Warning – Several of these posts did not get up on the site, so it may be flooded as I put them up now.
August 26
It’s my birthday. The day I have waited for now for over a year. It’s the start of the rest of my life. It is Orientation Day for nursing school! How appropriate that it should be on my birthday.
I was up before the alarm clock today. I was nervous, not knowing what to expect, but ready to go. I had picked up a license plate holder with the College of Nursing sign on it. Keith laughed as I made sure it got on the car this morning.
It was a long day and a lot of information. I was kind of bummed that I was not only the oldest student at 43 (I kind of figured that would happen), but that there were only a couple of other students that were not in their early 20’s and they were in the 2nd degree program so I wouldn’t see them. But that’s ok, I’m ready to go.
I found out that our hospital does indeed have a program that will pay tuition in exchange for working after you graduate. They pay one semester of tuition in exchange for four months of working. This is something I am going to look into for next year if I cannot get a scholarship. If I go on to nurse anesthetist school, I have to work for at least a year in a trauma unit. Knowing this, I might as well take advantage of this program for at least 3 semesters. While I will go somewhere else for the nurse anesthetist school, it is typically easier to get a job at the hospital where you trained rather than trying to get a job somewhere else.
We also have a nurse extern program that we can do the summer between our junior and senior year. This program pairs us with a nurse who we shadow for 12 weeks as a mentee. I’m very excited about this program.
I didn’t really get to talk with anyone today, but I am really anxious now to get to classes tomorrow.
Onward and upward!
