I'm almost done

Hey guys

So three years here at PLU and here I am about to graduate. I am almost done and I am beyond excited.

In this post, I will share with you guys what's been going on in my life.

First, CAPSTONE. The word itself sounds scary and haunting but I had a lot of fun preparing for my capstone presentation. As a nursing major, I had to prepare a capstone poster on how I would provide nursing care for a certain group of patients and I decided to do mine on "Postoperative ICU Care for the CABG Patients". (CABG - Coronary Artery Bypass Graft).

The topic might sound crazy so I made sure that I had props at my table so non-nursing people would understand what I was talking about.

Here's my prop. I use this pillow to show the anatomy of the heart and pipe cleaners as conduits for blood to flow and vascularize the heart.

Overall, it took me almost 2 weeks to prepare for everything. I ended up using 25 research articles for my poster because I wanted everything to be from research and up to date. By preparing for this poster, I had a chance to re-learn everything about the heart and it makes me more confident and competent.

If you are a prospective nursing students, please don't be discouraged about this project. It was tough but I did not have to do it all by myself. My professor was always there for me and I honestly enjoyed the whole process. I decided to do the poster myself just because I was on a Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit for senior preceptorship. However, if you choose to partner up with someone, you can always do that.

Presenting my Capstone Poster in the University Center

Presenting my Capstone Poster in the University Center

This is the time for celebration. I sure will celebrate until the day I have to sit down and study for my NCLEX (the Nursing board exam). In fact, I just celebrated with Student Involvement and Leadership last Monday on my Ubuntu Award.

Celebration of Leadership 2014

I got an Award guys :)

This is such a bittersweet time of the year. I am ready to graduate to become an official adult but I am not ready to leave PLU yet. The past 3 years have been amazing for me. I have made so many new friends and made tons of wonderful memories together. I guess it's time to open another chapter of my life.

Let's keep in touch.
Thank you
Henry

Nursing Preceptorship

So as you guys know, this is my very last semester here at PLU and boy, I am way too excited.

I've written many blog posts about my experience as a Nursing student along with tips and tricks to survive Nursing School and I hope you guys find those posts helpful. Here goes another one.

What is the last semester in Nursing like?

Well, it is definitely not easy nor relaxing. I have classes on Mondays and I am sort of required to have the rest of the week open so I can do preceptorship.

In order to keep my Provost's Scholarship, I needed two more credits (School of Nursing only offers 10 credits for your last semester), so I signed up for an art class. Good news is the Art class is on Mondays also but the bad news is that it's at 6pm so I usually have to spend the entire day at school (like 12 hours).

How are Classes this Semester?

To be honest, classes this semester are not as crazy as I expected. Like I mentioned in my previous posts, classes such as Patho and Med/Surg are overwhelming. Everything is sort of connected to something else since the human body is interconnected. One thing happens to one system can actually cause something else. And I was used to that so I thought that this semester would be about the same.

However, classes for this semester focus more on Policy, Politics, and Employment issues. In other words, classes this semester provide me a realistic image of the workplace. Therefore, there isn't anything that I need to memorize for but rather tons of group projects and meetings.

What is Preceptorship?

In nursing, we can't just learn everything in class. Clinical is very important but we only spend about 4 - 5 weeks for each clinical. Therefore, preceptorship is where you get to do extensive clinical hours on the field of nursing that we like.

Since there are limited spots for preceptorship, each of us had to fill out a request form last semester. First, we listed three things we want to do for preceptorship, for example, med/surg, oncology, emergency department. And then we choose three hospitals that we want to work at. Then our professors would work with the unit managers and the staff at the hospitals for our placements.

Luckily, I got exactly what I wanted. I love the heart and I love the Intensive Care Unit so I got Cardiovascular ICU.

Tell me more about Preceptorship

For preceptorship, I work whenever my preceptor works therefore, my schedule changes every week. It is tough to change my schedule around because I still have a job at PLU and I still have homework. Also, I do nightshifts so whenever I work, I have to sleep the whole day before to prepare and the day later to recover.

However, preceptorship is very fun. I get to provide direct care under an RN supervision. I get to learn about things I had never seen in school. And everything just starts to make sense and I feel a little more comfortable now.

So what's next?

Well, it's almost the end of March so Spring Break is next on the list.

