A Nursing Post

Fake arm for IV insertion practice

My new friend ;)

Todays post varies a little from most of my previous ones.

As you (might) know, I am a nursing student about to enter the 2nd year of nursing school.

After completion, I will be a registered nurse. Then I also plan on erring a Bachelor's degree in nursing.

I snapped these photos in the nursing lab (mainly because my mom likes to see how my school and training looks like!), while I was preparing for a medication check off.

Those are mandatory before continuing with 2nd year, to test the students about their skills and to make sure that they can safely administer drugs.

Being an International student makes it tough sometimes, but what is the really difficult part about nursing is not the language, but the immense amount of knowledge required. 

A job in the health care field comes with so much responsibility, and medicine is a constantly evolving science. It seems as if one can never know enough.

Long story short (actually, this story is way too long as it is): I passed the med check off, and will start my 2nd and final year of nursing school in about...2 weeks. EEEEK!

I am ready to be done, ready to work at the hospital.

My internship as a CNA starts in a week, which means I have one more week to relax before craziness takes over my life once again. 

To those who are also going back to school soon: Enjoy your last few days of freedom :)

Greetings from the Midwest,

Lotte

Outfit: Coral

Shirt: Old Navy, Pants: JC Penney's, Shoes, Necklace: Thrifted

Corals, pinks and reds have been my favorite colors lately.

I blame it on being blonde again.

It's such a nice contrast between outfit and hair!

I officially am back in school for the summer, and it's going to be a busy one!

Besides two online courses (Statistics and Composition 2), I am taking Pharmacology, which is part of my Nursing program here. After the first class, I am already slightly overwhelmed.

There are thousands of drugs out there, I will have to know quite a few of them...

The online classes I signed up for will count towards my Bachelor's degree, and are necessary in order to transfer to a 4-year University later on.

Might as well get them out of the way now.

I thought I was ready to go back to school already, now that it is actually happening, I feel rather lazy.

Anyhow, it's time to study about Complementary and Alternative Therapies (CATs)...

Studious greetings from the Midwest,

Lotte

The Accessories of a Nursing Student

Summer break= a break from this lovely stack of books!

Just this Monday I finished my very first year of nursing school! I can't even express how relieved I am, now that the stress is over. It feels as if the heaviest weight of 9 books is lifted off my shoulders...literally. Those books weigh quite a bit!

Normal people walk their dog, nursing students walk their books. I carry at least one of them with me, no matter where I go (gym, coffee shop), so that I can take a quick glance at medical information, in case my brain is craving for more knowledge ;)

It's almost comparable to wearing glasses: If I'm not wearing them, I can't see right, something looks wrong, FEELS wrong. Not that I ever wanted to get so attached to my school books, but I have. 

If you will, consider them as a part of my attire - an accessory to complete my look! Just look at all the different colors, as if they knew I wanted to incorporate nursing books into my outfits :D

About a year ago, a complete stranger to the Nursing world, this stack of books scared me. Do we have to know EVERYTHING? No. That is impossible. 

Over the past few months, though, I got used to spending most of my time leaning over some kind of medical book. I see the necessity of being studious now more than I ever have, simply because I know that everything I learn, will benefit me in my future career.

(Oh boy, did I slack in High School!)

Now I sit here without a book, and it does feel weird. Kinda naked. 

But instead of carrying heavy books, I can now wear heavy necklaces and heavy bags. 

Bring on the bling!

Erst diesen Montag habe ich mein erstes Ausbildungsjahr beendet! Ich bin so froh, dass der Stress jetzt erstmal vorbei ist. Es fühlt sich an als wurde mir die Last von 9 Büchern von den Schultern genommen!

Normale Leute gehen mit ihren Hunden spazieren, Krankenschwester-Studenten (wie das auf Deutsch klingt!) tragen dicke Bücher durch die Gegend. Ich versuche immer mindestens eins der Bücher bei mir zu haben (im Fitnessstudio, im Café, etc.).

Man könnte die Bücher mit einer Brille vergleichen. Hat man sie nicht dabei, kann man nicht richtig gucken, ich sehe anders aus und fühl mich auch merkwürdig. Ich wollte nie so auf Schulbücher angewiesen sein, aber nun ist es so.

Schulbücher als Teil meines Outfits? Bei den verschiedenen Farben kein Problem!

Vor ungefähr einem Jahr, als mir die Medizin Welt noch völlig fremd war, hat mir dieser Haufen Bücher wirklich Angst eingejagt. Muss ich das ALLES wissen? Nein. Unmöglich! (und das alles noch auf Englisch!!!!)

Aber in den letzten Monaten habe ich mich daran gewöhnt täglich zu lesen, und weiss auch dass es für meine Karriere wichtig ist. (Im Gymnasium hab ich kaum einen Finger krumm gemacht!)

Jetzt sitze ich hier - ohne Buch. Es fühlt sich schon irgendwie komisch an, man kommt sich sogar ein wenig nackt vor ;) Aber statt der Bücher trage ich jetzt wieder mehr schwere Ketten und Taschen!

Die Sommerferien ohne Bücher werde ich ausnutzen.

Greetings from the literate Midwest!

Outfit: Last Day of School!

Shirt: Urban Outfitters, Cardigan: H&M, Skirt: Thrifted, Shoes: Guess

Today was the last day of the Spring semester, and with that I have completed my 4th semester at the Community College! It's crazy how time flies!
Now I have 3 weeks of freedom to enjoy the warm sunny weather, hang out with friends and relax. Then I will start summer classes: Pharmacology, Statistics and Composition II.
It will be the first time I'm going to take a Math course online, we'll see how that works out for me (I'm not really a Math-person!)

