Journey to a New Me!

I had suggested to Brian that maybe we could start a student nursing journals forum. I know he doesn't have the time to get it set up right now, so I am just starting a journal about my journey here and now. Please feel free to respond to me, but I am mostly doing this just to get everything out that happens in my day to day journey.

I had orientation yesterday. It was a full day, from 8 am to 4 pm. We started out with some general information about our uniforms, etc. I'm still unsure about what pants to get as they prefer white but said green is okay too. I would much rather have the green, but don't want to be the only one. I'll have to ask my classmates what their plans are. Then, we had the NET which was awful. Heck, I did better on the Algebra than I did on the fractions. And who knows if you capitalize school subjects? OIY!

Anyways, it's over and it doesn't have any effect on our standings, so no big deal in the great scheme of things. We had lunch after that and I ran over to the bookstore to get my books and some supplies. $888 later, I have almost everything and lunch is over.

Some second year students took us on a tour and during the library portion, I sat and chatted with one of our tour guides for a half hour. I learned more from her than I learned from anyone else yesterday. She was wonderful and very supportive and open about everything.

We then had cookies and punch and they gave out prizes. Then, I had to leave to go to a GI dr. appointment (blech)!

I am debating about getting a digital recorder for lectures, since I am more of a visual learner than an auditory learner. I don't want to put the money out if I don't need to. I think I'll give it a week in my classes before I make a decision.

It was funny to me how so many of the students were getting more and more nervous all day and I was getting calmer. I think I had myself more worked up than I needed to be and now I can't wait for Monday to come. Frankly, it can't come soon enough for me.

More tomorrow...(or as it pops into my head)

[angelac1978]

Get the green pants! green green green! There is no such thing as white pants that you can't see through! Don't worry about being the only one with green pants. When you start clinicals, and everyone else is worrying about their underwears showing, they'll look at you and say "dang, I wish I had green pants!" :rotfl:

A

[sdg]

I know you didn't ask this specifically, but as for capitalizing school subjects...you only do it when there is a course number following.

Ex. math vs. Math 112.

[Energizer Bunny]

Thanks guys. I think I am going to go with the green. They give us the option and I think I am going to exercise that one.

As for the capitalization, thank goodness!!! That means I did okay on one portion of the CNET! LOL!

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Have been going through some of the things I purchased and the one stethoscope is all crooked so it is going to have to go back. I can only hear in one ear in it and it won't twist the other way to correct itself. I also purchased a nursing clipboard that I have heard so much about for clinicals.

One of my classmates was just here. We are sharing a book for now and maybe for the whole term since we don't need it much. I have financial aid and she doesn't, so I'm going to help her out all I can. I'm just thrilled about Monday.

I started packing Piper and Bryce's bags for daycare a little while ago and I'm going to head back to that soon. I have to get Trey's bags packed to go to his grandma's for a week too. It will keep me busy, but not busy enough in my mind. The time is just dragging!

[prmenrs, RN]

White pants = beige/skintone underwear.

[wonderbee, BSN, RN]

A nursing student blog is a great idea. I'll add my own thoughts here. Yes on green, no on white!!

Woke up to find an email from our NSA Pres to say bye, will not be back to nursing school. Day one, semester II and I am now Pres of the junior executive board. Being VP was cool. Being pres... freaked me out, I wasn't prepared for this and on the first day of what is supposed to be the toughest semester.

I take my seat in the back away from the bunched up first 3 rows up front, trying to find a quiet place in the lecture hall thinking I won't get caught up in all the side conversations. My board thinks I'm stuck up or afraid of crowds. They don't understand that I don't need to be joined at the hip to someone all the time and like my learning space. I truly think it's a woman thing to have this annoying need. Yes, I am a woman too. Still, it was the wrong move. The group in row directly to my rear were making fun of the instructor and making lots of not too soft conversation about everything except what was going on.

Orientation proved how disorganized things still are at the instructor level. Clinical is on Monday and as of Thursday, some students still don't know where their clinical is at or what specialty they're rotating into. I'm used to this now. We'll all find our groove in a couple of weeks. Some students are downright pissed because there will be Friday and Saturday skills labs. No one prepared us for this. I feel bad for people who have themselves scheduled for work. Nursing school truly owns your time. I'm happy with my schedule and know I'm going into OB. Yippeeee, just what I was hoping for. Unfortunately, part II of this semester, the med/surg component, will be at a hospital waaaaay far away.

We took our break and moved right into lecture. The instructor is a very personable and lovable individual; highly skilled as a nurse but her lecture delivery leaves lots of room for improvement. Anyway, it was about childhood immunizations.

As soon as I walk out of the room, I'm grabbed by a senior e-board member and handed the keys to the closet and instructed to sell, sell, SELL calendars and t-shirts. I tell my board that pursuant to the by-laws, I am their president. They think I'm pulling some kind of a coup. They're not thrilled. I'm not thrilled that they're not thrilled and let them know that by threatening to quit and they can find someone else to go do the job. I go home in tears feeling sorry for myself, angry and bewildered. Too much drama for the first day. After a near mutiny and my nearly quitting the board, the following day brings relief as everyone, including me, is now over it and on we move.

