The first meeting...

Last night was my first nursing orientation meeting at Ivy Tech. It was led by the nursing department chair and the dean of the school of nursing. I really liked both of them. They were both welcoming and down-to-earth. I believe, but I'm not sure, that I will have classes with them the first semester but not much after that.

At the meeting, I was able to turn in the "change of degree" form to be officially in the school of nursing. Then we talked about all of the health records I need to have turned in. I have to have MMR, tetanus, diphtheria, chicken pox, pertussis, hepatitis B,and TB stuff (= vaccines, boosters, disease or titer). I also have to have my doctor approve that I have the physical and mental abilities to do my nursely duties. I have already called the Vanderburgh County Health Department (I had some vaccines done a few years ago) and my childhood family doctor. Both places are already in the process of faxing my info to my current doctor. I have already made all of the appointments for my two TB tests and readings and for the final appointment to have everything signed. Not bad for less than 24 hours later.

Also at the meeting, I confirmed that my high school transcripts are on file. I also found out that the CPR class I applied for through the mail is already full. So I called to confirm that I am in that class on November 12. That's all good (I mean great).

I have more paperwork to fill out saying that I am physically capable and an info release form. That's easy enough.

In December I will need to go to the Ivy Tech bookstore to be fitted for a uniform. It's basically pants, polos, some patches and a lab coat. The have us fitted to make sure we aren't dragging our pants on the ground. Being 5'4", my pants tend to drag. We also have to get some white leather shoes. Yikes. Oh yeah, there's a lot of other stuff, too. This is going to be an expensive semester and I haven't even heard about the books yet.

I have to have a drug test and a criminal history check after November 14. That should be okay, but you never know.

Once I have all of this information collected and completed (after November 14), I can make an appointment to meet with my advisor to register for classes. For the first semester only, we have some options. I have a list of 6 different plans that I need to look through. At first glance they all look the same so I'll have to spend some time with them to figure it out.

And that's that. I have done just about all I can, other than shopping, until my first TB test on the 27th. I am so ready to get this started.

Phi Theta Kappa

Phi Theta Kappa is a...well, I'm not sure what it is. I do know that it is for students with good GPA's at two year schools. I guess that's me because they asked me to give them $65 to join them for life. I am way behind in networking since I have spent the last 10 years as a stay-at-home mom. So I gave them the money and went to the induction meeting last night. I felt very weird standing up and repeating a pledge of which I had no previous awareness or chance to consider before making such pledge. I hope I didn't just pledge to give up my first born or anything. I am sure I will get involved in a few of the charity events they do. But right now I just don't know enough about them to say much.

I am getting really excited for my orientation meeting Tuesday. I mailed my acceptance letter on Friday, the 1st. Now I realize I have just rested my entire future in the hands of the postal carrier. I can only hope that Ivy Tech actually got my letter. I am scared I will show up at the meeting and find out that they never heard back from me so they replaced me with the next person. An email confirmation would have been comforting.

I recently met with a friend who has gone though all of this nursing stuff before. I realize better now that this is going to be really difficult. I am going to have to jump through a lot of hoops, some of which will make no sense. I am going to have to accept less than perfect as some of what I will be asked to learn and do in such a short amount of time may be impossible. I may even have to be happy with an occasional B. The saddest thing I learned is that I won't be getting to buy scrubs.

Right now I am waiting in a car beside an expired parking meter in St. Louis, sipping on a bland java chip frappachino. I am waiting on Jason to get done working so we can go to the Bodies Exhibit. I have wanted to see that for years and it finally opened up here this month. I can't take pictures to post so just look at the website. You will understand why I think this is so awesome. I'll post more on it later.

Here We Go...

Received in the mail yesterday:

"Dear Laura:

Congratulations! I am pleased to inform you that you have been granted acceptance into the Spring 2011 Associates of Science in Nursing (ASN) program at Ivy Tech Community College-Evansville."

My hands were shaking when I opened it, although I could tell it was different than last time because there were extra papers. I felt strongly that my new score was good enough. Yet, I was still afraid of the "what if's", so I was extremely relieved to see that first word. Oddly, I wasn't excited. But I'll go into my "feelings" in a later post. (Like a cliffhanger.)

As for the facts, I have certain conditions I have to take care of in order to get started this January. First, I had to send back a letter saying I accepted their acceptance. I did that this morning. Why wait? Next, I have to attend a 2 hour Nursing Orientation Session. I chose one on October 19. At this meeting I will learn more about my schedule, uniforms, supplies and other paperwork. I also have to submit a Health Statement. I'm not sure what this is yet.

Next I have to attend a day long CPR course. That will most likely be November 12. I think I have to take care of that on my own and then show them some documentation.

