New website! Finally bought a domain and my new blog website name is Livingnika.com 

This blogspot website will still be up but if you want to see new material head over to Livingnika.com. Thank you!

Quote of the Week

Thinking

Knowing in your heart that you could never do anything but nursing.
Even when nursing school could kill you sometimes. - Anonymous

   This quote speaks in measures for me. I've tried looking into other careers but, I kept reverting back to nursing. Don't get me wrong, I love blogging and writing about my experiences. I believe it's my calling and I can feel it. If I wanted to get a career just for the money, I would've found something with a starting pay at $50 per hour or more.
    Nursing school is hard and sometimes I feel like giving up but, I know this will pay off at the end. Basically, you just have to talk yourself through the semesters.
Motto: I started nursing school and will finish nursing school flawlessly. 

Quote of the week

Live life to the fullest, and focus on the positives. -Matt Cameron

When life gets hard you begin to forget about the positives and think about the negatives. Situations will get hard sometimes. However, it's best if you remind yourself that it can not rain forever.

Prestige Stethoscope Review

My Prestige Stethoscope is my go to for nursing 1. I bought this stethoscope at my school's bookstore and it can also be found online, or at a uniform store (that sells medical supplies) before that I was thinking about getting a Littman on amazon, however, due to my budget I was not able to and decided to go with this one. I have to say for something under $25 it performed better than I thought. For Nursing 1, you will probably only be listening to heart sounds, lung sounds, and bowel sounds. And I was able to hear all those sounds with the Prestige Stethoscope. So, I would say this is good for beginners who are on a budget. The only downside is that it is not as light weight as the Littman and I experienced some slight discomfort on the ear pieces. I might need to invest in smaller ear pieces because for some reason the inside of my ears is a bit smaller than normal.

Is Nursing The Right Career For You?

      That is the question I've been asking myself in the past few days. I was afraid to share this with people because I felt so ashamed, however, regardless of my feelings I have to share it with you guys anyways. On the last week of January, I took my first exam and I would say that I felt pretty confident about the answers I chose. When classmates asked me how I did on the test, I told them I think I did fine. A week after that we got are test results and when I checked my grade I got a 71% on my first exam. Well, that's not bad but, remember nursing school grading scale is different from the normal grading scale. In my program, the lowest passing grade is a 77%. I felt so sad and defeated. I didn't know what to do and what I needed to do in order to maintain my grade for the class. When I asked my other classmates about how they did on the test, most of them received around 70-76%. So, I wasn't the only one who failed and it made me alittle bit calmer.

     From this day and forward I will get over it and let it go. I've been doing some to research on different ways to study and talking to other students about their study methods. I think one mistake I've made was trying to create a study guide for each chapter and not actually spending the time to study the material. I am going to study hard, focus and pray because I believe nursing is my calling.

Feeling Stressed Out

Have you ever felt so consumed in school work, life issues, bills or unhealthy relationships? Well I know I have and it can be very hard to deal with sometimes. I am a college student currently in a nursing program and let me tell you this is probably the hardest thing I have ever done. I didn't underestimate the program because I've heard from nursing students that the program was challenging. On January 8, 2017 I had to quit my job at Disney and it wasn't easy. I met so many awesome people and guests, loved working in a fun environment and learning new things. However, it wasn't what I wanted to do in the long term. Anyways, I left my job because I wouldn't be able to keep up with my school and work schedule, so I had to make a choice and I decided to quit my job. This is where the stress comes in; nursing school is expensive and I have bills that need to be paid every month! Well, what do I do?

• First thing I try to do is to stay positive and remind myself that this will pay off at the end.
• Ask your parents for help (thank God for my mother).
• A friend suggested to use aromatherapy for stress relief.
• Drinking tea ( I drink Tazo Calm Chamomile).
• Pray or meditate. 
• Doing a hobby that keeps your mind off the stress (blogging is my getaway). 

I hope these tips help you ease your mind and stress!

What Color Is Your Study Space?

I believe having a good work space is essential for studying. Your office or work space is where productivity happens. Creating a functional and healthy space will result into beneficial studying and work. You want to make it personal and creative to make it enjoyable to do work. I think there is some truth to the psychology of color. I would suggest going with something light, neutral or subtle. For instance, a light green, beige or sky blue etc. Dark and vibrant colors can cause intensity, for example a red colored room will give off adrenaline vibes. While a sky blue color will give off calm vibes. I guess you can say I am kind of big on vibes.

