becomingnicole

[becomingnicole]

[becomingnicole]

so. accurate. 

Good luck with finals, y’all.

[becomingnicole]

Bucket List Item #32

“Do well enough in school to make myself proud.”

On Tuesday, May 3, 2016 I took my final exam for my third semester of nursing school. On Wednesday, May 4, 2016 I received my grade for the course: C. 

I’m sure you’re not alone in wondering, “What? How can you be proud of a C?” 

And my answer to that is: “Clearly, you haven’t gone to nursing school.” This was our third semester of four. If each semester corresponds to a year in high school, this was our junior year. We’re second level students with very different expectations than what was expected of us for our freshman and sophomore semesters. 

This could also be called the Hell semester. Not only we’re our expectations different, but our workload was increased. My life became a repeating loop of: eat, study, sleep, school, work. Some times I went without eating or sacrificed sleep to get my assignments done. 

The medical-surgical component was difficult and complex because of the amount of information we covered. Unfortunately, our lecturer’s incompetence as a teacher contributed greatly to our struggles and difficulty in understanding the material. (”The central line is placed in the aorta.” No, no it’s not.) I found that neither reading the assigned chapters nor paying attention in lecture helped me. Ultimately, I failed our 2 med-surge exams. (Anything less than 80% = F; I got a 78 on the first exam and a 70 on the second.) 

Lecture improved when we switched to the psychiatric component, but then clinical became my problem. I wanted to quit every single day once we switched to psych. This semester is known for its difficulty, and for the unfortunate fact that by the end of the semester we will lose half our class. 

I really can’t say what exactly made this semester so difficult. I was prepared for this, having once previously attempted it. I knew what it was going to be like and I still struggled. The issues that made my first attempt at this semester so difficult did not exist in this second attempt, but there were other obstacles that just made for an incredibly demanding 15 weeks.  

At the beginning, my group had 9 people in it, and only 4 of us are continuing on to the final semester. 

Two nights before the final, I realized I was missing more than half of the information included on the study guide. Since the slides weren’t helpful for any of the exams, and I had no time to review the textbook info; all I was able to do was review the selected topics in my Saunders NCLEX book and answer questions. I didn’t even have time to review psych. 

So on that Tuesday, I went up to school and sat around with my classmates waiting anxiously to start the exam. I went in at 3:56pm and was finished at 5:45pm. On that Wednesday, I was so shocked to see a C/100 that I had to double check with everyone that I passed. And when I knew that I had passed, I teared up. 

All the anxiety and uncertainty that I had felt for the previous 24 hours disappeared and I felt suddenly lighter somehow. I yelled to my mom  “I passed!” because I couldn’t even wait to be in the same room as her to tell her face to face. 

So for all its difficulties and absurdities I managed to pass the worst semester of nursing school. And that is why I am crossing this off my bucket list. Allowing myself to actually feel pride in myself and admitting that I am proud of myself is hard for me. And that is why I am crossing this off my bucket list. This time next year I will be a licensed registered nurse. And that is why I am crossing this off my bucket list. 

And now I’m spending my summer in Spain... 

[becomingnicole]

The life of every man is a diary in which he means to write one story, and writes another; and his humblest hour is when he compares the volume as it is with what he vowed to make it.

J.M. Barrie

[becomingnicole]

pre-blizzard wings #yum #blizzard2016 #fml 01/2016

[becomingnicole]

breakfast burger #yum #burger #burgerporn 01/2016 (at Zinburger Cherry Hill)

[becomingnicole]

beautiful day #travel #ireland #cliffsofmoher 01/2016 (at Cliffs of Moher)

[becomingnicole]

a room with a view #nicoleindublin 01/2016 (at Dublin, Ireland)

[becomingnicole]

best drink ever and it's not even mine #sweettartmartini #yum 12/2015 (at Yard House)

[becomingnicole]

First Fires by Bonobo

[becomingnicole]

Be Well

Sleep Well

1.     No screens 2 hours before bed/ 50 minutes after waking (exception: school requirements)

2.     Get a minimum of 6 hours/ night

3.     In bed no later than 0200

4.     Must be out of bed by 0830

5.     No naps after 1600

Eat Well

1.     Eat three meals + 2 snacks/ day

2.     No gluten

3.     No fast food

4.     Meatless Monday

5.     Avoid sugar as much as possible

Drink well

1.     16 oz of lemon water upon rising + after brushing teeth

2.     Minimum of 1000mL water/ day

3.     No soda

4.     2 cups of coffee max

5.     No alcohol

[becomingnicole]

rib sandwich, mac n cheese, + potato wedges #yum (at Reading Terminal Market)

[becomingnicole]

breakfast tacos for lunch #yum

[becomingnicole]

#yum (at Shakeshack Philly)

[becomingnicole]

#nationalsistersday love you, miss you, hate you, love you, mean it xoxo

[becomingnicole]

royale burger + fried egg #yum #wafflefries #latergram (at The Full Moon Cafe)

[becomingnicole]

at Dilworth Park