Don't get me wrong: I loved the content of the course. I'm just sick of working on this performance assessment for the last two weeks. I'm already 4 days behind my arbitrary deadline. Tomorrow will be day 5, but it WILL be the final day of this course as I plan to submit my performance assessment before lunch. I already did the Turnitin check (6%, well below the guidelines). I have a last review of it with the Writing Center, then I'll give it a final once-over, and then this toast is toasted.
Today was the weekly check-in with Belle. I'm strongly suspecting that she's got a strong psych background, if she's not actually a psych nurse. We spent 5 minutes discussing my weekly progress and 10 minutes discussing adventures in psych nursing. And she was excited to discus psych as well.
Someone who understands my life! This pleases me.
I also came to the realization that I REALLY do need those arbitrary deadlines. Don't get me wrong, the self-pacing of the WGU program is great. But I realized today when I was on the 7th draft on my project that, as I told Belle, I could continue to revise this thing until the cows come home. Instead, I need to work up to the deadline, submit it, and move on to the next course. If my performance assessment truly blows, they'll send it back for revision.
I realize that may sound confusing to fellow students, and it confuses the hell out of me to. To revisions/revising in WGU lingo typically means that your performance assessment was kicked back because part/all of it didn't meet the rubric standards. Whereas in my lingo, revisions/revising means to edit yet another draft. The previous paragraph makes it seem like my performance assessment failed 6 times already.
Moving to non-graduate school topics...
I went to the Cheesecake Factory today. The menu is rather scary...well, not so much the food as the calorie counts listed next to the food. There was very little in that main menu book that wasn't in the quadruple digits, and a few of those digits even started with 2. But since I was there last time (which was probably 2012 or 2013), they have introduced an additional menu of lighter-calorie fare. In this new menu, I'm pretty sure that no one item exceeded 1,000 calories.
I recommend the White Chicken Chili, by the way. Excellent flavor with a nice spicy kick. The Chicken Samosas are good too. I had both and still kept the total calories in the triple digits.
I do regret having the Cinnabon Cheesecake though. Which, by the way, is not on their new menu as it's about 1300 calories. But when one is at the Cheesecake Factory, one has to have the cheesecake. Otherwise, why go to a place named the Cheesecake Factory? Anyhow, I thought that since I've been able to eat cheese with no issue as of late, that perhaps I was able to tolerate dairy again. Alas, that was not the case...though it was a very tasty way to put myself in agony. But next time I go back there, I think I'll have to settle for the bowl of strawberries instead.
August 29, 2018
August 23, 2018
A new chapter
So I "met" my new program mentor yesterday. I introduced myself as "the psychiatric nurse that you're inheriting from Baby Nurse." She laughed and said "you and I are going to get along just fine!"
She has a Southern accent that could cut glass. I lived in the South for more than a decade, so I understand almost all dialects of Southern...except mountain North Carolinian. I understand Welsh better than the mountain North Carolinian accent. So I shall refer to her as Belle.
I introduced myself, we chatted...she was excited that I enjoyed psych. She asked me about why I chose education over NP. I told her it's because I wanted to do more than just prescribe medications. She stated that she didn't pursue Psych NP for the same reason. I told her that I wanted to have a more interactive role with others, and that I've always enjoyed mentoring and nurturing others. She felt the same way.
I never asked what area(s) she specialized in...but could it be my mentor IS a psych nurse?
If so, that would be awesome! I often don't meet others of my kind in school except for those who are teaching a psychiatric nursing course.
So things got off to a good start between us. I have a feeling we're going to have a great relationship.
I talked to Belle and told her that I needed to push my arbitrary course deadline back to August 31 (it was originally August 25) due to being sidelined with a double ear infection and then an allergic reaction to antibiotics. She said "oh, bless your heart" and understood why. So my new deadline is now August 31. That gave me some of my motivation back, so instead of feeling like I was up against the gun, I had a decent amount of time to produce a decent performance assessment.
Southern lingo note: the meaning of "bless your heart" is very dependent on the context it's used in. In this case, it was sympathy.
