how is school?

Hasn't started yet. We still got two weeks to go. Starts on the 20th. Today we all had to get together to take our ATI critical thinking tests that we take again in 4th semester to compare and see if we've turned our weaknesses into strengths. Hope everyone did well!

Can you say "hello syllabus!"? Oh my goodness - I've never seen a syllabus so detailed before! That's great...but it's soooo overwhelming!!! It makes my head hurt just thinking about those first 2 weeks (and I'm sure those are the easiest weeks)!

Turns out that critical thinking (ATI) test wasn't so bad. I was expecting much worse! I found it insanely hard to concentrate in that room though with everyone bustling about. So...when it says that the mean score is 68%... that's accurate, right?? I definitely did better than that...but I don't get what was so important about that test??? It had nothing to do with ANYTHING! (How many different ways can you say "it had nothing to do with anything" and which one is most correct?) Seriously! I suppose I'm anxious (yet incredibly nervous) to start the real class work! Enough with all these entrance type tests!!

i'm sure you will do fine !! just look at the syllabus and know it all dosen't have to be done at once. but it's good you are paying attention to the deatils of it.. be sure to put holes in it and plan on taking it with you . you will get tons of syllabuses, one for clinicals, labs, ectra, get extra binders and make sure they go with you to clinical , class and lab , where ever you'll be that day. you will need them .. esp if you are given a assignment , they will tell you what they want then expect you to follow the syllabus how to do it. and theye won't tell you twice. you should highlight how they want you to do assignments and follow them to the word.

you will be fine , please keep me posted !! i'm rootin for you!!! your adventure is abou to begin and it's well worth it !!

Thanks for the vote of confidence! Hopefully we can find a routine quickly so we're not all freaking out. Thanks for the tips re syllabus.

Yeah I agree, the ATI test seems pretty pointless. I also did better than the 68% but also know people who were right around that 68% area.

Yes, Thanks for the syllabus advice!! I've just gotta figure out a system that works for me in keeping everything together - there's SO much of it!! I went through last night and organized all my school stuff into one area and filed lots of papers. Hopefully that helps for when the real chaos starts! :)

I bet those people who got around 68% just didn't take the test seriously and spend the time on the questions (since we don't get a grade for it). Cause most of them were pretty straight forward with one obvious answer. Oh well... it's over with for now!! Now on to the real work!

When does everyone have clinical and lab?

I have clinical on mondays and lab on tuesdays. So my very first lesson will be lab since no school on the monday.

I agree with you, it's all about finding a system that works and keeping organized. you're using a laptop for class right? do you plan on still printing everything off or just saving stuff like powerpoints to your hard drive so you can bring them up in class?

Ah, you got a schedule I would have loved! I was the next to last person to get to choose an option. Now I have to find a babysitter for Thursday mornings from 6-7:30am (till my hubby gets home from his graveyard shift). It sucks.

Yep...I'm using my laptop... though I've been really frustrated with it lately. I need to get around to calling Dell before school starts. I haven't decided if I want to print out all that stuff. I'm pretty sure I will have the syllabus printed (at the school)....but I don't know about the notes yet. My mind is still so boggled by everything that there is to keep track of... I haven't decided the best way to do it yet. Let me know if you come up with a good solution!

Aussie Andy, who do you have for clinicals?

PM me for that information, thanks.

i don't have my schedule with me at the moment, so i'm not sure who i got... anyway, question for everyone: last jan 6th, when the 2 speakers were speaking, they did say that we can't bring in recorders to any class at all? or was it with just certain professors?? people were talking around me, i missed some info. does anyone remember?

i already have a laptop but i'm not bringing it to school, since i write faster than i type... so, i'm doing class notes old school (with paper, pen & pencil)... hopefully, with a recorder if there are professors who will let me record them.

They said that we cannot record so I'm pretty sure that includes all classes including lecture, lab and clinical. I would like to record also, but oh well. I will do fine writing my own notes.

You definitely can't bring a recorder to any of the classes - with all the professors. I think it has to do with all the patient safety stuff. I've heard that quite often clinical stories/examples are told and it's not okay to record that personal information. (Something like that!) I've heard that some schools will let you bring in recorders but will tell you if you need to turn them off because of the subject matter. *shrugs* Guess CSN isn't up for doing that!