School Update

I'm doing a bit better today, no thanks to the sleepless night. The cough syrup helped though because I didn't cough last night and today, I have my voice back. Still coughing up gunk today, blowing my nose every thirty seconds, and wishing my headache would go away, but I do feel better than I did yesterday. Looking forward to taking some more cough syrup once Dorian has gone to bed (can't nurse for 4-6 hours after taking it since it is a narcotic) and then going to bed early myself. James is away tonight so I won't have his nasal symphonies keeping me up either. Knowing my luck though, there will be something else!

I did manage to get a lot of reading done this morning before James left at 1pm and this afternoon while my parents watched Dorian. I am feeling good in terms of keeping up with the workload. There is A LOT of work to do, but I caught up after the first day and am already ahead which is where I want to stay. I plan to utilize my parents tomorrow too and study some more. They are going away for over a week so I think they're happy to cram in some Dori-time anyway.

I have a test every Friday until October 10th. It will alternate weeks - Drug Dosage Calculation one Friday, Nursing Fundamentals the next. Plus some lab skills tests in between. I need to have a 75% average in both classes by October 10th in order to go on to clinicals, which start the week of October 13th. Luckily, it is an average of all the exam scores so that's another reason I am trying to get ahead and cram in work now. Hopefully, I can ace the first couple exams while the material is slightly easier and less dense. Then I'll have a little bit more room for the more challenging sections - can you say "Fluids and Electrolytes?" EEK!!!! I am scared of that section, for sure! Apparently, that's the subject that often makes or breaks first-year nursing students.

My schedule:

Monday 8:30-12 Nursing Fundamentals Lecture
12-1 Lunch (or, Read-As-Much-As-You-Can-In-An-Hour Session)
1-3 Simulation Lab (practice skills on $300K life-like robot dolls!)
3-5 Computer Lab

Tuesday 8:30-12 Nursing Fundamentals Lecture

Wednesday 8:30-10:30 Drug Dosage Calculation
10:30-1 Read textbooks!!!!
1-3 Skills Lab
3-5 Skills Lab 2

Thursday 8:30-12 Nursing Fundamentals Lecture

Friday 8:30-10 Exam
10-12 Open Skills Lab

I also need to put in 2-3 hours at the gym each week (open entry/open exit class) so I will most likely do that on Tuesdays and Thursdays after lecture. I will then either stay on campus on Tuesdays and Thursdays and study, or go to a coffee shop/library and study. I will do the same on Fridays when James does not have a gig (about half of the Fridays this fall). If he does have a gig, then I will return home to watch the babe. I hope to be home by 5:30pm each day to put Dorian to bed. There will be some evenings I'll end up studying at home after he has gone to sleep, and some week-ends too (when James is home and/or I can get someone to babysit). There is a lot of work but really, I only need to go 7 weeks until some of the pressure is relieved. If I can just make it to the start of clinicals...yes, those will be incredibly challenging and soooo scary in their own way (um, hello, caring for a patient after only being in school for 2 months?!!!!), but at least the reading load will be much reduced and the fear of being kicked out of the program won't be as intense.

I've also met a lot of really nice people in the program...some of them I met earlier in the summer at orientation and was pleased they remembered me. I like other people and I like being liked, what can I say? I was really pleased when roll was called the first day (for all 103 of us!!!). My name was called and I said "here" from the back row (I was almost late the first day due to the parking pass machines being broken). Loads of people turned around and waved at me! It was so cool. I felt very popular. I have also been asked by 3 different people to be a part of their study groups. I love feeling the love. We're going to need each other's support the next 2 years. I am hoping to make some good friends, though obviously, that's not the priority right now. Focus on reading, Kelly, focus!

I can not believe I am finally here. I have been working toward this for the past 2.5years. It's really strange to finally be doing it. I must say, there is A LOT more to nursing than most people think. There is a lot more than I thought. In reading my textbook, I am kind of scared by all the things we need to know. Seriously. Nurses have to be geniuses!!!! We're expected to know everything from all disciplines - science (chemistry, biology, microbiology, anatomy and on and on and on), math, communication, psychology, sociology, anthropology, education and more. And all the things we'll have to do...all the interviewing, charting, and communicating with families and doctors in addition to all the pretty complicated nursing tasks we'll need to perform of course. And the pressure everyone will place on us and the importance of our role in shaping a patient's recovery and essentially, future. In addition, the textbook keeps going on about the nursing shortage and how hurried nurses are these days. But how they still have to make it seem like they care about each patient, no matter how rushed they are. I am actually quite glad to learn all of this. It seems like it really is going to be a job that will never get old and one that will constantly keep me on my toes and learning new things. And I am glad everyone keeps going on about the shortage - with this economy, it's nice to know I'll have job stability. Nursing is one profession that will never become obsolete. And all the knowledge we're expected to retain and be able to quickly apply in emergency situations? Well, I would hope so!!! We're dealing with people's lives.

Wouldn't you want your nurse to have gone through intense schooling and rigorous training? She could kill you by miscalculating your medicine dosage (happens all the time) or in some other way (of which I am sure there are many, but I haven't learned about all of them yet). You would want your nurse to be right up there with your doctor in terms of knowledge, right? I am proud to be on my way to becoming one of those nurses. I am so excited to have a career where I will really and truly make a difference in people's lives.