Speaking of allergic reactions...I hauled myself to the doctor to get it checked out. Surprisingly, I was able to get a same day appointment with my regular PCP. She looked at it, said it was possibly an allergy though questionable if its a true allergy (a localized rash, instead of generalized hives that I experience with the other antibiotics I'm allergic to). So she marked it as an allergy with a note about whether it's a true one. She also counseled me that if it came down to me taking the antibiotic, to go ahead and take it. I agreed.
She said I was treating the rash correctly and that it should go away in a couple of days. Sure enough, today it is gone except for some remnants of redness.
She has a Southern accent that could cut glass. I lived in the South for more than a decade, so I understand almost all dialects of Southern...except mountain North Carolinian. I understand Welsh better than the mountain North Carolinian accent. So I shall refer to her as Belle.
I introduced myself, we chatted...she was excited that I enjoyed psych. She asked me about why I chose education over NP. I told her it's because I wanted to do more than just prescribe medications. She stated that she didn't pursue Psych NP for the same reason. I told her that I wanted to have a more interactive role with others, and that I've always enjoyed mentoring and nurturing others. She felt the same way.
I never asked what area(s) she specialized in...but could it be my mentor IS a psych nurse?
If so, that would be awesome! I often don't meet others of my kind in school except for those who are teaching a psychiatric nursing course.
So things got off to a good start between us. I have a feeling we're going to have a great relationship.
I talked to Belle and told her that I needed to push my arbitrary course deadline back to August 31 (it was originally August 25) due to being sidelined with a double ear infection and then an allergic reaction to antibiotics. She said "oh, bless your heart" and understood why. So my new deadline is now August 31. That gave me some of my motivation back, so instead of feeling like I was up against the gun, I had a decent amount of time to produce a decent performance assessment.
Southern lingo note: the meaning of "bless your heart" is very dependent on the context it's used in. In this case, it was sympathy.
Speaking of allergic reactions...I hauled myself to the doctor to get it checked out. Surprisingly, I was able to get a same day appointment with my regular PCP. She looked at it, said it was possibly an allergy though questionable if its a true allergy (a localized rash, instead of generalized hives that I experience with the other antibiotics I'm allergic to). So she marked it as an allergy with a note about whether it's a true one. She also counseled me that if it came down to me taking the antibiotic, to go ahead and take it. I agreed.
She said I was treating the rash correctly and that it should go away in a couple of days. Sure enough, today it is gone except for some remnants of redness.
August 18, 2018
In which Meriwhen has little motivation and an allergic reaction to antibiotics
For the last week, my motivation for doing schoolwork has been...well, not at zero. If my motivation were measured with a speedometer and 60mph was going full throttle, I'm about at 15mph. Small progress but not enough. Baby Nurse--who as of this week is no longer my mentor--told me that baby steps were still steps. And she is right, though I don't think I will be able to finish this course by the arbitrary deadline of 8/25. Closer to 8/31.
For various reasons, I just can't pick myself up to get fully going. Work has been busy, I've been sick and sleeping a lot, the weather is too damn hot...anyhow, I knew this was a risk with WGU. And I need to nip it in the bud. I can't let myself run this course into September. I REFUSE TO.
So I set up some Writing Center appointments for drafts and the final. That way, I have commitments I can't break.
Baby Nurse has decided to take a position teaching in a brick-and-mortar school. She was an awesome program mentor and I wish her well in her new position. She has handed me over to her successor who she said she likes a lot and feels will take good care of me. I have not yet met her, my first appointment with her is next week. I wonder if she's a psych nurse...probably not. There seems to be so few of us running around these programs.
The sick and the sleeping...double ear infection. Whee. I waited three days to see if it would pass, then hauled myself to the doctor. He looked at my history, reviewed my allergies, and started me on azithromycin and decongestants. The medications worked, and I was feeling fine within a few days.
Then a couple of days after the last dose of antibiotic, a rash appeared on my neck. I wasn't alarmed at first: for some reason, the skin on my neck is very sensitive compared to the rest of me, and it's not uncommon for me to have areas of redness there. But then the rash got bumpy. And then spread up the sides of my face. Almost like a bad hormonal acne breakout. The current state of it is that my neck is less bumpy but still red, while most of the bumps have taken up shop on my cheekbones.
