Yesterday was our first clinical orientation. It felt a little weird, the group of us in uniform, touring the facility as though we belonged there. As is typical with many nursing programs, the organization is patchy at best. The head of the facility was asking our clinical instructor what we hoped to experience while in their facility... and our instructor had no idea. It all feels very fly by the seat of their pants. Surprisingly, I'm one of the students having the easiest time just going with the flow. Getting worked up about it wont make them any more organized, so it just isn't worth getting upset. So, in two weeks, my clinical group will head in and experience clinicals for the first time!
Our first few test scores are coming in, and so far I'm doing well. Really well! I'm not worried about failing out of my first quarter of nursing school anymore, and it feels good!
One of the questions I hear asked a lot... and a question I had myself is: How different is the nursing program from pre-reqs? Is the work load a lot more?
My answer: It's nearly impossible to explain to someone just what being in the nursing program is like. For us, the work load is intense. I compare it to your worst, most crazy, hell week from A&P... that would be your coasting week in nursing school. There is this whole new level of homework to do, projects to collaborate on, and tests to study for. One of the big differences between pre-reqs and nursing school is that in my pre-reqs the instructor tried to balance the work. We generally did not have a big test, and big paper or project all due at the same time. In my nursing classes we frequently have a few major things due all at once, and for multiple classes. An example of this would be coming up in 3 weeks. We have a major paper due Wednesday, as well as a test for that class. The class later in the day has the ATI test. The next day we have another major project and presentation. And we have 2 clinical days, 8 hours each, on Monday and Tuesday, so we can't plan to have any time to study on those days.
We are learning to lean on each other to get through. This is something that our instructors have noticed, and are thrilled with. The 2 classes preceding ours have not been nearly as cohesive as our group has already become. We have a group e-mail list that is in nearly constant use. study groups, help with a homework question, proofing of papers... cheering each other on. I like this very much about our group!
Our first few test scores are coming in, and so far I'm doing well. Really well! I'm not worried about failing out of my first quarter of nursing school anymore, and it feels good!
One of the questions I hear asked a lot... and a question I had myself is: How different is the nursing program from pre-reqs? Is the work load a lot more?
My answer: It's nearly impossible to explain to someone just what being in the nursing program is like. For us, the work load is intense. I compare it to your worst, most crazy, hell week from A&P... that would be your coasting week in nursing school. There is this whole new level of homework to do, projects to collaborate on, and tests to study for. One of the big differences between pre-reqs and nursing school is that in my pre-reqs the instructor tried to balance the work. We generally did not have a big test, and big paper or project all due at the same time. In my nursing classes we frequently have a few major things due all at once, and for multiple classes. An example of this would be coming up in 3 weeks. We have a major paper due Wednesday, as well as a test for that class. The class later in the day has the ATI test. The next day we have another major project and presentation. And we have 2 clinical days, 8 hours each, on Monday and Tuesday, so we can't plan to have any time to study on those days.
We are learning to lean on each other to get through. This is something that our instructors have noticed, and are thrilled with. The 2 classes preceding ours have not been nearly as cohesive as our group has already become. We have a group e-mail list that is in nearly constant use. study groups, help with a homework question, proofing of papers... cheering each other on. I like this very much about our group!
