The Last Days of Nursing School

It's official...my last two days of nursing school were this week so it's all OVER! We don't have actual graduation until July 30th so it hasn't really sunk in that I'm really finished. (Other than I have all this free time to do absolutely nothing, wonderful feeling!!)

Tuesday we had to present our Evidence Based Practice presentations to the Juniors. It was crazy to think that was us not that long ago. I remember going to the Seniors presentations last year thinking, "Gosh I wish I was where there are right now, almost completely done" as I had 12 more grueling months ahead of me.

Although I can say that it did go by pretty quick, I look back and realize how much we had to go through to get to this point, and then the whole process seems like it was sooo long. This program crams so much into a short amount of time. It's overwhelming to look back at the numerous amount of tests we took, care plans we wrote, papers written, and assignments completed. So although it seems like it went by quick, this program is no joke! Tough!

Making the decision to go back to school, however, was such a great choice. It amazes me to look back before school and realize just how far I've come and how much I know! I know that might sound crazy because one would think after14 months of school, you better know something right? Yes...But I think as students we see all these what we call "seasoned" nurses and feel less competent and doubting what we have really learned.

My Leadership experience was when I first really realized how much I DO know. Yes, the "seasoned" nurses know a lot more because they have been doing this for so long, but I am competent and am capable and ready to do this on my own. They all work as a team and no nurse is ever really alone. In my experience, they were all so willing to jump in and help each other without even having to be asked. This was so comforting to know someone will always have your back.

Not only have I gained a ton of knowledge during this program, but I have also gained a lot of great friendships. I remember the first day of school, looking around the room at all the unfamiliar faces, and thinking that these people are going to soon become some of my closest friends. And within the first few weeks, those unfamiliar faces became the people I truly enjoyed being with and could count on for anything.

More than the knowledge I've learned, I will always cherish and value the friendships I have made. It is so sad to think that we will all be going our separate ways after graduation and possibly never see each other again. But we will always share this nursing school experience and can look back and appreciate all the people who helped get us through.

Here are some pictures I took on our last two days. Some are from our EBP poster presentation and others are from a Geriatric Conference that I helped out with.

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I passed by this sign many, many times.

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This is just another look into the College of Nursing. Walked this hall many times too!

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My group in front of our poster presentation. Our poster was awesome (thanks to Sara)!!

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I was very proud of our poster, so I have to show it off a little bit. :)

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The pictures up top were hung with clothes pins. Our topic was the effects of skin-to-skin contact on breastfeeding immediately after delivery. So we put up all these sweet pictures of babies, skin-to-skin.

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Now onto the pictures of all my wonderful, nursing school friends.:)

Jessica and I

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Alex and Randa

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Sara and Bethany

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The person I probably wouldn't have made it through nursing school without.

Hollie and I

(kind of a bad picture with the sun glaring and shadows)

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Bridget and Miranda

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Brittany and Taylor C.

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Alesha and Whitney

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Amber, Jessica and Sara

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Alison, Marcy and Glory

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Me, Randi, Kirstan, Erica, Jenny, and Whitney

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The rest are from the Geriatric Conference in Norman.
These glasses simulate what it might be like to have different vision impairments.
Jani, Me, Randi, Ana, and Hollie

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Randi and I hard at work :)

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Our job was to create a "Hazard House" that would give people an idea of various hazards that you might see in an elderly persons home. See if you can pick out the hazards!

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This cute little dog can be a hazard but what else do you see that could be as well....look closely!hahaha We had way too much fun with this project! :)

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More hazards...

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Eeewwww!

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Hollie and Ana

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Hollie and I, love this girl!!

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Gotta love free t-shirts! I sure will miss my nursing friends :(

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Well, those pictures sum up the last days of nursing school. Once again, I am so thankful and blessed that God has given me such a wonderful opportunity to further my career and meet such great people along the way. It has only been with God's help and guidance that I have finished this strong.

James 1:12

"Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him."

A New Chapter...

Here I am again, apologizing for my lack of blogging lately. I had started an entry on June 16th but it never seemed to get finished. So I've decided I am going to have to nix the idea on trying to get caught up on the last two months of happenings and just jump right back into it with what is going on now.

Not really a lot of exciting, blog worthy things have been going on the past two months anyway. In my last official post I had just started my Leadership and now it is DONE! And not only is Leadership over, but my entire nursing school career will be over in 3 short days. Can you believe it?!? I sure can't!! Graduation is July 30th but all assignments are done and grades are turned in by next week. Time has definitely flown by and therefore it is time to start a new chapter in our lives.

My Leadership experience was so great! I could not have asked for a better preceptor, awesome night shift staff, and overall good facility to be at. No official job offer yet but I hope to have that "in the works" within the next few weeks as final grades are posted and I am an official graduate. I still absolutely love Labor and Delivery and could not picture myself in any other hospital setting. I will just continue to put all my faith and trust in God knowing that He has the perfect job lined up for me. No need to worry when He is working on my behalf.

