Tag: nursing student

Dating in Nursing School

by momentswithmarsha, posted in Nursing School

If you’re reading this post most likely you’re a nursing student or a pre-nursing student wanting more information about how to navigate relationships while simultaneously getting through the beast that is nursing school. I’m here to tell you it’s doable but it won’t be easy. A lot of my classmates are married, in long-term relationships, and there is even one couple that is doing the program together. All this to say that again it’s possible to succeed.

At the beginning of my nursing program I was in a long-term relationship with a man I thought I was going to marry. I was thinking about our future together, the type of home we would buy, what our children would look like, the works. We had been seriously dating for three years and I knew going into my nursing program that this program would test our relationship. Would would sink or we would swim and I so badly wanted us to swim. We had prior issues before I started school and this is important to note because it effected why things happened the way they did. So like I said, this program was going to determine if we sank or swim as a couple. Unfortunately, we sank. Two months into the program, I called it quits. He was my first love and I always thought making a choice to split up would be devastating. I expected depression and anguish. Long afternoons watching Law & Order SVU while eating strawberry cheesecake Ben & Jerry’s. I thought it would be the same awful experience I had helped some of my best friends get through. But I was fine. I was better than fine, I was stress free. I could think clearer and a weight was lifted.

Nursing school magnified and compounded all the issues in our relationship and because I was so busy and under so much stress I knew I was better off alone focusing on school than in a relationship that just added more stress. He and I had communication issues before the program and nursing school made our issues worse. But I’m not sad about what happened. I’m a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. If he and I were meant to be than we would be together. And us splitting apart while I was in the program was a blessing in disguise. Maybe if I hadn’t been so busy I would have devoted more energy to being sad. But the fact is I didn’t have time to be sad. I barely had time to grieve. I had chapters to read and exams to prepare for. I was way too busy to spend a lot of time being sad about a failed relationship. These distractions helped me get through that tough time and for that I am grateful for nursing school.

I’m no relationship expert but I’ll offer some advice and how to navigate dating and nursing school as best as I can from my experiences.

1. Speak with your partner in-depth about what the upcoming months or years are going to be like.

Things are going to change. If you’re a couple that generally spends a lot of time together than those moments might be cut back. If you’re a couple that doesn’t get to spend as much time together, nursing school can compound that tissue. Communicating what is about to happen can prevent confusion and frustration. Communication also brings me to my next point.

2. Ask yourself what you will need from your partner during this time.

Maybe you want more space. Maybe you want less space. Maybe you want you partner to let you vent and listen to your frustrations or maybe you want your partner to tell you to suck it up and keep pushing. Maybe you need your partner to support you and keep you grounded financially or spiritually or emotionally. And this goes both ways. Everyone needs to communicate what they expect from each other. Letting your expectations be known can make this transition smoother. Starting my nursing program I was looking for my partner to support me emotionally. Don’t get me wrong, he tried, but he struggled to understand the amount of stress I was under. The stress of nursing school is really something only other nursing students can really understand. I don’t think I effectively communicated how I need him emotionally and what I expected. I just thought things would fall into place.

3. Make time for each other.

Nursing school is hard and being a nurse will be very rewarding at the end. However, don’t let this be at the expense of losing your partner. I know it will be hard but carving out time for each other is absolutely necessary. Plan a date night or a monthly staycation, whatever it takes.

4. Include your partner in this journey.

Even though your going through this difficult time in your education, your partner is also going through a transition. They may not fully understand what you experience but it’s unfair to shut them out because they may not understand. So if they ask you how your day went tell them. Tell them you did your first wound vac, if you were covered in amniotic fluid, when started your first IV, or fed someone oatmeal. Make them feel included. There on this journey with you.

 

These are things I knew before starting this program but I didn’t really implement like I should have.Although my relationship didn’t work out I’m glad it happened when it did. Like I said before I do believe every that occurred with my relationship happened for a reason. The biggest thing is communication and transparency. I hope I could help some out there. Don’t make the same mistakes I did. I’ll make a separate blog post about gaining/maintaining/losing friendships while in nursing school. Until next time, see ya!

