Ok... So it's approx. 1 am and I should be sleeping, BUT since I'm normally at work at this hour, I don't feel tired. That's the problem with working nights. I get totally discombobulated! Days off are almost more trouble than they're worth. Oh wait-- did I just write that?? I don't mean it! I love days off! I just wish sometimes that I could be on a normal schedule. Someday...
Yesterday I had my exam for Anatomy and Physiology (taken through Excelsior College). It was conducted at a Pearson Vue testing center, just like my National Registry EMT exam a few weeks ago. Man, I am getting way too familiar with that place :)
I signed up for the A&P class about five months ago... Before I'd been accepted into the local Nursing Program. Since my science prereqs are positively ancient at this point, many schools will no longer accept them (most schools have a 5 year limit, which makes sense but was really discouraging to me). For years now, I've had an on again, off again interest in the Accelerated BSN offered at Mount St. Mary's College in LA. I've attended a few information sessions, and through that process learned about Excelsior. The Mount (and some other colleges as well) will allow students whose Anatomy, Physiology, and Microbiology are more than five years old to get current credit for them by taking examinations through Excelsior College.
Easy enough, right? Sure! So I signed up and paid my fees and began reviewing the material. Then signed up for my EMT class and got busy with that, then learned I'd been accepted into the RN program (thus no longer needed to worry about the old prereqs). Aw, shucks. What to do now? I called the school about getting a refund, but I would have received only 50% of my fees back, so I decided to proceed. I scheduled the A&P for yesterday, and the Micro for the absolute last day I can test (they give you approx. 6 months after you register and pay your fees to get it done). So Micro will be mid-August... Yikes! I'm more nervous about that one.
Anyway, since I hadn't done a lot of studying once I enrolled in the EMT class, I was pretty nervous. My previous "studying" had for the most part consisted of coloring in a Physiology coloring book with colored pencils during quiet nights at work... And I did that somewhat mindlessly! I didn't read the accompanying text or study the pages. A few days ago, I pulled my old Physiology textbook off the shelf and was shocked to discover how much I'd forgotten over the years. Not the major concepts, those are pretty solid in my mind, but oh, the intricacies... So many details!
The exam was hard- 160 questions. They were multiple choice, but there were no giveaways. My expectations after almost two hours of testing were not high. I hoped I passed. A letter grade is assigned based upon exam performance, and I figured I may (if I was lucky) have earned myself a 'B'. Imagine my surprise when I received my printout... An 'A'!!!! Hooray for A's! I guess I need to start giving myself more credit!
Next up: Micro. This will be more challenging, since I sold back the textbook long ago. How will I prepare? I have the book "Clinical Microbiology Made Ridiculously Simple" (I purchased it shortly after signing up for the exam), but it isn't comparable to a textbook at all. It's very much a clinician's guide. What to do? I may have to shell out some more money and get another book. I have approximately 3 1/2 weeks to study, however... So maybe it would be foolish to get a book that I won't have time to really delve into. I've also been doing a lot of reading ahead in my nursing text, and I plan to keep up with that. I'm challenging myself to the max right now with all the reading... But it doesn't begin to compare to the time I spent as a student at Cal-- I read hundreds of pages a day for two years straight! No joke! I guess I can handle the next 3 1/2 weeks! And the two years that follow!
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