Spring Break!!

Health Assessment is over. Finished. Finito. We took our final exam last night and now have to wait 48 long hours for our grades (probably even longer for our final course grades). I actually didn’t think the test was that bad. And since I made benchmark on the HESI I already have an extra 10-point cushion. There were a lot of questions that looked let’s just say “familiar” and I found myself thinking “ooh! I know that!” throughout most of the exam. There were 70 questions total and I was done in about 35 minutes. My professor hesitantly took my scantron—“Are you sure???” I just smiled and shrugged. You know my motto—“Either you know it or you don’t.” I have never been one to sit and stare at test questions as if the answers are going to magically pop out all of a sudden. I have also made it my policy to never change my answers on exams. Most of the time when people change their answers they had it right the first time.

My interview for the nurse extern program was today—I think it went pretty well. It was initially a group info session and then we broke out to tour and interview with the managers of our preferred units. They received almost 600 applications for the program and can only take 32-34 externs so my fingers are crossed—matter of fact while we’re at it, cross yours too! My only concern is the scheduling of it all. They would like for you to work as an extern fulltime—which of course I can’t do or I’ll lose my benefits. So I would have to work my extern schedule around dropping down to a 0.5 FTE at my “real job” (*smirk*), plus my lectures and clinicals since my nursing program runs all year round. Not an easy task, but it can be done!

And so spring break it is—sadly there will not be any sandy beaches in my forecast. I will say it is starting to warm up a little since that record-breaking snow we got but it’s still probably only about 45 degrees on a good day. But at least I’ll get to go to sleep at a normal hour for a few days…

Buh-bye Health Assessment

Health Assessment is just about coming to a close—thank goodness. For a minute there I thought I wasn’t going to make it–my hair even started falling out again. But I’m still here, balding and all lol. We had our clinical final exam/check-offs this past Saturday. You have to do an assessment of one major system (Neurological, Thorax & Lungs, or Abdominal) and two minor systems (CN 1-6, CN 7-12, Cardiac & Peripheral Vascular, or Head/Neck/Face/Ears)—which you basically pick out of a hat. Since you don’t know which ones you’re going to get until that morning you have to know ALL of them perfectly—or at least sufficiently well as clinical is pass/fail. With so many minor details within each system I must have studied for it for a week straight—I even slept with my notes the night before. Instead of visions of sugar-plums dancing in my head I was having nightmares about cranial nerves, diaphragmatic expansion, and liver spans. But it actually turned out ok. My major system was abdominal—which of course was one of my least favorites. I’m just not comfortable with the percussion aspect of it. Liver spans, splenic dullness, tympany over the gastric bubble—most of the time it all sounds like the same ol’ shit to me. And how many nurses really percuss in their daily practice? I am almost 29-years-old and I don’t remember ever being percussed. For my minor systems I had Head/Face/Neck/Ears (and I remembered to hold the otoscope upside down!) and Cranial Nerves 7-12—piece of cake.

We still have to take the HESI tomorrow night and our final exam on Thursday. If we make benchmark on the HESI (we’ll see how that goes), we get 10 points added to our final exam grade. Now I wouldn’t mind that at all…

Up next, Maternity/OB. But first, spring break here I come! Of course it won’t be a full week of pure unproductive bliss since we’re expected to have read the first five chapters in our maternity textbook for the first day of class—oy!

In other exciting news, I have an interview scheduled for the 2010 Nurse Extern Program at the #1 pediatric hospital in the nation! Go me! And from what I’ve heard, due to the economy they’ve had to cut the number of spots in the program in half, so I would just about pee myself if I actually get a spot. It is such a great opportunity—clinicals are such a tease to me at this point! If I’m selected I’ll get to do more hands-on direct care, and in peds at that! For those of you looking for a similar opportunity check out the 2010 U.S. Summer Externship and Opportunity Resource Guide. UPenn puts this out every year; it was recently updated so it should be pretty accurate. Good luck!