The Basics of My Nursing Program

by momentswithmarsha, posted in Nursing School

So I’ve already published a few articles and I realized that I haven’t explained some important basic information about my nursing program so that if anyone is out there reading my blog posts they can understand what I mean when I throw around numbers and terminology.

 

 

 

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Gone are the days where a 90 was still an A. Grading scales like this are why people say be prepared not to get A’s in nursing school. So how are grades calculated?

Thankfully, my school does round-up but only by 0.50. For example if I received a 76.6 as a final grade, the grade would be rounded up to a 77 which is considered passing. However, if the final grade was a 76.4 that would be a failing grade. Our grades are also calculated on a points system meaning if I get 95 on an exam which is an A, I wouldn’t get full credit as in getting a 100 on the exam. I would get a 95 exactly and that is the number that would be factored into my final grade.

Grading Scale for Courses:

93-100% A     [Passing]

85-92% B     [Passing]

77-84% C     [Passing]

69-76% D     [Failing]

Below 69% F     [Failing]

The dreaded HESI. What is the HESI?

The HESI (Health Education Systems, Inc.) is a computerized exam designed to assess prospective students entering the health science fields. In my blog posts I’ll be discussing the HESI in relation to nursing. HESI exams are not specific to any one nursing program. What that means is that the HESI may or may not cover topics that my program didn’t cover or include in the curriculum. Scary right? The HESI is used to prepare students for the NCLEX. For my program, I must take and pass 7 HESI exams in the following courses:

Fundamentals of Nursing

Pharmacology

Pediatric Nursing

Obstetrical Nursing

Psychiatric Nursing

Medical-Surgical Nursing

Exit Exam

I take each of the HESI specialty exams and the conclusion of the course. For my program, the HESI is worth a whopping 15% of the course grade for every course so it is something I have to take very seriously. Not scoring on the HESI  can severely affect my grade and cause me to fail a course. At the conclusion of this program, every student is required to take a HESI Exit Exam. In a nutshell it’s a mini NCLEX that reviews all the material taught in nursing school and is a good indicator of how prepared a student is for the NCLEX. In my program you have to pass the exit HESI to graduate and to have the school submit your name to be able to sit for the NCLEX.

You can score anywhere from 0 to 1500 on the HESI. To pass the HESI within my program you need a 750 or greater. If I score 850 or above that basically means I know the subject well and I’ll get the full 15% factored into my grade. If I score between 849 and 800 that means I’ve grasped most of the necessary topics so I would only get 11% out of the 15% factored into my grade. If I score between 750 and 799 that means I’ve grasped the minimum necessary topics so I would only get 7.5% out of the 15% factored into my grade.

Grading Scale for the HESI:

850 or above = 15% 

800 to 849 = 11%   

750-799 = 7.5% 

749 or below = 0% 

I hope I was able to clarify any confusion. If you have any comments or you’d like to hear more about my experience with the HESI (I’ve taken 3 HESI exams thus far) just comment below and I’ll make a post about it.

OB Exam #1: Friend or Foe?

by momentswithmarsha, posted in Nursing School

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So if you read my previous blog post you know that I had my first OB exam last Friday, July 15th. I was SO nervous before the exam. I never really know what to expect when taking exams with new professors. No amount of preparation can ever make me feel 100% confident.

I’m happy to report that the exam went very well 😁. At least that’s how I felt walking out. A lot of the questions that I made up to study with were extremely helpful and a lot of the content I focused on was on the exam. Now that I know how my professor words her exams I don’t feel as nervous for the next exam.

The nursing school I attend has had issues in the past with cheating so when we take any exams we cannot have any of our belonging with or near us. Our bags are placed in the front of the room, we cannot wear a jacket, and we cannot wear a watch. We are not even allow to have water with us. And it’s the same when we review our exams. Almost all of the exams are scantron based and we usually have to wait about a week to get our results which are given to us on paper. So basically, there isn’t much utilization of computers outside of powerpoints for lecture. I’m sure this is because of the cheating issues and that most of my professors aren’t the most tech savvy so they prefer gold ol’ paper and pencil. Anyways, I could not sit still while I was waiting to get my results back at the end of class yesterday. But what did I get on the test…..??

