The Nurse's Cap

I've been doing quite a bit of research on the nurse's cap. It's not part of the uniform for the actual job, but it still holds a symbol to many nursing students and graduates. Something interesting I found out was that, since some of the first nurses were actually nuns, the nurse's cap actually first served as sort of a habit for them. One thing's for certain, though, you almost can't find a story book, or Halloween costume, or even nurse doll that doesn't don the nurse's cap. I don't know why I care so much about it, but it is a part of the history of nursing, which I will be very much a part of soon, so I guess it will be a part of my life. I was looking at pictures from the pinning ceremony in 2010 and saw that only the older generation were wearing the caps. I guess I may have to make a splash and keep it alive! Besides, they really don't look half bad! ;)

BTW, anyone have any thoughts on the capes? They would be AWESOME to wear in the workplace!

~THE Future Nurse Chelsey

Application Process

I got my papers in order for the application process and thought I would walk through what goes into it, at least for my school. I'm applying for the Associates RN, so it's a 2 year program that only starts in the fall. On October 1st they start accepting the packets, which include your high school transcripts, your ACT/SAT scores, any other college transcripts, and scores from the entrance exam for the college if needed. From what I've heard from other people, the program is more of a first come first served rather than GPA based, although that's used if it comes down to one person or another. All we need to do is fill out the application, which has nothing more that your name, address, phone number, email, and what program you are applying for, then send that with your transcript packet to the main campus...and wait. I'll be sending mine out tomorrow, so I've got my fingers crossed. They said I should know by about the end of December, early January.

To anyone else out there sending in their applications, GOOD LUCK! See you in nursing school! ;)

~THE Future Nurse Chelsey

Top 5 Ipad apps for Nursing Students!

 So I received my brand new Ipad 2 the other day! Totally excited to see all I can do with this baby through nursing school! I already have utilized it a ton in Anatomy! I grabbed a couple of really cool apps that I think EVERYONE should have through nursing school and the science pre-reqs.

1. Cell and Cell Structure. This app may not be useful for too long, but for $3, it's great for students who may not have had any life science before going into Anatomy and Physiology. It has a couple games you can play to help you reinforce the information as well as amazing videos that give you a realistic inside look of a Eukaryotic and Prokaryotic cell.

2. Drawing Book. This one is almost indispensable. For $2 you now have the ability to draw and save pictures on your Ipad. So far, I have utilized this one for Anatomy by making flash cards by drawing the molecular formulas for the different sugars and proteins for my up coming test. It would be great in class, if you're allowed, to make diagrams or quick notes on it.

3. Netter's Anatomy Atlas for Ipad. This app has the steepest price tag of them all, but anyone going into a medical field will find that this app's usefulness with essentially pay for itself and then some. It's price tag is a whopping $89.99, but it comes with 531 main anatomy plates, 40 bonus plates (If you register the app) and if you find the hidden skulls in the main plates, you unlock 10 more plates. You can also spend an additional $8.99 (why not, right! ;) ) and get 30 more extremely useful plates which include basics like body planes, terms of movement, body cavities, and more. This is the greatest anatomy app I have ever seen, on computer or book or any medium, really. This would be my top priority if I could only get one app.

4. NCLEX-RN Question Bank. Yes, I know. I still have another 3 years before I will be taking the NCLEX, but even before you start to study for that test, why not use it in your nursing courses? This app as a group of categories that you can choose from, like Management and Leadership, Critical Care, Pharmocology, Adult Health, and more. These exams will give you a wonderful chance to apply the skills you just learned to realistic situations you will be thrown into later in your career, or in questions once you DO take the NCLEX.

5. Lab Values Pro. Another $3 app, but it houses quite a bit of information that will come in handy later on in nursing school. It has medical abbreviations and medical prefix/suffix dictionaries, but the one that will come in handy the most is the lab reference values. A great (and cheap) reference for all medical students!

I'm sure there are a ton more useful apps out there, and I'm sure there are more I'll find and use later once I'm in nursing school, but for now, these are the best I've found. If you've found some good ones, let me know! Hoping to get a ton of use out of my Ipad!

