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I feel so much better knowing I'm not the only person with this problem:sarcastic:. Thank you all so much and LOL about these blister packs being harder to open than jumping the White House fence -- you're absolutely right. They're totally not user friendly. I honestly felt like I was so incompetent and just wanted to promise my preceptor that indeed I *am* able to successfully get by in normal, everyday life. I'm gonna look for a little scissor to buy online and try the trick with pinching the blister. These little details. Again, thank you guys so much.

Hi all! I have a silly question that keeps tripping me up at clinicals. Anyhow -- the way our meds are distributed in the hospital are in these sticky individual foil packets, and I feel that when I peel the foil back, it can cause the pills to pop out and fly off and on to the floor. Has anyone else had this problem? I try to keep my thumb over the pill as I peel back, but at my last shift when I tried to do that, I had a controlled substance just tumble on out onto the floor -- and not only did I feel like an idiot in front of my preceptor but it was the end of the world with the pharmacy. Do you have any suggestions, such as opening inside a plastic bag? Or keeping a scissor with you? I appreciate any tips or tricks with med pack opening!

Good luck all! Go out for drinks if you can and take a nap --- all things most of us did this day last year to help the time pass! Especially rooting for you round 2ers... I was in your boat not long ago. You got this!

Congrats! Keep me posted

Hi Carolid! Naming my favorite parts of the program is difficult while studying for finals, but i'll try I have to say, looking back, it is incredible what we've learned in 6 months. We have some really incredible professors that can present complicated material in interesting ways. The small class size is also a plus (ours is 32) -- it lends for some good discussion and makes it easier to ask questions. Your professors know who you are. For me, the small class size was a big reason why I chose this program, having come from a large university. I also appreciate that some of our professors are very diligent about including the most up to date research in our lectures. Clinicals are also great, but of course, you have that with every nursing program. I believe ours is different because we are paired 1:1 with a nurse for each clinical, which is a plus. I love clinicals, getting to be in the hospital and putting what we've learned in the classroom to practice. The downside to that is that you do end up at the mercy of each preceptor's (that's the name for the nurse you shadow) schedule, so a fair amount of my classmates have had to do 12 hour night shifts during the week. That has been difficult for some of my classmates. That said, we do only have classes on Thursdays and Friday throughout the program. That's a pro or a con depending on how you look at it. The pro is that we have the rest of the week to study (which you will definitely need) and fit clinicals in (and mayyyybe a job), but the con is that class is from 8-4 twice a week, which can be tiring when you power straight through. Lots of coffee. The workload is really intense, but that's the way nursing school is. I'm not sure I appreciated how intense it would be when I applied, but I also feel as the months have gone on I've adjusted. It can be *really* rough at times. Also because this program is accelerated, our summer classes are packed really tight. You cover a TON of material in a very short time. Like OB-GYN was a two week class, and I believe pediatrics, which we will take this summer, is 8 days. Just something to keep in mind. All that said, I'm very glad I chose UVA and I recommend the program! No nursing school will be a walk in the park, and if it was, you wouldn't be prepared :) This program DEFINITELY prepares you, for better or for worse!

Hi everyone! I'm a current first-year CNL and I just wanted to wish you all good luck with the application process. Don't worry if you haven't gotten an invitation to interview yet. It isn't done in any sort of priority order -- there are multiple faculty members who review applications separately, and it is a busy time of year with finals coming up. I wasn't invited to interview until a few weeks after some others were and it all worked out alright :) If you have any questions about the program, let me know! I'll try to check in occasionally.