New Developments, New Problems

Things are going good with trying to get into this competitive nursing program.

My Anatomy grades are remaining high. The last test I scored a 98%. I still have a high A in this class, and I’m really working hard on memorizing many different parts, functions, and systems. We are in muscles now, and I’ve decided that if anyone ever asks me what a striation is they’re getting punched square in the face.

Yesterday was the last day to submit your application for the nursing program that begins in the Fall. Just for a refresher, I applying to one slot out of only sixteen available based on my ACT score, which was a very respectable 29. I’m getting nervous as I should be getting a letter stating whether I’m accepted, declined, or an alternate for the Fall 2008 semester. I have a good feeling, but you just never know.

I’m also facing another obstacle. My mother has been having uncontrolled seizures and I had to take her to the hospital and I missed some of my anatomy class, which is difficult since I can’t really afford to miss any class time in the accelerated class. She is doing better, however, I am not very pleased.

My mother went into the local emergency room, driven by a friend. She was disoriented, dehyrated, and severely malnourished. She was discharged and I was called by a case manager at the hospital who basically told me I needed to take her to another hospital. She has been familiar with my parents over the last few months and she is highly irritated they can’t pay their hospital bills. Anyhow, despite the rude conversation she had with me, I took my mom to a bigger, better hospital, and they have taken much better care of her and she is recooperating nicely. It was never explicitly stated, although it was highly insinuated, that my mother was discharged because she did not have insurance, which in case you did not know, is highly illegal.

I am considering a lawsuit for several reasons. First and foremost is the utter disregard for a patient’s health. When my mother was discharged, these are a few of her symptoms:

1. Malnutrition (She had not eaten anything in the previous eight days according to bloodwork)
2. Extreme dehydration (She was so dehydrated it took two IV bags of fluid and me pushing two cans of soda, plus a folley to get any urine out of her.)
3. Extremely disoriented (She did not know who I was, who my wife was, where she was, what she was doing, etc.)
4. Speech Impediments (She was slurring her words and had bouts of speaking gibberish words and making no sense)
5. Loss of Motor Skills (She could not walk and her arms shook whenever she attempted to move them)

Come on now. That’s just wrong. According to bloodwork, she hadn’t drinken anything in 4 days either. If they discharged her and she continued not drinking, she’d have died right now. How many other people have they treated like this, and shouldn’t someone do something? I mean when I explained the situation to a case manager at the other hospital, they may be writing the whole thing off pro bono. I’ll keep this site updated about this, what myself, and many others I know, consider gross negligence.

Anatomy Is Going Well

Anatomy class is actually going pretty good. On a lab exam, I got a 94%. On my lecture exam, I got a 101%.

My average right now is 97.5%. If you calculate in my extra points for tutoring and perfect attendance, I’m sitting pretty at 102.5%…

This class is so important, but I’m going to be happy that I won’t have any Anatomy classes for a few years after its done. It’s definitely the hardest class I’ve ever taken (though I haven’t taken many college level courses really)

The Family, Work, School Balance

Family. School. Work. In that order.

If you’re a student with any of the afforementioned responsibilities, school will be a huge challenge. I consider myself pretty good at time management, and I have a difficult time balancing everything.

I work days, my wife works overnights. I attend one accelerated anatomy class (currently) for twelve hours a week, and I can already feel the stress. The class is four credits in 6 1/2 weeks. I often times leave for work at 8:30am and don’t even get home until 10:00pm, giving me nearly an hour to do schoolwork, household duties, and getting ready for bed so I can efficiently work, learn, and live the next day.

The problem is that nothing ever goes like what I just wrote. That’s my “kittens and moonbeams” version of what I’d like to happen. Of course it never does. The first thing to get cut from home is sleep. In bed by 11:30pm and up by 6:00am gives me 6 1/2 hours of sleep, but if I go less I drag the next day.

One of my kids is always sick or having some sort of emergency. My wife sleeps during the day so I handle any urgent emergencies.

Ugh, what was I thinking not completing college before I got married and had kids…

My words of advice to the next generation: learn first, party later… you’re at a natural advantage when you don’t have any real responsibility.