~THE Future Nurse Chelsey

What is a nurse?

I had to take my son to the urgent care center a little while ago for a throat infection and something we encountered there really made me stop and think. Everyone on the staff there was very warm and welcoming except for one woman, the nurse that checked us in and out. Procedure wise she did nothing wrong, she asked all the questions she was suppose to and gathered all the information the doctor  needed. The thing that struck me was her almost robotic attitude. I remember she asked me if my son had ever had an ear infection. I told her no, then said something like "yet" and kind of laughed it off. This woman didn't so much as glance in my direction, she just kept right on moving.

Now, had it been a very busy day, I would understand. Nurses unfortunately don't always have the time for any social protocol, especially in either the ER and the Urgent Care. We were the only ones there. When we left, we were still the only ones there, no one else had signed in. It almost made me cry for that woman. I was reminded of those instructors in grade school who were awful to students. It was either because they hated their job, in which case they should've thought twice about their decision to enter the education sector, or they had forgotten the drive or purpose of being a teacher. This woman was going through one of those two pathways. Given how old she looked, I'd guess she'd been a nurse for awhile and has forgotten the purpose of a nurse.

A nurse's job consists of many things: Dispensing medication, writing up care plans, delivering messages to and from the doctors, and more. Everything a nurse does can be taught in school or on the floor, except the most important point: How to CARE for a patient. You can fill them with meds, start their IV, even bring them a glass of water, but you will still be considered a poor nurse without any kind of emotional treatment.

How many times have you heard about a patient who has gone into the hospital with the doctors telling the family that they only have a few months to live, only to pull through and be here still years later? What is it that kept him going, while someone else might go in and not make it? I would be willing to bet there is either a strong supportive family behind him, or an excellent nurse, or both! When I say an excellent nurse, I don't mean one that dutifully made sure he had all of his meds at exactly the time he needed them, or had all of his procedures go smoothly, I mean on that fought with him. The human will can be an amazing thing, but when we're under serious strain or stress from an illness of some sort, we sometimes need a little reminder to kick it in gear. We need a cheering section. Our priority to the patient should be to be that cheering section. Even if they have a wonderful family, we should still be there to fight along side them. This alone, could be the difference between life or death for the patient.

What does this matter with my son, though? Sure, whether or not the nurses were supportive and caring there wouldn't have made a difference in whether or not my son lived. He got his antibiotics and feels much better now. It still makes all the difference in the world. I had no clue what was happening to my son and I was scared to death. It turned out to be nothing, but I wanted so bad to have a nurse that was happy and upbeat, one who would lift me out of my "I don't know what's going to happen" stage. If she had just offered me a bit of that, I would've handled my son's ear piercing screams that much better. Our patient's condition doesn't just affect them, it also affects their friends and family. Sometimes they need someone to laugh with, or cry with, or just someone to remind them that today is just one more day they have.

"Being a nurse isn't about grades, it's about being who we are. No book can teach you how to cry with a patient. No class can teach you how to tell their family that their parents have died, or are dying. No professor can teach how to find dignity in giving someone a bed bath. A nurse is not about the pills or charting. It's about being able to love people when they're at their weakest moments."

-Miss Katrina Rose

Being a nurse is love above all else. Don't forget this important lesson and carry it with you through the years. Always be an excellent nurse, never a poor nurse!

~THE Future Nurse Chelsey

End of Week 2!

So, week 2 has come to a close today. I have a test next Wednesday in Anatomy and Physiology, but the class itself is turning out to not be the nightmare everyone says it is. I don't know if I have an easier professor or if it just comes naturally to me, but it really is turning out to be my easiest class of them all. Chemistry is my second easiest. This is hilarious considering my counselor was afraid I wouldn't be able to handle chemistry and A&P together, since they're such "tough classes". I also got some awesome news that I'll pass on here. The first school I went to was a large university in Minnesota. The likelihood of me getting into nursing school there was slim to none. They were saying you needed a 3.8 or 3.9 G.P.A. just to get onto the waiting lists. It was beyond disgusting. Here? 3.0. I know, my heart just about leaped with joy. I will certainly still be trying to get as high a G.P.A. as I can, but knowing that I don't have to cry over the 1 point that I missed on my lab report for chemistry makes me want to cry. (I'm sure there are people out there who know what I mean.)

