Finished first week of LVN school!

[LVN_Soon2Be]

Hello everybody,

I just finished my first week of vocational nursing school! I have always wanted to be a nurse and I must say that I've already learned a lot this first week! Fundamentals of Nursing is so far my favorite class.

I kept messing up in my skills lab though, I was so nervous with my instructor watching me!

We already got introductions to care plans, ethics, legalities of nursing, etc.

The skills we got checked off on were:

Putting on sterile gloves

Putting on and removing PPE

... and of course hand washing!

I have my first care plan assignment on a patient admitted to the hospital with nosocomial pneumonia, have a group presentation (which I got elected as team leader) due about nursing, have to read a lot for A&P, read skills, read more about nursing diagnoses, etc.

My school's curriculum emphasizes a lot on the NCLEX-PN and HESI exams, which is good!

I had a very stressful week with school Mon-Fri and working and my instructors are pretty strict, I had a break down and called my mom crying. We talked and she told me how stressed out she was her first week of school. I almost wanted to quit... almost, but quickly came to my senses, and told myself this is my dream and I'm going to be a good nurse and help people... because that's what being a nurse is all about, helping people. We all have to remember that.

My program is only 13 months long, so I'm going to be real busy! Already have a group of friends I made at school (from our pre-req class) and all four of us have become real close already! I commute with one of them to school everyday and we all compare our notes we take in class and discuss everything and make sure we get everything. We also talk about our personal lives and when one of us is having a hard time, we help pick the other one up. I have my nursing school family and it's awesome. We support each other and are there for each other, and practice our skills we are learning together, as if we are already in the trenches.

So much stuff to learn... so little time!

Now back to doing homework and studying! All I do on the bus to and from work and on lunch breaks and during my free time is study, homework, study, homework. The more I'm learning about nursing, the more I love it!

Have a good evening everybody!

- Michael

[sueall]

Sounds as if you are off to a great start and are right where you should be! Hang in there -- the ride has only begun!

[nursel56]

Sounds great Michael! Your school sure isn't wasting time getting right into it. I haven't met a person yet who isn't at least a little rattled by the instructor watching but try and remember their goal is to turn out good nurses...they want you to succeed and most love to teach enthusiastic students...

[LVN_Soon2Be]

The ride has just begun on my journey to becoming a nurse! Even though I have experience as a CNA, this is whole different ballgame. My instructors do want us to be the best nurses we can be and provide safe and effective nursing care. We have a couple not so great instructors and some good ones. I think I get nervous when I'm being reviewed on something and want to do it right and not mess up, and then I mess up lol. So next week in lab I'm going to take a deep breath and when I practice the skill I will act like it will be just me and a patient in the room, not me, the instructor, and the rest of the group. I'm grateful I have a good mentor, my mom. She gave me the much needed confidence I lost when I was in lab Friday! I will keep on going with this program and finish it... I want to be a nurse, and I'm gonna do it! Thank you for all your replies! Allnurses is a great website and I've told my classmates about this site and how awesome and useful it is! Now back to homework :)