Today was my first day of my LPN program. :)

[FloatyFlowers]

Today was day 1 of my LPN program.

Overall, it seemed to be a very positive experience! My instructors were all very friendly and eager for us to succeed. The guy I sit next to is deaf in one ear, though, so he speaks very loudly and is very talkative (read: interrupts constantly). I hope this doesn't become an issue. But even so, he's nice. So it wasn't that bad. Anywho! For those of you who haven't had your first day yet and are wondering how it'll be, I'll share my experience with you below :)

Orientation/class started at 8. I arrived at 7:50, and almost my entire class was already sitting at the desks which had their names on them. (Note to self: arrive earlier next time.)

My lead instructor and the nursing coordinator were both there and they introduced themselves and took roll call. They told us about their history as nurses and how they met. Our books were piled on our desks, and they handed out some pamphlets and explained them. One was the student handbook and one was the syllabus, which they didn't go into much detail about honestly. They played a DVD slideshow which was made by the class president the year before and was basically just a slideshow of everyone's picture and favorite quote (far too many Marilyn Monroe quotes for my taste.... but anyway ) with music in the background. When that was over, the instructor wrote out our list of supplies for us to copy. She also explained what the following week would be like for us. The next two days are CPR training, unless you are already certified, in which case you don't have to come to school. "Real" class begins Friday, and we will begin with Fundamentals of Nursing and A&P. We were told to read Ch 1 of Fundamentals of Nursing and do a workbook exercise when we finish and that it would be due tomorrow (or Friday for those already certified in CPR). Then we went around the room and everyone introduced themselves and said something about why they were in nursing or gave some background info on their lives or a mixture of the two. We were fitted for our clinical uniforms and given a price to pay for them in October. This took a while as there were 43 of us. We handed in our physical/immunization slips and CPR cards if we had one. Then we got a 30 minute lunch break. When we went back in, we met with a few other instructors who each talked with us about their background and what they'll be teaching us over the course of the program. People were still being fitted for uniforms as this went on, a few students at a time, so we didn't go over anything *too* important, mainly just an explanation of the program and stuff like that, and stories from past clinical experiences. We had a 10 minute break after that, and a lady from ATI came in afterwards. She explained the ATI website and told us how to create usernames and log in and stuff. By the time she left, everyone was finished with their uniform fittings. Another instructor came in and introduced herself. She handed out two booklets on adult learners and finding out what type of learner you are (visual, auditory, tactile, etc) and started a slideshow where she went over every sentence in detail. Honestly, that part was very boring and long because she was basically just reading it to us off the screen and asking if we had any questions. After that, it was 2:50 and we went home (class ends at 3).

All in all, it was very informative and I got a good feel about everything. Hopefully the next year runs smoothly! :)

Good luck to you all in your programs!

[tootRN]

So nice to hear about your day! Your positive experience will be soooo refreshing for new nursing students to hear!

ATI is a great resource and can really help you master NCLEX style questions and content! I refer my students to them often :)

Well wishes to you on your nursing journey!

[FloatyFlowers]

Thank you! :)

[rob4546, ADN, BSN, MSN]

First of all, I wouldn't worry about the guy next to you unless he interrupts with useless information and questions. I was a loud, talkative guy in our class but I always spoke up to clarify and ask questions that were based on knowledge we needed to know. Classmates would thank me for asking or clarifying points because most everyone else was afraid to speak up. If he just talks too much, then see if you can move.

When I first read your post I thought that this was the first day of class and I said to myself," wow, what an easy day.." I reread your post and saw that it was your orientation, that makes much more sense. My first day, years ago, consisted of "refer to me as Mr. (BLAHBLAH), and please pass forward your first paper...." We had orientation 2 weeks before class when we got our first assignments and everything else you went through.

Congratulations on entering the LPN program, good luck with your future nursing progress. Keep the good attitude throught your program and you will be successful.

[NurseErika83]

I am in my second month of the LPN program and it has been crazy in an awesome way. Lots of studying and lots of information. Congratulations and good luck. Keep an open mind to your classmates (You go through phases forming, storming, norming). I'm interested in reading how your program goes. Best of luck to you!!