Then, Order cap and gown. Have my birthday one week before graduation. Then Nursing Pinning ceremony. Then the Commencement.

But it's not the end yet. After graduation, I will have to study for the NCLEX. For those who are not familiar with the NCLEX, it's an exam that everyone has to take in order to become a registered nurse. Then after that, hopefully I will get a residency position somewhere.

If you guys have any questions about the nursing program or would like to know more tips and tricks, please feel free to comment down below.

Thank you

Child Abuse: A much needed course

Hi all,

So this is it. My very last semester as an undergrad student at PLU (I might come back here for graduate school but we'll see, I need to earn some money first). Since this is my final semester and the nursing program only offers 10 credits, I decided to take some other courses to be full time and to learn more about things outside of Nursing.

From Nursing and Non-Nursing friends, I've heard so much about the class "Issues of Child Abuse and Neglect" and I could not stop myself from signing up for that class.

The course is 1 credit and is taught in 2 Saturdays (8:30am - 3:30 pm). If you are an undergraduate student, you take it by signing up for EDUC 320 and if you're a graduate student, yours should be EDUC 520.

The binder for the class. You can buy this binder at Garfield Bookstore

I do honestly believe that no matter what your major is or where you will end up working, the issues of Child Abuse and Neglect are always around us but sometimes, they are hidden too well and this course will help you recognize what is out there and what you can do to help.

This class is awesome because it not only covers child abuse and neglect issues but also issues regarding bullying and mental health. You turn on the TV, open a newspaper, or go on any news websites these days, it is not hard to see these things happen everyday. Go to Google and type key words such as "child abuse", "bullying", "cyberbullying", "gay teen", "transgender", "hazing", etc... I am quite sure Google will show you daily news about these things.

To be honest, the course has helped me so much with my experience working in the hospital. However, it also brought to my attention so many issues out there that are extremely painful to watch and makes me afraid to have children of my own.

I do hope that things will get better and we as human will treat one another better. When Actress Ellen Page came out, she said "This world would be a whole lot better if we just made a effort to be less horrible to one another". Until then, I'm playing my part by encouraging you guys to take courses like this one. I do believe that education and knowledge will lead us to a better life, hence, help us make a difference in someone else's life as well.

My J-Term

Hello hello :)

It's been a while since I posted something and I do apologize. I gotta admit, senior year is crazy. I have to not only work on school stuff but also my resume and my portfolio so I can get a job after graduation. Is it too early to think about "the reality" already, you might ask? Nah. It's never too early

So on a happier note, I just want to share with you guys some fun things I get to do over J-term to "de-stress" myself and I hope that you have your fun as well. College is stressful, work is overwhelming, and life is always hard so why not live to the fullest?

First stop, Seattle. This place is gorgeous. Here's a photo I took at Alki

Then I went to the Waterfront. If you haven't noticed, there's a Ferris wheel there and I did go up there. As you can see in the picture below, the wheel is literally on top of the water, so when your little cabin is going down, it almost feels like you are going to fall into the water. I'm afraid of heights (big time), so I might've sounded a little crazy when I described the wheel earlier :)

 

Next stop, Green Lake near University of Washington, Seattle. And FYI, the photo below is a raw image. Hashtag no filter.

My puppies are ready for a walk around Green Lake

 Want some Butterbeer in Seattle instead of flying all the way to Harry Potter Land in Florida? Come to Hot Cakes Molten Chocolate Cakery. This place is in Ballard, which is a little North of Seattle.

 And here's some photos I took on the Road :)

 

Last but not least, if you're like me and you enjoy being home and just relax. Here are some movies I got for Christmas and trust me, a day at home, wrapped in warm blanket, watching all these movies is like heaven :)

How is your J-term? 

It's ok if you're busy, just remember to take some times off for yourself to do something that YOU enjoy. 

What is it like living on Campus?

Hi future Lutes!

It's been a while since we talked last so I hope you guys are doing alright. And Happy Dead Week by the way!

So if you are wondering what living on campus is like, make sure you check out these videos from Res Life. They are quite awesome. Watching these videos reminded me the summer before I came to PLU, I was nervous and excited at the same time and I only wish I had these videos at that time to relieve my anxiety.

