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.
July 27, 2018
As I wrap up my first MSN class at WGU, here are some things that I have learned
Attend the class cohort. They have the slides saved and available in case you can't, but going to a live one is far better as they mention things that are not on the slides.
Attend the MSN welcome cohort. Again, slides saved if you need it...and again, attending live is far better.
Attend other cohorts as needed, as they have valuable information. I have a date with the Writing Center one this weekend.
Make an appointment with your Course Instructor early on in the course to say How-Do and ask any questions you have. The first performance assessment seemed very intimidating, but after I spoke to the CI, I was able to clear things up and feel somewhat less intimidated.
They're very strict about APA. You will feel like an inept fool who has never used APA before. You will be paranoid about incorrect APA. You will be paranoid about paraphrasing. You will have nightmares about in-text citations and only putting one space after a period instead of the usual two. Even if you were an APA master in another program, you will still feel most if not all of this. I feel much better after that Writing Center appointment though.
Speaking of which, make appointments with the Writing Center early, at least a week before you plan to submit an assessment. I fortunately did make my appointment early. I'm glad I did because when I went to reschedule it for a day later (I still hadn't finished my draft), they were booked solid through August 1. I tell you, as soon as I start the next cohort, I'm figuring out when my assessment is due and immediately scheduling that Writing Center appointment.
Word's "Find and Replace" is a fast way to correct that "only one space after a period and not two" problem.
Email instructors and the Writing Center as needed. They will get back to you fast. Really fast. Take advantage of this.
WGU loves the Oxford comma. I love the Oxford comma. Finally, a kindred spirit!
And finally, don't forget to use Turnitin to check your work before submitting any assessments, as they are very strict about plagiarism as well as what percentage of work can be directly taken from other sources even if cited correctly. The goal is 30%. Under 15% and you're doing great. Under 5%, you either didn't use any other sources or you are at paraphrasing skill level: ninja.
Anyhow...I'm finishing up this first assessment to get it submitted by the weekend. Then it's right onto the next class, which I can't recall off the top of my head, but I think it has to do with research. No rest for me, alas.
Attend the MSN welcome cohort. Again, slides saved if you need it...and again, attending live is far better.
Attend other cohorts as needed, as they have valuable information. I have a date with the Writing Center one this weekend.
Make an appointment with your Course Instructor early on in the course to say How-Do and ask any questions you have. The first performance assessment seemed very intimidating, but after I spoke to the CI, I was able to clear things up and feel somewhat less intimidated.
They're very strict about APA. You will feel like an inept fool who has never used APA before. You will be paranoid about incorrect APA. You will be paranoid about paraphrasing. You will have nightmares about in-text citations and only putting one space after a period instead of the usual two. Even if you were an APA master in another program, you will still feel most if not all of this. I feel much better after that Writing Center appointment though.
Speaking of which, make appointments with the Writing Center early, at least a week before you plan to submit an assessment. I fortunately did make my appointment early. I'm glad I did because when I went to reschedule it for a day later (I still hadn't finished my draft), they were booked solid through August 1. I tell you, as soon as I start the next cohort, I'm figuring out when my assessment is due and immediately scheduling that Writing Center appointment.
Word's "Find and Replace" is a fast way to correct that "only one space after a period and not two" problem.
Email instructors and the Writing Center as needed. They will get back to you fast. Really fast. Take advantage of this.
WGU loves the Oxford comma. I love the Oxford comma. Finally, a kindred spirit!
And finally, don't forget to use Turnitin to check your work before submitting any assessments, as they are very strict about plagiarism as well as what percentage of work can be directly taken from other sources even if cited correctly. The goal is 30%. Under 15% and you're doing great. Under 5%, you either didn't use any other sources or you are at paraphrasing skill level: ninja.
Anyhow...I'm finishing up this first assessment to get it submitted by the weekend. Then it's right onto the next class, which I can't recall off the top of my head, but I think it has to do with research. No rest for me, alas.
July 19, 2018
Another weekly call with Baby Nurse. She told me that I'm on the few nurses she has who isn't burning to rush through the program as fast as possible. I responded that my circumstances at this time did not require me to rush and that I could enjoy the ride.
So, all the reading is done. I started working on the performance assessment. I'm glad I went with PERRLA, at the least the online version: it lets me save my paper so I can work on it anywhere. Which is nice as I have a Mac at home but work is strictly a Windows clique.
