but it will come eventually. 2 years will come either way, so I guess it's good I'm in school! Kyle and I have already been married for 3 years...Imagine if I started school when we got married, I could have been done with school AND already working for an entire year! hehe...But OH WELL!
Last week we learned how to take Vital Signs -Temperature, Pulse, Respiration Rates, Blood Pressure, Pulse Oximetry and Pain Assessment. We also learned how to make an occupied and unoccupied bed, and did a physical assessment on another student. It was definitely a lot to learn in one day, but we need to learn all of our "basics" very quickly, since we are starting clinical at the end of September! We will be going to a children's day care, a hospital of some sort, and a Rehab Center. We will also be doing flu clinics and giving flu shots! I don't think we will be going every lab day (Wednesday), but we will be going at some point. It's exciting and frightening all at the same time. We also received our "goody bags" full of IVs, needles, sterile dressings, fluids, etc. for practicing in lab. We can't open anything yet, but we will learn all about it in the coming weeks!
This week (week 3, tomorrow) we will be doing wound care, asepsis technique, gloving, gowning, isolation precautions, bathing, and personal hygiene. WHEW! That will be really intense, but I'll make it! On top of all the "basics", I am learning a lot in my lecture class as well. We've learned about client education, communication techniques, physical & developmental "norms" for infants through old age, grieving, death, and dying. It's hard to remember what else we have been learning about because it's just been SO much reading..
Well...Here are some pictures and I'll write again when I learn about some more exciting stuff!

My "old desk", or the place where I use the computer!

My new desk - AKA the kitchen table - the place where I do my reading.. Not quite sure how Kyle likes this... :)

What was inside my "goody bag"...YAY! Very exciting!!

My First Week of NS!

I decided to create this blog to post everything about my nursing school experience. It's going to be one big roller coater emotionally, mentally, and physically, but it will all be worth it in the end....I hope!

I'm really excited, scared, anxious, exhausted already, but I can't wait to continue and be FINISHED and be a RN!! 2 years and counting...

Anyway, last week my work gave me a really nice party! It was so much fun. We had TONS of food and it was nice to see everyone again. It just felt like I went on vacation and I was back at work... But when I saw my empty desk, realized I didn't have to answer the phone, and I could just hang out and eat, it was kind of weird! It still feels kind of weird to not have to work or think about going to work, but I'll get use to it soon enough. A lady at my work made me a really cute "Nurse Kelly" cake and Sherry, Melanie, Nancy, and Kelli gave me a Littmann Stethoscope, which I have been waiting FOREVER to get! It was so exciting and SO sweet of them!! I absolutely love it, and it has my name on it already! :) Everyone at my work also made me a giant poster board and wrote really nice, encouraging things to me. It's great and I have it sitting on my computer desk, so when I am studying or working on the computer, I can see it and read it and it will remind me of everyone! I'll definitely miss everyone at Dickson, but I grew and learned a LOT while I was there, so I'm thankful for that.

Here are the pictures of the cake, stethoscope and poster board! Cute!

I made it through my first week of school! YAY! It was so much information and really, really overwhelming. The reading assignments are an insanely HUGE amount, and I can't imagine it growing, but I'm sure it will. I've probably already studied about 15+ hours this week, and I still have Friday, Saturday and Sunday to do studying. YIKES. This semester I am taking Nursing Care 1 and Professional Behaviors. They tie in together a lot and so far it's been interesting. I've met a lot of people and already knew a few also, but im sure by the end of the semester everyone will be really close. I'll be with these people for 2 years, so I better get close to all of them!

Other than that, there really isn't too much to blog about just yet, but just wait...it will get more exciting and crazy. I'll try to blog as much as I can, but that really depends on how busy I get.