welcome home!

HORRAY! I have survived the infamous 'first semester of 2nd year', the hardest term of the degree. I was actually done on Thursday, but due to being brain-fried from studying, I couldn't bring myself to do anything requiring thought - like blogging - for at least a few days.

And the best part about being done exams? I came home to a BRAND NEW BEDROOM! While I was busy memorizing drugs and body parts, my parents were toiling away at home: cleaning, filling, painting, & moving all my belongings from room to room. And the kicker - I had NO idea. I'm pretty good at figuring stuff out. I catch a clue here, a hint there, and can usually piece something together. But this time, I was astounded. I just stood and marveled at my room in complete astonishment. Now I understand why some women on HGTV just loose it when they come home to brand-new bedroom or kitchen!! It's amazing.

Now I'm just getting back into the routine of living at home, opening a fridge full of healthy/non-college food, and sharing the bathroom with my brother. Summer will be great!

D.

on a positive note:

yesterday DID get better! My Assessment Final grade was upload and I pulled off a 98%. Wohooo! But I'm wondering where the measly 2% went...

D.

last lab of the year and....

I pass out. Yessir, during the most anticipated lab of the semester, the one where we can practice injections on each other, I just about collapsed after receiving an intramuscular (IM) injection. Just wonderful.

I'm not sure what's worse: that I volunteered to go first because I was so excited, or that my sister will be embarrassed that I couldn't handle 1 measly needle!!

I couldn't tell you why it happened. I've had IM's before, so I wasn't anxious. I rolled up my sleeve, watched my partner put it in, and all of sudden everything went dizzy. I felt sweaty, hot, and nauseous. Then, in a whim of brilliance, I decided I needed to go to the washroom so I could walk it off. I made it to the door, then slumped to my butt as I couldn't even see straight. Somehow, with the help of the firefighter/paramedic duo in our class (husband & wife), I managed to walk back to the bed and just rest until it passed. I remember bits of pieces, so I didn't completely black out, but man oh man.... it was the worst feeling ever.

Who knows why it happened. I had breakfast, felt gung-ho about lab, slept well last night, and feel healthy. My instructor took my BP about 20 mins after I was able to walk around, and it was at 92/60, which is significantly lower than my usually 110/whatever. But I couldn't tell you why it dropped so low!

Ah, well - I guess it's story I can laugh at in a few years. Plus, I gave the other students a chance to practice their 'nursey' skills... LOL. For now, I am trying not to die in embarrassment. For being a go-getter type of person, this is pretty hard to admit to. But on the plus side, the rest of today can only improve!!

D.

success!

Assessment final: Success!

I'm not one to get pre-exam jitters. I don't lose sleep, stay up late stressing, or feel queasy before writing. That was until this year! Two of the most obscure tests made me feel the pressure: Pharm Calc. (which ended up fine!) and this Assessment final. I woke up 1/2 a dozen times the night before, going over various pneumonics and ROM (Range of Motion) exercises for each system, panicking that'd that I forget the simple stuff.

I showed up bright and early for my Final, volunteered to go first, and drew up GI as my system. Of course, I'd pick the easiest system... not a toughie like Neuro or Musculoskeletal, ones that I spent the majority of my time on! But regardless, it went great - I nailed every point! Now I'm just waiting for my overall mark, which will include the Subjective Questions and Documentation portion. Wohooo! 1 final down, 5 more to go...

D.

hello, spring time!

Spring is here! Which equals final time! Already!! They begin next week, one of which is Pharmacology, the mother-load of exams. It's on Friday, so about 10 days away. And the drug list was just posted today: there are 70 drugs to know. 63 are brand new, 8 are from previous midterms. LOVELY! It's cramming time.

Tomorrow is my Assessment Lab final: we are expected to perform a Physical Assessment on 1 of 6 systems, along with a written section, based on a given scenario. We are not told which system we will be tested on until we arrive and read the case study. GAH, there is so much to remember, especially since we are required to talk and explain our actions. It's much different than a multiple choice exam, where you can use the process of elimination if you're in doubt. Verbally explaining everything is a whole different ball game. There aren't 4 choices to pick from if your stuck!! I signed up for the earliest slot, @ 730am, to get it done and over with. Fingers crossed for success!

D.