Now, I should have caught this: the -mycin. I'm allergic to clindamycin. Not life-threatening allergic, more like here's-a-lovely-rash-that-won't-die-for-two-weeks allergic. The doctor was aware of it too. I guess he figured that azithromycin wasn't likely to cause a reaction. I thought as much too, and I really needed the ear infections out of there. Well, we were both wrong. The last time I saw a rash like this was when I was on clindamycin. Same exact thing.
The good news is that it does go away. The bad news is that it takes two weeks. The worse news is that I have a social event to go to tonight and I refuse to miss it.
My going to Urgent Care is not an option as 1. the rash is more cosmetically unpleasing than life-threatening and 2. I'll end up spending hours there, hours that could have been spent doing schoolwork and relaxing before this event. So I'm doing a little home treatment. oral antihistamines (Vistaril), and topical hydrocortisone and salicylic acid creams. I'm otherwise leaving it alone. Time really is the only cure for it.
Getting excessively harsh with my skin will not clear it up any faster--if anything, it will exacerbate the problem and make it impossible to conceal with makeup. I do have an arsenal of foundations, so I know I can conceal it for the most part. I have the perfect one to use: Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Foundation. I strongly recommend this foundation if you have things to hide and want to keep them hidden most of the night.
I can't hide it 100%, but with good foundation, a red dress and a strong lip color, I could perhaps distract from it.
For various reasons, I just can't pick myself up to get fully going. Work has been busy, I've been sick and sleeping a lot, the weather is too damn hot...anyhow, I knew this was a risk with WGU. And I need to nip it in the bud. I can't let myself run this course into September. I REFUSE TO.
So I set up some Writing Center appointments for drafts and the final. That way, I have commitments I can't break.
Baby Nurse has decided to take a position teaching in a brick-and-mortar school. She was an awesome program mentor and I wish her well in her new position. She has handed me over to her successor who she said she likes a lot and feels will take good care of me. I have not yet met her, my first appointment with her is next week. I wonder if she's a psych nurse...probably not. There seems to be so few of us running around these programs.
The sick and the sleeping...double ear infection. Whee. I waited three days to see if it would pass, then hauled myself to the doctor. He looked at my history, reviewed my allergies, and started me on azithromycin and decongestants. The medications worked, and I was feeling fine within a few days.
Then a couple of days after the last dose of antibiotic, a rash appeared on my neck. I wasn't alarmed at first: for some reason, the skin on my neck is very sensitive compared to the rest of me, and it's not uncommon for me to have areas of redness there. But then the rash got bumpy. And then spread up the sides of my face. Almost like a bad hormonal acne breakout. The current state of it is that my neck is less bumpy but still red, while most of the bumps have taken up shop on my cheekbones.
Now, I should have caught this: the -mycin. I'm allergic to clindamycin. Not life-threatening allergic, more like here's-a-lovely-rash-that-won't-die-for-two-weeks allergic. The doctor was aware of it too. I guess he figured that azithromycin wasn't likely to cause a reaction. I thought as much too, and I really needed the ear infections out of there. Well, we were both wrong. The last time I saw a rash like this was when I was on clindamycin. Same exact thing.
The good news is that it does go away. The bad news is that it takes two weeks. The worse news is that I have a social event to go to tonight and I refuse to miss it.
My going to Urgent Care is not an option as 1. the rash is more cosmetically unpleasing than life-threatening and 2. I'll end up spending hours there, hours that could have been spent doing schoolwork and relaxing before this event. So I'm doing a little home treatment. oral antihistamines (Vistaril), and topical hydrocortisone and salicylic acid creams. I'm otherwise leaving it alone. Time really is the only cure for it.
Getting excessively harsh with my skin will not clear it up any faster--if anything, it will exacerbate the problem and make it impossible to conceal with makeup. I do have an arsenal of foundations, so I know I can conceal it for the most part. I have the perfect one to use: Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Foundation. I strongly recommend this foundation if you have things to hide and want to keep them hidden most of the night.
I can't hide it 100%, but with good foundation, a red dress and a strong lip color, I could perhaps distract from it.
August 2, 2018
One class down. Many more to go.
I passed my first WGU class. It took three days for the performance assessment to be reviewed and graded. I was able to watch it progress through the queue though, so I knew the delay was not because they didn't get it, but because there were 300+ submissions in front of me.
