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Nursing School week 2/#15
May. 4th, 2012 01:59 pmOverall, a pretty easy week! I had my evaluation with my clinical instructor on Monday, and I did pass clinical--thank goodness! The prospect of failing an entire semester because of one instructor's interpretation of your performance is just scary...and no, I don't have reliable numbers on how many people actually fail Clinical, or what the reason is. Obviously, there are some quantifiable, objective ways you could fail--such as being written up for the same (or similar) infractions more than once. (Example: one student in my group gave an insulin injection without getting a second RN to check the order and dose. The instructor had checked it, but insulin requires 2 RNs to check it. When she and the instructor realized the mistake--which had not resulted in the patient receiving the wrong dose or anything like that--the instructor said "I'm really sorry, but I have to write you up for this." Basically, the student just had to acknowledge that she understood what she had done wrong, and indicate how she would avoid making the same error again.)
But, at any rate, I passed! Our final exam is next week, and I'm in the same position I was in last semester--my average in the class is high enough that I am pretty unlikely to do badly in the class, no matter how I score on the final. That's a nice position to be in, and I know it's a luxury--there are plenty of students who are teetering on the edge of passing (anything below a 74.5% is a failing grade) and who are counting on this final to try to pull them over the line.
We did have a brief session this week with the instructors for the Fall semester. The third semester is called the "Specialties" semester, and is structured in two 7-week halves. In one half, we have lecture and clinical work in Pediatrics and Non-Acute care (doctor's offices, out-patient surgery centers that see, for example, orthopedic patients, health-promotion, etc...); the other half is Mental Health and Obstetrics. For the second half, we switch. The clinical work tends to be more observational than hands-on, because we only do 3 weeks of clinical in each area (we alternate weeks). So, it will be a very different format, with a lot of different topics. Obviously, I'll learn more once I get into it...
That's about it! I'll probably post one more "update" next week after exams are nearly over, assuming my brain hasn't leaked out of my ears by then! After exams, I have about 2 weeks until my summer classes (Microbiology and Pharmacology) start. Time to get the garden planted, at least!
But, at any rate, I passed! Our final exam is next week, and I'm in the same position I was in last semester--my average in the class is high enough that I am pretty unlikely to do badly in the class, no matter how I score on the final. That's a nice position to be in, and I know it's a luxury--there are plenty of students who are teetering on the edge of passing (anything below a 74.5% is a failing grade) and who are counting on this final to try to pull them over the line.
We did have a brief session this week with the instructors for the Fall semester. The third semester is called the "Specialties" semester, and is structured in two 7-week halves. In one half, we have lecture and clinical work in Pediatrics and Non-Acute care (doctor's offices, out-patient surgery centers that see, for example, orthopedic patients, health-promotion, etc...); the other half is Mental Health and Obstetrics. For the second half, we switch. The clinical work tends to be more observational than hands-on, because we only do 3 weeks of clinical in each area (we alternate weeks). So, it will be a very different format, with a lot of different topics. Obviously, I'll learn more once I get into it...
That's about it! I'll probably post one more "update" next week after exams are nearly over, assuming my brain hasn't leaked out of my ears by then! After exams, I have about 2 weeks until my summer classes (Microbiology and Pharmacology) start. Time to get the garden planted, at least!
