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 :)