This is Who I Am

I am a first semester nursing student. I am also a semi-professional musician and an athlete. I am a SCUBA diver, a traveler, a camper, a hiker, and a video gamer. I am an avid reader, a cook and a Bunco player. I am a wife and a daughter. I am many things, but right now, the title that most defines who I am and what I do on a daily basis, is Nursing Student.

I want to write about my experience as a nursing student because I’ve been told over and over that this is the hardest thing I’ll ever do. I figure if this is the hardest thing I’ll ever do, then I need to document it! 

I have been repeatedly surprised by people’s reactions to my going to nursing school. A friend of mine was shocked when I told her I wanted to be a nurse. She just couldn’t imagine dealing with bedpans. I told her that bedpans would never be the highlight of my day, but that when I had to deal with them, I would do so with compassion and care.

A LITTLE ABOUT HOW I GOT HERE

I received a Bachelor’s degree in Biology about 10 years ago. I really sort of muddled my way through school the first time. I knew I wanted a college education, but I didn’t know what I wanted to do with it. Now, ten years later, I know I don’t want to work in the corporate world anymore. Being stuck behind a desk in a cubicle in the HR department dealing with Unemployment and child support is just a drag and it is the same thing day in and day out. That’s just not the life for me.

The nursing program at my school is pretty competitive. You have to meet certain academic requirements and you have to pass the TEAS test. I had to bring my gpa up from my original BS degree so I took, and made A’s in, Music Appreciation, English 102, Anatomy & Physiology I and II, Microbiology, and Statistics. I took the TEAS in August of 2011. I scored in the 98^th percentile. I finally felt confident enough in my gpa and TEAS scores to apply to nursing school. Click here for the study guide I used for the TEAS test. If you can pass the practice tests in this book, you’ll do fine on the TEAS. The content is not difficult, but you’ll probably need to brush up on some of those basic skills.

I applied in October and found out in November that I had been accepted to the nursing program and that I would start in January. After a boat load of immunizations, a drug test, a background check and a CPR course, I completed all of the school’s requirements. Then it was just a waiting game until I started with classes.

I'll fill you in on my first week of classes in my next post. Feel free to ask me any questions. I'll try to answer them as best I can. Let me know what kind of information you want to see here and I'll try to make sure my blog content reflects your interests.