Orientation was today!!

JarOfPennies · Aug 16, 2007

Hmmm... my orientation only lasted 2 hours. We filled out paperwork, got registered, turned in proof of immunizations and CPR training and learned about general rules and expectations. Other than that, we were told to go online and read the NS handbook and were given our books and supplies list. No homework was assigned in advance. In fact, our instructor told us to enjoy the rest of our summer with our families. She told us that when she hears a collective groan from the class when a huge reading assignment is given, that she understands, but that she is in this to help us succeed. If we are willing to work hard, she is willing to be flexible. If not, well... then sayonara! I was SO relieved to learn that she would be our instructor! I've had her before for a previous class and she is very supportive, encouraging and loves to teach. I know she will get us off to a good start.

*Blessed2BaNRS* · Aug 16, 2007

okay all,

i survived 2 full day long orientations!!! yea!!

so today, we actually broke our orientation book down into each class (pharmacology, health assessment, foundations of nursing, clinical i)

we talked about each class, what was expected in there, what we needed to bring, how we would be graded, and anything else we could think about to ask!!

we got a more detailed syllabus for each class, and finally, after mentioning/torturing us the last 2 days about it, we got our calendar!!! they said that it would be our bible during ns, so do not lose it!!! it is subject to change at a moments notice, so we have to be very flexible! they enocouraged us to make a copy for home, and a backup copy to place in our lockers. then they recommended that we also get a big desk calendar and hang it up, not set it on our desk, so we will always know what is going on! also tons of skills assessment sheets, check off sheets and notes that we have to bring to each and every class. basically, we have to bring everything that we bought to each class. luckily, they give us enough time between classes to go out to our cars and get books needed per class, so we don't kill ourselves lugging each book everywhere!! how thoughtful!

but then they told us that the first 8 weeks would be h**l. they mentioned that many, many times. they "frontloaded" everything, so we aren't totally lost toward the middle and end. they have also changed up things from the previous years, so we are the guinea pigs!! not only is our pharm class online for the first time, they are changing up clinicals too. in the past, they would have the class go to 1 hospital (actually a rehab) for 10 weeks, then start at another hospital. now, we will actually do our head-toe assessment checkoff at the nursing home down the road, then do the rehab hospital for 3 weeks, go teach at the county indigent care clinic, do clinicals at the hospice for a few weeks, then back to the nursing home. they have previously only had clinicals at the 2 local hospitals and at the rehab, so this is exciting news for us. they also changed up care plan policy to allow more time to focus on the patients verses staying up all night doing care plans. so it sounds like they have made some real positive changes!!

they were all still so nice and helpful and commented again what a great group we were going to be, because we are were so ready to jump in instead of still being scared to death like all the other classes have been!

we found out about some of the outside activities that were going to be taking place that we could get involved in, like relay for life for the acs, and teaching at some of the elementary schools and apartment complexes. they have really started focusing on community service projects, which they had gotten away from in the past. so we are all very excited to be helping to bring back all of this stuff.

lastly, we took a tour of the building, to see where everything was and what the labs looked like. the only bad part of it was the fact that our nursing kits didn't come in. we will get them on monday before school.

other than that, we got the more detailed list of all the reading that we are going to have to do before monday. :uhoh3: it is more like 33 chapters. luckily, i got all my terminology words and flashcards done last weekend, so i am actually ahead of the game!!! but i already warned my hubby that he was going to take the kids school shopping, since i would be buried in books!! :lol2:

on a more serious note, i know that nursing school is going to be probably the hardest thing that we will ever do, but i firmly believe that this is god's will. i know that he will give each and every one of us the strength to make it through school and head on toward a new, exciting career in nursing. i know that some of you are so scared, not knowing what you are getting into, and i most definitely empathize with you. i just pray that you will all have some wonderful, encouraging and supportive instructors, and that this journey that you are fixing to embark on will be a very positive experience. if you need a shoulder (or actually a smiley!!) to cry on, please come here and let us know. we are going to be going through the same, so we will cry with you. if you need to vent, let us have it!!! we will listen. if you had an absolutely awesome day at clinicals, let us celebrate with you!!!

to all of my brothers and sisters starting school any day and in the coming month,

and

*Blessed2BaNRS* · Aug 16, 2007

try 330! thats my freshman class, its lpb's and rn's together the first year, so maybe thats why its so large, but we have something like 15 instructors.

whew, it's going to be hard enough getting personal and almost naked in front of 40 students, i could not imagine 330!!! good god, how do you learn with 330 people? better yet, how do you teach 330?!? wow, good luck to you!

laura11 · Aug 16, 2007

thanks, i am begininng to have a good feeling and really looking foward to orientation. like you said it is going to be a rough but rewarding journey and God willing we will sail through and all our efforts will not be in vain

beth66335, BSN, RN · Aug 16, 2007

Blessed, you make me so anxious to start..I still have to wait 7 days until my orientation! I too feel Gods is drawing me to this profession, things in school have fallen into place every time. Even when I failed developmental Algebra and couldn't sign up for my college level math, therefore couldn't apply for NS that January. I just took it to mean it wasn't His timing...and I was meant to be a class of 09'er! :lol2: I am sooo ready now!!

AggieQT · Aug 17, 2007

Wow, I am really excited too! My school admits 120 students once a year so we will see how things differ.

My school actually has a pre-orientation thing. For two days all incomming students from the school of nursing, medicine and biological sciences come together for an introduction to the culture and community of the school. I actually go to that tomorrow!!!

Monday & Tuesday are the scheduled days for orientation for me with Thursday and Friday scheduled for "ecamp" since they are making PDAs mandatory starting this year. They are also going over everything computer and internet related to ease our minds.

