It starts...

School starts in 18 days, and I just got my first glimpse into the world of nursing school. I'm taking four classes this summer:

Nursing Competencies 1
Nursing Competencies 2
Health Assessment and Promotion
Advanced Pathophysiology

Our "Nursing Competencies 1" instructor was kind enough to email incoming students a warm welcome -- and our first homework assignments. A current nursing student described the class as being similar to a CNA course, which I think must mean we learn how to handle poop correctly (among other things). It's an all day class that meets twice a week. The first four hours in the morning are devoted to lecture, with the afternoon scheduled for time in the lab.

They seem to take their stuff seriously. Por ejemplo, if we come to lab without our worksheets finished, they'll send us home. I never want to be that girl. Although, it would be very "Legally Blond" -- and look where it got Elle Woods. She has her own Broadway musical now!

Even more exciting than the homework? My lab schedule for the first half of the summer! (Bowel elimination day is July 5th.) Our first day involves discussing ethics and the nurse-client relationship. We start learning some skills on our second day of class -- things like taking vital signs, setting up oxygen, and learning how to make an occupied and unoccupied hospital bed properly. This means two things: the next time I see you I will quite possibly take your vitals and make your bed.

It may seem dorky, but I am really looking forward to this. I can't wait to see what the other three classes are like!