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