Where in the World is Sheri?

If you have been trying to play the “Where in the World is Sheri” game and have not been able to find me, I apologize.  I haven’t blogged since August of 2015, which is a long time. I’ve had a few big life changes, some of which I’ll write about here. I also encourage you to follow me on my other social media accounts which can be found on the side bar, or below.  Keep in touch, and check back here soon – I am going to start blogging again very soon!

Graduation!

In May of last year, I graduated from Nursing School with my Bachelor of Science in Nursing. It was very hard work, and I’m proud of this degree tremendously. Yes, I have another one in Criminal Justice, but it was not very useful for me. This one however, is a true passion and I am very glad I decided to do it. I made some amazing nursing friends and also learned more than I thought possible.

I Fell... and Broke Stuff

Right after graduation, I fell. It was a long, tiring day, without much food or liquids (not even a drop of alcohol). When I got home, I was turning around to grab something else out of the car, and I fell down the steps on the porch onto cement. Let me tell you, it was the worst pain of my life. A true 10/10 on the pain scale. I broke part of my foot, sprained both ankles, messed up the tendons, and bruised my wrist, lots of scratches, and bruising really. I had this very ortho-fashionable boot to wear for a month. By the way, nurses make terrible patients.

NCLEX

The NCLEX is the dreaded test that all of those who pass nursing school have to take in order to become a licensed, registered nurse. You know, to be able to say that you are an actual RN and get to sign your name RN after it. It was a month of studying after graduation and tons of partial breakdowns, but I passed the first time I took it. Whew!

I Fell… for a Guy

Okay, so I didn’t literally fall. This is Will and I actually met him while I was still recovering from the very hurtful fall. I was single for awhile, because I wanted to focus on school, and to be honest, I’m quite picky. This one though, is a keeper. Sorry ladies, he is mine!

Sheri, RN – Job # 1

I started my first job as a nurse in June. I thought night shift would work out fine for me, so I decided to do that as my first job. I liked the hospital I precepted at in Med-Surg, so I went there. However, I soon came to learn that it was very much not for me. Especially after I moved in with Will who lived about an hour and fifteen minutes away from that hospital. Yes, it was rough going back and forth to work on those nights and mornings.

Sheri the Rodan + Fields Independent Consultant

In December I decided to join the R+F team my friend had just signed up for. I knew I needed two regimens (Soothe and Reverse) so I just signed up as consultant to save money and get the other tools I wanted, too. I didn’t take it too seriously until I could see results for myself, which I started to see as early as February. I had my first R+F party in March, and am very excited about this business opportunity. If you want to know more, please let me know! To see my Rodan and Fields site to take the consultation tool to see what works for you and to shop, go to: https://sherinewton.myrandf.com/Pages/OurProducts/GetAdvice/SolutionsTool

Sheri, RN – Job # 2

Remember how I said I was driving so much on that first job? Well, I couldn’t keep doing it physically and work 12-13 hour shifts. So, I applied at jobs closer to my new home and was actually recruited by the place I ended up. It is a rehab hospital which is only about 30 minutes away. Not too bad! I just started it this month in March, but I like it so far.

…Keep in Touch

As I said, I’m going to be blogging more again and I have a TON of book reviews to catch up on. However, please add me or follow me on the social networks I use.

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/sheri.newton

Twitter – https://twitter.com/sherinewton

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/sherinewton311/

Pinterest – https://www.pinterest.com/sherinewton311/

Polyvore – http://starry943.polyvore.com/

Bulletproof Spirit by Captain Dan Willis

Bulletproof Spirit by Captain Dan Willis is “The first responder’s essential resource for protecting and healing mind and heart”. First responders are there to take care of us, but when you are one, sometimes the emotional trauma that is suffered can present itself in a very real way in your life. This is an excellent book to help those in professions that make them first responders able to enhance their lives and bulletproof their life against the emotional traumas they could experience.

Book Description

“Suicide, depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), substance abuse, and many more emotional and stress-related problems plague the first-responder community. Hundreds of thousands of these brave public servants have unwittingly become victims of the professions they once loved. However, the suffering that results from a professional life of sacrifice and service can be prevented and mitigated.

As a law-enforcement veteran, police captain Dan Willis has witnessed the damage of emotional trauma and has made it his personal mission to safeguard and enhance the wellness and wholeness of police officers, firefighters, EMTs, emergency-room personnel, and soldiers. Bulletproof Spirit offers field-tested expertise designed to be used by all first responders — and their families — to heal themselves and continue serving with compassion and strength.” – Bulletproof Spirit

My Thoughts

Bulletproof Spirit is an extremely valuable resource for anyone who works as a first responder. If you know someone that is a first responder, this would make a great book for you to give them, too. Sometimes the needed help may be just what they needed but didn’t know it themselves.

