Wow.  Just finished exams for this semester.   I’m not sure how to feel right now.  Today (Monday December 12th) was Nursing Practice.  I would say it was by far the hardest exam out of all three core nursing courses.

Which is only my own subjective opinion / reaction to taking the exam.  After talking to classmates once the exam was done, some people stated that Nursing Practice was the easiest while Nursing Assessment and Nursing Theory were the hardest.  I felt the opposite.  I found Assessment to be a lot easier than I thought going into the exam.

My hands were shaking a little once I walked out of the exam room.  I found it challenging because each question had four possible answers.  Immediately you could filter out two obviously wrong answers but the last two answers seemed as if they could both be correct.

So I’m not sure how I did.  After leaving the Nursing Theory and Nursing Assessment exams I felt good.  I felt that I had at least done relatively well but with Nursing Practice I feel lost.  I don’t have a bearing right now as to how I did because I was conflicted with what the rights answers were to the questions.

I feel at least somewhat comforted by the fact that some other classmates stated all of the above themselves once they expressed their feelings about the exam.

For now, some much deserved R & R is in order.  I think I’ll treat myself to a spiked eggnog as well.

Marks for the exams will be posted on Monday December 19, 2011.

Holy Excrement!

Only 3 more weeks until Exams!
I cannot believe how quickly this semester went by!

Counselling Helplines for Students

Just finished a survey that Ryerson University was asking me to complete for mature students and at the end of the survey a list of community resources came up which I thought were excellent to have on hand.

I found the survey asked a lot of questions about family life, stress and feelings of worth etc.  I think it’s very important to know what those are for people since students have a crazy time trying to fulfill all the expectations of their families, partners and their academic goals.

———-

Mental Health Helpline – Ontario
Telephone: 1-866-531-2600
Website: www.mentalhealthhelpline.ca/

Counselling & Disability Services, York University
Telephone: (416) 736-5297
Website: www.yorku.ca/cds/

Counselling Services, University of Guelph
Telephone: (519) 824-4120, ext. 53244
Website: www.uoguelph.ca/counselling/

Centre for Student Development and Counselling, Ryerson University
Telephone: (416) 979-5195
Website: http://www.ryerson.ca/counselling/
Counselling Services, University of Waterloo
Telephone: (519) 888-4567, ext. 32655
Website: http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infocs/

Exam Schedules for Fall 2011

The exam schedules have been released.

You can find out when your exam is being held by:

1. Log onto your Ryerson Blackboard
2. Click on RAMSS
3. On the right column click on Current Exam Schedule
4. At the bottom of the page click on either Undergraduate or Graduate
5. Find your courses

Annual Flu Shot at George Brown

The flu shots are being distributed at the St. James campus on the following dates.

Flu Shot Clinic Date	Time	St. James Campus Location
Tuesday, Nov. 22nd, 2011	9:30 am to 7:00 pm	200 King St. East, Main West Lobby, Building A, St. James Campus
Wednesday, Nov. 23rd, 2011	9:30 am to 5:00 pm	200 King St. East, Main West Lobby, Building A, St. James Campus

Four weeks in, four years to go

As part of our journey as a nursing student throughout our university career our faculty members have asked us to journal our thoughts, feelings and experiences. It isn’t mandatory and is not necessary for marks but since I feel as if I have already started that process by doing this blog it seems only natural to officially “journal” now.

So it’s been four weeks into the program. So far, I have to say that I am delighted to be in this program. If anything I feel completely validated that I am entering the correct career suited for my personality and spirit. Today in Health Assessment we used out stethoscopes for the first time. It was a fun class actually.  We mimicked how it would be in a hospital setting by practicing on our classmates the procedures we would use in the real setting eventually.   We learned how to Inspect, Palpitate, use Percussion, and Auscultate.

Inspecting is when you visually look at a client and inspect their demeanor, skin for any blemishes, bruises, discoloration or swelling.

Palpitate is using your hands and fingers to feel the patients body specifically for temperature changes, texture or vibrations. You need to always make sure that in the interviewing stage you acquire the patient’s permission to touch them.

Percussion is tapping the patient’s body with your hands.  Direct percussion is using one hand, while indirect is using two.  You will always be using two as a nurse.  As you tap the person’s body you are specifically listening to the sounds that emanate from that action. It allows you to have instant feedback and helps to know the size and location of organs.  This was my favorite step to practice I think for no other reason than simply because I could make different sounds on someone’s body.

