Hi everyone!
So I PASSED!!! It was definitely a stressful/busy semester, but all the hard work paid off in the end. I ended up doing great on my finals and last exams of the semester. Finally, the only thing that stands between me and becoming a RN is the NCLEX exam. We have a prep course to take at the beginning of January. I have heard really good things about the course, which probably correlates with Regis' high passing rate. Once we are done with the prep course, we can begin the process of taking the NCLEX. In order to do this, we must first be approved by the Dean of Nursing in order to show that we are qualified to take the exam. Second, we must apply for our official license. After receiving confirmation, we are able to schedule our exam date. I will most likely be able to take the NCLEX after January. I am hoping for the earliest date possible based on my study habits and preferences.
Other than the prep course, I plan on having a very relaxing winter break! I will be spending Christmas eve/day with my family and New Years Eve with my friends at Mount Snow in Vermont. Since I have signed up for a 1/2 marathon taking place in May, I will be training to be in shape for the race. Also, I will be working on some practice NCLEX exams in my free time in order to stay current with my test taking skills.
That's all for now! Have a very Happy Holidays!
- Katie
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
New Updates
Hey everybody,
So this has been a very good couple of days for me in both school and my preceptorship. I did very well on 3 of my exams, which helped to boost my average in each of those classes. Also, a patient that I was assigned to for 5 days made a full recovery after being in critical condition. I feel very fortunate to have witnessed a patient who was given a poor prognosis now have a second chance at the rest of his life.
Also, another update is that former first lady of the USA Rosalynn Carter, wife of Jimmy Carter, will be speaking at Regis on November 8th at 4 pm in the Fine Arts Center about her new book, Within Our Reach: Ending the Mental Health Crisis. More information on this event can be found at the following website:
http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/weston/2010/11/former_first_lady_rosalynn_car.html
Want to keep up with everything else? Add us on Twitter and Facebook:
- http://twitter.com/RegColGradInfo
- http://twitter.com/RegCollGradNurs
- http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=1499263795
That's all to update for now!
- Katie : )
So this has been a very good couple of days for me in both school and my preceptorship. I did very well on 3 of my exams, which helped to boost my average in each of those classes. Also, a patient that I was assigned to for 5 days made a full recovery after being in critical condition. I feel very fortunate to have witnessed a patient who was given a poor prognosis now have a second chance at the rest of his life.
Also, another update is that former first lady of the USA Rosalynn Carter, wife of Jimmy Carter, will be speaking at Regis on November 8th at 4 pm in the Fine Arts Center about her new book, Within Our Reach: Ending the Mental Health Crisis. More information on this event can be found at the following website:
http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/weston/2010/11/former_first_lady_rosalynn_car.html
Want to keep up with everything else? Add us on Twitter and Facebook:
- http://twitter.com/RegColGradInfo
- http://twitter.com/RegCollGradNurs
- http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=1499263795
That's all to update for now!
- Katie : )
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Midterm Year 2!!!
Hi everyone,
So sorry it took me so long to write my next blog. I've had a lot going on with school, work, and homework due sporadically during the week. This semester has definitely been no walk in the park. Not only do I have my regular 3 classes to attend, I also have to do 160 hours with my preceptor, 9 weeks of community nursing clinicals (between Bedford VA home visits and Rosie's Place), 2 Regis labs (for community orientation and CODE day), a disaster training lab, ATI testing (a NCLEX-like exam to see how I would score on the exam), a flu clinic in a local community, and finally fit in time to study and do my class work. I know this sounds overwhelming, but everything has a time and place scheduled for these sessions.
I have definitely been more stressed this semester than any other semester so far. The classes are much more difficult and the professors expect a lot from the students at this point in our careers. It is difficult getting use to taking an exam with different teachers when you are so accustomed to the way that another professor has taught you in the past. Most of the questions asked now are not only going to test us on common knowledge. We need to take the information learned as common knowledge and apply it to a situation. Then, using the nursing process, we need to assess the situation, diagnose the problem, come up with a plan to fix the problem, implement the plan based on the situation, and evaluate the effectiveness of the strategy.