My current room color is a nice light mint green. When I walk into my bedroom it allows me to unwind and be comfortable. In my bedroom, I added a white desk with a white chair. It really compliments the room. I wanted a desk and chair that would allow me to be in harmony and balanced. It is also the color of new beginnings.

How Expensive Can Nursing School Become?

In this post I will be explaining to you on how expensive the program became before I even started!
When I received my acceptance letter there were requirements that needed to be done before the first week of school.

• Background check package including drug test. $188
• School uniform pants. $24
• School uniform shirts. $30 x2 = $60
• Physical test. $50
• Flu shot. $20
• Books and supplies(including bp cuff & stethoscope) $1030
• School tuition(1 semester) $1220
• Personal supplies. $105
• Ink(printer). $50
• Misc. (snacks to take, school id etc) $25 

Quotes that Kept me Motivated in College

*Nothing is impossible, the word itself says I'm possible. - Audrey Hepburn

*Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase. -Martin Luther King Jr.

*Every successful person in this world has jumped. -Steve Harvey

*Be happy. Be bright. Be you. -Anonymous

Bible Verses that Helped me Through College

Psalm 23
- This lets me know that God is always on my side.
Philippians 4:13
- This helps me to stay encouraged.
Romans 8:13
- This verse helps me when I feel overwhelmed with school, if I failed a class, or people I cared about not supporting me.
Hebrews 11
-  This is a reminder for me when I doubt my faith or question God's timing.

5 Things I didn't Know About Nursing School

1. Nursing school is intense.
I did not know how intense and time-consuming this major was until I heard experiences from nursing students and nurses. In 3 words... it is hard.

2. Nursing school will be your main focus.
It's going to be hard to do other things outside of nursing school. For instance, working a full-time job or spending time with your family. I don't think this is completely true, but it seems like nursing school comes first and everything else follows.

3. It will be very hard to keep a job (you will be broke).
Like I stated before is that the program is not easy and most of your time will be spent in class, clinicals and studying. There may be room for some work. The school I currently attend told us if we decided to work not to work more than 15 hours per week.

4. There are different types of nursing careers.
There are CNAs, LPNs, RNs or NPs. The highest paid is the nurse practitioner(NP) which requires a masters degree or a doctorate degree. The least paid is a CNA which requires a certificate of completion.

5. Every question is correct, but you have to choose the "best" answer.
The exams will be similar to NCLEX style questions. This is where some students have problems on exams because it is all about critical thinking and being able to know how to apply certain skills in the medical workplace.

How to Prepare for Nursing School

1. Do your research on the career.

You want to make sure this is something you want to do and invest your time looking up information about nursing. Look at the pros and cons of being a nurse. Nursing can be a rewarding career, but there are times when it will get very hard.

2. Research the program/school you want to attend.

There are two types of programs you can start with: there is the Associates in Nursing (ASN) or the Bachelors in Nursing (BSN). After you have decided on a program then the next step is to talk to an advisor or research what type of classes that is required to take before entering the program. Some schools only require the entrance exam and the science core classes (A&P, Micro...) taken while your attending the program.

3. Good grades are important.

Good grades are very important because most nursing programs are competitive and limited access. Depending on the school they will most likely choose the person with the higher GPA. For example, I wanted to attend a BSN program that was very competitive. I had a 3.57 GPA and was told by my advisor that it was good but not really high enough. The average people who entered the program had a GPA higher than 3.65. So, I decided to stick with an ASN program and later on transfer to a BSN program.

4. Study for your entrance exam.

Take the time to study a few months before the test. Do not wait 3-4 months after you have finished your prerequisites to study for the test. You want to study close to the time you have finished your prereqs or while your still taking your classes. It's good to study the teas or hesi while things are still fresh in your mind. Do not wait until the last minute to study for the exam either because there's a chance that your test results might not look so pretty.

5. Time management.

Start now and start making it a habit.

6. Saving money.

Nursing school is time-consuming and there may not be much room to work. So, while your taking your prereqs start saving. Also try to apply for grants and scholarship.