Sarah's blog
Class of 2011, Nursing Major, from Wrightstown, WI

Hi Everyone!!!

How was everyone’s spring break? I know that mine was AMAZING! I flew down to St. Augustine, Fl, to take care of my godson while my aunt and uncle were both out of town on business for work. The weather was perfect the entire week while I was there; sunshine everyday and the temperatures were mainly in the 80’s (with the exception of one day) the whole week. The one day that it didn’t hit 80 (it hit 72 I believe) people were actually wearing sweatshirts and jeans and complaining about how cold outside it was! And then you have me who was wearing a tank top and a pair of shorts; moral of the story = people down there don’t know what true “cold” weather is! But for the most part all I did while I was there was, actually, nothing and it was GREAT! I would take Brayden (that is my godson’s name) down to the beach and then I would just lay out in the sun while he went and played in the sand and in the ocean. For those of you who aren’t familiar with geography, St. Augustine is on the Atlantic side, so the water was still somewhat chilly! But it was still nice to lay around and do nothing.

The week before break was absolutely terrible! I had three huge exams that I had to take within the course of four days. The first one was a nursing exam on that Monday, which I did fine on and am happy about that. Then on Thursday I had two exams. My first one was in macroeconomics, which I did really good on, and then my second one was in anatomy and physiology which covered the entire muscular and nervous system. It definitely was a hard exam, however I did very well on it and can’t complain too much. After I was done with class on Thursday, I packed up my stuff and left for Florida at six on Friday morning!!!

As soon as I got back from Florida it was once again time to hit the books and begin to crack down. The Florida sunshine was gone and along with it so was the relaxation time :( Last week (the week that we came back from Spring break) we had a huge nursing lab practical that we had to pass in order to be released out on to clinical. And if you don’t pass it the second time, you do have the opportunity to take it a second time, however you have to pay 100 dollars, so I think everyone would have to agree that you are just better off to pass it the first time. What happened was we were given two different case scenarios of two possible patients that we would have to take care of, and then we had to develop a plan of care that we would perform for those patients if we were to actually have to care for them. You then have to go to Bellin and you have exactly 35 minutes to complete your scenario, and while you are working through your scenario you have an instructor who is observing you, making notes, and grading your performance. It’s nerve racking, yes, but the instructors are very welcoming and understanding, and they do help you through it somewhat, so it’s not all that bad. I passed with a deduction of one point!!! So I was pretty excited about that. Now this week we have orientation at our clinical cites (mine is Grancare Nursing Home in Green Bay) and then we begin our clinicals next week Thursday and have one every Thursday for the following three weeks. So I can’t wait for all of that to start!

Then tonight we had our first RA training for Spring Workshop, so that was pretty exciting and full of funny times! But that is for next time as it is going on 12:30 at night and I need to get some sleep before my 8:00 class in the morning! So hope you are all enjoying this little bit of a heatwave (yay for the 40’s!!!!) and I will talk to you all soon!

Have a fantabulous week!
Sarah

Hey Everyone!

Well, I can honestly say we have finally broken the freezing mark here in
Wisconsin for the first time since probably October! This week it has gotten
up to forty degrees, and let me tell you it feels amazing! Plus, all the
fluffy white stuff is finally starting to melt, making a huge mess of
everything, but nevertheless it is a sure sign that Spring is on the way and
Winter is out the door!

Classes right now are absolutely crazy! There is no other way to put it. Next
week we have our Spring Break, so what does it seem like all the professors
do? They have this little "mini convention" and decide let's all give exams
this week and torture the students! Well, I'm sure that it doesn't happen
this way, it just seems like it does sadly. I had a huge nursing midterm
right off the bat on Monday morning at eight, so that was a great way to start
the week. I think that I spent six and a half hours on Sunday reading over
things in my textbook and then reading through all of my notes. The exam
actually wasn't as bad as I thought that it was going to be, and I ended up
getting an AB which actually is really good! Then yesterday (Tuesday) we had
our last nursing lab! At the end of the lab we were given two different case
scenarios of two different patients that we have to prepare a care plan for.
Then the week that I come back from Spring Break (on March 27th) I have to go
to Bellin and we have our Lab Exam where we have to perform one of the
scenarios in front of an instructor. We have to actually care for a "dummy" as
if it were a real person. Upon passing the lab exam, we are cleared to go out
for our clinical, which then begins the first week of April. The first
clinical that we are doing it for four weeks and they are at local nursing
homes. My clinical night is on Thursday's from 4-9 at night. I am actually
really excited:)

So Monday and Tuesday were filled nights! But then it only will get better as
the week goes on. Tomorrow (Thursday) I have two huge exams which, lucky me,
just happen to be back to back! My first exam is at 10 and is in my
macroeconomics class. I know, macro you are thinking "that's hard?" But a
class like that for me is hard because I do not have a business oriented mind;
I am more of the math/science person, not business! Then, right after my
macro class I have a HUGE anatomy and physiology exam which constitutes the
entire muscular and nervous system! The muscular and nervous system are very
similar in how they function, so if you understand one you pretty much will
understand the other one, however there is a bunch of terminology that we have
to know which makes it more difficult. Plus, we have to know all the muscles
of the body, their location, their function, and what they were named for.
That makes things a little bit more challenging.

After Thursday I am done and outta here (and I literally mean outta here). I
am skipping my classes on Friday (which I don't recommend any of you do at all
in college because you actually do miss a lot) and flying out to Florida at 6
on Friday morning. The only reason I am skipping is because all of my exams
are done by Thursday, and if I would have waited to fly out either Friday
night or Saturday morning, the cost of my ticket would have went up an
additional 100 dollars or some crazy amount like that. So yeah, I said the
heck with that, talked to all of my professors, and am leaving early on Friday
instead of waiting to fly out later or the next day.

Other than that, things on this end are going pretty good! Just a few more
days, and then it's pure bliss for me in the sunshine of Florida! Hope you
guys are all enjoying the warmer weather (if you live in Wisconsin) and you
have a wonderful rest of the week!

Talk to You Later,
Sarah