When Not In Scrubs

Life of a Widener Nursing Student

[ciaralynnnn-blog1]

Second week out of fifteen...

     It is the second week in and I’ve survived thus far. Honestly my biggest fear for the semester is my time management. Right now I feel anxious about getting all the readings done in time, what is important to know, and doing well in clinical. I am very excited for clinical this semester and applying the skills and knowledge we learned throughout the semester! Last week I met with my clinical groups and have met both my instructors. I am very excited for my Sunday clinical at DuPont because I love working with children and I would love to become a pediatric nurse. 

     Overall, I’m nervous for this semester but I am going to stay focused, stay positive, do my work, and try my best to succeed. I look forward to trying my best, meeting new people in my program, and applying all the information I learn in class to both of my clinicals. Here’s to a great semester! 

[whennotinscrubs-blog]

As this semester quickly comes to close I chose to address a post from the beginning of the semester as my final response. This semester has been full of learning and learning experiences. It was definitely more difficult than the last but I since I was more acclimated to being away from home and there were fewer obstacles in my personal life I feel like I embraced other people in the program a bit more allowing me to form new relationships. It took me a second to get into the groove of studying and adjusting to back-to-back exams after the long winter break, but I embraced other peoples techniques of watching videos and looking at other sources. I honestly feel like I learned a lot about myself this semester and so far each semester has taught me more and more priceless information about nursing and myself. With that, with this semester closing in fast I can shift my stress towards finals and the summer semester ahead.

[thestudentnurseblog]

Things You Took For Granted Before Becoming Nursing

1- Painting your nails. Why can’t I have pretty nails???

2- Wearing your hair down. My hair no longer knows how to do this. 

3- Peeing regularly. Bathroom breaks? Ha.

4- Good posture. 

5- A morning lie in. Literally haven’t had a good lie in for 3 years.

6- Having money. There’s broke students, and then there’s broke student nurses.

7- Jewellery. I MISS MY RINGS!

8- Being more available for social events. Uhh i can due tuesday the 31st of february?

9- Family and friends NOT asking you medical questions all the damn time. No grandma I cannot diagnose the weird mark on your leg. 

10- Eating at reasonable times. My breakfast is either at 5:15am or 11am, there’s no in between.  

[whennotinscrubs-blog]

Pediatric Simulation

I learned so much at pediatric simulation today about prioritizing nursing interventions when dealing with a patient who has multiple health issues occurring simultaneously. I was nervous about this specific simulation because 1) I am coming down with some type of nasty respiratory infection 2) SIM generally makes me anxious and 3) I tend to thrive more in a Med Surge setting rather than peds. Overall I found this SIM to be my most informative thus far and despite the bumps (not being able to administer meds because of a technical glitch), I found that I was good at communicating using SBAR with the doctor and communicating in general with my partner. We were strong at sticking to our assigned roles which allowed us to get an assessment, vitals, and correct treatment in a short period of time. I can say that this was probably the best SIM experience I have had despite feeling under the weather.

[khawailam]

Heading towards the end!

I think this semester wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I was seriously dramatic in how I thought I would do due to listening to the experiences of people who went before me. My experience won’t mirror the experience of someone else but rather it will be unique to me and I think that with keeping this in mind I have allowed myself to feel proud of what I accomplished. It wasn’t exactly what I had hoped for as I’m getting toward the end but I did pretty good I kept up with good study habits and I put in the work while also making small bits of time to take care of myself. Its been a struggle but its a struggle that I’m proud of. Comparing myself to others gets me no where. Comparing myself to where I was to where I am now gives me motivation do better and go further. For the time being I’m going to forget that there is only a 1 week break between semesters. I’m going to make that one heck of a week.

[whennotinscrubs-blog]

Khawaila, I love your philosophy! You should never compare yourself to other people, it’s extremely toxic. Grades aren’t at all a reliable indication of what anyone will be like as a nurse. I think that passion and ability to prioritize are better indications and being in both of your clinicals this semester I have certainly seen both of those qualities in you. You absolutely should feel proud of everything that you have accomplished and I look forward to possibly being in future clincals with you.  

[whennotinscrubs-blog]

Med Surge Clinical 4/13

Friday’s clinical was a sad but good learning experience for me. My assigned resident had just come back from the hospital after having a terrible fall that led to her fracturing her tibia. I got to do a full head to toe with my resident's nurse that involved measuring and noting the severe bruising on her face, neck, and extremities that she had obtained from the fall. The nurse reevaluated her using a fall risk assessment tool determining that she was a high fall risk and coming up with interventions to put in place with the physician and PT. Although the events leading to the learning experience were saddening, the opportunity to see the implementation of the nursing process in a live scenario was extremely informative. 

[mollygioffre-blog]

Graduation is on my mindd

I feel like I blinked my eyes and this semester is over. In just 4 short weeks we will have completed out second semester of nursing school. It almost doesn’t seem real how fast its going. Its frightening yet so exciting that we will be real life nurses so soon!! This semester has for sure pushed me to my limits but it has been so rewarding. I’m trying to be positive in every way possible but sometimes it just feels like the hardest thing to do. Trying to manage school, my own health, friends, family, personal time ect is not an easy thing! Some weeks are easier than others but I just keep reminding myself that in the end it will be all worth it!!

