Week One

May 16, 2008

Week One
The summer schedule is more intense than a regular semester. We have 12 weeks to learn what the other classes learn in 16 weeks. Let’s just say, it was an intense week.

There are a handful of people in our class that have not passed the January semester and are now doing it over. These are smart women, but they just didn’t get enough points. There are rumors of cheating in the last semester and because the professors found out about it, they have consequently made the exams harder. Rumor or not? I don’t know.

Every class ahead of us that we have tried to quiz has told us that the class they are currently in is the hardest. That tells us that the courses do not get easier as we go along.


The stressful parts of the week:
1. I went in the bathroom at 7:30 am Monday and it was dirty. Overflowing trashcans, limited tp, and towels, body fluids everywhere. It was never cleaned the entire day. Our class of 112 destroyed that bathroom and probably the one on the floor below. Keep in mind that there are also other classes using these bathrooms. If you take away paper goods from women they will straddle seats so they don’t have to touch anything. It was gross and disgusting. Some of us were using the toilet seat covers to wipe with. On Tuesday the bathroom was clean and we had paper towels but no tp. Friday was the same as Monday. I believe that for the amount of money most of us are paying, we should have clean, well stocked bathrooms.
2. Monday was 12 hours long for me. We had morning lecture, lunch, an afternoon seminar on studying, and evening Pharmacology. For 2/3 of the day we were told what to do if we fail. It was mostly bad news, very little positive speeches. We were told how we will not have time for anything else. Adding to that was the heat. It is super hot here and the a/c at the school is shut off on the weekend. It takes all day for the a/c to regulate and we have over 100 classmates. Several of us were getting very discouraged. A quick pep-talk from my friend about how it was their way of trying to weed us out snapped me out of it. Whew, I’ve worked so hard for this, I don’t want to be discouraged already. (To recap Monday was: heat, pee, and mental torture for 12 hours.)
3. Tuesday was clinical orientation. It was another long day of being told what to do when we fail the class. Sigh....
4. I believe that until they know us, everyone (professors and upperclassmen both) look at us as if we won’t be here for long. My vibes are usually correct. I guess statistically that is true, but it is personally insulting to me. I truly like a lot of my classmates and hope they stay on track with me.
5. I could not get my act together until Wednesday.

The good points of the week:
1. The professors seem to genuinely care about each other. My observation is that they do not only respect each other as nurses and teachers, but that they also like each other personally.
2. Wednesday we actually got to wear our uniforms and do something. There were a lot of movies being watched, but for about 2 hours we were able to practice vital signs on each other. It was the first time I felt truly awake.
3. I finally got organized. Thursday math class and Friday lecture were great. I felt prepared and less stressed.
4. My kids did not fall apart because I was gone. Did I mention they homeschool and that now they will be home on self study? Karate camp starts in 2 weeks for the summer so that is where they will be, how I will get them there and home is another story.

My advice this week is to get organized. I thought I was organized. I really wasn’t. On orientation day I showed up without a pen and had to borrow one. What is wrong with me? I am usually the person handing out pencils, scantrons, cookies, and tissues. On Wednesday I forgot to bring the lab sheets I had printed out. Geez..... Anyway, that night I went home and got it together. I have each class labeled in their own binders with dividers. There are several papers that need to be printed from the professor’s web site so I printed them and put them in the binder. I cleared my workspace. I will be de-cluttering my closet/laundry room so I only focus on nursing and not the million other things that are waiting for me.

We are advised to study 5 hours per day. I think 3 of those are for lecture, and the other 2 are for math and pharm. Let’s just say I am behind on my reading, but will be catching up this weekend. It is a lot of work! I will decide this weekend if I will be quitting my job or not. The downer is that I just became eligible for health insurance. It’s always something. I have gone from 5 days a week, to only weekends. They have switched my schedule to opening instead of closing so I am on the same schedule as school. I know there are strong single mothers out there who have worked while going to nursing school. Send us some encouragement!!!