I had some questions about this assessment, so I booked a telephone appointment with my course instructor for this morning. She's a pediatric nurse, so Peds Nurse she is. I seem to be attracting all of the nurses for the under-18 crowd, which is funny given that this was the one specialty I could never do.
So Peds Nurse answered the questions, and therefore there is now no reason why I can't get started. My arbitrary deadline for the assessment is July 28, so that leaves me with 9 days. Except that I'm feeling tired today and really need to get some sleep...
I can't let that be an excuse though.
So, all the reading is done. I started working on the performance assessment. I'm glad I went with PERRLA, at the least the online version: it lets me save my paper so I can work on it anywhere. Which is nice as I have a Mac at home but work is strictly a Windows clique.
I had some questions about this assessment, so I booked a telephone appointment with my course instructor for this morning. She's a pediatric nurse, so Peds Nurse she is. I seem to be attracting all of the nurses for the under-18 crowd, which is funny given that this was the one specialty I could never do.
So Peds Nurse answered the questions, and therefore there is now no reason why I can't get started. My arbitrary deadline for the assessment is July 28, so that leaves me with 9 days. Except that I'm feeling tired today and really need to get some sleep...
I can't let that be an excuse though.
July 15, 2018
Three hours of sleep
...and maybe not even that. That's all I'm running on for work tonight. So I'm firing up the coffee pot and starting the IV. Oh well. It looks like I'll be working with a couple of my favorite nurses, so it'll be all right. A great team can make up for a lot of things, lack of sleep included.
I'm almost done with the reading for the first class. I have 92% of the tasks completed. Two more tasks remain, then I have officially covered everything and I can begin the assessment. Well, I could start the assessment at any time, but like I said, I want to get the most out of this experience so--at least for right now--I'm going through everything.
Graduate school has started me thinking about my career's future. I really like where I work, but I'm not sure there will be a lot of opportunities for a MSN-Ed there (I also feel like there's some new undercurrents developing that I'm not sure about, but that's another story). But anyway, I would like to stay at my current facility and if that's not possible, there may be opportunities for a MSN-Ed in one of the other hospitals in the organization's chain. If not, I may have to look elsewhere.
Fortunately, in the several years I've been living in the area, I have at least one contact in almost every psych healthcare facility in town. While that doesn't guarantee me a quick new job, at least I have people who can do recon for me and, should it come to job application time, provide a reference. And we could always relocate out of state...though that's not on my want-to-do list in the foreseeable future. That was part of the plan of going to education full-time later on in life.
Of course, who's to say a nursing program won't pick me up after I graduate? Though I had planned to be a full-time educator later on, after I've been worn out at the bedside, I could always go full-time educator sooner than planned and continue being at the bedside part-time/PRN. But that's at least 1.5-2 years off.
While I'm thinking about the future, I'm trying not to obsess over it too much. I've been trying to practice the mindfulness I've been learning about, to stay in the present and be aware of what's going on around me right here and now. No easy task given my anxiety issues and predilection to stressing out.
I'm almost done with the reading for the first class. I have 92% of the tasks completed. Two more tasks remain, then I have officially covered everything and I can begin the assessment. Well, I could start the assessment at any time, but like I said, I want to get the most out of this experience so--at least for right now--I'm going through everything.
Graduate school has started me thinking about my career's future. I really like where I work, but I'm not sure there will be a lot of opportunities for a MSN-Ed there (I also feel like there's some new undercurrents developing that I'm not sure about, but that's another story). But anyway, I would like to stay at my current facility and if that's not possible, there may be opportunities for a MSN-Ed in one of the other hospitals in the organization's chain. If not, I may have to look elsewhere.
Fortunately, in the several years I've been living in the area, I have at least one contact in almost every psych healthcare facility in town. While that doesn't guarantee me a quick new job, at least I have people who can do recon for me and, should it come to job application time, provide a reference. And we could always relocate out of state...though that's not on my want-to-do list in the foreseeable future. That was part of the plan of going to education full-time later on in life.
Of course, who's to say a nursing program won't pick me up after I graduate? Though I had planned to be a full-time educator later on, after I've been worn out at the bedside, I could always go full-time educator sooner than planned and continue being at the bedside part-time/PRN. But that's at least 1.5-2 years off.
While I'm thinking about the future, I'm trying not to obsess over it too much. I've been trying to practice the mindfulness I've been learning about, to stay in the present and be aware of what's going on around me right here and now. No easy task given my anxiety issues and predilection to stressing out.
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