First day of class!

I know this is two posts in one day but I wanted to separate them since one was orientation and one was for classes! SO. Wednesday was our first day of classes. I am only taking two classes this semester because I will be continuing to work full-time because a) I am not rich and b) school is not free. My two classes are Advanced Physiology & Pathophysiology and The Role of the Advanced Practice Nurse. The physiology class meets on Wednesdays from 850-1130am at Valpo. It is also an option to attend class virtually online using a headset and microphone, but I don’t plan on doing that unless I absolutely have to because I have literally no attention span and if I am sitting on my couch I will likely not pay any attention. The class seems fairly straight forward. Lecture for three hours, then three exams and a final, with one paper and project in the middle and a few small quizzes and assignments each week. But nothing really crazy and it seems like he is generous with posting practice exams and repeating questions. And we are supposed to read 80-100 pages each week which I am OBVIOUSLY not going to do. Be real. So that’s that class. The other class is online only. There is not time set for the class to all be online or anything like that, it’s just online presentations, discussion boards and assignments. There is a big paper and presentation due once throughout the semester but I don’t think it is going to be anything too difficult. So those are the two classes I am taking. I feel like kind of a slacker because a lot of the people in my class are trying to work full-time and go to school full-time but I just felt like it was going to be too much. I figured I would rather end the semester thinking “Hm. That wasn’t so bad, I could have taken another class,” rather than “Cool, I already failed a class.” So I think things will be very manageable with just the two classes. Stay tuned on how things go!

 The picture is of my physiology textbook, to demonstrate that apparently in grad school they can charge $240 for a USED textbook and not even spring for the extra cash to put a picture on the front.

It's been a while...

I know some of you are thinking... "Lindsay, it's been three years, we thought your blog was over?" Well, so did I. BUT now that three years have passed, I have decided to make a valiant return to school. This time I will be taking on the Doctor of Nursing Practice program at Valparaiso University (in Indiana where I live now). I have LOVED going back and reading through this blog and remembering the memories and emotions I had throughout my Bachelors degree and it is my hope that continuing to blog throughout this program will benefit me in that same way. I also always enjoyed having an outlet to write how I was feeling and the emotions that were brought out by certain patients, families and faculty. I chose to continue to use a blog I already had rather than begin a new one in the hopes that I could have one place to document my ENTIRE nursing school career, from undergraduate to doctorate. SO that being said, I hope anyone reading this will come on this adventure with me...It's gonna be a long one :)

 This week was the start of school! Monday was graduate school orientation for everyone entering any program in the graduate school. So it was basic information that applied to everyone (how to check your email, register for classes, use the library, honor code, attendance, etc...) ALSO, there was free dinner. Tuesday was DNP orientation for just the new DNP students. There are only 15 students total starting the program with me. Two or three are post-master's students and everyone else has just a Bachelors degree. So I feel pretty cool that out of all the people that applied (I have no idea how many that is but in my head I've decided it's a lot) I was accepted.

Tuesday was MUCH more informative. Other than all of the practical stuff (student ID, Nursing ID, parking passes, more about the library) we actually got to learn about the program. The morning session was with four faculty members, all of whom have their doctorates. It was very informal and everyone got to ask any questions they had about the program. It was great to get to know some faces and get some advice about things like full time vs. part time, time management, deadlines, etc. Then we went to a session with the nursing librarian. Yes, the nursing school has its own librarian. She spent two hours teaching us about databases and searching and how to find things in the library. It was much more helpful than I was thinking it would be. After that we met with students that are currently in the program, while enjoying FREE LUNCH. The students we met with are all in their last year of the program and we basically did the same thing we did with the faculty and asked questions. This was also really helpful and very honest since there were no faculty members in the room while we were talking to them. We also had some sessions on the computer labs, online info, and using the “virtual classroom” if we choose that option. It was a ton of information for one day but I did leave there feeling like I had somewhat of a handle on what to expect throughout the program, which I was desperately needing. Wednesday was the actual start of classes, which I will put in its own entry.

 I also wanted to put a little info on what this program is. It’s a doctoral program that is designed to take three years if done full-time, or six years if done part-time. It is my hope to complete it somewhere in the middle by alternating full and part time as work allows, since I will continue to work as much as I am able. At the end of the program I will have a degree called the Doctor of Nursing Practice. Once I complete this degree I will be able to test to become a Family Nurse Practitioner. To answer the “what will you do with this degree?” question, there is not one answer. The DNP is designed to be the “terminal degree” in nursing, meaning the highest degree available within the nursing scope of practice. So with this degree I can be a nurse practitioner, administrator, professor, or a number of other things. I am hoping that throughout this program I will figure out exactly what it is I want to do! I will explain more as we go along! Thanks for reading and taking an interest in what I’m doing, I promise most of the entries will NOT be this long :)

True Life: I'm a NURSE.

So I promised an "I PASSED THE NCLEX" post and here it is! On October 13th, I passed my NCLEX, which is the exam that makes me an official Registered Nurse. Since then I've started my new job at Butterworth Hospital on an oncology unit and I'm working full time as a registered nurse. It seems unreal that these past five years of school are over and that nursing school is behind me now. All of the doubts and fears and tears and work to get here all suddenly seem worth it. It was definitely a long road, but now that I'm here it doesn't seem to matter how hard it was to get here. I'm so happy with my job and with how much I am learning everyday. I feel more like a nurse all the time and I love it :)

It's kind of sad for me to say that this post officially concludes Lindsay's Nursing School Adventure. Thanks for coming along for the ride! I know it wasn't always as exciting as I promised it would be, but I enjoyed writing it. I hope my real life nursing adventure will be even more exciting :)

DRUMROLL PLEASE.....

I GOT A REAL JOB.

The update is coming a little bit late, but truth be told I kind of forgot about my blog since school has ended. Anyway, I have been job hunting for about 2 months now and after two phone interviews finally had an in person interview with the nurse manager at Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids for an adult oncology (cancer) floor. I know what you're all thinking. "DONT YOU WANNA WORK IN PEDS?!?!?!" Yes. Yes I do. However, if I could pick any dream job in the whole world it would be pediatric oncology, so working on an adult oncology floor? AMAZING OPPORTUNITY. I will learn so much and I know I'm going to love it. The nurse manager that I interviewed with was very nice and seemed like she will be a great boss. In each two week period I will be working 7pm-7am for 4 days and 3pm-11pm 3 days, which included every other weekend. I feel so lucky to have been able to get such a great job for my first job! I'm definitely looking forward to starting :)

The last part of my nursing journey is coming in about a week. On October 13th I will take my nursing state boards, called the NCLEX. Once I pass this exam I will officially be a Registered Nurse and be able to start my job! The human resources person that I have been talking to says that I will probably be able to start on Monday, October 24th, so it's coming up VERY quickly.

Stay tuned for my hopefully happy NCLEX update next week, which will officially complete my NURSING SCHOOL ADVENTURE.

The waiting game.

Yep, waiting is pretty much all I have going on these days. The week after graduation me and about 40 people from my class took a four day review class to essentially cram all of nursing school into four days and help teach us how to pass our boards that are coming up. So since the review class ended three weeks ago I have moved back home, had my tonsils out, and not studied even a little bit for the NCLEX. I have had a phone interview with Spectrum and talked with a recruiter and now I am just waiting to hear back from them about a second interview. And if I don't hear anything by next week I will call and see what the deal is. So pretty much the next few weeks I am going to be studying for boards (for real because I will probably be able to take them in about 3 weeks) and continuing my job hunt! So stayed tuned for hopefully some blog entries titled something along the lines of "OFFICIALLY A REGISTERED NURSE" and "GOT A REAL JOB." Hopefully these posts will be sooner rather than later. I'm ready to get this real life thing rolling.

It's still crazy that Grand Valley started classes this week and I didn't! For the first time in 17 years I am NOT starting school in the fall. Still super weird.

But GREAT.

[Please enjoy the funny (but entirely unrelated) pictures I found when searching for "waiting" on Google images.]

Officially a college graduate :)

So as you know, I "graduated" in April from Grand Valley with the cap, gown and the whole shebang, but then I still had one more semester of the nursing program. So last Saturday I ACTUALLY really finished the nursing program. This ceremony was really great because it was just for the nursing program, so it was like 64 people in my class plus about 15 Master's students that were finishing this semester. So it was very personal. We all got to write a little thank you to be read as we walked across the stage and we had a slideshow play full of pictures of us. We got to pick the songs we wanted to walk in and out to but due to some technical issues, they never got to play. Overall though the day was really nice, and it was nice to get to spend it with all of my nursing friends as well as my parents and Dan. It was kind of sad to be done, but the following week we had an NCLEX review class so I still got to spend another week with my friends :) It still feels a little bit surreal that I'm actually done with college. It seems like it wasn't that long ago that I was moving into my dorm. It definitely doesn't feel like it's been five years since then. The nursing program part of college was my last five semesters. I NEVER thought that I would get there. I cried all the time. I wanted to quit, change my major, do something easier. I hated so many of my classes, but I knew that if I stuck it out and could get there, it would all be worth it. Now that I'm done, I know that it was worth it. I have a degree that's actually useful. I love being a nurse. And I am so excited to get a job and start real life. So here's to the end. I NEVER thought it would come and I am SO excited to see what comes next!

Future Me

If you've never heard of FutureMe.org, it's a website that let's your write emails to yourself and set the date that you want them sent to you. Once you write them you can't read them again until the date you set them to be sent. So about two months before the end of the semester when I was majorly lacking motivation (obviously because I was procrastinating on this website) I wrote an email to send to myself the day of my pinning ceremony, which was last Saturday. Here it is! I HIGHLY recommend you check out the website :)

Dear FutureMe,

Today you made it! You are officially done with nursing school. I know how hard it has been to stay motivated this summer, but it has paid off. Right now you haven't even started your capstone paper, and are just about to finish your leadership rotation. Pinning still seems so far away. I don't know how you are going to find the motivation to finish everything, but I know you will do it, you always do. Today is the end of college. Five years and today it is all worth it. The tears, the frustration, the doubt and the fear. It's all worth it because today it is over. It is bittersweet. I hope you enjoy every second of this day. The people you are spending it with are amazing and they have been there for you for the past year and a half, and I hope you treasure spending this day with them. I'm sure you will cry, but that's okay. Take it in because after today everything is going to change. But you will figure it all out. Remember to thank mom and dad today, you wouldn't be here if it wasn't for them. I hope this day is everything you hoped it would be. Don't stress out about what the next few months will bring, everything will work out :)

Congratulations! YOU MADE IT.

Smile today,
Me.