Its 1 in the morning and I cant sleep! Goodness I wish tomorrow would come quicker!

akanini, MSN, RN · Aug 18, 2007

200 students are admitted each year in my school's LPN program!! Orientation was the middle of July and school starts Sept. 4.

lisabeth · Aug 18, 2007

Okay, for those who are freaking out and not knowing what to expect, here is a look at my first day. I will have another all day orientation tomorrow, then will start full force Monday!
Orientation was a 8:30 sharp, and of course we had 1 person come in 30 minutes late. Anyway, today was all about going over our orientation packets, handbooks and touching on uniforms, schedules and classes.
We had a TON of paperwork to sign:uhoh3:, then we met all of the instructors, ADN Director and Dean. I felt like we were signing our lives away!! We went over the BON rules and regulations and then the school rules and regulations. Then we had a working lunch that was provided by the Student Nurse's Association, where they told us all about their organization, what they do and what help they provide.
Then back to the paperwork, and what they expect of each of us.
We really didn't get too much into the actual class work, they said that would be totmorrow, but we briefly discussed what it would take to get through the program and how much study time to put in. I do know that between today and Monday when classes start, we are required to read 30 chapters of a couple of our books. :uhoh21: She went through that part so fast that all I got was my "neighbor" saying OMG, 30 chapters?!? We have our first clinical lab on Tuesday and they said that classes will go from 8:00-5:00 almost every day.
The good news is that they said that while we would study harder for this than anything else that we have ever had, there would still be time for a social life. Like I have one anyway!!! But, they said that we would be doing a ton of work, but we could get by with our weekends free.
They were very encouraging, and actually quite funny. I think that they are going to be a good group to have, and they were so adament about us coming to them for anything. We have their office numbers, their cell numbers and their pager numbers. Never got that from my general class instructors!!! But everyone seems very supportive!
Anyway, for those of you that are stressed (like I was this morning!!) just calm down. You will probably just have tons of paperwork to go over, and rules and regulations. Hopefully not too many of you will have a test that first day!!! God bless those of you that do! BUT, get ready!! They warned us that the first 6 weeks would be crazy, stressful and overwhelming. But that it would go much better after that.
Here is to the second day tomorrow!!! :cheers: I will post about that then, and hopefully ease the minds of some of you...Now I am off to start reading all those pages!!!

Woohoo!!! Way to go. Read, Read, Read

*Blessed2BaNRS* · Aug 18, 2007

like you said it is going to be a rough but rewarding journey and god willing we will sail through and all our efforts will not be in vain

laura,

you said it, girl!! it will be rough, it will be crazy, frustrating and you will go home crying sometimes, but...it will also be unlike anything that you have ever experienced. it will be funny, you will celebrate when you do something correctly the first time and you will meet some awesome people!

blessed, you make me so anxious to start..i still have to wait 7 days until my orientation! i too feel gods is drawing me to this profession, things in school have fallen into place every time. even when i failed developmental algebra and couldn't sign up for my college level math, therefore couldn't apply for ns that january. i just took it to mean it wasn't his timing...and i was meant to be a class of 09'er! i am sooo ready now!!

beth,

i have definitely found that god's timing is everything. if he isn't ready for you to go to ns, you will not make it!! but, it sounds as if it is your time, so make the most of it! i hope that you feel as good about your group as i do! that will make all the difference in the world!

even though i am done with orientation and going through all the reading (i did have to take a break to get on allnurses!!!) i am still quite anxious for monday to get here already! i just want to officially "get started!!"

my school actually has a pre-orientation thing. for two days all incomming students from the school of nursing, medicine and biological sciences come together for an introduction to the culture and community of the school. i actually go to that tomorrow!!!

jezzie,

that sounds like it will be lots of fun! hopefully you will receive lots of great advice from all the people that will be there. i wish that we would have had an official meet and greet that required everyone to be there. instead, there was one at the bookstore, and it was come and go, so i didn't meet too many upperclassmen. oh well, guess we will pass in the hall. the ones that i have met have been really helpful and encouraging. i hope that you have the same experience!

Alternator81 · Aug 18, 2007

I had my orientation yesterday. It was really really fun! The first hour was very awkward! Everyone was nervous! The weirdest part is how we call started talking and making friends with eachother.. I felt like I had known these people for years! It was really nice!

As for what we did, we began with a speech from the dean, lots of congrats and a tour of the school..breakfast, lunch... Went over school Policies, met all the faculty, and our advisor's. They had a few workshops on how to keep organized and study skills. At the end we had our class picture taken.

SAVMAY09 · Aug 27, 2007

I for one am a little nervous and excited....the RN's on the unit I work at (mental health) completely freaked me out tonight at work...telling me all the horror stories of nursing school, how they gained 40 pounds, how they only got 4 hours sleep a night and how they had to walk uphill in the rain both ways to school=) I think you could liken it to Army stories, and baby stories though, everyone wants to tell their tales, but I must say, it made me a bit nervous nontheless...

beth66335, BSN, RN · Aug 27, 2007

Hi! Had Orientation Friday, but i got sick on the way home and was sick all weekend so I'm posting today. I'm am stuffed up and tired but better today. Our orientation was good, only 9-1. We got handbooks and went over the highlights, we signed lots of papers! They introduced the staff to us all females and we heard about the online library resources, that was boring! She took us step by step through how to do everything on there, like we would be able to remember all that! The one of the local hospital systems catered lunch for us and gave out door prizes. We also got pictures taken for our clinical badges ( they start Sept 11!). It was fun! :lol2: