Archive for month: January, 2015

Hello

First off, I am very excited to be starting the last semester of nursing school! The past 3 years have seriously flown by, and part of me cannot believe that we are so close to graduating. It seems like we were all just sitting in our first pathophysiology class, excited but overwhelmed with all of the work ahead of us. When it was first announced that we would be making our own blogs and that the set-up of this class would be using different technology, at first I was a little hesitant because we have grown used to using the usual Blackboard, PowerPoint presentations, and discussion boards. Now we will be using something else entirely? However I really like the idea of being able to use this site not only for required blogs but as something we could use to create a professional image of ourselves. It also makes the discussion assignments more fun when we are able to use some creativity on our web pages.

I also really like the potential for the group project, as it is vastly different from any project we have done before. We get to create a whole patient scenario with not only their disease but their past medical history, their home life, and other real-life issues. I think this assignment is one that will truly help us put together everything we have learned through past clinicals and really get us to see the big picture of the person, which we will have to do every day in nursing.  The only dislike of the course I can say would be that only knowing of homework/reading assignments one week at a time might make it difficult to plan far ahead, but I do think it will help us focus more on the present and not get overwhelmed.

Lastly here is a picture of some heart rhythms for fun:

 

Being familiar with some of the technical terms in this website, I am excited to share my future experiences and learn about the experiences of my peers. This class has a lot to offer and I am willing to learn as much as I can before I graduate this semester. Stepping inside the realm of technology, I would like to share my likes and dislikes about this course.

One of the things I like about this course is the fact that we are getting the opportunity to actually use technology for our own learning. This is a new way for us to further enhance our knowledge and skills in this field. Being in nursing informatics during my leadership rotation last semester, I was astonished by the type of work that nurses dealt with. This included working on the back end of the system to make sure that nurses in the front end were able to efficiently use the system when caring for patients (charting system, medication reconciliation, etc.). Much like these nurses, we will be working on the back end of our system so that we can make sure that others can view our experiences and work through the front end. Another thing that I like about this course is that information is readily available online, which can also be updated with just a few clicks. Lastly, technology will also provide us with a new way of learning, which we will use in our future endeavors.

While technology is supposed to make life easier, it is not always user friendly. I was already lost trying to navigate around this website, which I already expected. Working in the president’s office at CSUCI, I work on the back end of the website and I have experienced much frustration in editing the pages. However, this comes with anything new and I am willing to learn through future experiences. Another thing that I dislike about this course is that we will have problems with using technology in our future projects and homework assignments. As I have learned, not everything will look how I want it to look the first time. However, I am willing to learn from my mistakes and help my peers. Furthermore I am excited for what this semester has to offer! Here is a short video to help motivate us through our last semester:

My final semester of nursing school… It is hard to believe that I have come this far. I remember starting this journey towards becoming a nurse and being overwhelmed with what seemed to be a never-ending road ahead of me. It’s hard for me to conceptualize the fact that in a few months, I will be graduating with my BSN. I am experiencing a mix of emotions from excitement to anxiety to even sadness. As hard as it has been, nursing school has been an amazing experience that I will never forget and always cherish.