The 9 warning signs are important to note because a lot of first responders may not notice them as signs that something is going on with them. These include: isolation, irritability, difficulty sleeping, anger, emotional numbness, lack of communication, cynicism, distrust and loss of work satisfaction, depression, and drinking as a perceived need or habit. If you are experiencing these symptoms, you really are being affected by your work and should seek help. This book is a great start to getting that help because it not only shows you that you aren’t alone with these feelings as a first responder, but also gives many resources on getting additional help that is much needed.

I learned a lot from reading this book. I’m going into the medical profession as a RN very soon, and I can see how a lot of people in professions that are on the scene can suffer from PTSD and being emotionally, physically, and spiritually off balance. Books like this can truly help. I highly recommend it.

* Thank you to the publisher of Bulletproof Spirit, New World Library, for providing me with a copy of this book for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

So, Strep Throat is Worse Than I Remembered…

I just finished up my 3^rd semester of nursing school, not getting too sick at all throughout a semester which threw me in with sick kids, many different hospitals, schools, etc. No, my body (gladly) waited until after finals to throw strep throat at me. How thoughtful, huh? Actually, all kidding aside, I am very glad I didn’t get it during the actual semester because it is horrible!

Okay, so most of us remember that we had strep throat as a kid, right? I had it once or twice. I didn’t really remember what it felt like though, and didn’t think much about it as an adult. I bet you are probably thinking the same.

At first, it mildly hurt to swallow. More of an annoyance really. Cough drops seemed to work. I didn’t cough much, but it sort of numbed it. I was getting tired a bit easy, but I figured that was just because it was the end of the semester.

Then, the next day, I woke up with a big white spot in the back of my throat. It really, really, hurt to swallow anything now. Hot stuff, cold stuff, room temperature, food, cough drops, etc. It all freaking hurt… and it hurt bad! I was also extremely exhausted, felt weak, had a fever, felt nauseous, my ear hurt, pretty much, I just felt terrible.

Strep throat is awful. If you have any of these signs of having it, get to a doctor to see if you need antibiotics, because you do not want this to linger any longer than it has to. As a future nurse, I’ll also be much more empathetic to people who have strep throat because I can actually remember just how much it hurts now. 

Have you had strep throat? Do you remember what it felt like? 

3rd Semester of Nursing School – Finished!

Sorry for not posting many updates or reviews lately. I have been extremely busy with my 3^rd semester of nursing school since January. I always try to post and do as much with this as I can during the school year, but sometimes (like this semester) was just really hard to do.

At my school, 3^rd semester includes: Maternity Nursing (aka “OB”), Pediatric Nursing, and Leadership. I had clinical days each week for OB and Peds. For peds we were sent out all over the place doing hospital days, kid checks, health fairs, etc. For OB, we were at the hospital and one day we went to the health department. For 90% of these clinical days I also had to wake up at around 4:30 AM (I am not a morning person). Each week we also are on campus for 2 days, and we have more tests than you can imagine.

I learned so much this semester and had a lot of opportunities to improve my nursing skills. It kept all of us busy and stressed out to say the least.

Final exams are finally over, and I earned my B in each course. Now, I have some time off to relax, study (take a ton of NCLEX type questions), and do what I want (including sleeping in) until 4^th semester starts. I have a class this summer, but it isn’t that big of a deal (I hope).

Oh, in case you were wondering, no this is not our 3^rd total semester in college. Nursing school is what comes after all of the pre-req courses (which is about 2 years of that). My university that means 5 semesters of “nursing school” and we say which semester we are in. My program is a BSN degree and it takes 2.5 years of just the nursing school portion. I had to clarify on this because some people (and articles) make people think nurses only go to school for 2 years and that is a huge laugh.

So, expect for me to post more frequently and share some great reviews with you soon!

Nursing School : Semester One

Finals week is finally over, and I can update everyone on what has been going on with me. As many of you know, I am in Nursing School and it quite honesty is as hard as everyone says it is.

Before I started, I heard many people talk (or write) about how hard and time consuming it was. I never had to study too hard for many subjects before, so I secretly thought “Sure, it was hard for you, but it won’t be for me!” Ha! It is hard. It is very time consuming. It will take away your social life. It will be everything you think about for the next five semesters (or however long your program is). You will see your classmates more than you see your family and friends, and they will become your new friends and family. Luckily, I have some amazing fellow classmates, and I’m happy we are all so supportive of one another and truly want everyone to succeed in it.

Nursing school had many ups and downs for me the first semester. I thought I was going to have a panic attack during finals week because they wouldn’t tell us how we did on them until Friday, after we took the last final exam. I think this caused more harm than good for me, but I managed to pass them all, and all of the classes.

I have one class to take this summer, and then I’m on to second semester in the Fall. We have two clinical days per week in second semester, which I am kind of worried about, but hopefully it will be a good experience. I actually enjoyed the clinical day at the nursing home this semester, so I think I will like it at the hospital, too.

For now, I have a bit of a break and can do more things that don’t involve studying. So, look for some reviews and random bits of interesting things posted by me soon.