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...