Yesterday we had our CNS pharmacology quiz which went well for pretty much everyone. However last Friday we had our RESP 103 final and about 1/4 of the class failed the test and one person was dropped from the program. Next week we have our acid/base test followed by our respiratory pharm final on Friday.
I can't help having the feeling that I don't know any of the things I am learning well enough. Sure I'm passing the tests but it feels like so much information is getting by me that I'm starting to feel a little lost. I suppose I should just give it time and I will start catching on.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Hello September
Last week just about sent me overboard. Between the lessons building up and certain other issues, things started to reach a boiling point for me. However, since it's a 4 day weekend I've been able to relax and cool off. Next week we have a regulation of breathing quiz (which wraps up the A&P course), and our RESP 103 exam which covers gas storage, med gas therapy, bronchial hygiene, lung expansion, bland aerosol, and humidity therapy. I'm not too worried about the RoB quiz since in a class you need a 70% to pass and I already have a 71% so basically if I didn't even take it I'd still pass the class (don't think that doesn't mean I'm not studying for it).
RESP 103 kind of worries me though. They are all basic lessons and none are too hard individually, it's just that we have 6 chapters to cover 50 questions so just the bulk of the information kind of gives me the jitters. We also could have had better instructors for a few of the lessons but I'll make it through. We also have our final advanced pharmacy test coming up on the 16th but I'm not too worried about that one as I need to only score a 19/40 to pass that class (again, don't think that means I will slack off!).
I did poorly on my ventilation/gas exchange test. I passed with a 79% but I know that I need to understand it better than that to build off of it. About 1/4 of the class failed and they retest this week and I think the average was about a 75%. I guess it's just one of those problems with not having enough time to thoroughly go over all of the information. A lot of people seem content with just passing, doing the bare minimum. I know however that when I'm standing in front of my patient and they are circling the drain they aren't going to have an A, B, C, or D answer pasted onto their foreheads. That's what a lot of my fellow students need to understand.
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RESP 103 kind of worries me though. They are all basic lessons and none are too hard individually, it's just that we have 6 chapters to cover 50 questions so just the bulk of the information kind of gives me the jitters. We also could have had better instructors for a few of the lessons but I'll make it through. We also have our final advanced pharmacy test coming up on the 16th but I'm not too worried about that one as I need to only score a 19/40 to pass that class (again, don't think that means I will slack off!).
I did poorly on my ventilation/gas exchange test. I passed with a 79% but I know that I need to understand it better than that to build off of it. About 1/4 of the class failed and they retest this week and I think the average was about a 75%. I guess it's just one of those problems with not having enough time to thoroughly go over all of the information. A lot of people seem content with just passing, doing the bare minimum. I know however that when I'm standing in front of my patient and they are circling the drain they aren't going to have an A, B, C, or D answer pasted onto their foreheads. That's what a lot of my fellow students need to understand.
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Thursday, August 25, 2011
Stressed Yet?
This pace is starting to catch up to me. Every time I finally get one lesson down we get presented two more. For instance today we finished wrapping up the renal system (with a kick ass cadaver lab I might add) and then went straight into renal pharmacology before switching gears and going into gas exchange which is going to be tested next week with mechanics of ventilation which we learned a couple days ago. Problem is I'm just now getting done learning about the damn kidney!
The hardest part of all for me has actually been staying awake. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays we have PT at 0545 in the morning. Since I live a ways away that usually means my ass is up at 0515. The big problem there is I don't usually get home until around 5-6 most nights. By the time I eat, do laundry, call family, etc... it's 8-9 pm and I still have to study. So by the time I get to sleep it's around 10:30 or later.
However all is not lost, with the glorious aid of Red Bull I am usually coherent enough to scribble down somewhat decent notes and keep the light switch in my brain on long enough to absorb at least some of the material we are going over. And all is not lost, because we are already down to three months until we get to clinicals and it should all start coming together by that point.
