The Side-Effects of Studying: Part One

We have our first exam coming up on Friday in a course called Foundations. My professor does not have any presentations or study guides to study off of, so most of my studying has been off of notes I have taken in class. My professor told us to think of everything we have learned in IEL and in class and that would be all we needed to know for the exam. As if it were that simple to synthesize all the practical and structured knowledge we have acquired in the last five weeks of classes.

Her seemingly lack of guidance in studying for the impending exam made me think about the overall knowledge we have gained. I summed it up to two main questions I must ask myself when answering NCLEX-style questions (National Council Licensure Examination):

• What is ultimately going to be the best option for the care and safety of my patient?
• What does this mean in context to my patient?

I like how Linfield teaches using the patient-centered approach - it reinforces my ideal of the compassionate nurse, which is something I strive to be. I like that patient care is so important that part of our first assessments in the IEL curriculum incorporates "applying principles of therapeutic communication."

The presumption many nursing students have is that the course on communication will be "easy." I have already found it quite useful in addressing many fears nursing students have (i.e. talking too much and not being able to establish rapport) in beginning clinical work. It makes me proud to know that Linfield nursing students are considerate enough of patients that they think about verbal interactions and exchanges as much as physical procedures and interactions.

I'm not quite sure this makes sense... I've been studying for quite a while and, as a result, my brain is having difficulty formulating coherent thoughts not directly related to skin assessment or nursing interventions. Hopefully my thought comes across and that I receive some feedback from you as to whether you agree/disagree with it or simply some tales of healthcare experiences you have had.

Thank you and goodnight.