About the outfit: Now that I have more time & the weather is nice, I have the motivation to dress up! At my busiest times during the school year, my daily outfits consisted of gym clothes, sweat pants, or scrubs. Now it's time for my beloved floral patterns and bright shoes. (I found these flats at a resale store for $5!)
Most of my wardrobe is thrifted, since I enjoy the hunt for treasures, but also because I can't afford to shop all the time! But I did today (at the resale store of course) - finally I had the FREE TIME to dig through old books and dresses. It's quite amusing to see what some people are trying to sell (make-up? Personally, I'd rather not buy that 2nd hand)...
But I did find some sweet deals that I will show tomorrow!

Heute war der letzte Schultag des Semesters, und damit das Ende meines 4. Semesters am Community College! Wie doch die Zeit verfliegt!
Jetzt habe ich 3 Wochen frei, und kann das schöne Wetter geniessen, mich mit Freunden treffen und einfach mal entspannen. Danach geht fuer mich die Schule wieder los: Sommerkurse.
Ich werde Pharmakologie, Statistik und Englisch belegen (Englisch im Sinne von Aufsätze schreiben).
Zum ersten Mal werde ich dann einen Mathekurs online belegen, mal schaun wie das wird (Bin nicht unbedingt ein Mathe Talent).


Zum Outfit: Da ich jetzt mehr Zeit habe, und das Wetter so toll ist, habe ich mehr Motivation und bemühe mich schick auszusehen. Mitten im Schulstress sah das anders aus: Sport Klamotten, Pyjamas oder Uniform. Aber jetzt hole ich die bunten Blumenmuster aus dem Kleiderschrank! (Die Schuhe von Guess habe ich hier in einem 2nd Hand Laden für $5 gefunden!)
Der Größte Anteil meiner Kleidung ist mittlerweile 2nd Hand, da ich total gern nach Schätzen suche, aber auch weil ich es mir einfach nicht leisten kann so viel zu shoppen! ;)
Heute habe ich das aber gemacht, da ich nun endlich mal Zeit hatte durch Kleider und Bücher zu wühlen. Es ist schon amüsant zu sehen was manche Leute da versuchen zu verkaufen! (Make-up!?Ich würde das nicht gebraucht kaufen...)
Aber ich habe andere schöne Sachen gefunden, über die ich morgen berichten werde!


Greetings from the bright floral Midwest,

Lotte

The Reader

Before going to the gym this afternoon, I stopped by the local Goodwill store to look for something to read while biking. I was about to leave with a book about medicine and self-care at home (my nursing student brain has not quite realized that it may take a little summer vacation away from medical terminology and drug labels).
But when I saw "The Reader" by Bernhard Schlink sitting on the shelf, I put the medical book back!
I have seen the movie based on the novel, and have always wanted to read the book. It is a weird, yet nice feeling of freedom that, for once, I can choose what I would like to read. For the next 3 weeks, I will try not to even look at any of my school books.
Anyways, I started reading my new book (translated from German to English) and it made me smile right away when I discovered German street names on the very first page! I do like me some unexpected German every now and then!
And then I came to think of something regarding this blog: My native language is German - I should also write in German!
And now, back to my book!

Vor dem Fitnessstudio bin ich noch kurz zu Goodwill gefahren um nach etwas Lesbarem zu gucken. Fast hätte ich ein Buch über Gesundheit und Alltagsmedizin gekauft (scheinbar hat mein Gehirn noch nicht ganz realisiert dass jetzt Sommerferien sind!). 
Dann sah ich jedoch "Der Vorleser" im Regal stehen (Englische Version), und hab mich dann dafür entschieden!
Den Film zum Buch hab ich schon gesehen, jetzt will ich das ganze mal lesen.
Bereits auf der ersten Seite fand ich dann gleich Deutsche Strassennamen (z.B. "Blumenstrasse")! Sehr geil, ich freu mich immer über ein bisschen Deutsch hier und da!
Sonst hab ich immer nur auf Deutsch gebloggt.
Versuchen wir es mal mit Deutsch und English...und wahrscheinlich auch Denglisch :)


Greetings from the Midwest where you can find more than just Nursing books!


Midwest-Lotte

Blogging....

...AGAIN!

This is one if my favorite photos from my exchange year in the US (2007/2008)

Yes, I am not completely new to the whole blogging thing:
When I spent my year as an exchange student at a high school here, I created a blog for friends and family to keep them updated. I think they really enjoyed reading it, therefore I decided to blog again once I moved t the US for college. In the beginning, that went very well. After a while, though, I posted less and less, mainly due to the fact that I had a difficult time here. I did not feel like sharing negative experiences, and I started being very busy with school. It felt as if there was not too much worth sharing.

Now I am blogging AGAIN! And this time my motifs are a little different. Of course I still want my family and friends to know what I experience here. But I also feel like I have finally found my niche and my purpose of being here. I am in a much better and happier place than last year and want to share this happy place (Midwest) with everyone that is interested in reading this blog!

What I would like to include in my blog is a little information about the past 2 years, and what has happened to me since I moved to the United States (it's kind of a crazy story).
I would also like to use this blog as a way to connect with people and share my thoughts and inspirations.

With that being said, I have so much more to say.
It's about time I start to blog ...AGAIN!

Greetings from the finally sunny Midwest!

Midwest-Lotte


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