Orientating at its Best.

I haven’t been keeping up with my blog posts, but I have made a little plan for post ideas! Hopefully I can get in the routine of posting at least once a week on different topics. I want to keep you all updated with my journey through nursing school and fitness. As far as some blog ideas, I want to talk about my experience as a nursing assistant in the hospital, as well as some of my pervious clinical experiences. My plan for studying/organization/planning for the semester. Graduate school and future plans. On the fitness side, I will share my journey thus far with ups and downs and my plan when school starts. As well as my nutritional goals. Ill share my planner and organization tips that i love. And last but not least a few crafts that I have made in the past and want to share! So now its your job to keep me accountable! 😉 and I will try my very best to keep up with this blog throughout school. Blog writing is different from what I am used to. I have always been interested in starting one but coming from a science and research background in school, I never just wrote my thoughts down without a care about my references or citations!

This past week was orientation! And let me just say I been busy busy busy with getting settled down here. Monday Andrew had his second interview with his job, got an offer that day. Wednesday we began looking online for apartments (well I started right after he got home that day!), Friday we came down to the Bronx to look at 4 places, only got to see 3 of those and fell in love with one! That next week we signed the lease and paid the $$ Tuesday. Andrew shipped me off to get on the subway from there to ride down to WTC and then take the path over to Jersey while he drove back home. **that was my first time doing the whole subway thing by myself** I stayed in Jersey at my cousins place for two nights while I commuted over to Manhattan for the nursing orientation Wednesday and Thursday. I took the Hudson train back home Thursday. The family picked me and we went directly to Raymor to buy our lovely leather couch we have been looking at. Packed everything up Friday into the u-haul. Moved down here Saturday. Unpacked Sunday! And here I am. Enjoying the lovely apartment and neighborhood and new life with my boyfriend. This is something we have been waiting to happen for a very long time, being that we’ve been together for more than three years now and in a long distance relationship the whole time.

Orientation was a lot of information thrown at us at once. However, to be honest I was expecting most of it and I know what I’m getting in to thanks to all my nursing friends and clinical experience. I’ve worked along side nurses for the past year and learned so much valuable information about working as a nurse, nursing school, patients, and skills. I saw bunches of nursing students come through the hospital multiple times a week from the four colleges around the hospital and I know how clinical work as well. I have been excited to get started then and now that it is all happening I am more than ready.

The first day was mostly presentations about the school, the program, graduate school, introducing the professors, faculty and staff. The second day I thought was very helpful and interesting! We had a professor that I don’t believe is in the nursing department but she presented on study tips for nursing questions, as well as on stress and time management. We also got the opportunity to meet some of the one and two year students that are graduating this month! The program I am going to be starting is two years part-time and will receive a bachelors degree in nursing. We’ll graduate in August 2017 (the one-year students will graduate August 2016). This year I start out with 8 credits and then next year I will have 12 credits and the only break we will have is about a month in the winter. We must maintain a 2.75 cum gpa as well as a C+ or 77% on all tests and projects. I will have one clinical (psych) this semester and the rest of my clinical in the second year. We will also have lab times to attend as well.

Goals I have for the first semester is to 1. Maintain my gpa above the minimum requirements. 2. Keep on top of my stress and time management as well as my organization. 3. Utilize the resources that are available to the students. 3. Find some form of community service work I can do related to nursing. 4. Keep up with my gym and eating routines. 5. Find support through my boyfriend, family, and my new classmates to keep me going through school.

This week I will write a post on my plans for organization in school and how I deal with stress and time management. I am normally very organized and can’t wait to share what I like to do.