Wow

Been awhile since I updated. Chalk up my laziness to the fact that this was the hardest quarter yet. Financial issues, family issues and life in general seemed to keep me in a constant state of near drowning. Things seem to be calming down a bit now that the holidays are behind me and I can concentrate better.

A quick look back at last quarter: Clinicals were exceptional and I even had a day where I caught a decubitus ulcer in it's early stage of formation on a patient post hip replacement surgery. Score one for the student nurse! I really enjoyed my facility and I'm sad that I won't be at the same hospital this quarter. I had the opportunity to give injections, start IV's, dressing changes, IV push medications, give oral medications, hang antibiotics, start IV fluids, and run around like crazy in the ER. It was fabulous.

I'm also excited to announce that I achieved a 4.0 last quarter! I scored a 104% on my pharmacology final! Woohoo! I studied my buttocks off so I feel that I earned every point of that grade--oh and did I mention I took my last final the morning of the 23rd of December? Talk about being a headcase. Trying to get that kind of studying done while dealing with work and holiday responsibilities (parties, gifts, presents, wrapping, shopping, placing orders, receiving orders, decorating, trying not to murder my children whom seemed to have been in a constant state of sugar-rush... oh, and did I also mention that my son's birthday is December 20th?) was ridiculous. I'm trying my hardest to block it from my memory right now.

This quarter even though it began only this week, I already feel that it's going to be my favorite. I'm studying medical/surgical II but more excitingly I begin my mental health rotation. Mental health has always interested me, one of those kinds of things that hit close to home. My instructor is incredible and has been a psych nurse/practitioner for 29 years. She's amazing. I'm really thrilled to be her student and I hope to learn as much as I can from her the next twelve weeks.

Whew. That's my pitiful attempt at an update. It's hard to even verbalize the difficulty of attending nursing school. I think I avoid this blog because when I started it, I was hoping it would be an outlet for me to vent about my college experiences but, as it turns out, I can't even think about venting because then it would make my stresses more poignant and I just don't know if I would have the strength to keep going if I had too much recollection of my experiences. Some kind of mental protection, I'd guess.

When my husband and I rang in the new year he leaned down to kiss me and I asked him, "What are you looking forward to in 2010?" After a not so quick smooch he whispered into my ear, "you graduate this year. Thank God."

It's hard to wrap my brain around the fact that this year, 2010, I WILL GRADUATE. I have to. I don't know how much more myself or my family can put up with!

Here's to 2010!!!