(You Drive Me) Crazy

So... Now into week 5... We had our first exam last week. I did well, I managed a 90%. The crazy thing about nursing school is, that's only a B. It's funny how I say that it's "only" a B. As if I didn't study, read rationales, and do every applicable NCLEX style question I could find (our tests are all NCLEX style- our main instructor used to serve on the committee that writes the questions). There were some students that did better, and some that did worse. Overall, the faculty is FLOORED with our scores. Apparently no one failed and the new curriculum is looking good. I do feel sad for some of the students that are a semester ahead of us- there were some students that scored a 36%. No, that's not a typo. A thirty-six percent. Which I totally DON'T get, because I think if you actually showed up and stayed awake during class, and with the test being NCLEX-style, you could score at least a 50%.

Guess not.

I looked at the teacher a little sideways and asked "36?! It's only the first exam! How would you even pull yourself out of a hole like that??"

She just looked at me and said, "Exactly."

Yikes.

I never want to be that guy.

This week, we learned about sterile fields and foley catheters. So! Sterile procedures and sterile fields are like a superfun OCD game, with all the silly rules (that really aren't silly at all). Examples: hands can't drop below elbows, can't touch outer 1 inch of sterile field, nothing can fall below the waist.. Etc, etc. It's so fun! I hate the idea of the OR, but I love the sterile fields game! The best part is that when I win, the patient wins too. Inserting the foley is the easiest part- the hard part is keeping sterile. Oh and finding landmarks on actual people. I haven't seen a huge variety of perineal areas, so this is going to be a bit of a shock, I'm sure.

I'm starting to have issues with some of the girls in the class. I don't mean drama and arguing, but more like they irritate me so much, I'd really like to knock some sense into them.. There's only 3 out of the entire class of 30, but they orbit one another like the moons of Jupiter, and fuel each other in a way I wish didn't exist. They sat near our group at lunch, and literally it was 60 minutes of the most foul, inappropriate conversations I can imagine. They talked about getting drunk, or as they so delicately put it "Fu**** Up" on a regular basis, and how well they drink and drive, and also in general how stupid everything was, and how fat another girl was. The conversation was sprinkled creatively with profanities. We were in uniform today. I get that their lunch was "their" time, but when they wear that uniform, they represent the entire nursing program. They also had a lengthy conversation about how they are willing to "mingle" with classmates, but everyone else is a loser, and they are way better than the rest of us..

These are not 19 year olds, these are mid to late 20something women with husbands and children. Ridiculous, right?

Then, while some of the other students were getting tested, or being tutored with sterile fields and foleys, they sat and had similar stupid conversation, just without the profanity. The rest of us did our assigned readings and studied. They had the nerve to talk about how stupid it was, and how they don't appreciate their time being wasted like that. Really?? Who sat around and gossiped instead of studied? YOU chose to be unproductive, and therefore YOU wasted your own time. Time to study is a gift, and I take advantage of it every chance I get.

The worst part is, they are not dumb. They do well on exams, and in lab. I don't see them failing out. Hopefully they will transfer. Our program allows transfer within any of the other 6-8 programs they have at other CC's within the district- as long as there is space available. Fingers crossed, these chicks are getting worse by the day. I'm a pretty easy to get along with person, I like to see the good in people. But I don't see much good in these girls. For going into s helping profession, they are toxic.

I Don't Wanna Work, I Want To Bang On The Drum All Day

Less than a month until I (finally) start nursing school, and I've hit a few snafus already.

I can't figure out how to put in my two week notice at my job. Should be a fairly simple task, right? Letter of resignation on city letterhead, check. Supervisor or manager to hand it to? Not so much.

Both supervisors were out of the office this week for training and will be next week as well. The manager has been out of town (I think), and his office is dark and locked up tight. Sliding the letter under the door is looking like a better option every day.

Perhaps a better option is to just completely circumvent the "chain of command" - which by the way, is something insanely frowned upon in any police department, and just taking it to HR and let them deal with tracking down supervisors. And so I think to myself (while giggling) "What are they going to do, fire me?"
Tee Hee!

Wanna hear how my day went today?
Let's see: I accidentally told an officer to switch channels to "window" (instead of "info")  - wtf, right?
Called a "complainant" a "complainer" on the air (accidentally)
And, I dispatched a call for a dog locked in a vehicle in 113 degree heat. It's our policy to respond to those calls, and the officer was being a smart ass and said "Checking 10-13?" Which is a fancy way of asking for the weather conditions- like he didn't know.. He's the one who's been in 113 degree heat all day wearing kevlar. My reply was: "it's HOT. I'll show you en route."

Yes, and then the other dispatchers laughed until they cried.
It was magical.

Now if I could just manage to resign...