And Auscultation is simply listening to sounds made by the boy using your stethoscope.  Specific sounds you are listening for include ones created by the heart, lungs and abdomen.  This also was a very fun exercise.

After today’s class I really felt like “now I’m starting to feel like a nurse”.  Which was a wonderful feeling.  Once my group closed the curtains around our nursing bed to make our space as private as possible, I immediately felt as if we were starting to get into the nitty gritty of what nursing is all about.

I am seriously loving this program.  The faculty is also kick ass and amazing.  They really care about every student and I am very fortunate to be at George Brown.  From what other students have told me they wished they had chosen George Brown because of the more hands on atmosphere experienced by going to George Brown.  Plus! The new location that is being built at the lakeshore!!! Now that’s gonna be a treat to attend that state of the art campus next year!

Like I said, I am loving this program and am so grateful to have been accepted into it.  I feel as if the next four years will fly by.

Get online quizzes completed promptly

If your in Nursing Practice then your aware of the 3 online quizzes that are due around October/November. I’m sure your instructor has already mentioned multiple times to complete then now instead of waiting until they are due and I would say it’s sound advice.

The quizzes are 15 marks each but get scaled down to 6% of your final grade. Our instructor has said that some students who didn’t complete these quizzes could have passed the course and moved on if they had simply completed them.

The quizzes are on the following topics:
1. Body Movement/ LMPT/ROM Psychomotor Skills Quiz
2. Bed making Psychomotor Skills Quiz
3. Diet/Meal Assistance/ Oral Hygiene Psychomotor Skills Quiz

On your weekly schedule look at the weeks that these quizzes are due on. The readings for that week will aid in completing the quizzes and acquiring a good mark. The actual quizzes are completed on WebCT.

I found the Bed making and Diet/Meal Assistance quizzes to be quite easy. Body Movement/LMPT was more difficult in my opinion so maybe invest more time into that one.

Good luck.

Social Groups and Academic Clubs

There are several clubs and groups that you can join that are directly related to the Bachelor of Nursing program at George Brown College.   They are all for first year students only.  They are:

Facebook

You can find the official Facebook group for this current year by searching for “GBC BScN – class of 2015″.

Anatomy Learning Club

Probably one of, if not, the most important club to join in your first year of Nursing is the Anatomy Club.  Having completed the Anatomy course last year I can honestly tell you that I wish I had this club as a resource.  There is so much information to digest with Anatomy and Physiology.  The club starts during Week 2 of the semester.  Make sure to utilize this resource fully!

Sections A & B

Mondays, 9:30-11:00
Career Centre  (B155)

Sections C & D

Tuesdays, 3:00-4:30

Room 567D

.

First Year Learning Teams

From what I gathered in class I believe these teams will help you with any class questions you may have such as from Nursing Theory or Assessment of the Healthy Individual.  These teams start in Week 2 of the semester as well.

.

Section	Day	Time	Room
A	Thursdays	11:00-12:00	256E
B	Thursdays	11:00-12:00	237E
C	Tuesdays	11:00-12:00	227A
D	Tuesdays	11:00-12:00	230E

Clinical Assisted Learning

This group starts in Week 5.  It focuses on support for the clinical part of the program.  2nd year Bachelor of Nursing students will aid in helping you practice your Nursing skills that you learn in class.

.

Sections	Day	Time	Rooms
A & B	Mondays	8:00-9:30	603 & 605
C & D	Mondays	9:30-11:00	603 & 605

Scholarly Writing Improvement Program

IMPORTANT!!!  Make sure that you attend this group.  It’s only around for September and if you attend all 4 sessions then the group facilitator, Marie Dowler, will offer to proof read all of your papers for the next two years.  In order to attend these sessions you need to register for them by emailing Marie Dowler at mdowler@ryerson.ca  Make sure to indicate which series you will be attending.

.

Series	Day	Time	Dates	Room
1	Mondays	9:00-10:00	Sept. 12, 19, 26, & Oct. 3	621
2	Mondays	10:00-11:00	Sept. 12, 19, 26, & Oct. 3	621
3	Wednesdays	11:00-12:00	Sept. 14, 21, 28, & Oct. 5	621
4	Wednesdays	2:00-3:00	Sept. 14, 21, 28, & Oct. 5	621

Bring Course Outlines on your first day of class

Reminder:

You’ll need to print out or have an electronic copy (Iphone or Laptop) of the Course Outlines for each of your classes with you as the instructors will be going over details about your course during the first class.

You can find the course outlines at: http://www.georgebrown.ca/nursing/outlines_S118_enter_1year.aspx