[Energizer Bunny]

RNKitty Kat......sounds like a real pain in the rear sort of week for you. I hope it looks up next week.

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Final preparations for the first day are coming together today. I pick up my new van tomorrow and that will be my home away from home for the next two years. I am going to keep all my study materials out there and away from the kiddos prying hands and eyes. They want to look at everything and since my five year old thinks he is going to be a doctor, he is fascinated by A & P especially.

This is what my schedule looks like for fall:

Mon:

8 am - 9:50 am Intro to Pharm. (first six weeks)

11 am - 11:50 am Lifespan

1:15 pm - 3:05 Foundations of Nursing

3:15 pm - 4:55 Foundations review session

Tues:

7 am - 1 pm Foundations of Nursing Lab

Wed:

11 am - 11:50 am Lifespan

1:15 pm - 3:05 Foundations of Nursing

6:30 pm - 9:15 pm Intro to Sociology

Thurs:

7 am - 1 pm Foundations of Nursing Lab (first seven weeks until clinicals start and then it will be either Tues or Thurs)

Fri:

10 - 10:50 am A & P I review session

11 am - 11:50 am Lifespan

I printed out my syllabus yesterday for Foundations and it was seven pages. There are a whole bunch of other papers I could print out for labs, etc. too but I figured we'll get them on Tuesday. Why waste the time and paper. I looked them over once online.

Finishing up odds and ends around the house today so that I can relax with my family tomorrow before the chaos starts.

[dixienurse2be]

Well guys I've made it through the first full week. I can't even begin to tell you how overwhelmed I am. The actual stuff we are learning doesn't seem too hard at this point, but I know that'll change soon. There is just soooooooo much that we have to read and know. I was so stressed yesterday after class that i had a mini breakdown and finally figured out a study schedule for this weekend and this coming week. This is my schedule:

Mon- no classes

Tue- 8-11:20 Fundamentals

12-2:10 Pharm

Wed- 12-4:30 Body Structure and Medical Terminology

Thurs- no classes

Fri- 7:30-3:30 Funds skills lab (just until sept 23 then i'll have clinicals every thursday)

Every tuesday we have a funds quiz (at least one) and a pharm quiz AND a chapter test. We have a test every Wed in body sturcture and every Friday we have a Unit test in Funds. Each unit has like 4 or 5 chapters so we are studying for this while reading for the next weeks classes. So at any one time i'm studying or looking over maybe 8 or 10 chapters at a time. Talk about overwhelming. Plus I work on the weekends and I don't know how long that is gonna last. Good luck to everyone.. back to studying for me.

[Energizer Bunny]

Yesterday was the first day. It was definately full and I hesitated more about dropping the kids off at daycare than I did about the actual classes. We were unable to get our van on Sunday so a classmate took me and the kids over to campus. It rained (of course) and I had to carry my books all day, but c'est la vie. If I complain about that little bit of struggle, I'll never make it through the program!

The kids didn't even seem to care when I dropped them off. Bryce was playing and happy and Piper didn't even want to take time out to kiss me goodbye! When I picked them up, Piper said goodbye to me and thought she was going back down to the gym with her teacher! LOL! A little sad, but I'd rather have her enjoy it that much than be struggling with being away from me.

First class was Intro. to Pharm. and it runs eight weeks but there are two weeks we don't even have class. We'll have a quiz each time we go in to class, so I won't have one for two weeks. We covered International time, decimals and some medical abbreviations that would be used on physician's written orders.

Then, a break...off to the bookstore to exchange my faulty stethoscope and back to class. Lifespan. No big thing there, at least not yesterday. Had about an hour and a half for lunch after that.

Then, fundamentals. What a terrible time of the day to have that class. We were all nodding off for goodness sake! I am going to have coffee with my lunch from now on!

10 minute break and onto review for fundmanetals. Then, I went and watched a suggested video, got my ID and picked the kiddos up.

We went to get our van and didn't get home until 9 pm. Kids didn't get to sleep until 10 and they are up again already! OIY!

Gotta run and get ready for today. I just have fundamentals lab from 8-12 today, thank goodness.

More later...when there is more time! LOL! Time....what's that?

[Spidey's mom, ADN, BSN, RN]

White pants = beige/skintone underwear.

It doesn't matter . . .you can still see them. Except if you are wearing white denim.

If you get white, buy a lonnnnngggg shirt that covers your tush even when you bend over. :chuckle

steph

[mitchsmom]

I also purchased a nursing clipboard that I have heard so much about for clinicals.

Which one is that?

I bought a clipboard with all the little nursing notes and numbers all over it, but then I saw one at the store that you can open and keep papers in, so I got that and I'm going to xerox the notes from the other one and put them inside the box one :)

Tomorrow is my first day of (LTC) clinicals, I'm trying to figure out what I'm going to take - they said there really isn't anywhere to keep a big backpack, just basically bring what you can carry on you.

[manna, BSN, RN]

I have one of the clipboards too, with a little calculator attached.

Nice thread. I have a nursing student journal type thing too, but it's on another site. Feel free to email or PM me if you'd like a link (to see what my BSN program is all about, or the little mundane details of my life :chuckle )