Roommate video: http://youtu.be/Z3LsyGEhBhg

Move-in: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1QMQiKviKQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sOrwbMv95A

I apologize but somehow Blogger doesn't allow me to embed the videos straight into this post so now you have to click on each video link to view each one of them.

Once again, happy dead week and good luck on finals

Henry

Fun Facebook Pages

You guys know how we usually link ONLINE = BULLYING?

Well, I noticed that at PLU, ONLINE = COMPLIMENTS and SHARING, and HELPING each others.

If you guys don't know already, go and like these pages on Facebook, they will brighten your day

https://www.facebook.com/PacificLutheranCompliments

https://www.facebook.com/PLutheranUConfessions

https://www.facebook.com/WhatsALute


And of course

https://www.facebook.com/PLUInternationalStudents

5 Things I love About My Job

Hello there,

I don't know if you guys remember but I posted something about Campus Employment last year but I did not really talk about my job. For those of you who are interested in Campus Employment, please visit this link:  http://pluinternationalstudents.blogspot.com/2013/01/working-on-campus.html

However, stay tune for 5 Things I love About My Job

Thing #1: The Golden Name Tag
Can you think of a better color for a name tag? I don't think so. Even the iPhone is gold :) . At PLU, all staff, faculty members, and student employees will get their own golden name tags. We wear it with pride!

Thing #2: The $$$
Most of the positions on campus are minimum wage but did you know that minimum wage in Washington is $9.19/hr? Federal minimum wage is only $7.25/hr. And therefore, although you are making minimum wage, you still make a lot more money than a lot of other people from other states :)

The best thing about on campus employment is that if you keep the same job, they might increase your every semester. And if you are a student lead at your department, you might make more than $10/hr.

For RAs, like Loana, I know that they get paid differently than others so you might want to ask Loana more about this :) she is super friendly, she won't bite, ask her :)

Thing #3: Leadership Training
In the beginning of each year, we have Student Leader Institute (SLI) that provide us with awesome leadership training where we can meet other student leaders on campus. SLI usually lasts for 3 days. It might seem short but we've learned so much from it and I am trying my best to apply it wherever I go, not only at work, but also in class and at my internship place.

I can show you one of the interesting video we watched at SLI. The video below show us to think outside of the box, to do things that we are passionate about, and to lead others.

 

 

Photo credit: SLI. Here's the group picture of Student Leaders at SLI 2013

Thing #4: Friends and even More Friends
Part of my job is to talk to prospective students who are still in the process of choosing the best university for themselves. I talk to them on  the phone, via email or via any other social media sites out there. It is so fun to be a part of the voice of PLU to represent who we are to the new students so they can join us.

Every year, we create many on campus events so other students around the area can come and visit. We even take our own PLU Students to local community colleges for their events so we can make new friends and learn more about each other.

Orientations are the best times of the year. We do 2 orientations/year: Fall and Spring. And as you can see, I get to hang out with a lot of cool people. Besides the important stuff that i have to present at orientation, I also drive people for shopping trips and that's when all the fun begins :)

Photo credit: SLI. Intl Students Fall 2013

Thing #5: YOU GUYS, I'M FAMOUS
Just kidding, I am not actually famous. I just like to think that I am, haha. But guess what, once in a while, I get to be on brochures and flyers that the University sends out :)

With Loana and Shunying :)

Back when I was super tan

Happy Reading
I guess what I am trying to say is that it is easy to get a job but it's hard to keep doing what you're doing if you're not passionate about what you do. Find the things you love about your job and think about them when time gets hard. I think it's the easiest way to get me motivated and I hope you can find at least 5 things you love about your job.

Thanks for sparing your time on my post :)
Henry

My Summer Part 2: THE ROAD TRIP

Hi all,

So as I mentioned in my previous post, I took a week off to go on a Road Trip and it was amazing.

We drove from Washington to San Francisco, then Los Angeles, and Las Vegas.
Although everything was amazing, the drive was exhausting. I had a lot of fun but I don't think I can do another road trip anytime soon (or ever haha).

We arrived at San Francisco on the same day that one of  the Asiana airplanes had that accident. Our hotel was across from the airport, therefore, we saw a lot of news reporters came by to do their job. It was very sad but fortunately, not a lot of people died from it. My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone who was in the accident and their family members.

On a happier note, I had a chance to visit so many different places in San Francisco. We went to Downtown San Francisco, Lombard Street, Golden Gate Bridge, and of course some awesome Chinese restaurants.