Crystal Skulls and Critical Thinking

Unfortunately, I’m a science fiction fan! Not to the extreme of course; I have never attended a movie donning a cape, lightsaber, or Hogwart’s robe, but I like that genre of movie. And if I had to pick two favorite movie series that fall under the criteria of what I like to watch, it would have to be the Indiana Jones series and the Star Wars series.

I was flipping through the channels the other night and Sci-Fi channel had a special on crystal skulls which I thought would be interesting with the Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull movie opening a few days later. I was wrong.

First of all, the head researcher was also founder and president of the International Crystal Skull Research Society or something equally as retarded. He made all sorts of outlandish claims as to the “magical” properties of the skulls and explained his “rigorous” scientific experiments.

When confronted with the fact that one quartz crystal skull was manufactured with a rotary tool, obviously not an ancient Mayan tool, he quickly retorted, “There’s something about carving a human skull out of crystal that gives it innate magic properties.”

Yeah, you’re looney.

The television special further offended my ability to think rationally by deconstructing and regurgitating a modified Mayan prophecy that twelve crystal skulls placed at twelve “magical” sites, which they of course scientifically explained because of the increased gravitational activity at these sites. Like hell. I’m a nursing major but I at least know that gravity is pretty much constant.

They went so far as to say these skulls were crafted by aliens, gave us power, blah blah blah…

At this point I was so disgusted I turned the channel because what started as a mildly amusing story turned into an intelligence-draining documentary. It even made me enjoy the new Indiana Jones movie even less.

And don’t even get me started on the other documentary show Ghost Hunters. If you watch long enough and hard enough, the researcher will feel cool breeze or a spine-tingling sensation. Perhaps it’s side effects from the malignant tumor pressing on the “common sense” portion of their brains.

If you need to fill time Sci-Fi channel, just play Star Wars again. At least no one’s pretending that that’s real. Plus it’s fun to mute it and make up your own words.

Skeletal Shock

This intense, 6 1/2 week Anatomy class is really starting to pick up. I’m expected to know the entire articulated skeleton by Tuesday. I also need to know all the structures on the human skull. In High School, I got away with only having to know the bones; now I have to know the bones, the sutures, and even the parts of the bone, such as the external acoustic meatus. This is a huge amount of material in a small amount of time; however, I do like the challenge of completing this class quickly and with a high grade.

I’m going to master the skull before moving onto the articulated skeleton which I assume will be a bit easier. Again, FlashCardExchange.com to the rescue. Here’s an awesome link to picture flashcards of the skull that will be a great review for someone trying learn all the parts of the skull

I did take a lab practical exam today which was moderately easy; I know of at least four questions I answered incorrectly (I transposed the iliac regions and lumbar regions of the body, duh!) According to the teacher, I can miss about 13 questions before I would get a ‘B’, so I’m pretty confident I got an ‘A’ on this exam.

One thing I can tell you about Anatomy is that in two weeks, I’ve probably spent 7-8 hours gazing through a microscope at all sorts of cells, pathogens, and tissues. Trust me, if there’s a test on strictly cells, I’d ace it.

Also, I learned today that at the end of the summer I will have an opportunity to go to the gross anatomy lab at a local university. We’ll actually get to watch and learn as a cadaver is dissected. I can’t wait; that’s going to be an awesome educational opportunity.

Also, I spoke to my advisor. Based on my ACT score, she’s pretty confident I’m in the program. The highest the ACT cutoff has ever been in a score of 26. I have a 29. Maybe I shouldn’t be stressing for an ‘A’ so bad in Anatomy & Physiology then…

Epithelium Epiphany

Ok, so now things are getting a little rough in the tissue section of Anatomy and Physiology I.