On a more positive note, I have absolutely LOVED my preceptorship this semester. It is so great to be able to follow one single nurse throughout her shift rather than being in the group format. I am a very visual learner and I need to see and do things myself in order to understand them. By working one-on-one with an experienced nurse, I am able to see how she organizes her day, prepares for certain procedures, and documents the assessment findings. Although every institution is different, the process is still the same in the role of the nurse. This has been the first time that I can fully say that I understand the role of the nurse in the hospital setting.
Tomorrow will be my last week of Bedford VA home care visits for the semester before beginning Rosie's Place next week. Although I have realized that community nursing is not for me, it was a very interesting experience. In community nursing, the nurse takes on the role of the guest in the patient's home as opposed to in the hospital where there is more control. However, respect for the patient's lifestyle and home is an essential component of community nursing. By assessing how an individual lives at home and is able to perform daily activities, you are able to become a better discharge planner from an inpatient setting. We'll see how Rosie's Place goes next week.
Today, I have my community midterm and tomorrow I will have my second advanced pathophysiology exam. This will definitely be a stressful month for me. During this time, we also have an individual case study, complex exam 2, and a group project in community. However, I cannot wait until November because my mother and I have booked a trip to see my younger brother who is studying abroad in Spain! It will be nice to take this vacation for my birthday week and relax with my family. Good thing the plane ride is long because the day after I get back, I have my 3rd complex exam. Can't catch a break haha... well that's all for now! I'll check back in asap!!!
- Katie
So sorry it took me so long to write my next blog. I've had a lot going on with school, work, and homework due sporadically during the week. This semester has definitely been no walk in the park. Not only do I have my regular 3 classes to attend, I also have to do 160 hours with my preceptor, 9 weeks of community nursing clinicals (between Bedford VA home visits and Rosie's Place), 2 Regis labs (for community orientation and CODE day), a disaster training lab, ATI testing (a NCLEX-like exam to see how I would score on the exam), a flu clinic in a local community, and finally fit in time to study and do my class work. I know this sounds overwhelming, but everything has a time and place scheduled for these sessions.
I have definitely been more stressed this semester than any other semester so far. The classes are much more difficult and the professors expect a lot from the students at this point in our careers. It is difficult getting use to taking an exam with different teachers when you are so accustomed to the way that another professor has taught you in the past. Most of the questions asked now are not only going to test us on common knowledge. We need to take the information learned as common knowledge and apply it to a situation. Then, using the nursing process, we need to assess the situation, diagnose the problem, come up with a plan to fix the problem, implement the plan based on the situation, and evaluate the effectiveness of the strategy.
On a more positive note, I have absolutely LOVED my preceptorship this semester. It is so great to be able to follow one single nurse throughout her shift rather than being in the group format. I am a very visual learner and I need to see and do things myself in order to understand them. By working one-on-one with an experienced nurse, I am able to see how she organizes her day, prepares for certain procedures, and documents the assessment findings. Although every institution is different, the process is still the same in the role of the nurse. This has been the first time that I can fully say that I understand the role of the nurse in the hospital setting.
Tomorrow will be my last week of Bedford VA home care visits for the semester before beginning Rosie's Place next week. Although I have realized that community nursing is not for me, it was a very interesting experience. In community nursing, the nurse takes on the role of the guest in the patient's home as opposed to in the hospital where there is more control. However, respect for the patient's lifestyle and home is an essential component of community nursing. By assessing how an individual lives at home and is able to perform daily activities, you are able to become a better discharge planner from an inpatient setting. We'll see how Rosie's Place goes next week.
Today, I have my community midterm and tomorrow I will have my second advanced pathophysiology exam. This will definitely be a stressful month for me. During this time, we also have an individual case study, complex exam 2, and a group project in community. However, I cannot wait until November because my mother and I have booked a trip to see my younger brother who is studying abroad in Spain! It will be nice to take this vacation for my birthday week and relax with my family. Good thing the plane ride is long because the day after I get back, I have my 3rd complex exam. Can't catch a break haha... well that's all for now! I'll check back in asap!!!
- Katie
Thursday, September 9, 2010
YEAR 2!!!!!!!!!!!!
