Just got home from the exam - it went okay. I answered all the questions and was confident about my answers for most of them except a couple of questions about ECGs (which coronary arteries each of leads corresponds to) and underwater chest drainage. But those questions were only worth 5 points out of 50. I just guessed the answers for those.
This is the preparation I did and most of it was actually very useful.
Listened to lectures (someone them I re-watched):
• Congestive Heart Failure
• Evidence based treatments for coronary heart disease
• Exam preparation tips
• Nutrition in the Acute Care Setting
• Stroke
• Intracranial Hypertension
• Neurological Observations
• Pain in the Acute setting
Reading revision
• Cardiovascular System Anatomy, Physiology and Assessment
• Respiratory System Anatomy, Physiology and Assessment
• Neurological System Anatomy, Physiology and Assessment
• Non-invasive ventilation
• Stroke
• Intracranial pressure and hydrocephalus
• ECG interpretation
• Chest drains/underwater seal drainage management
• Central venous line management
• Enteral medication administration
• Basic life support
• Heart Failure (this topic is so complicated!)
• Acute Coronary Syndromes & Myocardial Infarction
• Nasogastric Tube Insertion
• Assessment and Care of the Tracheostomy Patient
Also, got some results back for my group's Falls Prevention presentation. We got 17.5 out of 20 (worth 20%), so that's very good.
3 weeks off uni now during which time I'll be working, doing my graduate nursing applications and spending one week in Bali. This weekend I'll be relaxing - catching up on non-uni related reading, watch a movie and go to yoga.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Exam prep
Listened to lectures (someone them I re-watched):
• Congestive Heart Failure
• Evidence based treatments for coronary heart disease
• Exam preparation tips
• Nutrition in the Acute Care Setting
• Stroke
• Intracranial Hypertension
• Neurological Observations
• Pain in the Acute setting
Reading revision
• Cardiovascular System Anatomy, Physiology and Assessment
• Respiratory System Anatomy, Physiology and Assessment
• Neurological System Anatomy, Physiology and Assessment
• Non-invasive ventilation
• Stroke
• Intracranial pressure and hydrocephalus
• ECG interpretation
• Chest drains/underwater seal drainage management
• Central venous line management
• Enteral medication administration
• Basic life support
• Heart Failure (this topic is so complicated!)
• Acute Coronary Syndromes & Myocardial Infarction
• Nasogastric Tube Insertion
• Assessment and Care of the Tracheostomy Patient
Results
• 17.5/20 for group Falls Prevention presentation
• Congestive Heart Failure
• Evidence based treatments for coronary heart disease
• Exam preparation tips
• Nutrition in the Acute Care Setting
• Stroke
• Intracranial Hypertension
• Neurological Observations
• Pain in the Acute setting
Reading revision
• Cardiovascular System Anatomy, Physiology and Assessment
• Respiratory System Anatomy, Physiology and Assessment
• Neurological System Anatomy, Physiology and Assessment
• Non-invasive ventilation
• Stroke
• Intracranial pressure and hydrocephalus
• ECG interpretation
• Chest drains/underwater seal drainage management
• Central venous line management
• Enteral medication administration
• Basic life support
• Heart Failure (this topic is so complicated!)
• Acute Coronary Syndromes & Myocardial Infarction
• Nasogastric Tube Insertion
• Assessment and Care of the Tracheostomy Patient
Results
• 17.5/20 for group Falls Prevention presentation
Monday, June 20, 2011
Big update
Sorry for the lack of updates recently. I've been working a lot and doing assignments. I've now finished all my assignments for this semester which is a relief. In the last couple of weeks I handed in a 2000 word Clinical Case Management Review of one the patients I looked after in my geriatric nursing placement. That was worth 50% so I hope I did ok on that. Also did a 1500 word report about advances in the care of older people with depression, dementia, and end-of-life care, worth 30%. Before that I did a professional development reflective essay worth 40%. So basically one assignment a week for the last three weeks.
Other homework I've doing are a discussion board research posting about nursing care of Stroke patients, types of stroke and how they affect the patient, readings on Systematic review of treatments for depression in older people and End-of-life care and dementia.
Got some grades back for assignments I did earlier on in the semester - one worth 50% and another worth 40%. I can't remember the exact numbers but there were both in the 70s, which is "very good", so I was happy with those results.
Other than that I've also been doing a lot of research and thinking about where I want to work when I graduate. I've been attending a few career information nights with different organisations including the Royal District Nursing Service and Royal Melbourne Hospital. I need to apply for graduate positions by the end of July, and then interviews will take place in August followed by job offers in early October. So I will know before I finish my final semester where I will be working. Apparantly, most student end up getting their first preference so I have to think really carefully about my preferences and what I want. Also, I can only chose and apply to four places and I have to put those in order of preference. It's like applying to uni after year 12. So far I'm most interested in psych nursing programs at the major hospitals which have rotations in acute inpatient care, youth inpatient care and community care. There are three of these programs that I like the look of at Royal Melbourne, the Austin and the Alfred. At the Austin and the Alfred there are also programs that have two six month rotations - one in med/surg and one in psych, so you can consolidate your skills and experience both areas. However, they do not have the post graduate study included or an ongoing position. As well as all those programs, I'm also keen on community nursing with the Royal District Nursing Service which involves driving around Melbourne giving nursing care to people in their own homes for medication, wounds, dementia, diabetes and so on. I'm pretty sure I don't want to go straight to ward nursing on a busy med/surg ward. It just doesn't feel satisfying or interesting to me compared to psych or community nursing. So I have a lot to think about, and next week will start preparing my applications and making a decision about my preferences.