I can seriously see myself opening up my acceptance letter in just a few short months...man I need to keep grounded! :P

Keep studying and work tough!

~THE Future Nurse Chelsey

School has begun!

I just finished my first week of school and am breathing a HUGE sigh of relief. I had heard so much online from other sources about Anatomy and Physiology being the nightmare course of nursing, so I was understandably very nervous to be going into it while simultaneously taking a second lab science, chemistry. I'll just let you know how they went from the top:

Monday:

I started out with Algebra 2. I'm not that great with math, so this will certainly prove to be a rather challenging course for me, but my professor is wonderful! He fully explains things and makes them super easy to understand. I don't really foresee any issues arising from this class, hopefully! The only thing that will take some getting used to is the fact that the class meets once a week for 3 hours and 45 minutes! ugh! It's enough to drive ANYONE insane!

From there I went to the lecture portion of my Chemistry class. I'm taking basic inorganic chemistry. I never took it in high school, opting instead to take advanced biology. I kind of wish I did take it in high school, but my professor I have for this course is awesome. He's a no nonsense kind of guy and doesn't believe in memorizing stupid things, like the periodic table and metric conversion tables. All those things will be provided for tests and quizzes. It's going to be a bit of a challenge, but I really feel confidant about this class. As long as I keep up and don't slack off I should be fine.

Wednesday:

I started out the day bright and early with Anatomy and Physiology 1. This class is a HEAVY memorization class. if you aren't so great with that, then I would highly suggest you either look into something else or get your study skills engraved in gold for this. For me personally, I've never really had issues with memorization, especially when it's something I enjoy. This class, for me, is something that I would love to learn anyways. The human body just fascinates me (which is why I decided to take Biology in the first place). In our first class, I was the only student to get our quiz 100% correct on material we just went over. I'm taking that as an excellent sign, since almost everyone in there (about 20 students) are hoping to get into nursing, or are in nursing now.

After lecture, I went to the lab part of my chemistry class. It was AWFUL! It wasn't hard or anything, just time consuming as hell! We are in there for 2 hours and 45 minutes and we needed almost ALL of the time! We were doing a lab on density and we had to weigh 9 blocks, each made out of a different material, then measure their length, witdth, and depth to get their volume. Then we had to weigh 5 metal cylinders made out of different materials and weigh a container of a metal block and a small medium and large block. Then take the cylinders and use displacement to find the volume. Not so difficult, except we had to do EVERY measurement 3 times with 3 different instruments. Needless to say, I had awful nightmares about a giant box of rulers and a container of blocks, attempting to measure them all before time ran out! lol! All in all, though, it'll be a fairly easy lab class. Our professor is pretty lax about lab reports and how they're written, which is good.

I also have a psychology class online, but it'll be a breeze, or so I feel. So far all I've done is take a few quizzes on the first chapter and am working on the application question, which is super easy. I suppose this may get tougher, but we'll see what happens as the semester progresses.

All in all I'm very happy with how this semester is going. I left my final class on Wednesday breathing a sigh of relief! Everything is as it should be!

~THE Future Nurse Chelsey!

The Nerd in Me!

So...looking for motivation to get through this rough semester. Nursing itself will be a huge motivation, but it will be a year before I would start nursing school and 3 years before I can take the NCLEX and actually become an RN. SO, I decided a tattoo commemorating my soon to come acceptance letter (I know, I'm really cocky) is completely called for. It's going on my chest and will be a constant reminder about how nerdy my DH has truly made me...

My Beautiful Future Tattoo

Ladies and gentlemen, I do believe that Captain Picard would be very proud of my accomplishments. They need nurses on Starfleet, right?

Anyone else do anything special to commemorate their acceptance into nursing school?


~THE Future Nurse Chelsey