Nursing School week 2/#1
Jan. 23rd, 2012 02:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pantsheadThe second semester has started! Okay, it started last week, but I'm obviously behind already...
We didn't have class on MLK Jr. day, and only the nursing classes started last week. (This week all the other classes--A&P, Psych, nutrition--begin too.) We've just jumped right in this semester--we had 2 extra lectures last week instead of having clinical, so by now we've had 6 hours of lecture on diabetes (our first topic) and 4 hours of lab/lecture on IV pumps! We also had an orientation to our clinical units, and we began the week by demonstrating certain skills from last semester--we all had to correctly give 2 medications (a pill and a subcutaneous shot) and then either assess and flush an NG tube (run water down it to keep the line clear) or perform a sterile dressing change. I got the NG tube. Both went fine. (If you failed one of them, you have to practice it and then schedule another time to be tested on it--you can't start clinical until you've passed.)
The lecture this semester seems to be mostly disease-based: We're learning the pathophysiology of the disease, how it affects other systems in the body, and signs, symptoms, and treatments for all of the above. In clinical we'll be expected to use all of our skills from last semester and then begin adding the new skills that we're learning. For example, now that we're learning about IVs, we'll be able to hang IV medications (once we've validated). I'm excited that our clinical prep work (which was really hard last semester) *seems* like it will be easier this semester. The school is trying out a new method that they call "Just in Time" prep--when we arrive at 7am, we'll receive our patient assignment, and we'll then have an hour to get our basic information together--pathophysiology of their main diagnoses, background info on their meds--and then we hit the floor. I think the reasoning behind this is two-fold: First, it doesn't do anyone any good to stay up until 2am prepping when you have to be on the floor at 7am. Second, a real RN will NEVER have that much time to gather information about the patient, so we need to start to learn how to get what we need and move on.
It's been a little hard getting back in the swing of getting up for classes--I kept busy over break, and had a nice visit with my family, but I admit I wasn't usually up at 7 (or earlier) in the morning! But it's nice to see everyone at school again--our class size is smaller now, but I'm not exactly sure how many people we lost. The school is pretty flexible about letting people take a semester off (to have a baby...seems to be the most common reason!) and then re-enter the program. There are definitely some of those people in our class now, and there are a few in our class who are taking it for the 2nd time. Sooo, all in all, our class is 10 people smaller than it was last semester, but I'd guess that 20 of the people who began in the Fall are not with us now. Some of them are taking the intro class again, and some have probably left the program completely. That's about a quarter of our original class!
We didn't have class on MLK Jr. day, and only the nursing classes started last week. (This week all the other classes--A&P, Psych, nutrition--begin too.) We've just jumped right in this semester--we had 2 extra lectures last week instead of having clinical, so by now we've had 6 hours of lecture on diabetes (our first topic) and 4 hours of lab/lecture on IV pumps! We also had an orientation to our clinical units, and we began the week by demonstrating certain skills from last semester--we all had to correctly give 2 medications (a pill and a subcutaneous shot) and then either assess and flush an NG tube (run water down it to keep the line clear) or perform a sterile dressing change. I got the NG tube. Both went fine. (If you failed one of them, you have to practice it and then schedule another time to be tested on it--you can't start clinical until you've passed.)
The lecture this semester seems to be mostly disease-based: We're learning the pathophysiology of the disease, how it affects other systems in the body, and signs, symptoms, and treatments for all of the above. In clinical we'll be expected to use all of our skills from last semester and then begin adding the new skills that we're learning. For example, now that we're learning about IVs, we'll be able to hang IV medications (once we've validated). I'm excited that our clinical prep work (which was really hard last semester) *seems* like it will be easier this semester. The school is trying out a new method that they call "Just in Time" prep--when we arrive at 7am, we'll receive our patient assignment, and we'll then have an hour to get our basic information together--pathophysiology of their main diagnoses, background info on their meds--and then we hit the floor. I think the reasoning behind this is two-fold: First, it doesn't do anyone any good to stay up until 2am prepping when you have to be on the floor at 7am. Second, a real RN will NEVER have that much time to gather information about the patient, so we need to start to learn how to get what we need and move on.
It's been a little hard getting back in the swing of getting up for classes--I kept busy over break, and had a nice visit with my family, but I admit I wasn't usually up at 7 (or earlier) in the morning! But it's nice to see everyone at school again--our class size is smaller now, but I'm not exactly sure how many people we lost. The school is pretty flexible about letting people take a semester off (to have a baby...seems to be the most common reason!) and then re-enter the program. There are definitely some of those people in our class now, and there are a few in our class who are taking it for the 2nd time. Sooo, all in all, our class is 10 people smaller than it was last semester, but I'd guess that 20 of the people who began in the Fall are not with us now. Some of them are taking the intro class again, and some have probably left the program completely. That's about a quarter of our original class!
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no subject
Date: 2012-01-26 02:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-28 01:33 pm (UTC)