Week 7

Closing in on the last week of Fundamentals!!! It's went by so fast! It's crazy!! I had my last fundamental lab, assessment, and clinical this week. I no longer have to worry about getting a U and failing out of the program!! :D Clinicals were so much fun! I got to see a Hemovac placement on an abdominal wound! Can't even describe how cool it was! I thought something like seeing a woman's intestines under a skin graft would gross me out, but it didn't!! :)
My final is next wednesday. So excited about it. I haven't really done any studying yet. So I'm about to hit the books hard!! I did get to hang out with an old friend last night that has been an RN for 5 years. She was telling me some of the cool things that she gets to see in the ER. If I wasn't sure that I wanted to work in the ER before, I am now!! lol.
I can't wait to be done with fundamentals and move on to more things! I'm excited that it's going by so fast. The faster it goes by, the sooner I can start working! :D

Week 6

Class this week was pretty fun! We had a guest speaker on Monday and Nutritional assignment on Wednesday. We got to bring dishes from all over the world and eat them in class. We even had virgin Margaritas!! :) Something that I ate did not agree with me though because I got sick Wednesday night. I was up all night throwing up! I ended up missing labs and assessment on thursday because of it. So now I have to catch up on all that happened there. Open lab, here I come! I'm already feeling better now though. I think the vomit is over with. I hope it is for sure. I have clinicals again tomorrow. Hoping all goes well with that. Time to start studying for finals. I have a family reunion coming up in Orlando and I'm planning on reading and studying all the way up there and back! :)

Week 5

I officially live in Tallahassee now!! :D I'm so glad that is over with. No more long drives to class at 6 am. It does suck that I live so far from my friends and family though. I still have to drive a little while to see them, but at least it's not at 6 in the morning.
Current clinical issues: I got a call at 4:30 pm on thursday while I was in assessment. Apparently, there was another problem with my vaccinations. They said that since I've only started my varicella series (not completed it) that I may not be able to attend. After about an hour of phone calls, meetings, tears, and missing class, I still didn't have a definite answer. I was told to go to clinicals and sit in the conference room until a decision was made.
So I did. At about 7:15 am on friday, I was told that I was allowed to attend if I promise to complete the series next month and bring them the paperwork as soon as I do. So I FINALLY received my TMH badge!! :D I'm so glad that it all is working out. I have been stressing and crying so much lately. I'm finally done with it!
And to top it all off: My Gators beat Kentucky this week!! :D Now time for Alabama next week!! GO GATORS!!

Week 4

Well, I just finished my midterm... I didn't do to bad, but I didn't do to good either. I've been so wrapped up in packing and organizing and errand running that I forgot to make time to study. So I went into this test without studying at all. I guess I did pretty good considering. I am definitely not going to make that mistake again!! I'm gonna start studying for my final now!! :)
Things are looking better this week compared to last week. My jeep has been doing better. I think I finally figured it out and gave it what it wanted and now it likes me again. lol. I'm almost completely done packing and I'm preparing to move Friday. I'm taking my BLS class tonight. I'm getting my stuff done as fast as I can. Soon, I'll be completely finished and will have more time to focus on my school work. :) At least with the move I will have a dependable ride to class and pretty soon I will be 5 minutes from school and everything will be great again!! :)
Lab tomorrow... we get to bathe each other... what a thing to look forward to. I really don't wanna participate in this activity... But I will. I'm sure it won't be that bad. It did make me realize that I don't own a single tank top or spaghetti strapped shirt. lol. so I'm gonna be pushing up my sleeves. We'll see what happens.

Week 3

This week was a little rough on me. The study material wasn't that hard. The quiz was easy for the most part.
Let me add some things I failed to mention before. I was just contacted on Tuesday, August 17, 2010 with my acceptance into the program. I have been trying ever since to complete all necessary paperwork. I have not quite completed everything. I was not allowed to go to clinicals. So now I have a 75 automatically. Which is not cool!! And I have to do 8 hours of open lab time to make up for it. And I have to find an old person to do my paper and vital signs on.
Also, I live 65 miles away from school at the moment. On my way to class Wednesday to make up the math quiz that I missed, my vehicle overheated 3 times! I was 10 minutes late and was not allowed in to take the quiz. It seems I can't get ahead...
I'm planning on moving a lot closer to school next week, so as to avoid this situation in the future. But as of right now, I'm not very happy! :(

Week 2 of nursing program

So far, everything in the program is really east. I honestly haven't learned anything new. The first 8 weeks are gonna teach us how to be CNA's. Which I already am. I know that after these 8 weeks, it's gonna get a lot harder!! I like a good challenge though. :)
We're finally getting to some hands on stuff. This week we did vital signs. I like these kinds of activities. Of course, I've been doing vital signs for some time now and am very comfortable with them. So no sweat when we're assessed next week. :) I missed one day this week and actually missed a math test. I have to make that up next week.
I just found out that my laptop is messed up. The screen is broken and it's very hard to use. :( As if life isn't stressful enough, the tools you rely on let you down as well. lol. Go figure!!
Until next week,
Jackie

Week One of The TCC Nursing Program

On April fool’s day 2007, I found out I was pregnant with my son. This was terrifying to me because I knew that I did not have a proper life to bring him into. I was working a low paying job, as was his father. We were barely making it without children. What were we going to do?
I grew up very poor. Neither of my parents went to college. So I started thinking, “I need to do something with my life. I need to go to college.” Then I had to decide what I wanted to do. I remembered a friend of mine going to school to be a nurse and talking about how much money she was making now. A quick 2 year degree that pays way more than I was making at the time. I decided that if she could do it, so could I. So, I signed up at TCC because it was closer than Chipola and everyone gets accepted (You and everyone else who applied got into Just Community College. Lol). Though getting into the nursing program took lots of hard work and dedication. :)
After I enrolled and started classes, I found out how interesting human anatomy is. Here was this whole other subject world that I never thought to enter! It’s fascinating!! I actually enjoy learning about the human body. So I guess nursing was a positive choice for me after all. During my second and final semester of pre-requisites, we started learning about the heart. This was the most interesting section by far! So, I would like to work in cardiology. :)
Honestly, in the beginning, I was in it for the money. Selfish, I know. Now that I am involved in the subject, I realize what nurses are to the medical field. I know I will be making good money, but I will be earning it with an excellent career. I am now a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), and know how important nurses are. Nurses work harder than you think. I would define a nurse as a caregiver with the power to save and change lives! :) Nurses take vitals, administer medications, assist with routine activities of daily living (ADLs), and do everything the doctor asks of them. They are the heart of the hospital (so to speak) and I will be proud to be a nurse!