Nursing School Semester 2: Week 4 + 5 + 6

Week 4

Campus clinical got canceled this week due to the building filling up with smoke. It's rescheduled for 2 weeks from now to a day where I made early morning plans but busy days make the semester fly by!
Apple cinnamon oatmeal has been SAVING me. I'm down to my last packet. I need to load up before my next exam on Tuesday.

Ordered a ton of supplemental study materials for Med-Surg and NCLEX. I'm hoping they help further "evolve my nurse brain".
Speaking of schedules - I somehow managed to overschedule myself 3 ways on Friday. Wasn't fun at all once I realized it. Ended up having to skip out on a summer externship fair - I was really hoping to secure a 2nd externship in the ER.
The seniors all lied. The second semester is not easier. Fewer classes with more work. Some might even say, excessive amounts of busy work.
Working and not leaving completely exhausted is a major win.
So many distractions. SO. MANY.
I think I want to budget for Plated or restarting my "Hello Fresh" Subscription again. I just want something that I will truly enjoy. The main problem with Hello Fresh was that I overestimated how much I could eat so food ended up going bad because I couldn't cook it in time. I also felt like the food was very bland. I almost wish they could send excess seasoning packets.
On the hunt for a second planner. The planner I have now doesn't have enough writing space to accommodate all the things I SHOULD BE DOING on a daily basis. Thank God for GroupMe and reminders from friends.
I can always tell I'm getting into "school mode" when I start to feel guilty for doing leisure activities. It's like an achievement - a reward system. Achievement = Pass another semester. Reward = relax. It's a vicious cycle that may or may not be leading to me burning out.

Week 5

Another chill week of clinical. Hard to believe that in 3 weeks I'll be done with mental health clinical. I'll have 4 day weekends which means more time to study and work!
PrepU's are a pain in my left butt cheek. So much time spent on something that counts for 2% of your grade. I'm still gonna do them though.

FINALLY starting to get organized! I'm not sure what it is but I got a sudden burst of energy and urgency to get my life together.
I'm trying something old out and hoping for the best. When I was at UGA I would write on sticky notes things to do and only take them down once the task was completed. I hang up an obnoxious amount to the point that I'm uncomfortable looking at them so it encourages me to get things done. It sounds wild, I know, but it's effective.

I bought some frozen dinners that are intended to feed a family of 4 to space out over 3- 4 days. Not quite the meal prepping I initially had in mind but it's a step in the right direction.
Working 2 12s (on night shift) in a row for the first time during nursing school. We'll see how this goes!

For whatever reason, I always get the best ideas for side hustles in class. I need to start bringing an "idea notebook" to school with me to avoid going down rabbit holes.

Week 6

This week has been a blur. Where does all the time go? I need more hours in the day.
Last weekend exhausted me. It's hard to say if I like night shift better. I'd have to invest in blackout curtains and strategically plan my sleep before I could make a real decision. I will say, you do significantly less on night shift, on my floor.
Finally got another big burst of energy to get my life together. Let's hope I can keep that same energy for these next 10-11 weeks.
2 more weeks until Spring break!
Mental health clinical is coming to an end and I'm honestly pretty sad about it. Our clinical adjunct is great and it's my favorite class this semester.
Speaking of favorite classes: it's true when you hate a class you have to study harder for them because you have zero interest. Lucky for me I dislike 2 classes this semester - Med-Surg and Older Adult.
In campus clinical this week we learned all about NG tubes and Trachs. Interesting stuff and further confirmation that I enjoy hands-on learning more than sitting in a classroom for 8 hours being talked to.

This semester is flying by and I'm all for it! Just gotta power through and stay organized.

Happy Friday!

AGNK