I am writing this for those of us that fret about the unknown.
Today was my first day of LVN nursing school. Our school has a rule that anyone even one second late does not get into the classroom, so a lot of us were very early. I was 40 minutes early and there were five other students ahead of me. A couple of students came in a little late, but I think they were docked.
The classroom was open so we came in and picked our seats. The woman next to me told me she hardly slept at all the night before, and that remark was reiterated by everyone close by. She said she had a dream that she was in a hospital with a disease that no one knew about. She attributed it to a fear of failure to become a nurse.
At the proper time we were introduced to our five teachers and their subjects. Then the head teacher passed out paperwork for us to fill out, (I have never filled out so much paperwork as for LVN school). Then the student handbook was passed out and the whole class (60 of us) took turns reading about the rules, regulations and school Mission Statement. It was made clear to us that the school set high standards and expected nothing but the best from its students.
We were then informed that we would be giving each other bed baths, NG tubes, and foley catheters, in addition to shots. I know I will not be involved in having a foley or a NG tube, but the rest I can live with. If students don't want to commit to a certain proceedure, its not mandatory, however, the students that volunteer for those activities will be the first to do them in clinicals.
The syllabus was not available so we were given our first assignments by our respective teachers. This program is seven hours a day, five days a week. We were told that for every hour of class time we were to have three hours of homework. That equals a 28 hour day not counting everything else besides school. They say we will have time to catch up on weekends. I guess that means I won't be posting as often as I have been lately, lol.
Uniforms were passed out, but we won't be using them for the first eight weeks. Thats when we start our clinical rotations. We were told that we would be working some evenings and some weekends. Oh well, I don't have a life anyway:o
I hope this helps some of you who are wondering what the first day is like. It must vary from school to school. Tonight I will try to catch up on the sleep I didn't get last night because I was sooo nervous about the first day of school. Well, at least I will try to catch up after I do some homework.
LOL, I think the catheter scare is a kind of hazing? Hmmm........
Clinicals start eight weeks after class begins, which will be in another five weeks. Before that, the class is getting training in CPR, in addition to the catheters and other skills that I will mention as they occur.
Glad you are enjoying these posts, it makes me believe I am not wasting my time.
I am not as scared, but I am tired. For older students at least, get plenty of rest. With all we have to do, you can not catch up on rest during the week. That leaves the weekend, and if you want any kind of life, you need to stay rested, repel invitations, and choose only the most important functions to attend, for me, that would be school.
The last couple of days in class this week were like no other I have experienced concerning testing.
Our classroom is such that 60 students are grouped into ten sets of six students each. We were handed a test in Nursing Fundamentals and were told that it would be a group test involving our little group of six. The first ten minutes were silent as we searched for answers. After that, we were able to quiz each other about the answers.
The next day we had an Anatomy and Physiology test where we were again allowed to do as above, but ten minutes into the quizing aspect, one person from each group had to rotate out of the group, into another group, and share the answers. After five minutes we rotated the same students again, and on until those students had shared answers with every group.
Some of the students liked it a lot, some didn't. Has anyone else had a similar experience?:uhoh21:
No, no catheters, thank goodness, but we may be giving shots to each other. Don't know yet.
No enemas either. I will let you know if any other trauma inducing event of that nature happens. The catheter thing was our instructors having fun at our expense.
Actually, that may be a good thing as we are very tired during the day and anything to take our minds off the next test is okay........
The bed baths were just a joke also, we had our partners lie in bed and we washed arms and legs and spoke through the rest of the bath. It sounds simple, but when you are stressed having an instrutor looking at your technique, it really takes it out of you...
This is the end of the fourth week and most students are very tired. We need to use our minds all day long for the lectures and skills lab. There is such a lot to learn!
This past week we did head-to-toe assessments on dummies and each other. The first geriatrics test was this week and most didn't do well. All of the tests we get are NCLEX type and the multiple answer questions are hard. Sometimes you have to use common sense, and how much of that do we all have? The work is not as much hard as it is continuous and too much. Keeping up demands forsaking family outings and even going to the store at times. Where can I find the time?
We gave bedbaths, inserted NG tubes, and catheters on dummies, not our classmates. The worst thing we did was have to wear shorts and a bra for health assessment, but we had on gowns and we were behind a partition.
Nasogastric tubes were the order of the day, which students could voluntarily assent to. Students that volunteered had to have a partner that volunteered also, then they got to work on each other. There is to be a bonus for all that do volunteer, currently undisclosed. For those who don't participate, another task will be appointed.
This is the sixth week of classes. We also did blood sugar sticks on each other today. One student was in tears over having her finger pricked.
Some students were not allowed to have tubes inserted if they had had gastric bypasses, or sinus problems.
Some students took it well and others couldn't get it down. There was some coughing and tearing. The general consensus was that it was uncomfortable to painful. I watched two partners, one was having a lot of difficulty, the other took the tube without a hitch.
Having had sinus surgery in the past, I did not participate.
Specializes in 5th Semester - Graduation Dec '09!.
I have completed my first week. Let me tell you, we have been having a blast! It has been a lot of reading.. over whelming! But-- it isn't too bad. They don't seem to waste any time getting you started. They through you back in.
I have already made lots of friends..The weird part is that it feels like I have known them for a long long time... We all really clicked together. It's really nice!
It is a lot of fun WcBrinkerhoff, and I count the blessings of finally being able to go to class and get my LVN. We (students) noticed that the first week was fun, then the homework and assignments kept building. I think they don't want to scare you off the first week or two that you are there. You do acclimate to all the work.
This next week is the eighth week of school. This week we will be giving each other different types of shots. Six in all. Some of the students are very nervous, not liking the idea of getting shots. The shots will all have normal saline in them.
We will also do uniform checks this week, as we will be doing clinical rotations starting on September 10th. We do have a one week vacation before, but I've heard we will get plenty of homework to make up for the time we are not at school.:angryfire
lvnhopeful
220 Posts
LOL, I think the catheter scare is a kind of hazing? Hmmm........
Clinicals start eight weeks after class begins, which will be in another five weeks. Before that, the class is getting training in CPR, in addition to the catheters and other skills that I will mention as they occur.
Glad you are enjoying these posts, it makes me believe I am not wasting my time.
I am not as scared, but I am tired. For older students at least, get plenty of rest. With all we have to do, you can not catch up on rest during the week. That leaves the weekend, and if you want any kind of life, you need to stay rested, repel invitations, and choose only the most important functions to attend, for me, that would be school.