Other big news in the DeWitte household is related to Wes's job. His contract is up with the Post Office at the end of this month and we have made a big decision. Wes is no longer going to be working for the Post Office and is choosing to follow God's leadership in his life by pursuing a career as a full time Recording Engineer.

God has really been working in Wes's life lately and he feels lead to do what he knows God has called him to do. This decision has not come easy and is the result of countless prayers and sermons all giving confirmation that this is the right decision.

I will most likely not be starting work until September which means we will be relying on Wes's income for one more month until I am able to bring in a paycheck. To most people, this decision may seem crazy. But we are placing our future in the hands of God knowing He will guide us, protect us, and prosper us until the very end. We feel very strongly that this is a decision rooted in the Word of God and therefore we will stand strong in our faith and put all our trust in Him.

If you are a praying person, we would appreciate your prayers through this transitional stage in our lives. If it was not for the prayers and support of our friends and family throughout this past year, things might not have turned out as wonderful as they have. God has had and will continue to have favor over our lives and we are so grateful.

Big changes with amazing possibilities for our life are coming soon. I am excited to see this next chapter unfold. With God as our source, we will have a life full of happiness and hope.

I will finish up this post with some pictures from the last couple of weeks, maybe even some taken a few months ago. This will be my way of getting everyone up to date with what we have been up to. With school coming to a close, I hope that means plenty of time for blogging. :) The end is in sight!

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March of Dimes Walk: May 7, 2011: Nursing students got together to support one of fellow classmates who lost his newborn daughter in April. We had a great time and all for a great cause.

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My bestest  nursing friend, Hollie, and I at the March of Dimes Walk. Couldn't have made it through nursing school without her!

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The new driveway that finally got finished in May. So nice to park more than one car in the driveway. Not to mention it did wonders for the curb appeal of our house.

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One more of the new driveway.

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Our front porch got somewhat of a new look too. New patio furniture and flowers. We would like to tile the porch in the future, but for now, it looks just fine.

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My mom and I at a Mother's Day banquet at Wes's grandma's church. I know everyone says this, but I DO have the best Mom in the world. I am very blessed.

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I am also blessed with wonderful in-laws. Here is Wes's grandma and mom at the Mother's Day Banquet.

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Wes and Dave's 26th birthday was May 24th. I had to make my homemade carrot cake for them since they love carrot cake. The baking process went much faster the second time around. :)

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The birthday boy's on their birthday. Love these two!!

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Wes and I on his birthday. I am one lucky girl!

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No blog post is complete without a few pictures of Lexi. :)

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She is already needing another haircut. I think her hair grows faster than mine!

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A look outside our backyard after yet another hailstorm came through the Village on June 14th. Both cars got damaged pretty good and will need to be repaired. Ugh.. Ready to have a garage!

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Wes and I went to the Myriad Gardens on July 4th. It was their grand opening after doing renovations so we thought it would be fun to go to. It was pretty but it was SO hot! Wes looks a little bit Chinese in this picture since the sun was bright (ok maybe I do too!) :)

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footboard. So I felt like the bed would need to be in a different place once they bring it to us. Here is what the room looked like before:

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And now:

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I really actually like it this way.  I was hesitant because I thought it would take up too much room, but it works great.

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That's all I've got for now. I'm trying to get back into the habit of taking pictures again. I think I have taken maybe 10 pictures within the last two months. So hopefully more pictures to come (and new posts of course)! :)

Update #1: Lexi and First Days of Leadership

Lexi is now 6 months old and more of a brat than ever!

She has lost quite a few teeth which was SO nice to not have to feel her sharp teeth every time she started to bite. There for a while she didn't have any front teeth and when she did try to bite, it was just her gums.  I think she got annoyed that her biting wasn't bothering us.

But that didn't last long. Her adult teeth came in just as quick as she lost the others. Call me crazy, but since she has lost those baby teeth, she seems to have grown up a little bit. She still drives us crazy most of the time but she minds a lot better and will busy herself with a bone instead of bothering us.

Thank goodness!!

She got her first haircut too. It had to be done becuse she could barely see from all the hair coming down into her eyes. I wasn't so sure I liked her with shorter hair when I picked her up, but now it's growing on me. She actually looks like a Yorkie now.

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Here are a few pictures

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Before the haircut...

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And afer the haircut. Much better!

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Such a cutie!

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Lexi has been a challenge during my first two days of Leadership this past Sunday and Monday. When I come home at 7 AM, she has already had her night of sleep and is not wanting to sleep and be quiet.

So the only solution was to put her outside.Which I felt bad since it has been over 90 degrees every day this week. But she never barked to want to come back in, so it worked out and I was able to get the sleep I needed.

So my first days of Leadership went really good! My preceptor is awesome which makes all the difference. I was so nervous about the preceptor I might get, and I am so relieved that it worked out.