So summer is over and I feel like I have so much to catch you up on!!! During my last blog, I was 1/2 way done with summer school. Finals and work went well. I absolutely loved my Brigham and Women's Hospital maternity rotation. I even got to see a birth (which I have to admit, made me cry)!!! Then we were awarded with a whole month off at the end of the summer in August. I went on a couple trips to NYC and Foxwoods to have some fun before starting up again in the fall. Finally, I applied for a job as a Medical Assistant at Harvard Vanguard in Somerville and got it!!! So now I also work every other weekend as a medical assistant taking patients’ initial vital signs, finding out their chief complaints, performing lab samples, and assisting the clinicians with their daily needs.
As you can see, I made it through the summer and now it's time to start with the fall of my second year. This semester, I will be taking complex care, community health nursing, and advanced pathophysiology. I have a clinical that accompanies community in which I will be spending 6 weeks performing home care visits at the Bedford VA and 3 weeks at Rosie’s Place in Boston. Rosie’s Place is a sanctuary for poor and homeless women, offers emergency and long-term assistance to women who have nowhere else to turn. Also, I will be having my preceptorship at Winchester Hospital in the ICU. I am really excited to begin this because I will be shadowing a RN throughout her daily life as a nurse. She will teach me everything I need to know about the Winchester policies and the regular routine in a nurse’s schedule on a 1 to 1 level. Rather than being with a clinical group with one clinical instructor, I will have the opportunity to experience the nurse’s role first hand and get a more individualized experience. I will be beginning both of these rotations next week.
This week was the first week of fall classes. I began with complex care and community health nursing on Tuesday and advanced pathophysiology on Wednesday. The classes were great. I’m really looking forward to getting into the material and preparing to take the NCLEX following this semester. Two of the professors are new to me and our advanced pathophysiology professor is that same as pharmacology from 1st semester. It is difficult to get back into the swing of things after having a whole month off. I’m definitely keeping organized and attempting to keep up on the readings and workload of the semester. We also had community orientation and an IV med lab this week. These were set up to prepare us for the clinical rotations we have ahead of us this semester and to let us know what we would be in for.
That’s all for now. I’ll have another update next week and let you know how clinicals go!
- Katie : )
As you can see, I made it through the summer and now it's time to start with the fall of my second year. This semester, I will be taking complex care, community health nursing, and advanced pathophysiology. I have a clinical that accompanies community in which I will be spending 6 weeks performing home care visits at the Bedford VA and 3 weeks at Rosie’s Place in Boston. Rosie’s Place is a sanctuary for poor and homeless women, offers emergency and long-term assistance to women who have nowhere else to turn. Also, I will be having my preceptorship at Winchester Hospital in the ICU. I am really excited to begin this because I will be shadowing a RN throughout her daily life as a nurse. She will teach me everything I need to know about the Winchester policies and the regular routine in a nurse’s schedule on a 1 to 1 level. Rather than being with a clinical group with one clinical instructor, I will have the opportunity to experience the nurse’s role first hand and get a more individualized experience. I will be beginning both of these rotations next week.
This week was the first week of fall classes. I began with complex care and community health nursing on Tuesday and advanced pathophysiology on Wednesday. The classes were great. I’m really looking forward to getting into the material and preparing to take the NCLEX following this semester. Two of the professors are new to me and our advanced pathophysiology professor is that same as pharmacology from 1st semester. It is difficult to get back into the swing of things after having a whole month off. I’m definitely keeping organized and attempting to keep up on the readings and workload of the semester. We also had community orientation and an IV med lab this week. These were set up to prepare us for the clinical rotations we have ahead of us this semester and to let us know what we would be in for.
That’s all for now. I’ll have another update next week and let you know how clinicals go!
- Katie : )
Monday, June 21, 2010
1/2 way done with summer 2010
Hi everyone,
So this week officially ends the first half of summer courses. I have been taking pediatrics and maternity for 12 full weeks this summer. As of right now, we have had 1 exam in each class. They went well and I felt prepared by taking notes in class and reviewing the study guide prior to the exams. We have had some very interesting classes thus far. Since I do not have any children and have never before been pregnant, the maternity classes can be somewhat overwhelming at times. Since I do not know what to expect, it takes a lot of studying to understand the pregnancy and normal labor and delivery processes. However, I believe this could help me as a nurse because I do not have any prior experiences to get caught up with.