The amount of tissue types is pretty daunting. It’s pretty easy to study and remember what’s what, but the problem with epithelium tissue is that the names are so incredibly similar. Check out this quick list for the basic epithelial tissue-types:

1. Simple Squamous Epithelium
2. Simple Cuboidal Epithelium
3. Simple Columnar Epithelium
4. Pseudostratified Columnar Epithelium
5. Stratified Squamous Epithelium
6. Stratified Cuboidal Epithelium
7. Stratified Columar Epithelium
8. Transitional Epithelium

Believe it or not, I think the transitional epithelium and the pseudostratified epithelium are the easiest the remember because they are different than the other six, which are super easy to confuse. It’s easy, however, to describe the structure of each of these epithelial tissues, because the name says it all; check this out:

• Simple means there’s only one layer of cells. We now know the numbers 1-3 are a single layer of cells.
• Stratified means there’s many layers of cells. We now know the numbers 5-7 have multiple layers of cells.
• Pseudostratified says it all. Pseudo means “fake”. Stratified means “many layers of cells”. So pseudostratified means that the cells have the appearance of having multiple layers, however, they do not. It has only one layer of stretched cells resembling a multiple layers.
• Squamous means that the cells are flat. We now know that 1 and 5 are flat.
• Cuboidal means cube-shaped. We now know that 2 and 6 are shaped like cubes.
• Columnar means rectangular-shaped. We now know that 3 and 7 have a rectangular, column-like shape.

Ok, so we know what each looks like. Now how in the world can I remember where each is located? And don’t even get me started on exocrine gland types….

Off the FlashCard Exchange, a great website with tons of flashcards to quiz yourself no matter where you are. Hope I can get this down!

Wish me luck!

Of Glycoproteins and Dissected Rats

Well, my anatomy and physiology class is in full swing. My teacher is great this time around, and I’ve learned quite a bit so far. We’ve been covering body cavities, the concept of homeostasis, cells, and today we performed a rat dissection. Cells by far have been the most challenging, with at least double the information of the previously mentioned topics to memorize. There are many components to cells, each with a very specialized function, and it is quite a bit to remember.

A great site to review cell models can be found here at CellsAlive.com.

It’s quite a bit to memorize, but I’ve been studying my notes frequently, reading answers to questions out loud instead of just in my head, and doing crossword puzzles related to the chapter I am doing. Not to mention paying attention the best as I can while in class. I need an ‘A’ in this class to keep up my momentum. Also, if by some freak chance I don’t get accepted into the program based on my high ACT score, I am going to need a 4.0 GPA to fall back on so I can apply in the Fall or admittance into the Spring semester.

A brief note on dissecting animals: it’s really not that big a deal. The smell kind of sucks, but it’s not like it’s as bad as a dead, decaying animal on the road. It’s all very sterile. Also, the animal is completely drained of their blood and the only liquid inside is the preservative. Often times, like with earthworms and frogs, dyes have even been injected to color code organs for the student to easily recognize. It’s almost like your dissecting a “fake” animal. Oh well, some people were still squeamish. It’s really not that big of a deal though. Check out this photo; it’s the actual rat I dissected today.

The concept of glycoproteins was very cool; it’s not something that I’ve ever learned about before. Basically, on the cells membrane, called a phospholipid bylayer, there are proteins that do not penetrate the membrane called peripheral proteins. These proteins have carbohydrate chains attached to them that are unique to that individual’s cells. In this way, your immune system knows not to destroy your own cells because any pathogen who has these glycoproteins will have a different chain and your body will destroy those foreign cells.

So far, so good. I’m really enjoying this class and learning quite a bit. It’s a lot of material

 

Classes Have Started!

Class has started once again for me!

I just started my first Human Anatomy & Physiology class last night, and I have to say, it’s going to be pretty intense. BIO202 in 6 1/2 weeks is pretty insane. The class was 3 1/2 hours long, and there wasn’t a single moment we weren’t feverishly taking notes or listening to our instructor.

Our professor for this class is awesome. She has a Master’s Degree in Biology as well as Education. She actually does workshops to teach other teachers how to teach effectively. I lucked out with this teacher; one of the most difficult classes to ace and I get an instructor who can effectively teach and have me actually retain the information without the need to study a ridiculous amount.

Yeah, I’m a guy, and I’m in the nursing program. You’d think that wouldn’t be something new by now, but I still got a few snickers from a EMS personnel and a PA transfer. Very funny, because when the instructor asked me how I decided on my major I said, “Well I did want to be a PA, but I decided that I’d rather go into the NP program since I’d rather be at the top of the board of nursing than at the bottom of the board of medicine.” Mr. PA was not amused.

