A Little of This and a Little of That

Things in the Ritzen household are beginning to pick up and get BUSY. So if I neglect you guys on here, I'm sorry! Last night I started my preceptor, which is basically an internship. I am working in a psych facility working with kids ranging 2-17. I LOVE IT! I seriously think I found my calling. Working with kids with a wide variety of illnesses really makes me feel like I am making a difference. I was very apprehensive at first, but now I love it. I have 11 more 8 hours shifts there and I am totally looking forward to them!!

I am still working as a CNA, although because things are busy I am lucky to get 1 shift a week. I am also going to start volunteering. I have to complete 8 hours for my Leadership course, but doing more will only build my resume and making it easier to find a job in a rather tough market for new graduate RNs. My weight loss continues onto week 9. I have lost 14 pounds on Medifast but I lost some weight right after Bryce left putting me at 21 pounds. It is VERY exciting to be the same weight I was in high school and wearing 1 size smaller jeans than I was then!! I have dropped a total of 4 jeans sizes in the past 2 months. I have 18 pounds left to loose. I am hoping that by Thanksgiving I will be off Medifast and on the maintenance program.

Bryce is doing really well. I get to talk to him a few times a week. We bought a computer and he received it yesterday. He will have internet in his bunk so hopefully that will mean more emails and he promised me so skype time. It is quite a strange feeling to know you haven't seen your husband's face in almost 3 months!! We are over 1/3 of the way complete with the deployment and almost to half way. Not that I'm counting or anything... ;) But soon enough, he will be back home!!

Until the next time... check in here for updates on the Ritzens.

A Light At The End Of The Tunnel

Things are beginning to finally come together with nursing school. I have about 4 months left. Actually 3 months and 26 days to be exact, but who is counting? :) It has been a hard, but rewarding journey. I think know I think like an RN. Or at least I am trying to. I received the best compliment yesterday while working as a CNA. I was told by the two RNs that I acted like an RN who was trying to hold back. It is really difficult to go from RN mode at clinical to remembering you are a CNA at work so I do not act outside my scope of practice.

I have just 4 classes to complete this semester. That right 4! This semester is a little different than the rest. I will be taking Advanced Medical Surgical Nursing the entire 16 weeks. During the first 8 of that I will also take a Leadership class and complete my preceptor, which is basically an internship. During the last 8 weeks, I will take Psychiatric and Geriatrics with a clinical for each. And then, it is finals, graduated and study study study for my NCLEX (my state board exam that allows me to practice as an RN). I will be completely finished with everything before Bryce returns. He and I are excited to have some time to just be married and not have to worry about school. So many times we couldn't go somewhere or do something because I had a test and had to study.

Speaking of preceptors, I have been assigned to Auora Behavioral Heath. I will be working adolescent psych. I am really excited to learn as much as I can. Maybe it can even turn into my first RN job. I like psych because there is a stigma there that most people believe. They think these people aren't actually sick. I think mainly because you can't "see" any of the symptoms. But telling a patient with bi-polar disease to not take their meds or just "be strong" is the same as telling a patient with asthma to not take their breathing treatments. I would love to be part of the change in society's thinking about this area. And at the same time make a difference in some kids and teenagers lives.

That's all for now. Post my be short or non-existent at times here depending on my work load, but I will do my best!

Senior Nursing Student

That's me! I have successfully completed 5 semesters of nursing school and in a short 16 weeks, I will be studying for my NCLEX!! I am SO proud of myself. It has been a hard year and a half but these next 4 months are going to be way harder. But it will all be worth it when I can say my name is Kaitlyn Ritzen, RN.

Medifast Update

So, as you know, I have been doing Medifast which is a weight loss program for the past month. I was getting a little discouraged this week because I actually gained 2 pounds, so I decided to look through the weekly pictures I have been taking of myself to see the difference. Plus, Bryce asked to see what I look liek since he hasn't really seen anI decided that the 2 pounds is probably muscle or water weight because I am losing inches.

Here is my month update of medifast. (Btw, my actually update is on Monday, but I work so I won't be able to do this then.)

Start:

Week 1:

Week 2:

Week 3:

This is when I realized my pants no longer fit! YAY!!



Week 4:

 

And the jounrey continues... Still have about 20 more pounds to go!