Look at these houses in San Francisco

At Lombard Street

Another shot of Lombard street

More Chinese food. (Dimsum)

At the Golden Gate Bridge

I like how on the Golden Gate Bridge, there's a hot line for Suicide intervention.

 Then in L.A, we went to some amazing Vietnamese places and we also visited Universal Studios Hollywood. The Minions are so funny :)

Minions from Despicable Me

This is where they film The Voice

More Minions

Even more Minions

 By the time we got to Vegas, we were all exhausted and broke so we didn't really go do anything crazy :) We went to different Hotels on the Strip and we went to some free shows like the Water show at Bellagio, the Pirate show at Treasure Island and the Volcano show at the Mirage. We also bought the Buffet of Buffets deal where we could go to 6 different hotels for for their buffets within 24 hours. My favorite one must be the one in Ceasars Palace. Their seafood bar was amazing.

My hotel room

Look at these amazing desserts. Look at that Creme Brulee

The view from my hotel room

I had so much fun and I hope you guys did something fun over the summer too. If you do, let me know. If you want to share that awesome experience with the rest of our subscribers, let me know so I can post it here for you.

Now is the time to go back to work again to pay off my credit cards :)

See you guys in the Fall!
Henry

My Summer Fun Part 1

Hello all

Summer has officially begun for me. The month of June was crazy for me as you guys know since I got an internship recently.

Anyways, I tried my best to play hard and work hard by taking little vacations last month. I thought it would be cool to share with you guys what I did and hopefully you guys can join me in the future as well.

I first went to Portland, Oregon for one night and one day. I did not realize that it was pride weekend in Portland until I got there. There was a lot of Pride festivities going on and it was super fun. When I was there, I had a chance to to go Voodoo Doughnuts, Salt & Straw Ice cream, and Luc Lac Lounge, etc...These places are quite popular among visitors, so there was always a line everywhere we went. Although the sun was killing me, I had so much fun.

The foods at Luc Lac Lounge were amazing. I have to come back

My favorite doughnut must be the one with bacon on it. :)

 It's Summer, and for once, Washington weather is gone and it's being replaced by the Sun. So of course I had to go Hiking...again :)
I love the Northwest lifestyle. When it's sunny, you can see that almost everyone wants to be outside and doing outdoor funzy activities. The trail I went to was full of people, even when I got to the top. Everyone was just sitting there and had lunch and it was amazing.

My summer does not end here. I will do a road trip soon and I will definitely share that experience with you. Let me know how your summer is going and share with the rest of our subscribers what you are up to.

Today is already July 3rd and I can't wait till 4th of July. I don't think I can go to Seattle for firework this year because I work night shift that day. You guys go and have fun for me, will ya?

Have a wonderful summer
Henry

Internship

Hello all,

I guess you guys are all done with school now and that you are enjoying summer.

What are your plans for the summer? Let me know.

As for me, I just got an Internship position and I will be working this whole summer (I might take a week off to go somewhere, but as of right now, I am sort of stuck here in Washington).

As an International Student, I can only work off campus when it's under OPT or CPT and since I want to save OPT for after graduation, I work with Akane from ISS, my advisor from the School of Nursing, and some other staff members from Academic Internships office in order to be qualified for working under CPT.

CPT is short for Curricula Practical Training, therefore, the job I got has to be directly related to my major and I need to earn at least 1 academic credit for doing it.

The process was complicated but I am so grateful for those who helped me along the way. If you guys need help with CPT, let me know or let Akane know and we will be more  than happy to help.

Anyways, I am super excited about my new job and I can't wait to start working so I can share my experience with you guys.

Have a wonderful summer!
Sincerely,
Henry

Did you miss our Visit Day?

Hello all,

So last Saturday, we invited a couple of students from Community Colleges in the area to visit PLU.

Everyone went on a tour, had dinner together and we went to PLUtonic and HERmonic concert together.

Then we all went to Hong Hall to have ice cream and talk. Everyone had a chance to ask questions about PLU and experienced what life at PLU is all about.

I am sorry if you missed the visit for this year. However, we will have another one in the Fall of 2013 for you. Check out our Facebook page and our official Admission website for more information.

Here are some photos from the concert (photo credit: John Froschauer)