12 days until NCLEX

How I feel right now...AGHHHHHHHH. JUNE 17th.  Pray it goes well :)

It's official: I'm a BSN grad

Graduation day has come and gone.  I feel as if I've hardly had any time to process that any of this is happening.  I don't think it'll really hit me until a few weeks from now, when I have no class or homework or studying to do (other than for NCLEX), or until I have my first job interview.  It's been a journey, and I'm sad to see this chapter of my life come to an end, but I'm looking forward to seeing what the Lord has planned for the future.

Til next time,
Grace, BSN
:)

Pinning. Check. Graduation, 3 days!

The countdown to pinning is finished.  It came and went rather quickly, almost too quickly to take in really, despite the fact the ceremony was almost 2 1/2 hours long.  Even afterwards, it still really didn't hit me that I'm done.  Like, done, done with school.  No late nights studying for an exam, no clinical journals, care plans, case studies.  No study sessions at Boston Coffee.  No more hanging out at room 602 in the CON. No more discussions comparing answers to questions in the hallway post-exam. No more refreshing webcourses to see if exam grades are up. No more snacking during class, or laughing at Dr. D's jokes. Is it weird that I will miss a lot of what I mentioned, when I complained about it so often before? Haha. Really, these 2 years flew by.  It never seems like it while you're in it, until you look back from day 1 until now.  I still remember that first day of orientation, when they overwhelmed us with so much information :)  That first week of sort through 6 or 7 syllabuses and feeling so anxious I had chest pain.  The late nights preparing med cards and care plans for all our different clinical rotations, and feeling so anxious when being quizzed by our clinical instructor-- to beginning practicum and feeling more like a nurse. It's kind of intimidating knowing that we no longer have the safety net of the school and our instructors.  Once we get that "RN" behind our name, we're responsible for ourselves and our patients. Well, I will oddly enough miss school, or perhaps the familiarity that comes with it, since I've known nothing else.  3 more days until graduation!

~all glory be to Christ

8 days until pinning. 11 days until graduation. Oh my goodness.

Wow, I think it's finally hitting me that I'm really... really... almost done with nursing school.   That is so crazy.  All the hard work and studying is coming to a close, and a new chapter of a different kind of learning (practical experience) lies ahead.  Feeling a little bit emotional :)  Nursing school really is no joke.  It's definitely the toughest thing I've done in my 22 years of life, for sure.  I'm sure it will only get more difficult from here, but in a different way.

Last week, I finished my practicum in the Emergency Department.  It was a really good learning experience, and I was blessed with great preceptors who were really encouraging and willing to teach, and didn't treat me as if I was inferior because I was a student, but really tried to help me grow as a future nurse, in both my practical skills (IV insertions, catheters, assessments, etc.) and communication skills.  Jobwise, hopefully I will have a chance to talk to the nurse manager of the ED in order to at least get my name and resume out there.  Starting a a grad nurse in the ED is still a bit of an intimidating thought to me, but I've talked to several nurses who started as a brand new nurse in the ED and said it was the way to go.  Wherever the Lord will have me go, whether it's the ED, or med-surg, or wherever, I will still learn and be content :)

Tomorrow is my last written exam (multiple choice style) in critical care.  After that, I have 2 essay finals, a ATI leadership exam, and THATS IT.  Whew.  It's pretty awesome to look back and see how far we've all come.  I fell a little bit short of cum laude, which is kind of a bummer, a couple more A's and I probably would have gotten it :)  In the end graduating and passing NCLEX is all that really matters :)

~Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

65 days...1560 hours...93,600 minutes...or 5,616,000 seconds (approximately)

65 days until our pinning ceremony! It's getting closer!  Can't believe the end of February is almost here.  Seems like it just started?  I guess that it one good thing about being so busy this semester-- it is going by fast. Two months left.  I was just looking at my previous post, and I don't even remember what I felt so melancholy about haha.

I'm almost halfway done with practicum in the ER.  It's been going fairly well.  It's very quick and fast paced... so we're always busy.  I've gotten alot of practice with IVs and catheters, that's for sure.  Having a slow day in the ER is like a breath of fresh air :)  

Thankfully, today is a nice lazy saturday... I can just sit outside in the porch, plug my computer in, play some music, and get schoolwork done.

5 more days until Spring break! woohoo.

Til next time~

Today...

...I feel bleh. Melancholy. Tired. Just wanna eat some ice cream and have a good cry.  Ready for this semester to be over. Is it possible to be tired of nursing before I've even began?  Usually I'm not like this.  Maybe I just have a major case of senioritis.

=(

Well, I've managed not to cry throughout all of nursing school... might as well not start now.

99 days until graduation

Wow, the graduation countdown is now in the double digits...  Crazy.  I start my first practicum clinical day tomorrow in the Emergency Department.  Needless to say, I'm feeling a little nervous about it... hopefully I will just be orienting the first day instead of being overwhelmed.  I'm excited for the chance to practice more skills, though.

Eek... well it's gonna be an early start to tomorrow (5am), so I better head to bed.  Praying all goes well tomorrow!!!