This Thing Called Life

     The other day I went to Barnes and Noble with the guy I'm currently dating so he could pick up textbooks for his new semester and it made me sad that I was no longer in school. After LPN school I kept telling people it drained me and that it would be too expensive to go back. Plus I feared my anxiety and depression would hold me back. But today I looked at the college site that currently offers the LPN to BSN program I've always wanted to attend and I have decided I will go back and get my Bachelors because that has been my long term career goal for the longest time. Yes, that means more loans, care plans, tears, stress, and hair pulling but I will do it. My plan is to pay off my community college, enroll again, take the placement tests, and knock out the prerequisites I need to apply to the BSN program. My plan after paying off my community college is to ask if I can have Mondays and Wednesdays off or Tuesdays and Thursdays so I can take more than one class to get t...

     Years ago in high school, I never would have said that I loved to learn. But now that I'm older and in college taking classes that matter, I love it. And even when I take a class that aren't particularly my favorite, I still pretend to like it just to make the semester go by faster. This semester, I'll be taking Child Psychology. I read on ratemyprofessor that my instructor is an older lady but she is nice and issues one project and one major paper and the quizzes and tests come right out the chapters. Seems easy enough. I have 5 classes left after this one to complete before applying to the nursing program. Time is flying! The only thing I need to kick up a notch is saving money. When I start nursing school, I plan on working as little as possible so that I can focus on my studies and clinical. I'm so proud of how far I've come and it is only the beginning.      As I get ready to start this new fall semester, I kind of get sad that I will n...

     We are moving right along in my cna course. It is a lot more fun when we get to practice the skills instead of doing the chapters in the book. Most of the book is common sense. The tests we take are pretty easy and the terminology quizzes are a breeze. I figured I'd go ahead and tell you what skills we have learned and which ones I find easy and more complicated. Here is the list: Hand washing (simple) Apply knee-high elastic stocking(simple) Assist to ambulate using a transfer built( not to bad) Cleans upper or lower denture(simple) Donning and removing PPE/gown and gloves(fairly easy) Give modified bed bath to face, one arm, hand, and underarm(a lot of steps. I'm still practicing this one) Measure and record weight(simple) Perform Passive Range of Motion (PROM) for one knee and ankle(fairly easy) Perform PROM for one shoulder(easy) Positions on side(a lot of steps but is isn't too difficult) Provide catheter care for female(easy) Foot care on one...

     My first nurse aide lecture was awesome! We learned hand washing and she showed us how to do range of motion with arms and knees. We filled out some paperwork saying we promised to be good nurse aides and always follow policies and procedures. We went over our calendar for the next 3 months as well. I can't wait to go back tomorrow and learn more skills. My instructor likes to introduce the skills early so we can get enough practice for clinical and the state board exam. She says the written part is fairly easy and the skills part is where people tend to flop sometimes.      There were only 7 people in my class and I know of one girl who plans on dropping it as soon as possible since it won't work with her schedule at work. My instructor called the other people who never showed to see if they planned on showing up or if she could give their spot to someone waiting. They all told her they changed their minds. Why would someone wait until the ...