She graduated from OU College of Nursing a few years ago and is curently going back to school for Family Nurse Practitioner. So I feel like I can somewhat relate to her and her to me. When the floor finally settles down around  3 AM she works on her homework for school which allows me to do the same. Hard to keep my eyes open to focus on homework at that hour of the morning, but I got a few things done.

My first night was very exciting. Before the shift started they said that nights usually aren't very crazy and not many women will deliver on our shift.

That was NOT the case this night. We ended up having two walk-ins who were in active labor and delivered within an hour or less of arriving. WOW! What a way to start out a Labor and Delivery experience! And that was all before midght!

After the two deliveries, that left a lot of moms and babies to take care of. So the staff (including myself) was super busy the rest of the night. I was glad I was there not only to get to experience all of that excitement, but to also help them out the best way I could. They could have used about three other sets of hands that night, so I was glad I could relieve some stress.

The second night wasn't as exciting but we did have one delivery and a few walk-ins who were having contractions but got sent home a few hours later. Since there wasn't as much going on, this made the nght go by a little bit slower and I tended to get sleepy sooner.

The sleepiness doesn't really hit until about 4 or 5 AM. I think this is because there isn't a whole lot to do other than watch the monitors and assist the moms if they call and need something. I had to make myself get up,walk around, and get a cup of coffee in order to make it through the rest of the night.

And the drive home...ugh...I'm wondering why I chose a hospital that is 30 minutes away because the drive home when you are that tired is tough.

The reason I did chose Yukon is because I hope the Leadership leads to a job which would put me in the town that Wes and I plan on moving to one day. So while it isn't the most convienent right now, I'm planning on it being really convienent later on.

I slept from 7:30 AM till about 2:30 the first morning after my shift. I still had some time to pick up the house and make dinner for Wes and I before I had to head out the door again to go back for my second shift.

It was so wierd though because I really felt like I just left and it was already time to go back. And for 12 more hours! Ahhh!!

12 hour shifts aren't as bad as I thought they were going to be. Most of the time goes by quickly, as long as you are busy. My biggest stuggle was being hungry all night long. I felt like I was eating constantly and was still starving. Of course the cafeteria isn't open and nothing outside of the hospital is open either. So I am going to have to go to the grocery store before my shift tomorrow and take things that will keep me full.

Overall, I love this area of nursing. It is such a sweet and special time in the lives of these moms and their families. Once the laboring process is over, everyone is happy and content. I can definitely see myself working in this field as my nursing career.

24 hours down, only 156 more to go! Bring it!

Welcome Back!

Welcome back! I am saying that to myself just as much as I am saying it to all of my loyal blog readers. It has been a LONG time since my last post and I apologize.

Nursing school has taken ahold of my life and I'm pretty sure is refusing to let go until it is all over.

With that being said, yesterday marked the "one year anniversary" of the start of nursing school. Wow. Time has sure flown by! One year already? That only means one thing to me at this point: TWO months to go!!!

The summer will consist of a huge transition for us nursing students. We will be starting Leadership which is pretty much the same thing as an Internship. We will be given a preceptor (nurse) to observe and learn from for a total of 180 hours. This means we will work the exact same schedule our preceptor does.

Yup...the entire 12 hour shift! Welcome to nursing!


I will be at Canadian Valley Integris in Yukon working on the Labor and Delivery unit. I am very excited to get to spend my Leadership in the area I am most interested in. And the rumor is that a job opportunity is a strong possibility. Yay! Even better!

What am I not excited about? Working night shift (7 PM to 7 AM) and learning how to adjust to being a night owl. If anyone knows me well enough, you know that I do not sacrifice my sleep for anything. I am in bed no later than 10 PM most nights but prefer to be in bed by 9:30. So this will be a huge adjustment for me and for my husband.

However, night shift is most likely the shift I will be working once I'm officially in the working world. Wes is not looking forward to me working nights and for good reason. That means there will be three days a week that we won't see more than a few hours of each other's face. But that does leave four other days that I will have free to spend all my time with him.


 It will be an adjustment, that's for sure. But we are SO ready for me to start working, we really don't care what it takes. :)

Back to the many days that have gone by since my last post... The more days that go by, the more I have to update. So I have been brainstorming the best way to go about updating everyone on life's happenings the past month and a half. There is definately no way I can update in one post.

So...Here is my solution: Instead of creating a very, very long single post, I am going to break up the updates into several small posts. This way I can include pictures related to each post and hopefully narrow down the amount of content as well (no promises on that though!).

Maybe this solution will help me to feel writing a post to be a little more attainable and not so time consuming. The main reason I haven't blogged is just due to feeling overwhelmed with how to blog about SO much since I haven't kept up.

My update topics will be:

1) Lexi

2) Birthday's

3) Home Improvement

4) Home: Before and After

5) Misc

I hope to get these posts done within a reasonable about of time. That way I can start back to posting about the most current happenings. :) So be on the look out for new posts, I will do my best!