how many more books will i need to buy?

Well, i finally ordered the last three books i need for this class (this one, four credit class i might mention). i have never bought so many books for just one class. granted, a few of them i will use in future semesters, but my goodness! I don't know who this Mosby guy is, but i've just given him more money than i have ever given any one person ever before. ridiculous. (but incredible all at the same time)

i'm excited for my medical dictionary to come in- i've been using it at the library- although it's a little inefficient, because i end up looking up so much more than just the assigned terms. like frankenfood - it's an official term for genetically engineered food. weird that it's in a medical dictionary, but funny nonetheless.

i swear sometime soon, this blog will get interesting. really. i promise.

(maybe pictures soon of my fun new uniform? burnt orange piping all around!)

smartypants

yes i am! sorry for the lack of modesty, but i am just so excited that i got an A on my first test. I was really worried about the test early in the week, but the last couple of days i just sort of settled into the material. The exam was really straight forward, even pulling a number of questions from the textbook's review questions that my friend and i had done the night before!

this was a crazy weekend (my older sister got married on saturday) and i haven't had much time to start on next week's readings. I'm looking forward to reading more about nursing diagnoses. (and practicing them as well) I'll write again when i've actually done some of the reading.

oh, but i did find a decently cute pair of shoes for our uniform (they have to be completely white, and the ones we were shown as an example were hideous) hopefully the sparkly white squiggle is acceptable (it is white, after all)

first exam eve

well, tomorrow is our first test over the nursing profession in general, the specifics of the nursing process and the first part of circulation. Earlier in the week i was really freaking out about all the readings and studying i needed to do, but i'm a little calmer now. Although, that is subject to change this evening around eleven when i realize i can't remember what thrombophlebitis is. Well i have to finish up some flashcards before i take a study break to help my roommate bottle some of his homebrew beer. which, of course, i won't have the pleasure of sampling tonight.

hopefully the next time i write it will be to celebrate my conquering of this exam!

ps. did i mention that financial aid sucks? well, mostly i'm frustrated because there was some computer glitch that kept my funds from being released, so now i won't be able to register until next week. (so all my clinicals for my courses in the fall are going to be at six in the morning and 45 minutes away in Burnet!) grrrr.

I should be studying...

but instead i'm sharing the joy of nursing school with the world. okay, well maybe not the whole world, but you catch my drift. We started school last week, and we already have our first test this friday. (only kinda freaking out) I am enrolled in the alternate-entry masters of nursing program. It's an awesome program for people like me with a bachelor's in something other than nursing who want to dive right into actual nursing and don't want to waste time taking stupid pre-requisite classes like texas history (i got an A in seventh grade- i think that should suffice).

For our Foundations of Nursing class, we are required to write a weekly journal, which i think will end up being snippets from my blog -- but, since i've done one already, i'll include snippets of my first journal entry here.

Journal #1
"hmmm, Why do i want to be a nurse? I could say that i really want to help people, which i do, but that is a bit too trite for my liking. I have always been interested in science (i got a really cool chemistry set in third grade), but as i grew up i felt like my sometimes burdensome sense of empathy and intuition wouldn't be properly utilized if i went into medicine. My occasional "overly sensitive" nature would be scrutinized by my mostly male peers, and i just felt like i wouldn't be true to myself if i tried to get rid of my emotional side. The more i interacted with nurses in the internal medicine clinic where i worked, i began to see how emotional intelligence is seen as a strength within the nursing field. Furthermore, i felt like it was a perfect conglomeration of my many career ambitions throughout my life; being a nurse would allow me to utilize my interests in medicine, psychology, spirituality, and education.

I was really excited when i found out about this alternate entry program because it seems to be exactly what i was looking for (i just didn't know it yet). At first i was looking for a second bachelor's program, so that i could eventually go on to become an advanced practice nurse with prescriptive license so i could work with autonomy in a community clinic. I had no idea that i could skip the extra step and just start going for my CNS masters. In fact, i didn't even apply to another school; i knew what i wanted and if i didn't get in, well, i'm not really sure what i was going to do if i didn't get in (it's a moot point anways). I also really like the focus on holistic health- so often modern healthcare treats just the disease and not the person. From my own personal medical history, i know how physical, psychological and spiritual health are intricately linked."

Mostly I am just thrilled to finally be doing something that feels so very right. I have never been so focused and motivated in my life! So my long and probably arduous journey starts here...