Throughout my life, I have worked in several different summer camps as a counselor for children from grades 1 - 6. I believe that this gave me a better understanding about how children operate. However, there is definitely a huge difference between dealing with children as a camp counselor, and even a mother, and treating children in the clinical setting as a nurse. The role of the nurse is to care for the patient's diagnoses and work to discharge the patient home. It can become difficult at times to separate the playful attitude most people have when confronting children from treating the patient as a whole.
For the first half of the summer sessions, I have been placed at MGH for 12 hour shifts on the pediatrics floor treating children from 1 day old to 5 years old. There is another floor at MGH that treats patients from 5 - 19 years old. Since I had clinical at MGH last semester as well, I felt comfortable with my surroundings and had a good grasp of the layout of the floor. We have gotten to see a lot while at this clinical setting and it is especially interesting to witness the interactions between the nurses and the parents of the patients. Not only are you treating the patients in the pediatric setting, but you also have to take into consideration the parents and the home setting that the patient lives in. It is important to remain non-judgmental and refrain from thinking about what type of household you believe the patient should grow up in.
For the next half of the summer, I will be placed at Brigham and Women's Hospital for my maternity clinical. I am really looking forward to this clinical and have heard great things from my fellow classmates who have already completed this rotation. I have really gotten much closer to my fellow classmates and have gotten together with them on many occasions outside of class to grab dinner and get to know each other. It really helps to have a great group of people in the program that I can really get along with. We are always there for each other, whether we need help studying or just want to hang out for the day!
That's all for now... enjoy the pictures!
- Katie
Here is a picture of when a big group of us went out for dinner at the Barking Crab restaurant in Boston!
Amanda, Kristyn, and I... some of my 1st clinical group : )
Group picture of the Winchester clinical girls.
Monday, April 12, 2010
End of Second Semester!!!
Hey all,
Sorry it has been so long since I have written about my semester. Things have gotten a little crazy around the office with mailings and catching up on inquiries. Anyway, this has definitely been a tough semester! Acute care is a lot of work and I really enjoy psych. Throughout the semester, we have been taking the material we learned in Professional Nursing and adding on to it during acute care. It is amazing to see just how much information I remember from last semester in this short amount of time. The goal is to later take the information I learn from this semester and apply it to complex care next semester.
Things have also been really busy with school. Along with the usual exams, quizzes, and clinical paperwork, we were assigned two very heavy papers in both acute care and psych. The acute care paper is basically a comprehensive overview of a patient we encountered while at our clinical placements. It discusses everything, including a physical assessment, functional health patterns, medications, an entire nursing care plan, a research article on the topic, and many more sections. It has been stressful to complete, but now that I am just about finished, I feel a huge sense of accomplishment with my nearly 35 page paper.
For the psych paper, we needed to choose a book from a list of choices on various mental health disorders. The book that i chose was Drinking: A Love Story by Caroline Knapp. This tells the story of the author's struggle with alcoholism. If you are interested in the topic or are looking for a good read, this is the book for you. The author keeps your attention by discussing her dependence on alcohol as if it were literally a love story and alcohol was her best friend. The paper discusses a review of the book, the pathophysiology of alcoholism, indications of the disease from within the book, and a nursing care plan that could be used to treat the patient.
Clinical has also been extremely interesting. Although I went into psych clinical with no interest in becoming a psych nurse, I have to admit that I really have enjoyed this semester. My clinical instructor is wonderful and really making the stigma of a psych floor dissipate and make us more comfortable on the floor. I have become much better at identifying specific mental health disorders without even referring to a chart. It is interesting to watch the dynamics of the floor depending on the different patients and personalities that are present on an individual day.
Acute care clinical has been a lot of work as well. I have really enjoyed my interactions with the patients on the floor. I believe that even within a short 2 days/week, I have made a difference in the lives of these patients. I have also loved working with the nurses on the floor. Every one of them are so helpful and more than willing to teach us students specific techniques and procedures. They understand that we are learning and give us every opportunity to practice our skills throughout our day. I believe that I have become proficient at patient assessment, especially neuro since it is a neuro floor.
