Totally Tachycardic

Well school seems to be flying by, and i haven't really taken a moment yet to sit back and reflect on this new semester. It's been a whirlwind, and with three classes now instead of one, it is about six times more difficult to keep track of all assignments, tests, clinicals, etc. Our professors tried to make us feel better by telling us that one of our classes is actually separated into three classes for the undergrads. So if it feels like it's three times as intensive, it's because it is. For some reason that didn't make me feel all that much better.

Last week we had our first patho test, and it was awful. She redesigned the tests so that we would have 10 tests over a smaller amount of material (basically about one a week), and the tests are only 20 questions and we take them online. While this sounds great, the first test was such a slap in the face. The test is structured so you have only thirty minutes (with a counting down timer in the corner to stress you out even more), and the questions are displayed one at a time so that you can't go back and reconsider your answers. Okay, so i recognize that this is supposed to help us prepare for the NCLEX next fall, but it's really tough because i always go back and double check my answers. About half way through the test, i started thinking about how many questions i might have missed, and my heartbeat just took off- totally tachycardic. I tried to calm myself down, but i just didn't do well on the test. As it turned out, she gave us back some points, so i still ended up with an A on the exam, but that didn't make me feel any better. Did i mention these test questions (also in NCLEX style) are questions where they tell you all four answers are correct, but you have to choose the BEST answer. Or they'll say, when someone presents with these symptoms you should do all these things, but which one should you do FIRST? Aaack! So even though i went into the exam as prepared as i thought i could be from our lecture notes, i wasn't at all prepared for the mind bending questions.

So for this next exam, i am studying much differently. I still plan on knowing the pathophysiology backwards and forwards, but I plan to focus more on the nursing roles. (the class is actually called "Nursing Resoponses to Physiological Alterations to Health") I went to half-price books and found two study guides that will help a lot with the critical thinking and nursing implications. One is for the med/surg nursing book they used last year (it was only 12 bucks!) and another one is for the patho book they suggested we use as a reference (that one was only $6!). My friend, Mindy has the study guide for the med/surg text we are primarily using, and we have been going over the questions together. I think we will be much better prepared- i already feel like i can think through the multiple choice questions in a more analytical and logical way. Well, i'm off to finish some reading up on heart failure. sounds disturbing, but it's really fun- i love this stuff!