First weeks of school

Ok so earlier, in my blog, I talked about how I am a procrastinator. That has not changed, it has just been targeted towards my blog since nursing school procrastination is not an option. I have a few minutes before my spanish class so I thought I would catch up on how nursing school has been going.
First for epiphanies:
1. I realize that this is absolutely what I am supposed to be doing, no doubt.
- I can't believe I get excited about learning to change a bedpan, or realizing you can change a bed with someone in it!
2. I realize that what makes me feel alive or feel like a social contributor is finding a way to be useful and help others. Not in an altruistic way, but with a slight egoist philosophy that helping others and being needed makes me feel good about myself. But that's okay right? Because ultimately people benefit from our deeds even if we want them to.

So I am starting my third week, Wow it went fast. And I just had my first exam. So Scary! I have taken many exams throughout school, but this one is unlike anything I have ever taken. It is not about defining terms or memorizing concepts, it is all application. How I did is yet to be discovered. I am just hoping for a B.
Not only did I have an exam but I also had to "check off" on four skills. Making an occupied bed, brushing a partner's teeth (awkward), assisting said partner with a bedpan and a urinal. We get intimate with each other real quick. My personal space issues have gone out the door!
One of the things I love about nursing school is that I have 84 students in all of my lectures and those same 84 students will (hopefully) all be graduating with me. So though we walk hesitantly towards friendships with one another, there is a security in knowing that we will be able to depend on each other and walk through the same journey for the next two years, not just one semester.
Another thing that I didn't realize is that nursing school is difficult, not necessarily for the content of the nursing, (I am sure that will come later) but rather the volume of work required every day! I literally read an average of 10 chapters a week on top of watching videos for skills and taking quizzes in almost every class. There is literally not enough time to fit everything in, but you know I try.
I love my support system for coming over for free food and letting me practice my skills on them. They just don't realize that the skills may get progressively more invasive. I'm sure that soon they will see me and run the other way. But I'll take advantage while I can.
I am super busy and a bit stressed but over all, I am loving this new experience. I don't know how much I will update but I'll definitely post the highlights.

Orientation

OK, so I thought I would take a break from reading my textbooks to write a little about how my orientation went. And for those thinking, I am only reading ahead because I am nerdy, its not true. I have 9, count them,9 full chapters to read plus handouts before next Thursday. And while most people would be glad that they have the whole weekend to study, weekends for me mean work. My kids are home, my husband is traveling, so there isn't going to be much reading going on unless there is a Spongebob marathon on. Anyway, first let me try to describe how I feel about nursing school after leaving orientation today. It's similar to standing on the top of a skyscraper and feeling alive, and powerful, and strong, until you look down... and then you are terrified.



My feeling can best be summed up by a file folder I just bought. On one side it says
"I'm living the dream"
on the other side it says
"I'm crying on the inside"
Now before you go and call me defeatist, let me just say that I have never seen this volume of work ever! It's never ending, never lets up, only gets more intense. With that said, I absolutely think I can do this!
Ok, on to orientation. I got there about 20 min early and sat down in a reasonable middle seat. Scoped the room and noticed name cards with pictures on it. People started moving when they recognized their face and so I did the same thing. ANd guess where I was placed. Smack dab in the front and in the center. Thanks husband for giving me a last name that is in the front of the alphabet. We sat in alphabetical order. As soon as class started we were handed a math test covering the first 6 chapters.I felt like I was drunk on summer and that test sobered me up and took away my buzz. This is it. Summer is over.
What else? Oh! I ordered my uniforms,all white. Ugly but at least I was able to choose male pants because they are so much less granny than the womens. Ugh, front pleats.
Also got a nurse pack with all kinds of goodies:
Tracheostomy care kit
catheter
iv solution and syringe
bandage scissors
enema
gloves
suction kit
etc...
All in all it was a good day, Still don't know how to make the sign of the cross at the appropriate time, but I did make some connections and feel like I'm going to school with a great group of people. So if I can pick my head up out of my books, I'll post again once my classes get going.

Pre-nursing school lull.

I'm so bored! I have way too much time on my hands and too much time to wonder why I am so ambitious to have decided to pursue another career in my 30s.Other things I have too much time to worry about:

1. Did I lose brain cells over the summer?

2. Am I going to gain the freshman 15 even though I have been doing prereqs for two years and I can't afford to gain even 5 pounds?

3. Am I going to know what to do or say in those inevitably awkward moments where you are dealing with a patient's bodily fluids or anything else unmentionable?

4. Are my friends going to forget that I am here if they don't see me the next two years?

5. Is my style going to slip even more into "What Not to Wear" eligibility?

6. Are my kids main food groups going to be hot dogs, corn dogs, chicken nuggets, and french fries?

7 Am I going end up like this?