I also have to have a criminal history check and drug screen. This will most likely be the easiest test to pass.

Somewhere along the way I suppose I will have to choose a schedule and get some books. I'll need to teach my children how to do all of my housework. I will then say goodbye to all of my friends and family. And then, finally, I will attend a Health Division Orientation on January 5th.

So, here we go.

Let's Try It Again

I officially completed my summer psychology class last Friday. It was all online and relatively easy. I took two open book tests that were very easy but I also had to take two tests at Ivy Tech and write two 5 page papers. I also had to write 14 short topical posts and replies. With two weeks worth of assignments each week, I had to pay attention. What took the most time was reading every chapter. They were long and I fell asleep often. All in all, it was a very good class for summer and great for online. (Not every class is good in the summer due to the speed and a lot of classes don't work online.) I got the A I needed for my extra 10 points. I paid over $400 for those 10 points so they better be worth it.

I have my application for the nursing program all stapled and ready to go. The deadline to turn it in is September 1 but I'm turning mine in tomorrow. Why wait? And in the event of a tie (hasn't happened yet), then the application turned in first gets the nod. The acceptance/rejection letters will be mailed by September 30.

In the meantime, I have a whole semester to kill. I have asked quite a few people what class I should take to not waste the semester. I have every non-nursing class done. I've even printed out the requirements for my masters degree. Because I have my BS from USI already, I am done with all of those non-nursing classes. So I decided to take Medical Terminology to give me a boost for my upcoming nursing classes. This seems to be the recommended class and I since I haven't been in anatomy for over a year, I will need some refreshing of the memory. Also, a lot of the people who will be in the program with me already work in hospitals and know a lot of the terminology. I need all the help I can get. So my class is online and starts August 23. Now I have about 2.5 weeks to enjoy summer.

I regret to inform you...

204. That was the lowest score accepted into the program this fall. My 201 just wasn't good enough. That's what I get for having two B's (B+'s). If I had really understood this process earlier, I would have known two B's would keep me out of the program and I would have retaken one of the classes earlier. I guess I need to get out of Regretland and figure out my next step. If I want in to the program in the spring, I need to reapply by September 1. That means any class I want to retake needs to be taken this summer. I had already registered for English 111 just in case I didn't get in. I printed off the syllabus and realized this class I had registered for was more like torture than English. My summer would have been spent entirely at the computer doing one assignment after another, and these were complicated assignments. I've taken a lot of English classes and not one has required this much work. I don't need that so I dropped it and picked up Psychology 101. I would much rather read, study and take tests. Also, I think the subject matter will be vastly more interesting and relevant to my future career. It's all online, of course. If I get an A, that will put my total points at 211.

Now I have all summer to recollect all of the paperwork for my application. I didn't request enough transcripts from USI last time, so I think that will be first on my list. Then I need to get another copy of my TEAS score. The rest should be easy.

I will have the fall semester free to do what I want. So I'm thinking ahead. I know that someday I will want to join USI's bachelors and masters program. They require a certain nutrition class that I did not take while getting my BS there last time. So I may look into a transferable nutrition class at Ivy Tech.

Microbiology is in the books...pun intended.

I just finished up Microbiology. I got 101 on my final leaving me with 826.75 out of 815. I'm happy with that. I really enjoyed the content of this class. I learned a lot about bacteria, viruses and other microorganisms and the problems they can cause. It's really fascinating stuff. I'm already forgetting a lot, though, and that frustrates me.

Now I just wait for my letter. Ivy Tech says they will mail the letters on or before May 30th. After that, I have no idea.

Almost done...or am I?

I haven't posted much. Not much has happened, but I think I should have stayed in the habit. I apologize. Biology lecture hasn't gotten much better. The slides are still practically useless. The content has become more interesting as we have focused on specific body systems and the microorganisms that affect each. Labs have been interesting. We've done skin samples, throat swabs, urine samples and anal swabs. You read that correctly.

I've really enjoyed learning the diseases. There are so many that I forget them. I hate that I forget.

I have my lab final tomorrow and my lecture final next Friday.

I find out the first week of June if I made it into the nursing program. If you've read my blog before, you know that I have lost 20 points because of the two B+'s I transferred in from USI. If I don't make it in, it is because of those grades. If I retook one of those courses and earned the 10 points back, I would get into the program easily. I was told by someone on the inside that my score was most likely enough and to not worry about the two bad grades. However, in case I don't get in, I will need to retake a class this summer. If I wait until fall it will be too late to get in to the program in spring. It would have to be this summer. So I already registered for an online English class. I just wanted to make sure that if I needed to, I would be in an online course in time for the semester to start, which is June 7th. I can always drop the class last minute if I get an acceptance letter just before.

I'll let you know my final grade when I get it.