I am extremely excited for this summer, since we will be taking both pediatrics and maternity. Since I hope to eventually become a pediatric NP, I believe that this summer will be extremely helpful for me to accomplish my goals. We are also receiving information regarding the fall semester. Then, we will be taking complex care, community health nursing, and advanced pathophysiology. At that time we will also have a clinical rotation for community health and a preceptorship for complex care. Within the preceptorship, we will be following a nurse throughout his/her day and become a more independent nurse. This will be extremely beneficial because rather than being assigned to only 1 or 2 patients, we will be doing whatever the nurse would do on a daily shift.
That was quite a lot for now! I'll be sure to keep you all posted with the end of the semester and beginning of summer! Ta ta for now!
- Katie
Sorry it has been so long since I have written about my semester. Things have gotten a little crazy around the office with mailings and catching up on inquiries. Anyway, this has definitely been a tough semester! Acute care is a lot of work and I really enjoy psych. Throughout the semester, we have been taking the material we learned in Professional Nursing and adding on to it during acute care. It is amazing to see just how much information I remember from last semester in this short amount of time. The goal is to later take the information I learn from this semester and apply it to complex care next semester.
Things have also been really busy with school. Along with the usual exams, quizzes, and clinical paperwork, we were assigned two very heavy papers in both acute care and psych. The acute care paper is basically a comprehensive overview of a patient we encountered while at our clinical placements. It discusses everything, including a physical assessment, functional health patterns, medications, an entire nursing care plan, a research article on the topic, and many more sections. It has been stressful to complete, but now that I am just about finished, I feel a huge sense of accomplishment with my nearly 35 page paper.
For the psych paper, we needed to choose a book from a list of choices on various mental health disorders. The book that i chose was Drinking: A Love Story by Caroline Knapp. This tells the story of the author's struggle with alcoholism. If you are interested in the topic or are looking for a good read, this is the book for you. The author keeps your attention by discussing her dependence on alcohol as if it were literally a love story and alcohol was her best friend. The paper discusses a review of the book, the pathophysiology of alcoholism, indications of the disease from within the book, and a nursing care plan that could be used to treat the patient.
Clinical has also been extremely interesting. Although I went into psych clinical with no interest in becoming a psych nurse, I have to admit that I really have enjoyed this semester. My clinical instructor is wonderful and really making the stigma of a psych floor dissipate and make us more comfortable on the floor. I have become much better at identifying specific mental health disorders without even referring to a chart. It is interesting to watch the dynamics of the floor depending on the different patients and personalities that are present on an individual day.
Acute care clinical has been a lot of work as well. I have really enjoyed my interactions with the patients on the floor. I believe that even within a short 2 days/week, I have made a difference in the lives of these patients. I have also loved working with the nurses on the floor. Every one of them are so helpful and more than willing to teach us students specific techniques and procedures. They understand that we are learning and give us every opportunity to practice our skills throughout our day. I believe that I have become proficient at patient assessment, especially neuro since it is a neuro floor.
I am extremely excited for this summer, since we will be taking both pediatrics and maternity. Since I hope to eventually become a pediatric NP, I believe that this summer will be extremely helpful for me to accomplish my goals. We are also receiving information regarding the fall semester. Then, we will be taking complex care, community health nursing, and advanced pathophysiology. At that time we will also have a clinical rotation for community health and a preceptorship for complex care. Within the preceptorship, we will be following a nurse throughout his/her day and become a more independent nurse. This will be extremely beneficial because rather than being assigned to only 1 or 2 patients, we will be doing whatever the nurse would do on a daily shift.
That was quite a lot for now! I'll be sure to keep you all posted with the end of the semester and beginning of summer! Ta ta for now!
- Katie
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
2nd Semester!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hello everyone,
So I made it through to see another semester!!! Sorry it has been so long since my last post... At the end of last semester, things got a little crazy with finals and finishing up work in the office before Christmas break. But I live to see another day and if I can do it, you can all do it too!!! My finals were mainly cumulative with multiple choice scantron questions. These are a lot like the questions that will be asked on the NCLEX exam. These were tough, but it was nice to have 1 semester under my belt. Christmas break was a much needed necessity! Although I didn't have much planned, it was nice to just do nothing for a change! However, by early January when everyone went back to work and I had 2 weeks by myself, I was ready for school to start up again!