[whennotinscrubs-blog]

Molly, I am excited that we are one step closer to the end and this semester definitely pushed me more than last semester. However, I feel like the biggest hurdle we will have to overcome is this upcoming summer semester. Not only is it out heaviest semester in credits but we also have the distraction of warm weather and fun summer activities. I feel like if we make it through the summer then graduation is certainly within our reach.

[quilavastudy]

Solid advice there, oxford handbook

[nursingwithmartina-blog]

Nearing the Finish Line of The Semester

Yesterday I completed my SIMs.  Although stressful, I truly do enjoy the SIM Labs because I learn a lot and I get a better understanding of the material we are learning in lecture by applying it in a real life situation. Today, is my last official day of my PEDS Clinical, and I have grown to build a huge appreciation for that clinical compared to the beginning of the semester, and I am thankful. Now, I am just focusing on studying for these last few exams, and I am ready for the new semester! 

[whennotinscrubs-blog]

Martina, I totally agree that SIM is extremely stressful for something that is not even formally evaluated. I think that the whole simulation process could be more organized and less overwhelming with a couple of adjustments. I do appreciate SIM for the simple fact that I really do learn so much about all the steps that go into finding out what is wrong with the patient and how to intervene. I think one of the major improvements that can be made would be to actually have a real live person as our patients instead of a mannequin. 

[ciaralynnnn-blog1]

Nearly there..

I cannot believe we are nearly done this semester. Today is my last day at A.I DuPont which I’ll miss so much! I’ve loved clinical every week at DuPont and meeting all the patients and the nurses. Multiple weeks I had Nurse Val who was amazing and taught me so much! I hope to be an amazing nurse Luke her one day.

Also, it is nice we have a break in the next few weeks until we have three back to back exams. My goal is to use this time to get all the reading done for each class and be fully prepared by the time those tests come around 🙌🏻

As a whole I’ve enjoyed this semester and learned a lot of skills and improved some skills I’ve already had. Throughout clinical I’ve practiced my head to toe each week at Kendal at Longwood and A.I DuPont, so I feel pretty confident with doing one now! I’m looking forward to next semester and taking on the new challenges it brings!

[whennotinscrubs-blog]

As much as I am excited to be finished with this clinical and check one off the list I am going to miss our group and Dr. Johnson and the learning experiences that came with each week. I am relieved that after next weeks simulation we will have our Sunday's free to focus on material that will be on our next 6 exams.

[whennotinscrubs-blog]

Last Pediatric Clinical

Yesterday was my last pediatric clinical at duPont Children’s Hospital. This clinical has been an amazing experience despite my lack of desire to work in pediatrics. I was lucky to have had such a great clinical instructor and lively group of classmates. In regards to the learning aspect, I am truly sad to be finished. My instructor made sure that we were constantly learning something new. We were not allowed to just go in and complete a head to toe assessment. We had to research our patient’s condition, as well as, common and severe complications that coincide with their diagnosis. Dr. Johnson wanted us to understand the purpose of our patient’s medications, as well as, understand the side effects and their mechanism of actions. It was fascinating researching the rare cases that existed throughout the hospital both on my unit (oncology and hematology) and the NICU where I spent a day learning about hereditary spherocytosis and Dandy-Walker Malformation. After completing this clinical I can honestly say I have learned copious amounts of information about sickle cell disease, diabetes, and various cancers.   

[whennotinscrubs-blog]

Spring 2018 Clinical

After almost a complete semester of clinical, I have learned two things about myself. 1) I learned that I absolutely do not want to work in pediatrics. I thought going into school that I would love pediatrics because I love children and I enjoyed being a nanny. I now know that despite the fact that I love children I do not want to be their nurse. 2) Although I never had a great appreciation for being a CNA in dementia/hospice I have very much enjoyed performing nursing tasks for the geriatric population. I have gotten to learn and experience so many things in my Med Surg clinical. A couple of weeks ago I got to administer a PPD test and flush, clean, and administer meds into a G tube. Overall, I have learned so much about myself and what type of nurse I would like to be, as well as, extensive information about sickle cell and cancers.  

[nursingtheheart]

Someone shared this in our ICU weight loss group and I’m dying lol.

[undercaffeinatedrn]

DYYYIIING

but for reals. charlie horse in the left calf everytime.

[whennotinscrubs-blog]

How I Ended Up At Widener?

Upon graduating high school, I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do, all of my friends were headed off to school in the following Fall and I had not applied to a single college. I did not apply myself in high school despite having potential, so I did not feel I would thrive at college if I jumped right in. I decided to stay home and take a gap year instead. During my gap year, I was a live-in nanny for a 5-year-old boy and 3-year-old girl, I learned a lot about myself and decided that I wanted to go back to school to pursue a career in working with children in a medical setting.  I left the family I had worked for after a year and enrolled in a CNA program and pre-nursing courses at my local community college. I was very involved at my community college taking various leadership roles in the honor society and President's Circle, and running multiple fundraisers.  After two years of working full-time as a CNA and being a full-time student, I graduated and got into 5/5 of the nursing programs I applied to.  I chose Widener University because it made the most sense financially and I wanted to get out of Connecticut and expose myself to a new environment, specifically an environment with great surrounding hospitals.