As I sit here less than a week before the most intense experience of my life begins, I can't help but feel a wee bit anxious about how this is going to all play out. I am in class or clinical physically 26 hours a week, I'm teaching yoga about 6 hours a week and doing all the other stuff that one must do to stay alive and well (eating, sleeping, showering). I also have a husband I would like to spend some time with once in a while, plus friends that I miss terribly when school is in session.
Usually when I feel this way, I make a list or some kind of plan and I usually feel instantly better. So, if you want to take a little peak into my world, here's how it's going to pan out (in theory):
Mondays
8:00-11:00 Med/Surg lecture
11:00-12:45 Teach yoga
1:00-2:00 Go to hospital and select patient for the next day's clinical
2:00- 9:00 Prep for clinical/study
9:00-11:00 Bedtime routine
Tuesdays
6:30-3:00 Clinical (times vary, but this is the general range)
3:30-5:00 Teach yoga
5:00-9:00 Study
9:00-11:00 Bedtime routine
Wednesdays
8:00-11:00 Assessment lab
12:00-4:30 Skills lab
5:00-9:00 Study
9:00-11:00 Bedtime routine
Thursdays
9:00-12:00 Nursing theory/history class
12:00-1:00 Lunch on campus
1:00-4:00 Communication class
4:00-6:00 Pharmacology
6:00-9:00 Study
9:00-11:00 Bedtime routine
Fridays
7:30-9:00 Teach yoga
9:00-12:00 Date with husband (run in the park, then breakfast and lounging around)
12:00-7:00 Study
7:00-10:00 HAVE FUN (someone please call me to hang out!)
Saturdays
9:00-10:00 Run in the park
10:00-5:00 Study
5:00-10:00 HAVE FUN
Sundays
9:00-10:00 Run in the park
10:00-9:00 Study
9:00-10:00 ME TIME (time to do things like pluck eyebrows, paint toenails, do a facial, etc...)
So, as you can see...that is one hairy scary schedule. At best, hubby and I will have one date per week, and will only be sleeping in the same bed at the same time on Tuesdays and Thursday nights. Speaking of bed, I have vivid memories of having horrible sleep patterns during A&P...I would dream about bones and all kinds of things...wake up in the middle of the night thinking about the sphenoid. Not fun.
So, I am going to really try to stick to a Bedtime Routine in hopes it will alleviate my stress so I can have some good z's. The general plan is to do a Callanetics video or some mellow yoga from 9:00 to 9:40-ish, followed by a soak in the tub and then a half hour of pleasure reading in bed. My goal is to be LIGHTS OUT at 11:00 every night. And, thanks to this amazing meditation application on my iPod, I am zonking out faster than I ever have in my life. It's called "Meditate Now"...check it out if you have trouble falling asleep!
OK, so that's my Plan for dealing with the crazy schedule while trying to squeeze in a little bit of "normalcy" here and there. It only has me studying 43 hours a week, which technically isn't enough but we'll see how it goes and adjust from there. The rule of thumb is to study 2-3 hours for every hour you're in class, but that would have me studying 52 hours a week at the minimum and I'm not sure I can get by with that little of sleep.
Stay tuned...I'll let you know how it pans out!
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Orientation Recap
Today was day one of a 2-day orientation. We met at the school at 8:30 and filled out some forms, got a pep-talk from the Department Chair, and met the staff & faculty. Each of the professors gave a little talk about her class and we'll likely have a more detailed orientation on the first day of classes. We went through the main points in the student handbook and heard about ten times to be sure to wear panties with our scrub pants (seriously...who would think this would be an issue?)
After the main info thing, we took a class picture and then went to a pizza-lunch fundraiser for the CNSA. Thank goodness I'd already met a few people from class, because there's nothing worse than eating lunch in a room full of people you don't know. Anyway, after that we broke out into groups to go over stuff like PDAs, Q&A, equipment and such. All in all, it was pretty cool, but by the end I was pretty ready to get out of there and get home.
They also spent a fair amount of time scaring the bejeezus out of us regarding the first two weeks or so of class. One of our big courses (Intro to Clinical Nursing) is front-loaded so we have skills to take into the hospital. To be honest, all the classes sound remarkably similar to one another so it's hard to keep them straight...which sucks because I've color coded everything, and now I'm wondering if I've got it all mucked up and don't even know it.
So....first impressions. I thought the professors were all very nice, and the school itself seems to have an attitude that they want us to succeed. I've heard enough horror stories about schools that just try to weed out students, so this is a bit of a relief. Stay tuned!
After the main info thing, we took a class picture and then went to a pizza-lunch fundraiser for the CNSA. Thank goodness I'd already met a few people from class, because there's nothing worse than eating lunch in a room full of people you don't know. Anyway, after that we broke out into groups to go over stuff like PDAs, Q&A, equipment and such. All in all, it was pretty cool, but by the end I was pretty ready to get out of there and get home.
They also spent a fair amount of time scaring the bejeezus out of us regarding the first two weeks or so of class. One of our big courses (Intro to Clinical Nursing) is front-loaded so we have skills to take into the hospital. To be honest, all the classes sound remarkably similar to one another so it's hard to keep them straight...which sucks because I've color coded everything, and now I'm wondering if I've got it all mucked up and don't even know it.
So....first impressions. I thought the professors were all very nice, and the school itself seems to have an attitude that they want us to succeed. I've heard enough horror stories about schools that just try to weed out students, so this is a bit of a relief. Stay tuned!
