Oh, but this is all just review for you, isn't it?

I kind of love and kind of hate that some of my teachers have so much confidence in me sometimes, or assume that the content is easy for me. They think, oh, she's got a biology degree already, this content is effortless for her!

But stop and think about that for a minute. How many undergraduate biology courses do you know of where they go over acute interventions for increased intracranial pressure? How about the specifics of traction setups? Or different methods of modifying the bowel after a portion of it has been removed?

Yes, I have probably a better understanding of some of the anatomy and physiology of mammals than some of my classmates. And I'm a good critical thinker. But I'm still working HARD!!!

My training in marine biology is not so much helping me with patient care, I promise. If anything, the greatest benefit of having a couple degrees behind me already is that I know how to be a good student; I know how to study well, and I'm not as shy about asking the questions I need to ask.

Anatomy: Results In, Money Stress

So, the letter grades haven't been posted yet, but our teacher posted our points for the term online, and as it stands, my overall percent for anatomy is 89.3. Gosh, it would be nice if my teacher considered that an A-. I won't know until mid-January what she decides...unless I were to write her a pesky email, which probably wouldn't be a smart move.

I am stressed about money right now. I am single, childless... my part time job, since it's affiliated with the community college I'm going to, is "on break" until the 3rd week of Spring Semester, which means no income for me. In the mean time it's the holidays, and while I don't need to travel anywhere for Xmas, getting a few presents for family, stocking my new kitchen (I've been living for almost 5 months without one), etc adds up. I've got a *very* part time gig lined up to do some babysitting until my school job is back in play, but jeez, money is tight.

I think this is probably an issue for many second-career nurses going back to school. Per the rules of the California community college system, I am not allowed to get any scholarships or federal aid there considering I already have a bachelor's degree. I can petition to have the privilege to take out loans. Which I'm in the process of doing.

I'm going to keep going on my cardiac arrhythmia course (which costs about $120 to get the certificate for), and see if that can get me a monitor tech job. I'm taking phlebotomy this spring semester, so in another 6 months or so I could start applying for phlebotomy jobs, and I won't be taking any classes at that point, presumably for the next year, so I could easily work full time again. Somewhere over the next 6 months, I need to start earning enough money that I can start not only covering my monthly expenses again (instead of further diminishing my dwindling "emergency" fund), but start saving up for needing to cut back on hours again once I'm in the nursing program.

It has been about a week since the blood bank job closed, and I haven't heard anything. So that might mean I am out of luck. Or maybe (hopefully?) they just aren't interviewing until after the holidays. Please, please, please. I also saw that they are advertising for a lab tech type job at the same location, but I'm not sure I'm qualified, even with my extensive biology background. There are certifications that you need. More hoops to jump through.

Maybe people will give me gift cards for groceries, etc this year for Xmas.

Winding down Semester 1

The other night I was doing some calculations. For the ASN program I'm planning to apply for, they give you a certain # of points if you already have a degree, a certain # if you have career or volunteer experience in the health professions, a certain # depending on your score on the TEAS test, etc. And different categories of points based on your grades in pre-nursing science classes. These classes are Microbiology, Human Anatomy and Human Physiology.

I took micro about 10 years ago and got a B at the time. In Anatomy I'm right on the edge of an A/B right now, so that will hopefully be an A-. The way they set it up, if you had a 4.0 overall from these classes you would get 40 points, a 3.5-4.0 35 points, a 3.0-3.5 30 points... something like that. The way it works out, given I got a B in micro, if I get a B in Anatomy, there is really no point in me striving for the A in Phys (in terms of the application!) because I would already be doomed to the 3.0-3.5 bracket. Yes, I may be over thinking this a bit.

I took my last lab oral at the end of last week and got a 33/35. It was on the urogenital system. One of the points I missed was for not recognizing podocytes and slits on a model of the glomerulus of the kidney; I would have recognized them in a different context but oh well; that's still a 94%.

For the final, we are going to have 50 projection slides to look at and identify structures from the cumulative material this semester, and the remaining 100 multiple choice questions are going to be from the last segment of material: digestive, urinary and reproductive systems. I think I have a pretty good chance of bumping it up to the A with that final.

A job I applied for to work at the local blood bank as a donor care specialist closed 2 days go, so I'm hoping they will contact me for an interview next week. It would be full time work, which could be hectic with my schedule next semester, but really the only class I *have* to take next semester is the physiology, so I think it would be doable. Here's hoping.

I'm going to spend this afternoon studying for my anatomy final. I need to review the labs from this section, scan through the book for terms and diseases, work on the cumulative slide section, and review the lecture slides. I am kind of glad that my anatomy lecturer is not going to be my physiology lecturer.

Motivation Dip

It's Sunday night. Next week is the last instructional week of the semester and then there will be finals week. This Wednesday I'm scheduled to take my last lab exam, on the urinary and reproductive systems, and the following Wednesday night I'll be taking the final.

I haven't *really* started studying the urinary and reproductive systems yet. I need to put in some time on that tonight. For the last couple lab exams I have been trying a new technique: making myself some self-quizzing power points that go through step by step each structure/function/whatever I need to know. I've gotten really good grades on the last two exams this way but it is kind of tedious. Knowing it's a sure-fire method though, I want to stick with it, and I'd better get started.

So I'm trying to get myself re-motivated to buckle down and study.

I suppose there are the negative motivations:
-If I get a B rather than an A (both realistic options at this point), that might lessen my chances of being accepted into nursing school.
-It would be a bummer to not get the highest grade possible after all the other work I've put into this class this semester.
-Do first jobs in the nursing field ask for transcripts? Would they hire someone with more A's over someone with more B's?

Positive motivations to finish up with a bang this semester:
-picturing myself helping a patient down the road
-I am lucky to be capable of an A, so I should really do my best to get there
-bragging rights
-The more I can incorporate into my memory this semester during Anatomy, the easier Physiology should be next semester, right?
-If I do really well on this next lab exam, that material is only going to show up again on the final, so I might as well learn it well now.