On Friday this week I have my one and only exam for Complex Care Nursing which is worth 40%. I've been told there are no exams next semester so this could be my last exam for quite a while. It's an open answer exam, not multiple choice like all the others in second year so could be difficult. Over the next four days I'm going to review about 10 of the lectures, the assignment, and all aspects of the two patient scenarios we studied in workshops for this subject. Hopefully that will get me through.
Other homework I've doing are a discussion board research posting about nursing care of Stroke patients, types of stroke and how they affect the patient, readings on Systematic review of treatments for depression in older people and End-of-life care and dementia.
Got some grades back for assignments I did earlier on in the semester - one worth 50% and another worth 40%. I can't remember the exact numbers but there were both in the 70s, which is "very good", so I was happy with those results.
Other than that I've also been doing a lot of research and thinking about where I want to work when I graduate. I've been attending a few career information nights with different organisations including the Royal District Nursing Service and Royal Melbourne Hospital. I need to apply for graduate positions by the end of July, and then interviews will take place in August followed by job offers in early October. So I will know before I finish my final semester where I will be working. Apparantly, most student end up getting their first preference so I have to think really carefully about my preferences and what I want. Also, I can only chose and apply to four places and I have to put those in order of preference. It's like applying to uni after year 12. So far I'm most interested in psych nursing programs at the major hospitals which have rotations in acute inpatient care, youth inpatient care and community care. There are three of these programs that I like the look of at Royal Melbourne, the Austin and the Alfred. At the Austin and the Alfred there are also programs that have two six month rotations - one in med/surg and one in psych, so you can consolidate your skills and experience both areas. However, they do not have the post graduate study included or an ongoing position. As well as all those programs, I'm also keen on community nursing with the Royal District Nursing Service which involves driving around Melbourne giving nursing care to people in their own homes for medication, wounds, dementia, diabetes and so on. I'm pretty sure I don't want to go straight to ward nursing on a busy med/surg ward. It just doesn't feel satisfying or interesting to me compared to psych or community nursing. So I have a lot to think about, and next week will start preparing my applications and making a decision about my preferences.
On Friday this week I have my one and only exam for Complex Care Nursing which is worth 40%. I've been told there are no exams next semester so this could be my last exam for quite a while. It's an open answer exam, not multiple choice like all the others in second year so could be difficult. Over the next four days I'm going to review about 10 of the lectures, the assignment, and all aspects of the two patient scenarios we studied in workshops for this subject. Hopefully that will get me through.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
For the last two weeks I've been on my Nursing Older People Clinical placement. It was at a smaller suburban hospital in a geriatric rehab ward and I really enjoyed it. The nurses and patients were very nice and it was general medical and rehab nursing care, so the focus is on systems and functioning - renal, gastrointestinal, mobility and so on. Lots of tests like blood tests, urine tests, faecal specimens, xrays, CT scans and ultrasounds. I got to go with a patient for her CT brain scan and bladder/kidney ultrasound which was interesting. Unfortunately there was an outbreak of the Noro virus (a gastro bug) which I caught and had to stay home for two days. I had diarrhea and severe vomiting for about 18 hours but I wasn't allowed to come back until 48 hours after my last symptom. So I'll have to make up two days later on. Luckily I was better in time for my team's presentation on the last day which was worth 20% of our assessment. This weekend I'm trying to get an assignment done that's due on Monday, and then I've got another one due on Friday, and another one on the following Friday. Then it'll be time to study for the final exam and start doing grad year job applications.
Assessments:
• Team Presentation on preventing falls in acute care facilities
• Discussion board research postings (about 1000 words)- Clopidogrel (an antiplatelet drug) and Percutaneous Aortic Valve Replacement Post-procedure nursing care
Reading:
• Palliative Care Therapeutic Guidelines
• Advances in palliative care relevant to the wider delivery of healthcare
• Heart Disease – Health gums and a health heart: the perio-cardio connection
Lectures:(online)
• The Role of a Clinical Nurse Manager in ICU (Operations)
• The Role of a Clinical Nurse Manager in ICU (Quality & Risk)
• Mental Health: the state of the nation part 1
• National Legislation for Registration & Professional Development
• Preventing falls and functional decline
Assessments:
• Team Presentation on preventing falls in acute care facilities
• Discussion board research postings (about 1000 words)- Clopidogrel (an antiplatelet drug) and Percutaneous Aortic Valve Replacement Post-procedure nursing care
Reading:
• Palliative Care Therapeutic Guidelines
• Advances in palliative care relevant to the wider delivery of healthcare
• Heart Disease – Health gums and a health heart: the perio-cardio connection
Lectures:(online)
• The Role of a Clinical Nurse Manager in ICU (Operations)
• The Role of a Clinical Nurse Manager in ICU (Quality & Risk)
• Mental Health: the state of the nation part 1
• National Legislation for Registration & Professional Development
• Preventing falls and functional decline
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