loriinmd

There are a whole host of reasons why I'm doing this. I think people are fascinating and I love being around them. I love pure science. I have always been the kind who nurtures (others before myself) and the work I've been in doesn't make me feel like I'm paying it forward in any way whatsoever. I pay it forward by doing volunteer work but I want the rest of my life's work to mean something. I wasn't put here to push around papers.

I would post this as a separate question and not as a response to someone else's thread.

Thanks, x-factor!!! I'm trying very hard to be positive. Doing a lot of Louise Hays affirmations. LOL If you don't know her, she's very inspirational. I am an organizer and organizing things (making sure the house is spit-shined before classes, making meals ahead and freezing them, creating a good work/school/life schedule) makes me feel more in control. My classes this semester are Micro, A&P 1 and Human Growth & Devel. And yes, I work full-time. No, there's no one at home but me so at least I don't have to contend with that. And Micro and A&P are re-takes for me since my credits are so old. I'm hoping that will be in my favor. This weekend is all about cleaning/organizing the house, some meal prep and advance study. It's an elephant so I'll take it one bite at a time.

- Quick read of the assigned chapter(s) before class. If I have time (like now), I'll do a rough outline of the chapter while I'm reading. - Record the class and take notes - Listen to the lecture again and supplement my notes if needed - Type my notes (reinforces the lecture and makes them easier to read) - Compare my notes to the chapter outline to get an idea how the prof emphasizes parts of the chapter - Skim supplemental material and/or read in depth on areas where I had difficulty with the text/lecture explanation - Answer review questions in the chapter - Make note cards - Review, review, review (I have a 45 min. one way drive to/from work and reviewing lectures is easy during this time) Like other readers, if a concept is troubling me, I'll diagram it to see if that helps and I'll also pretend I'm teaching someone else the subject. Agree that it's best to do this when no one else is around. :) I'm also kind of a schedule nazi. I have a strict schedule set for when classes stat: Time to get up, eat, gym, work, driving time, study time, chore time, prep for sleep, sleep time and, of course, down time just for me. It becomes second nature after a couple of weeks so I know at say 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday I should be studying for Micro and not watching TV.

I start back on the 29th and admit I'm getting a little nervous. Well...a LOT nervous. LOL It's not like I've been out of school for a long time. It's only been a year or so since I finished my paralegal certification. And I'm a good student. Got a 4.0 for paralegal. Have my B.S. in Biology. Have some graduate classes under my belt. Heck, even taught biology and physical science. I'm re-taking classes that I aced years ago. So what is it? I don't feel my age (58) and I'm fairly bursting with energy. So it's not that. I think it's because so much hinges on this. I feel like this is my last hurrah...my last chance...to be in medicine, which I have wanted to do since I was in 5th grade. I know I need to ace these classes again in order to get accepted to nursing school. There's no room for error. And if I don't make it, I won't wait another year and apply again. Those singers on American Idol who are at the top of the age bracket and can't come back again next year?? I'm them. If it doesn't happen now, it doesn't happen. I will spend the rest of my 15 or so years of employment doing the same thing I've done for the last 25+ years. That's not terrible. But it is monumentally depressing. LOL So I'm just venting, trying to get a handle on my nerves and buck myself up. Uh...I don't think I did it. :) Yet. Arrrghhh.

This probably isn't the first time you're going to come up against something that upsets you. I had a medical research fellowship while I was an undergrad at a cancer research center. When I started out, my group was working with mice. I didn't have much compunction about the work we did with them (especially after being bit over and over again). When our research moved forward and we had to advance to more complex animals, the animal of choice was beagles because of their size, temperament and the fact that they don't have a lot of inherited health issues. Although I believed in the research we were doing, I wasn't sure how I'd feel about working with dogs. As it turned out, my fellowship ended before they moved on to using dogs. I'm not sure how I would have felt about it. It would have been a hard choice to make but I'm fairly certain I would have continued with the work.

I got a Micro book on my Kindle and started reading it. But I got slowed down by the holidays and getting sick. Ugh. I haven't gotten my textbooks yet. I will get them this week and start studying. Classes start 1/29 for me.

Chemistry is a different animal from Micro and hard is subjective. It's just very difficult to say if you'll have trouble taking both. It depends on what kind of student and learner you are and how you've done with science classes in the past. I took Micro, Physical Chemistry, Calculus and an elective in one semester and did fine.

Me, too. A&P I, Micro and Human Development...and working full-time. I'm going to be insanely busy.

Call me crazy, but at the fine age of 61 when I graduate, I want to be a Trauma nurse. Don't stick me in some doctor's office doing a 9-5. I want adrenalin rushes and learning something new every day. I don't wanna slow down one iota! I'll be the little old lady in scrubs riding my motorcycle to work. LOL

Sweetie, I turn 58 next week and I'm pursuing my dreams. If I can do it, so can you!!

I think it's totally possible for a focused and organized student. As an undergrad, I took Micro, Physical Chemistry and Calculus in the same semester. Yes, I was a full-time student then, better able to focus on my studies but I also worked two part-time jobs. Then again, I'm a science geek. LOL But honestly, I loved Micro!! I made Micro my focus as an undergrad. Now I have to re-take it 20 years later and I'll be taking A&PI as well as Human Growth and Development -- and working full-time. But I remember Micro as a lot of memorization and then in lab being able to say "if I'm getting this result, why?" I think you're gonna do okay. We will all do just fine! :)

One thing I plan on doing is getting a white board (dry erase) to put on the wall of my study at home. I plan on keeping track of what's coming up and deadlines so that's it right in my face. I'll be working full-time and going to school part-time all the way through. I'm lucky in that my kids are grown and I have no other responsibilities but just keeping track of work, school and miscellaneous chores will be quite enough.

Every school I talked to said they would not accept online science courses with a lab component. Yes, your class includes a lab but schools don't consider those labs equivalent to the ones at a brick & mortar college.

I can only tell you what my situation and decision was. I have a B.S. in biology which was started eons ago and completed in 1995. My school is having trouble giving me student loans while I am not in the clinical program. Therefore I've decided to pay out of pocket for the pre-reqs I have to take (some are too old and repeats) and then I'm told that if I'm admitted to the clinical portion, they will give me student loans because then I'm on a viable career path. In my case, I chose this instead of BSN or MSN because I must work full-time while going to school and the only weekend/evening programs in my area are with community colleges. I'm single, own a home and don't want to make a complete lifestyle change in order to go to a day-time program. So this works for me. My school has a monthly payment option and while it's going to be tight for a while, it's doable. I may then end up getting my BSN or opting for an MSN program if I decide I want more schooling. I may be happy with the ADN at this late stage of life. We will see.