So I'm sorry my posts haven't been more frequent, but if I'm not doing something school related, my ass is probably sleeping!
-8541
The hardest part of all for me has actually been staying awake. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays we have PT at 0545 in the morning. Since I live a ways away that usually means my ass is up at 0515. The big problem there is I don't usually get home until around 5-6 most nights. By the time I eat, do laundry, call family, etc... it's 8-9 pm and I still have to study. So by the time I get to sleep it's around 10:30 or later.
However all is not lost, with the glorious aid of Red Bull I am usually coherent enough to scribble down somewhat decent notes and keep the light switch in my brain on long enough to absorb at least some of the material we are going over. And all is not lost, because we are already down to three months until we get to clinicals and it should all start coming together by that point.
So I'm sorry my posts haven't been more frequent, but if I'm not doing something school related, my ass is probably sleeping!
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Tuesday, August 23, 2011
30%
^ That is the portion of the class that failed the Cardiovascular pharmacology section on Monday. We have been taken for a bit of a ride in terms of the amount of material we not only have to go over, but master as well. I pulled through it just fine but that doesn't mean I wasn't worried! Tomorrow we have our respiratory A&P exam and then jump into mechanics of ventilation... well part two anyways since we covered it all day today. Finally starting to get into the meat of the program!
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Monday, August 15, 2011
Quit Complaining
I'm not going to lie, I hate hearing people complain. I really hate hearing people complain over stupid things and if people complain because of something stupid that's their fault, it drives me crazy. Take for instance some jackass I know who went out the other day and bought a car. He didn't really shop around, or apply for a loan, or pay with cash for that matter. No, he charged it to his credit card. Fine, whatever - he can pay that interest and have a maxed out card. But then a few days later when he gets his paycheck and realizes that he can't really afford the car because in his own words "I thought my paycheck was going to be bigger." Are you freaking kidding me dude? You are in the military, you know not only what you are supposed to get paid, but you can easily figure out what ANYBODY in the military gets paid with a quick Google search.
Anyway, I found myself starting to complain this morning as we went over yet another lecture. So far we have only had one test yet for some reason we have gone over lessons that will be covered in not one, not two, not three, but FOUR different tests. Some of which aren't until mid-September. Their logic is that they want to run the course in a college like manner. Sure that might work. But I don't know any college where you test out in RESP 204 - Advanced Pharmacology before you even go over the first lesson in RESP 104 - Respiratory Pharmacology which includes "General Principles of Pharmacology." I also don't understand why we have only 9 days between respiratory A&P (one of the most important things to know for a stable foundation to grow on) but have 3 weeks between the lesson on medical gas storage (one of the easiest chapters) and it's test date. I can handle multiple lessons, but having this much time between them and being tested on them plus not following a logical order sum up to one thing - bullshit.
So there you have it, that's my complaint for the day. I should take a step back and point out the positives like the fact that for the most part all of my instructors have been pretty cool and effective at getting their lessons across. I'm sure that once I do get a few tests out of the way and into a good routine I'll calm down a little. Until then, my nerves will be riding a little high.
-8541
Anyway, I found myself starting to complain this morning as we went over yet another lecture. So far we have only had one test yet for some reason we have gone over lessons that will be covered in not one, not two, not three, but FOUR different tests. Some of which aren't until mid-September. Their logic is that they want to run the course in a college like manner. Sure that might work. But I don't know any college where you test out in RESP 204 - Advanced Pharmacology before you even go over the first lesson in RESP 104 - Respiratory Pharmacology which includes "General Principles of Pharmacology." I also don't understand why we have only 9 days between respiratory A&P (one of the most important things to know for a stable foundation to grow on) but have 3 weeks between the lesson on medical gas storage (one of the easiest chapters) and it's test date. I can handle multiple lessons, but having this much time between them and being tested on them plus not following a logical order sum up to one thing - bullshit.
So there you have it, that's my complaint for the day. I should take a step back and point out the positives like the fact that for the most part all of my instructors have been pretty cool and effective at getting their lessons across. I'm sure that once I do get a few tests out of the way and into a good routine I'll calm down a little. Until then, my nerves will be riding a little high.
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Saturday, August 13, 2011
First Test Down.... Many More Ahead
I ended up getting a 92 on my Cardio exam. I'm a little disappointed for how much I studied but I guess I can't really complain. One of the questions I missed was on the secretion of ADH with blood loss. For some reason I was thinking that after a certain degree of blood loss that the body would stop secreting it but overall that doesn't make sense. Oh well, you learn as you go and next up on A&P we have the respiratory system so I definitely need to be studying for this one. If we get anything less than a 90 on this one I'm sure the instructors wouldn't be too thrilled with that one.
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Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Cadaver Hearts and.... Ice Cream? My First Week as an RT Student
Tomorrow marks the completion of my first week as a Respiratory Therapy student. To be honest it feels pretty surreal to be at this point and finally learning what I have wanted to for what seems like forever.
So first, I little bit about me. I am currently in the Navy as a basic Hospital Corpsman. I have been in for a little over 2 1/2 years spending my first 13 months after training in a labor & delivery unit and roughly 9 months in a Respiratory Therapy clinic after that doing on the job training.
There were several factors that helped shape my decision to become an RT. One reason is that RT's get a great amount of respect and when the patient starts to head south, many look up to the RT to solve the problem. Another reason is that one time during a neonatal code in the OR following an emergency c-section, I watched the newborn go from almost being pronounced by the Doc, to making a miraculous recovery almost completely due to the RT. That RT left a huge impression on me and I look up to him to this day. My grandfather was another reason. When I was a kid I remember on an almost nightly basis he would bring me down to the local cafe and buy me an ice cream cone while he drank coffee and talked with old friends of his. At the time I took it all completely for granted. I didn't really understand sickness and dying, I sort of assumed that all my loved ones would be around forever. But when I was 9 years old, my grandpa died of emphysema. I remember that helpless feeling I had as a kid, watching him try so hard to take a breath in, to catch up, but couldn't. Ever since then I knew that I wanted to help people breath.
So here I am, 13 years later.
My first week has been busy to say the least. Upon graduation from this program I will receive an Associate in Science in Respiratory Care and I will challenge the board certification to become a Certified Respiratory Therapist (CRT). The only problem is that this is normally a two-year program, plus prereqs..... we are doing it in 8 months. So the pace is definitely a few clicks above what you would see in a civilian college. If I remember right a normal course load in quarter hours was 15 hours.... which means 15 hours of instruction per week. Right now we are doing about 40-45.
So far in the last week we have covered the history of respiratory care, infection control, basic physics (gas laws, etc.), ethics, and the cardiovascular system. Part of the reason we can move through these so quick is that we have already had exposure to most of this stuff. Working in a hospital I already know about MRSA, and handwashing. I know about HIPAA & following a code of ethics. We covered the very basics of cardio when I went through Corps School. That isn't to say I'm not learning though. Sure I've heard Boyle's Law, but I've never applied it to the respiratory system and I have definitely never covered the cardiovascular system in the detail that we have gone over.
Today was a particularly awesome (though many would consider it odd) day. In the AM we wrapped up the CV system, did a review, and then went down to the lab to see actual hearts. Of course I have seen the hearts of other animals before, but I have never seen a real human heart up close. It was truly fascinating. Being able to hold it brings your understanding to a whole new level. There were 3 in the classroom and you were able to tell something about each person it belonged to just by looking at it. One was smaller than the other two and we were able to deduct that it was from a female. Another was much fattier and we were able to tell that it had come from someone who was obese. For some reason I found the aorta the most fascinating part. It's so big! I was easily able to fit my thumb inside it and still had room to move it around.
After lunch we came back and studied some more physics. We covered energy and heat by.... making ice cream! We took the ingredients and put them inside of a ziplock baggie and then put that ziplock inside of another one that had ice and salt in it. We then shook it until the liquid contents in the first bag solidified. After that we discussed the energy transfer that occurred (conduction if you were wondering). I have thoroughly enjoyed my first week and I didn't really realize how odd most people would consider my day until I sat back and really thought about all we did. If this is what I have to look forward to in the next 7+ months, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else (except with my family).
Well it's time for me to go, cardio quiz coming up!
So first, I little bit about me. I am currently in the Navy as a basic Hospital Corpsman. I have been in for a little over 2 1/2 years spending my first 13 months after training in a labor & delivery unit and roughly 9 months in a Respiratory Therapy clinic after that doing on the job training.
There were several factors that helped shape my decision to become an RT. One reason is that RT's get a great amount of respect and when the patient starts to head south, many look up to the RT to solve the problem. Another reason is that one time during a neonatal code in the OR following an emergency c-section, I watched the newborn go from almost being pronounced by the Doc, to making a miraculous recovery almost completely due to the RT. That RT left a huge impression on me and I look up to him to this day. My grandfather was another reason. When I was a kid I remember on an almost nightly basis he would bring me down to the local cafe and buy me an ice cream cone while he drank coffee and talked with old friends of his. At the time I took it all completely for granted. I didn't really understand sickness and dying, I sort of assumed that all my loved ones would be around forever. But when I was 9 years old, my grandpa died of emphysema. I remember that helpless feeling I had as a kid, watching him try so hard to take a breath in, to catch up, but couldn't. Ever since then I knew that I wanted to help people breath.
So here I am, 13 years later.
My first week has been busy to say the least. Upon graduation from this program I will receive an Associate in Science in Respiratory Care and I will challenge the board certification to become a Certified Respiratory Therapist (CRT). The only problem is that this is normally a two-year program, plus prereqs..... we are doing it in 8 months. So the pace is definitely a few clicks above what you would see in a civilian college. If I remember right a normal course load in quarter hours was 15 hours.... which means 15 hours of instruction per week. Right now we are doing about 40-45.
So far in the last week we have covered the history of respiratory care, infection control, basic physics (gas laws, etc.), ethics, and the cardiovascular system. Part of the reason we can move through these so quick is that we have already had exposure to most of this stuff. Working in a hospital I already know about MRSA, and handwashing. I know about HIPAA & following a code of ethics. We covered the very basics of cardio when I went through Corps School. That isn't to say I'm not learning though. Sure I've heard Boyle's Law, but I've never applied it to the respiratory system and I have definitely never covered the cardiovascular system in the detail that we have gone over.
Today was a particularly awesome (though many would consider it odd) day. In the AM we wrapped up the CV system, did a review, and then went down to the lab to see actual hearts. Of course I have seen the hearts of other animals before, but I have never seen a real human heart up close. It was truly fascinating. Being able to hold it brings your understanding to a whole new level. There were 3 in the classroom and you were able to tell something about each person it belonged to just by looking at it. One was smaller than the other two and we were able to deduct that it was from a female. Another was much fattier and we were able to tell that it had come from someone who was obese. For some reason I found the aorta the most fascinating part. It's so big! I was easily able to fit my thumb inside it and still had room to move it around.
After lunch we came back and studied some more physics. We covered energy and heat by.... making ice cream! We took the ingredients and put them inside of a ziplock baggie and then put that ziplock inside of another one that had ice and salt in it. We then shook it until the liquid contents in the first bag solidified. After that we discussed the energy transfer that occurred (conduction if you were wondering). I have thoroughly enjoyed my first week and I didn't really realize how odd most people would consider my day until I sat back and really thought about all we did. If this is what I have to look forward to in the next 7+ months, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else (except with my family).
Well it's time for me to go, cardio quiz coming up!
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