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
Apparently 3 weeks is all the break I can handle.
I'm bored.
I've been on break for three weeks to the day and I am bored. I've cleaned and cleaned until my cleaner is sore. I've stocked up, organized and bought all my school supplies. I've caught up on the laundry, slept in and spent time with family and friends. But now I'm bored. Classes start in 2.5 weeks and I'm trying to figure out what I'm going to do with myself! So far, this is what I've come up with:
-Spend more time with friends
-Cook and freeze some more meals
-Touch up the paint in the kitchen
-Give the house one more good scrub
-Get into a rhythm with the whole exercise thing
-Review A&P...especially the tricksy stuff like the endocrine system, fluid and electrolytes, and the whole MAP feedback loop.
-Study...yes, our professor for Med/Surg has already sent us material for a quiz on the 7th. How thoughtful of her!!!
So, my goal for the next 2.5 weeks is to ENJOY the time off and not spend all my time in anticipation mode so much that I miss this much-needed and well-deserved break!
I've been on break for three weeks to the day and I am bored. I've cleaned and cleaned until my cleaner is sore. I've stocked up, organized and bought all my school supplies. I've caught up on the laundry, slept in and spent time with family and friends. But now I'm bored. Classes start in 2.5 weeks and I'm trying to figure out what I'm going to do with myself! So far, this is what I've come up with:
-Spend more time with friends
-Cook and freeze some more meals
-Touch up the paint in the kitchen
-Give the house one more good scrub
-Get into a rhythm with the whole exercise thing
-Review A&P...especially the tricksy stuff like the endocrine system, fluid and electrolytes, and the whole MAP feedback loop.
-Study...yes, our professor for Med/Surg has already sent us material for a quiz on the 7th. How thoughtful of her!!!
So, my goal for the next 2.5 weeks is to ENJOY the time off and not spend all my time in anticipation mode so much that I miss this much-needed and well-deserved break!
Got my schedule...finally!
After a very tense registration this morning, I finally have my schedule for next semester. Luckily I got my first choice clinical group, but the bad news is none of my FB nursing school friends are in the same group...or anyone I know, actually. At least not yet. I've organized a little "meet and greet" for this Saturday, so I'm hoping that lots of people come! What's that saying...you can take the girl out of the party planning, but you can't take the party planning out of the girl. Ha.
Anyway...here is my schedule for next semester. It's a wee bit terrifying, especially considering I'm getting credit for 14 hours, but am actually in class 27 hours a week. Nice.
Mondays: Class from 8-11 (Med/Surg), then I suspect I'll be heading over to the hospital to select my patient for the following day's clinical. The rest of Monday will be spent getting ready for my clinical day, which is Tuesday.
Tuesdays: Clinical starts at 6:30 am and runs 'till 2:30-ish. The good news is, it's only about 15 minutes away, so I can leave at 5:50 and be there in plenty of time to have a nervous breakdown in the parking lot.
Wednesdays: Class from 8-4:30 (Physical Assessment and Intro to Clinical Nursing), with a one hour break in between for lunch.
Thursdays: Class from 9-6 (Fundamentals, Therapeutic Comm and Pharmacology), with a one hour break at lunch.
Fridays: NO CLASS! Wheeeeeee! Study all day long! Yahooooo!
With my pumpkin working four nights a week and spending one 24-hour shift as an intern at the fire department (as well as taking two evening classes), we are going to have precious little time together. I am thinking of making Thurdsday nights our "date night", as well as Sunday mornings after he gets home from work. I am hoping to reserve Friday or Saturday night for friends and Sunday night (an hour or two at least) for ME! I will also be teaching yoga 2-3 times per week...need to get that schedule figured out. We'll see how it goes...I really want to have some balance in my life. Is it possible???? From where I'm standing right now it looks rather ambitious, to be totally honest.
Anyway...here is my schedule for next semester. It's a wee bit terrifying, especially considering I'm getting credit for 14 hours, but am actually in class 27 hours a week. Nice.
Mondays: Class from 8-11 (Med/Surg), then I suspect I'll be heading over to the hospital to select my patient for the following day's clinical. The rest of Monday will be spent getting ready for my clinical day, which is Tuesday.
Tuesdays: Clinical starts at 6:30 am and runs 'till 2:30-ish. The good news is, it's only about 15 minutes away, so I can leave at 5:50 and be there in plenty of time to have a nervous breakdown in the parking lot.
Wednesdays: Class from 8-4:30 (Physical Assessment and Intro to Clinical Nursing), with a one hour break in between for lunch.
Thursdays: Class from 9-6 (Fundamentals, Therapeutic Comm and Pharmacology), with a one hour break at lunch.
Fridays: NO CLASS! Wheeeeeee! Study all day long! Yahooooo!
With my pumpkin working four nights a week and spending one 24-hour shift as an intern at the fire department (as well as taking two evening classes), we are going to have precious little time together. I am thinking of making Thurdsday nights our "date night", as well as Sunday mornings after he gets home from work. I am hoping to reserve Friday or Saturday night for friends and Sunday night (an hour or two at least) for ME! I will also be teaching yoga 2-3 times per week...need to get that schedule figured out. We'll see how it goes...I really want to have some balance in my life. Is it possible???? From where I'm standing right now it looks rather ambitious, to be totally honest.
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