Well and truly into the 2nd year......

A week and a half into the 2nd year and we have already, pretty much had all the lectures/seminars for one of the modules, Research Methods and Analysis! It's all been rather heavy, but I have enjoyed it! Just need to keep everything fresh in my mind for the next couple of months as we are assessed by a multiple choice exam and that's not taking place till the end of December!
Next week we move onto a Health and Illness module and Partnerships 2. These modules seem a lot more nursery based.....especially partnerships as we will be going to our main campus to work alongside students of all areas...i.e social workers, physiotherapists, mental health nurses.....should be very interesting although I must admit I'm a little nervous.
On the home front all is good. Kids all settled back into school and college. My youngest is enjoying secondary school much more than I thought he would....so I can relax! Hubby is still as supportive as ever and scored some brownie points this week as he bought me a Dolce Gusto coffee machine! :)
Will post again when we find out our placement areas.....exciting!! :)

Last weekend of the summer.....

Have had all these weeks off and now all of a sudden we have been unindated with work to do before next week! I think this Research and Analysis module is going to be full on!! We have been given lectures to watch online before we go back for the seminars, along with having to critique 4 articles. Critiquing these articles would have been a lot easier following the taught content. I've had a good go at using all the relevent CASP tools, but not sure if I'm on the right track or not!

I have also now completed all the paperwork necessary for my portfolio...all up to date and ready to take to my Academic Advisor meeting in a couple of weeks. Have set some SMART targets for the up-coming year...want to get cracking now!

As a family, we have had a fab summer, the kids have enjoyed long lay ins and some late nights...we have all enjoyed eating together and spending some time together with no other commitments but as of Monday I shall be a busy bee again....time to get back to using our family weekly planner! It was a god send last year!

Already making a start on the 2nd Year....

Getting myself as organized as possible for the next year. We already have the pre-reading lists for two of the modules we will be doing in semester 1. Have also received timetables and the assignment question for one of the modules too. This particular assignment question has five different scenarios from which we can chose to base our essay on (3000 words!!). As I am really interested in coronary care, I think I am going to base my essay on the Cardiac Journey scenario.
On the family front....Hubby is off for 2 weeks now, so we have planned lots of nice days out with the kids next week. Really looking forward to some fun times with them. My youngest two are away with my mum and dad for a few days at the mo, so the house is a little quiet! Perfect opportunity to start the pre-reading....if I could just complete the level on CandyCrush which I'm stuck on first!! Hehe!

Summer Hols...

So...we are now a couple of weeks into the summer holidays...and I must admit I am actually missing uni and being on placement! Not really sure what to do with my self now that I have all this free time on my hands!!
Last week a few of us had an end of year celebration...we went to the Races and it was Retro Racing Day at Newbury...so a good excuse for us all to dress up and have a bit of fun! We all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and I'm pretty sure we'll all be going racing again!! :)
Today I have organised my timetable and bits and bobs ready for September, as of tomorrow all the children will be home for the Summer hols so I thought it best to get sorted now before the peace ends! However, I am looking forward to some proper family time (hubby has 2 weeks off in August too!) over the next month or so...lots of days out...lie ins and fun! :)

Year 1....Done! :)

Not had much time to update recently...but I am happy to say I have now finished and passed my first year! All hours and competencies signed off and achieved a B+ (Exam and Cardiovascular practical) and an A (MCQ and Essay) for my final 2 assignments! Very happy and very proud of myself! :)
Am actually already missing being on the ward...and it's only been 6 days! It took a few weeks to find my feet during my last placement, but I really enjoyed it and felt very much as part of the team there. I will miss working with some of the lovely members of the nursing team.
We have a day in uni tomorrow to do our HLS and Moving and Handling for year 2.... then the summer begins! :) A few of us are having a little end of year celebration next week....we're off to the races for the day! Should be a great day! :)
Looking forward to the second year....apparently it's going to be "challenging".... But I'm ready! :)

7 weeks till the end of my 1st year....

So only 7 weeks left until the end of the 1st year! Back on placement today. Had a pretty good shift...helped lots of lovely patients get washed and dressed....made 9 beds...all with lovely corners!....Carried out the lunchtime drug round under supervision and updated some care plans and diary entries on the hospital computer system. The staff nurse and n/a i was working with today were fab and loved the fact that we worked together so well as a team! :) Here's hoping tomorrows shift is as good! :)
Anyway....last week our cohort went to our big campus for our Science exam. I was a little overwhelmed at the size of the place compared to our small campus! However all in all it was a good experience. The exam didn't go too badly....some of the questions I answered with a complete guess as it doesn't seem like we covered all the content that the exam was based on! And I read a lot...and still words and terms appeared in the test paper that I have never heard of!! (I have since looked them up!) Just hoping that I did well enough to pass....fingers crossed!! We don't get our results until the 10th June, so I don't think I will book a shift for that day just in case I want to spend the day hiding away! Worse case scenario is that I will have to resit the exam, which wouldn't be a total disaster because at least now I know what I need to revise!!
Oh yeah...and just to add, I got 99% on my drug medication exam...I was happy with that and hopefully am on target for getting 100% at the end of the 3rd year! :)

Mad panic......

Practice MCQ's online are not filling me with great hope.....back to the books! :/