Oh, my poor sad, little neglected blog …

I have a good excuse for being away, really I do. I’ve been eating, breathing & sleeping all things nursing for the last year … but now I’m 3 weeks away from graduating!!! I’m ever so slightly a little bit excited.

I’m pretty sure this is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. This year I’ve done 3 semesters of 22-24 hours of nursing classes, plus 24 hours a week in our “main” clinical PLUS specialty clinical rotations on top of that. I think I squeezed a couple of hours of sleep in there somewhere.

But now that I’m within spitting distance of the finish line … I’m SO glad I went this route. And I’ll have a BSN to boot. I plan to get my master’s degree at some point, but I have to find my nursing specialty niche first.

I would have never done it without major, major support from my husband, kids and extended family. My husband … God bless him. He’s done a lot of dishes, laundry, house cleaning, homework, cooking and general tending of the kids. And he’s done a really good job at it.

My kids are ready for me to be done, especially Mikaela. It breaks my heart every time she tells me she misses me or asks me to play (and I have to say, “no, I have to study.”). I want to take them to Disney next year to say “thank you” for sacrificing Mommy for a year. Or maybe to make up for my guilt. I still think it (going to nursing school) was the right thing to do, and I know we’ll all be better for it in the long run, but God, was it ever hard.

People that went through this accelerated program last year told me that everyone has a breakdown at some point. Mine hasn’t come yet, but I have a tendency to have a level head in a crisis and fall apart later. I may just take my NCLEX (the nursing board licensure exam I have to pass to earn my license), then go sit in my car and cry.

If you are considering attending an accelerated nursing program, especially if you have kids, feel free to email me and ask questions. I can give you info on Texas Tech’s one-year, web-based, BS-to-BSN program as well, if you’re interested in that. You can reach me at jayandmelanie AT hotmail D0T com.

Nursing, here I come?

So I went to the nursing program informational session today at the local community college. I have a lot of hoops to jump through before I’ll be putting on any scrubs.

The simple version of my checklist (not that anyone is really interested, I know – but I love making lists.):

1. Apply to the college (after filling out residency forms, gathering transcripts, etc.)
2. Meet with an advisor
3. Get student aid worked out (get FAFSA student aid report [SAR] back, visit Student Aid office)
4. Register for classes @ May 7
5. Get immunizations up to date and provide proof
6. Register with Continuing Education department for Human Anatomy entrace exam test prep class (4 days in May; $40 fee)
7. Take entrance exams to qualify for enrollment in Human Anatomy and Human Physiology. (mid-May?)
8. Take prerequisite courses (Human Anatomy, Intro to Microbiology, Math, Human Physiology, Pharmacology), earning a 2.7 or better GPA.
9. Take co-requisite courses that I haven’t had yet (Intro to Speech, Human Growth & Development)
10. Register for and take the HESI assessment
11. Fill out and submit form for ADN (nursing) program
12. Cross fingers and hope I gain entrace to nursing program

Two years, lots of classes and clinicals and a final licensure exam later, hopefully I’ll officially be an RN