I got an A 😭🙏🏾. A 93.75 to be exact. Such a huge sigh of relief. That exam was worth 25% of the total grade for this course and I’m so humbled that I was able to start strong. Don’t get it twisted, by no means am I the perfect student. I’ve bombed my fair share of exams and had to pick myself up off the ground but it is so gratifying to see your hard work manifest itself academically. I don’t have much time to celebrate because I have another exam this Friday, July 22, which is also worth 25% of the total grade. Oh and it’s also my birthday 😑. So I’ll be bringing in my 24th birthday studying. But that’s okay with me. I’ll be celebrating my birthday after this class concludes and I like I mentioned in the ADN vs BSN blog post, I’m okay with sacrificing birthday festivities to do well in this program. In addition to this exam on Friday, I have my final and the HESI on Monday, July 25th, and after that I’ll be finished with OB and my second semester of nursing school. Right now I’m surprisingly calm seeing as I’m about to be lounging in hell for the next week. But I’ve made a study plan and I’ll keep praying and giving my anxiety and fears to God. So that’s my first update with OB. I really hope to keep this momentum moving forward. Until next time, see ya!

Oh and if you aren’t sure what the HESI is or the how grades are calculated at my nursing school check out this blog post.

Losing Classmates in Nursing School

by momentswithmarsha, posted in Nursing School

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Losing classmates in nursing school is a harsh reality. In this blog post I’m going to explain how I dealt with this and what I’ve done thus far that has helped me pass all my classes.

So I started my nursing program at the beginning of this year, January of 2016. This is a one year accelerated program so at the conclusion of this program I will be receiving an associate degree in nursing and be eligible to sit for the NCLEX, the licensure exam required to be able to practice as registered nurse. This program requires that all applicants have a previous bachelor’s degree in any field. I’ll make a separate blog post about why I chose to apply to an ADN program over a BSN program. Back to the story, so my cohort began with about 55 to 60 people from all walks of life. African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians, Caucasians, Africans, doctors, lawyers, the works. In the beginning I was very intimidated because I had zero medical experience prior to the program and many of my classmates were medical assistants, pharmacy technicians, previous doctors, or worked in an allied health profession. Meanwhile, my work experience was in the financial sector (random right?). In addition to that, a lot of my classmates where either married, in long-term relationships, or had children and I’m single with no children. We had orientation for the program some time in the fall and during orientation they scared the living 💩 out of me. Basically if I failed a course, I wouldn’t be able to move forward to the next series of classes in the program and I would have to wait 6 months to retake the course with the next admitted accelerated class or I would have to switch to the generic option of the program which takes about an extra year to complete. If I failed the same class twice or I fail 3 or more classes, I am automatically kicked out of the program. I was TERRIFIED. I didn’t know how difficult the course work would be and unlike many of my classmates I didn’t exactly have a plan B. I have no husband to support me, I quit a job that I didn’t love and I had no desire to go back to work in the financial sector, I didn’t have 6 months to waste if I failed because Sallie Mae still needs her coins plus I have my own bills, I barely had any money saved up, and my parents/family weren’t in a position to help me. Basically if I failed out I was screwed. I would lie awake at night in sheer fear of the future and what would happen. And honestly, I think it’s this fear that got me through the program.

One thing I noticed about most of my classmates that didn’t make it, is that they didn’t seem to realize the seriousness of the consequences of failing. A lot of them still went out on the weekend, didn’t really have a study schedule, and were using old study habits. Meanwhile, I was in the library everyday for 4 to 6 hours pouring over material. My world was the inside of the classroom and the inside of the library. Even while I was performing well on exams I was never comfortable.The first half of my first semester of courses consisted of Fundamentals of Nursing and Health Assessment along with clinicals and a skills course for Fundamentals. When we got our final exam grades our class size was cut in half from about 60 to 30 students. It was drastic. And even though we were only in those classes for 2 months you really do bond with people when you’re under the same amount of stress. I remember walking into my first med-surg class after Fundamentals concluded and I felt the loss. It was like someone had died. And unfortunately I lost a member of my study group. It sucks to go from studying at someone’s house together consistently to nothing because they didn’t make it. I didn’t have much time to grieve because school carries on regardless. I dealt with it by encouraging those classmates not to give up on nursing and by keeping in contact with them with I can.

