Notes from Nursing School

I completed my first semester of nursing school! It was actually HARDER than I thought it would be (even though I knew it was going to be REALLY HARD). But, I really like it. Like, really, really like it. Here are some of the highlights/lowlights....

• My first day I walked into my first class and almost everyone had their syllabus printed except for me. I had no idea where to get mine! At all the schools I've been to before, the teachers passed them out the first day. I turned to the kid (and I DO mean "kid") next to me, and asked him where he got his. He said, "Web CT" like I was a 5 year old who should have known that already. Twas not an excellent start to my first 5 minutes of nursing school, I gotta tell you.
• We had to pick lab partners that first day even though we hadn't met anyone yet. It was crazy fast. This random girl approached me during the break, and asked if we could be partners. (Well, after I "saved" her from an embarrassing situation by loaning her a much needed quarter in the ladies' room....) As it turns out, she was the BEST LAB PARTNER I could ask for! She is a pastor's wife from the Ukraine, and she is wonderful. We totally hit it off from day 1. As it turns out, THERE IS A LOT OF NUDITY IN NURSING SCHOOL! I had no idea I would be sitting in a small room with my teacher and lab partner wearing only a sports bra and shorts just a few weeks later. Sheesh! That might not be a big deal to you, but it was a big deal for this modest girl (Me)! I'm just glad I had a female lab partner, because I totally was going to turn to that um...devilishly handsome boy next to me and ask him to be my partner. Now THAT would have been really embarrassing!
  
• We started in the hospital this semester, too! Yikes!I didn't feel very ready to walk into the room and take people's vital signs, but that is what I had to do! My first three weeks the patients were ALL DIABETICS. (Kinda discouraging, because I've had diabetes since I was 12.) I did ok, though.
  
• The very worst moment in nursing school to date? I made a 56 on a major test. The crazy thing is that I had the highest average in the class that was the precursor to this class at my last school. I have NEVER FAILED a test in my life! And I got a 56? How is that possible? Well, I didn't know any of the answers! The questions were literally so confusing and advanced that I didn't know which answers to choose. And the teacher...well, let's just say he has been teaching the same class for 40 years and he's pretty much a no-nonsense kinda guy. He didn't even have office hours because he is semi-retired. Yeah, he wasn't going to sign up to tutor me.
• The very best moment in nursing school to date? I started studying less for my other classes and started really focusing on this class. I spent 12 hours on Saturdays studying for it. I made notecards. I looked up stuff on you tube. I taped his lectures and listened to them while driving, running, walking to class. I prayed furiously that the Lord would help me to understand the material. I had all my friends praying, too. I read the stuff over and over and over until it clicked. And it did click. I walked into the final knowing what I was supposed to know and got an "A" on it! I've never been so happy over a test!

Whew! This is already a LONG post, and I haven't even gotten to tell you about the catheter incident yet! I guess we will just have to continue this discussion later!