Still doing that ridiculous Fundamentals of College Study class. Almost completed the entire syllabus already; just waiting to turn in the work. Cake. Absolute cake.

Disappointment with a Director of Nursing…

My wife works at a nursing home as a GNAS, and she has quickly made some friends in the nursing field.

I went out with my wife and her LPN friend the other night for a night on the town, a few beers, and hopefully a little fun.  The night started out okay with a few introductions and the decision to move from the local block party to a local restaurant/lounge.

From there on, it quickly went downhill. At first, I was almost discouraged by the Director and my wife’s LPN friend about even entering the nursing field at all. It was an ”unfulfilling” career, and you don’t really make any difference at all, etc. It really bothered me that these people were in the nursing field at all, because, in my opinion, nurses with a positive attitude have made all the difference when anyone in my family has been ill.

The Director was drunk, and when the girls left, he was still there babbling nearly incoherently about how I shouldn’t let me wife tell me to order food, and than a man needs to keep his budget tight, and other absurd “marital” advice… I guess. In response to his extremely intelligent, “Why you let her make you order food,” I replied “Um, <name>, she was hungry.” He was even offended I offered to pick up the tab on the food and drinks. I swear, he had to be one of the most irritating individuals I’ve ever met.

It got even worse than having drinks with two extremely negative individuals. The Director got so drunk he attempted to kiss my wife, and when she got up to tell me, he left our table and went to another area of the restaurant. As visions of a delivering him a spectacular ass-kicking ran through my head after about ten minutes of venting I decided that it wasn’t worth it to lose my future career and my wife’s job. I decided after a few minutes I would go get him and get him loaded up in the car because he was so extremely drunk he was falling, acting stupid, and just being a pest in general. I felt that if I left him there, something would have definitely happened to him. So for my conscience and my wife’s job stability, I decided to be the bigger man and go him.

Where was he? His 50-year old ass is dancing in the middle of a crowded night club, grabbing 20-something girls and acting completely stupid. After I got him loaded in the car, he hopped out to continue having a good time after saying that he didn’t try to kiss and wife and that everyone needed to shut up. Well, you can’t say I didn’t try to get you home safely.

What a disappointment… is this the kind of colleagues I am going to have the privelege of working with? I was really looking forward to this; I was eager to pick a DON’s brain about certain degree programs, universities, specializations, etc. Instead, I got a bunch of incoherent babbling, an attempt to get fresh with my wife, and told to “shut up”. I did, however, get a few good things out of last night. The first good thing is that nursing school can’t be that difficult if a moron like this can get through. The other thing I learned is that I definitely think I can contribute to the nursing field because if idiots like this are in it, then as far as I’m concerned, they need me.

ACT Score is in!

When my stepdaughter woke me up this morning, I realized it was test results day! While still in my underwear, I jumped up, grabbed my PocketPC phone, and quickly used my Opera Mini Web Browser to check the scores. And scores were viewable.

After a slow internet connection that built the suspense and a failsafe in the ACT website to require me to put in some additional information, I finally got in to view my scores and it was displayed on the screen.

Composite score: 29

I was totally satisfied with that. That’s a really good score; I can get into like 90-95% of colleges with that score. Even some really good ones!

I went to the nursing department to officially apply to the nursing program beginning in the Fall. I asked for an average admittance score, and they replied that a 25 score was a fairly safe bet that I would make it in. I asked the likelihood of me getting into the nursing program with a 29, and they told me that they have never denied a student (ever..) that has had that high of a score.

So it’s pretty much a sure thing that I am getting in at this point. A few quick facts about a 29 ACT score:

1. It puts me in the top 5% of students that took the test.
2. If you put me in a room with 20 students doing the ACT test, statistically speaking, I would have the highest score every time.
3. A 29 on the ACT is a good enough score (along with other considerations which I likely would not have) to be admitted into universities such as Duke, Stanford, and John Hopkins. Too bad… I still can’t make it into harvard…