So below I’ll list some suggestions to make sure this doesn’t happen to you on your path to becoming a nurse.

  1. Get a solid study group

In the beginning I didn’t believe in the benefits of study groups. I thought it was too distracting and believe me it can be very distracting but it’s also extremely beneficial because you can compare and compile information with others that you may have missed or interpreted incorrectly. Also it’s been proved that you retain more information through teaching then through learning. Trying to explain a concept to someone will really test your knowledge and if you can make someone else understand a topic then you’ve mastered the concept. Group studying is the perfect situation to facilitate this. But it’s best to keep your group to minimum of 3 to 4 people. Also, please don’t show up to the study session and you haven’t actually studied 😑. You study in groups to go through material to make sure everyone understands it and focus on topics that are more difficult. It’s a waste of time to try to learn everything around other people and you’re more likely to get distracted.

In addition to studying together, motivate each other to succeed. I’ve been fortunate enough to form a real friendship with my study group so much so that we have traveled to the west coast to vacation together and we have another trip planned for August. Everyone needs encouragement through nursing school.

2. Make a study calendar

There is so much to read and review in nursing school it’s sickening. Instead of forcing yourself to study for 12 hours straight, break it up. Study for 3 or 4 hours a day, take breaks. If you feel sleepy or that you aren’t retaining the information just stop. Eat something, take a nap, distract yourself for 15 or 20 minutes and then try again. The worst thing to study for 3 hours and leave having retained nothing.

3. Don’t get comfortable

Just because you’re performing well doesn’t mean you have got it in the bag. There was many a time when some of my class mates has a 90 or above walking into the HESI and after failing the HESI they went from a 90 to a 70 and failed the course. Never get comfortable as a student. Even if you have reviewed the material 10 times continue to go to the library and study. Answer more questions, watch more videos, get ahead in the material, whatever it takes to pass and move forward while still retaining information. I probably won’t be comfortable until I’m finally pinned and even then I still have to worry about the NCLEX.

I knew going into the program that is was going to be difficult and I knew that I would have to sacrifice a lot to make it through. So yeah I gripe and moan about the long nights, all the dinners/trips I turned down to study, but I knew what I signed up for when I applied for this program. I know that this is an investment for my future and I’m willing to give up the luxuries I had before to better myself; I’m okay with being uncomfortable.

4. Ask for help

If you don’t understand a concept, ask for help! Seriously ask the teacher, ask a competent classmate, and consult the internet. YouTube is such a great resource. There are countless videos that help explain difficult topics. Not to mention the thousands of nursing resources out there. The help is out there, you just have to know where to find it.

 

So these are all the tips I have, I hope I was able to help some one. If anyone else has any tips feel free to comment below, maybe I’ll include them in another post. Until then, see ya!

 

 

 

 

Why I chose an ADN program over a BSN program

by momentswithmarsha, posted in Nursing School

So maybe you’re like me, you already have a bachelor’s degree in another field and you’re not interested or willing to wait another 2-4 years to receive a degree in nursing. That was/is my situation. I’m not at a place in my life where I can afford to wait more than a year to start working again. So naturally I wanted to get into an accelerated program that would give me to tools I need to pass the NCLEX so I could start work as soon as possible. I know I’m harping on finances here but make no mistake I knew I wanted to be a nurse while I was in undergrad, I just had other obstacles that prevented me to doing it then so this is not a career path I choose just for financial gain. So these are the things I was looking for in a nursing program to suit my needs:

  1.  A quick program with a good passing rate on the NCLEX.
  2. A local program in my area.
  3. A program that wasn’t  too costly.

In addition to this, I needed a program that would look at my application holistically. My grades weren’t the best in undergrad for several reasons I can discuss in another blog so I was unsure how well I would fair in applying to only accelerated BSN programs. I did retake most of the science courses and I strengthened my science GPA but my undergraduate GPA was still low for nursing school standards. After doing my research I had about 3 different programs I could apply to. Two were ADN programs at local community colleges and one was a BSN program at local university. I crossed decided to narrow it down even further to just one community college because I had taken classes there previous so I was more familiar with that school and they has some of my coursework on file. So I applied to both and luckily was accepted to both. Seeing as both of the final options were one year programs and were local, the last deciding factor was cost. The tuition at the community college was about $10,000 while the tuition at the university was $40,000.