So here I am... second semester consists of 2 classes, Acute Care and Psych. I also have 3 days of clinical. My clinical sites are Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center for psych 1 day/week and Mass General Hospital for Acute Care 2 days/week. The classes are a lot more intense than last semester. The professors expect a lot from us and rely on us to remember all that we learned last semester so that we can build on it. I condensed my classes to 1 day/week with a night class so that I could get my hours in to work in the graduate admissions office.
In Acute care, we began learning about the basics of the class, cancer management, and respiratory disorders. Although we touched upon these issues last semester, a lot more of the focus is on nursing diagnoses of particular problems that could happen as well as interventions to assist in patient care. In psych, we began by also learning the basics, including the history of psych nursing, the admission process, and axises by which mental illness are diagnosed. I have 2 quizzes today so we'll see how that goes. Luckily, this is the only day that the 2 courses conflict with an assignment or quiz/exam.
I was nervous to start back up with clinical since it had been over a month since I had been in a hospital setting. The floor that we're assigned to at MGH is a neurosurgery floor, mainly treating strokes, brain cancer, and trauma/spinal cord injury. However, I realized that I remembered a lot more than than I thought I would. We're trained well to be ready for most situations that occur with nursing care. The nurses are so helpful and since MGH is a teaching hospital, they really want you to understand the material. I even had one nurse quiz me on the action of a certain med! Psych is also very interesting. We are not allowed in the patients' rooms for routine nursing care or give the patients meds, as in acute care clinical. This clinical is more focused on therapeutic communication and understanding different mental illnesses. This will definitely help me in the hospital setting!
Well, that's all for now! I'll check back in next week!
- Katie : )
So I made it through to see another semester!!! Sorry it has been so long since my last post... At the end of last semester, things got a little crazy with finals and finishing up work in the office before Christmas break. But I live to see another day and if I can do it, you can all do it too!!! My finals were mainly cumulative with multiple choice scantron questions. These are a lot like the questions that will be asked on the NCLEX exam. These were tough, but it was nice to have 1 semester under my belt. Christmas break was a much needed necessity! Although I didn't have much planned, it was nice to just do nothing for a change! However, by early January when everyone went back to work and I had 2 weeks by myself, I was ready for school to start up again!
So here I am... second semester consists of 2 classes, Acute Care and Psych. I also have 3 days of clinical. My clinical sites are Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center for psych 1 day/week and Mass General Hospital for Acute Care 2 days/week. The classes are a lot more intense than last semester. The professors expect a lot from us and rely on us to remember all that we learned last semester so that we can build on it. I condensed my classes to 1 day/week with a night class so that I could get my hours in to work in the graduate admissions office.
In Acute care, we began learning about the basics of the class, cancer management, and respiratory disorders. Although we touched upon these issues last semester, a lot more of the focus is on nursing diagnoses of particular problems that could happen as well as interventions to assist in patient care. In psych, we began by also learning the basics, including the history of psych nursing, the admission process, and axises by which mental illness are diagnosed. I have 2 quizzes today so we'll see how that goes. Luckily, this is the only day that the 2 courses conflict with an assignment or quiz/exam.
I was nervous to start back up with clinical since it had been over a month since I had been in a hospital setting. The floor that we're assigned to at MGH is a neurosurgery floor, mainly treating strokes, brain cancer, and trauma/spinal cord injury. However, I realized that I remembered a lot more than than I thought I would. We're trained well to be ready for most situations that occur with nursing care. The nurses are so helpful and since MGH is a teaching hospital, they really want you to understand the material. I even had one nurse quiz me on the action of a certain med! Psych is also very interesting. We are not allowed in the patients' rooms for routine nursing care or give the patients meds, as in acute care clinical. This clinical is more focused on therapeutic communication and understanding different mental illnesses. This will definitely help me in the hospital setting!
Well, that's all for now! I'll check back in next week!
- Katie : )
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