During those three days, I had quite the weekend at work. I'm thoroughly convinced the recent full/blood moon had a lot to do with it.
I got the notice that the assessment passed on Monday. Some areas of my performance assessment met expectations (score 3 out of 4) while others exceeded expectations (score 4 out of 4). I admit, I was hoping for more 4s.
Overall, the assessment's score was met expectations, or a 3. Which I suppose is on par with a B. I also admit I was hoping it overall exceeded expectations, or a 4. Or an A. But even it were a 4, the course would still appear as "Pass" on my transcript and my GPA would still be a 3.0.
This "no-GPA" is still taking some getting used to.
Overall, I'm glad to put this first class behind me. The assessment was very introspective which, while it did come up with valuable insights, always feels weird for me to do because I feel like they're looking for a certain answer in these courses. No matter what program I took this type of course in, it always feels like The Powers That Be are looking for a certain answer. Like my goals in the next 10 years always have to be something lofty like becoming a NP or nurse executive.
To be honest, I don't know what I'll be doing in 10 years. I'm still not 100% sure I want to do Education. I'm 95% sure. The other 5% of the time, I wonder if it would serve me better to do Leadership or Informatics...I mean, I could still teach with either one of those concentrations. But I have time to change my mind if I want. The courses for all the MSN programs are the same for at least the first two terms.
I had to take a few days off before I started the next class, partly due to the high patient acuity at work and partially because I needed a mini-break from school. I admit, I like this about WGU--I can pace myself. The arbitrary start date for this next class was 7/29. But as long as I finish these four classes by 12/31, it doesn't matter if I start the second class on the 29th or the 1st or the 15th.
Now, it's Translational Research, which I started yesterday. I like research classes. I even like doing the research for the research studies. This course, I decided to use their 21-and-Done schedule. So far, I'm keeping pace. I had a productive appointment with my course instructor and narrowed down the topic for my performance assessment to a couple of contenders. I'm going to see which topic pulls up more research studies and would be more doable.
Oh yes, I also learned I did win one of the WGU scholarships...the one for nurses, actually. Fitting.
During those three days, I had quite the weekend at work. I'm thoroughly convinced the recent full/blood moon had a lot to do with it.
I got the notice that the assessment passed on Monday. Some areas of my performance assessment met expectations (score 3 out of 4) while others exceeded expectations (score 4 out of 4). I admit, I was hoping for more 4s.
Overall, the assessment's score was met expectations, or a 3. Which I suppose is on par with a B. I also admit I was hoping it overall exceeded expectations, or a 4. Or an A. But even it were a 4, the course would still appear as "Pass" on my transcript and my GPA would still be a 3.0.
This "no-GPA" is still taking some getting used to.
Overall, I'm glad to put this first class behind me. The assessment was very introspective which, while it did come up with valuable insights, always feels weird for me to do because I feel like they're looking for a certain answer in these courses. No matter what program I took this type of course in, it always feels like The Powers That Be are looking for a certain answer. Like my goals in the next 10 years always have to be something lofty like becoming a NP or nurse executive.
To be honest, I don't know what I'll be doing in 10 years. I'm still not 100% sure I want to do Education. I'm 95% sure. The other 5% of the time, I wonder if it would serve me better to do Leadership or Informatics...I mean, I could still teach with either one of those concentrations. But I have time to change my mind if I want. The courses for all the MSN programs are the same for at least the first two terms.
I had to take a few days off before I started the next class, partly due to the high patient acuity at work and partially because I needed a mini-break from school. I admit, I like this about WGU--I can pace myself. The arbitrary start date for this next class was 7/29. But as long as I finish these four classes by 12/31, it doesn't matter if I start the second class on the 29th or the 1st or the 15th.
Now, it's Translational Research, which I started yesterday. I like research classes. I even like doing the research for the research studies. This course, I decided to use their 21-and-Done schedule. So far, I'm keeping pace. I had a productive appointment with my course instructor and narrowed down the topic for my performance assessment to a couple of contenders. I'm going to see which topic pulls up more research studies and would be more doable.
Oh yes, I also learned I did win one of the WGU scholarships...the one for nurses, actually. Fitting.
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