Yes I said $40,000. I already had a small student loan from undergrad and I wasn’t interested or willing to spend $40,000 on another bachelor’s degree. $40,000 worth of debt did not fit my future financial goals so that was my deal breaker. The way I saw it, I could take out a $10,000 for the community college and be able to repay that loan back within my first of year working if I budget diligently. From there I could work while in a BSN program and hopefully get my employer to reimburse me for all or some of the cost of the BSN program. Ultimately I would be saving more money while still being able to achieve my goal of becoming a nurse even if it takes me a little bit longer to get a BSN. I chose to think smarter financial. While the BSN program is great and I’ve met a lot of great nurses that came out of that program, I had to make the best decision for myself.

Ultimately I chose the one year ADN program. Earlier this summer I received an email from my school’s financial aid department stating that I’d received a scholarship that was going to cover the ENTIRE cost of the program #blessingsonblessings. So ultimately I’ll be receiving this degree at no cost to me so I’m definitely meeting my financial goals and I know I made the right choice.

I would say to anyone looking into an accelerated ADN or BSN program to think about finances if you can and especially if it’s as much of a priority to you as it was to me. At the end of the day you will still be an RN and you’ll still be getting similar if not the same pay as a BSN nurse while saving thousands of dollars.

And I’ll say this, if you can get through any accelerated ADN/BSN program, you can get through ANY amount of school. You can do it! Hope this helped someone!

Career Goals: Travel Nursing 🌎? CRNA School 💉?

by momentswithmarsha, posted in Nursing School

Clear strategy and leadership solutions

I want to be a nurse, but I know I don’t want to be a floor nurse forever………so what do I think I want to do? Hmmm

Brief background…I have a previous bachelor’s degree in Sociology. I love the field of Sociology but it was never a field I specifically wanted to work in and how I ended up in that major is another long story for another day. I say to this to emphasize that going into undergrad, I didn’t really have a set career plan and I had no one to guide me either. Now that I’m back in school I know that mistakes I made last time and I’m making a plan for myself now to encourage and challenge myself but also to keep myself on track.

So here it goes…

The plan is to graduate this December, get a job in an ICU (fingers crossed) and gain experience for two years, be a travel nurse for 2 to 3 years, and then apply to school to be a CRNA or Neonatal Nurse Practitioner. I’m still waiting to finish out my clinical experience in OB before I’m sold on the Neonatal Nurse Practitioner path but after talking to CRNAs and watching a lot of videos about what CRNAs do, I am intrigued and fascinated. I know that CRNA school is far farrrr in the distance from now but having this goal gives me something to strive for. I would love to be able to contribute to the CRNA profession as an experienced nurse and also to diversify the field as an African-American. Not really sure how I will fit a husband and kids in this scenario but I’ll leave that to God #HeGotMe. Anyways these are my dreams, seems kinda daunting from now seeing as I don’t even have a nursing license but hopefully I can look back at this post someday in the future and be proud of the nurse I am and the work I’ve done no matter where I end up.

First OB Exam 😱

by momentswithmarsha, posted in Nursing School

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So I have my first OB exam tomorrow and I’m pooping bricks.

I’m extremely nervous. I’ve finished studying all the content I needed to review for this exam but this is the first time I’m taking a class with this professor and the first test is always nerve wracking for me. And in this 4 week OB class…….yes…..4 WEEKS, we have 2 test, a final, and a HESI (standardized exam). So there is absolutely NO room for error.

This exam covers fetal development, antepartum, intrapartum, and pain management fetal monitoring and this is a the bare minimum. We are still responsible for everything in the book. And this test is worth 25% of our grade. Ladies and gentlemen, this is why people say nursing school is hell so instead of tearing my hair out or crying I’ll just vent to the interweb about my struggles.

I’m going to go back to studying but Lord………….please send up some prayers for tranquility and wisdom. I’ll check in tomorrow to tell you how the exam went.