So. Apparently we have to have class officers. I'm not really sure what they do, but apparently we need them, and the class before us HATED theirs. I can see we'll probably end up the same way.
Our class was told on Day 1 that we wouldn't have to worry about it for several weeks, because we need to get to know each other and because we need to get a feel for who's going to flunk out and who isn't. This has not deterred one girl from asking about 20gazillion times when the elections are because she wants to be president.
I haven't explained the Room factions yet but one side of the room has unofficially elected officers for the class. This girl is president and her friends/seatmates as the rest of the bunch. My side of the room is rather amused and annoyed by this, because most of us have made an effort to get to know people on the other side of the room only to be met with indifference (remember, we're the ones with kids and they're the ones who hate kids). We all wish someone else would run just on principle that no one should be able to automatically get it, but none of us actually WANTS to be president. So maybe we need to arrange a candidate who will not actually win.
I wish the ballot would be worded the way our tests are. It would be something like this:
A 12 day old Nursing Class presents with division and disorientation. Generalized malaise on rt side, hypercaring on lft. What would be the nursing students' best course of action?
29 May 2008
23 May 2008
That person I hope I'll never become
I have a fear of becoming an annoying person.
Sometimes I get caught up in what I'm doing and I don't realize how loudly I'm speaking or maybe what I look like that day. My psychologist says I've got ADHD so this isn't really surprising that I don't notice these things, but the tendency scares me. I don't want to become like HER.
There is a woman in my class whose reputation preceded her. I didn't know it was the same person until break on the first day when I was told "Remember that woman I told you about? That's her" by a couple of people. My response was something like, "Ohhh, I'm glad to know there's not two of her in the school."
I started examining the similarities between the two of us and I'm appalled. I'm not sure how to NOT become this woman and it scares me!
1. We are both mothers.
Con: This similarity cannot change.
Pro: I do not continually interrupt class with anecdotes about my kids.
2. We are both fat.
Con: Nursing school has given me two choices: smoke or eat. I'm eating to relieve the stress, so this similarity will continue for the time being.
Pro: I do not wear ill-fitting clothes which flash my cleavage at everyone everyday. At least, not every day. ;)
3. We are both people that other people ask questions of and therefore are considered smart.
Con: We both have a lot of info to share.
Pro: Most of her info is wrong or anecdotal.
I don't share my info unless asked.
4. We both were pretty confident we'd make it into the program.
Con: I was the top test-scorer and I did tell a friend that, only to find out that she was in the program as well. Ooops, I didn't mean to brag.
Pro: My nemesis bragged, "I'm a shoo-in for this program" and then bombed her first test. There's actually a funny story with this. She sat in the front row and calculated everyone's score for them so she could find exactly what everyone else made. I made an 85, a B. I did secretly chuckle when I found out she'd failed.
5. We are both extroverts.
Con: We will both talk to anyone, anytime.
Pro: People see her coming and scatter. I just get a "hey".
I guess so far I'm OK other than finding out I'm a pretty mean person. One day she came to class and found us all sitting in the hallway because the door was locked. She stupidly tried the door anyway and then asked, "Oh, the instructor's not here yet?" and then wandered off, stepping back over several people as she went. I mumbled, "No, we're just sitting around for the hell of it." and made everyone laugh.
Also, the entire class has taken to muttering, sighing, rolling their eyes, slamming books shut, roaring and/or leaving the classroom when this woman starts talking. I have not noticed this with myself yet.
*sigh*
Yet.
Sometimes I get caught up in what I'm doing and I don't realize how loudly I'm speaking or maybe what I look like that day. My psychologist says I've got ADHD so this isn't really surprising that I don't notice these things, but the tendency scares me. I don't want to become like HER.
There is a woman in my class whose reputation preceded her. I didn't know it was the same person until break on the first day when I was told "Remember that woman I told you about? That's her" by a couple of people. My response was something like, "Ohhh, I'm glad to know there's not two of her in the school."
I started examining the similarities between the two of us and I'm appalled. I'm not sure how to NOT become this woman and it scares me!
1. We are both mothers.
Con: This similarity cannot change.
Pro: I do not continually interrupt class with anecdotes about my kids.
2. We are both fat.
Con: Nursing school has given me two choices: smoke or eat. I'm eating to relieve the stress, so this similarity will continue for the time being.
Pro: I do not wear ill-fitting clothes which flash my cleavage at everyone everyday. At least, not every day. ;)
3. We are both people that other people ask questions of and therefore are considered smart.
Con: We both have a lot of info to share.
Pro: Most of her info is wrong or anecdotal.
I don't share my info unless asked.
4. We both were pretty confident we'd make it into the program.
Con: I was the top test-scorer and I did tell a friend that, only to find out that she was in the program as well. Ooops, I didn't mean to brag.
Pro: My nemesis bragged, "I'm a shoo-in for this program" and then bombed her first test. There's actually a funny story with this. She sat in the front row and calculated everyone's score for them so she could find exactly what everyone else made. I made an 85, a B. I did secretly chuckle when I found out she'd failed.
5. We are both extroverts.
Con: We will both talk to anyone, anytime.
Pro: People see her coming and scatter. I just get a "hey".
I guess so far I'm OK other than finding out I'm a pretty mean person. One day she came to class and found us all sitting in the hallway because the door was locked. She stupidly tried the door anyway and then asked, "Oh, the instructor's not here yet?" and then wandered off, stepping back over several people as she went. I mumbled, "No, we're just sitting around for the hell of it." and made everyone laugh.
Also, the entire class has taken to muttering, sighing, rolling their eyes, slamming books shut, roaring and/or leaving the classroom when this woman starts talking. I have not noticed this with myself yet.
*sigh*
Yet.
22 May 2008
Factions
OK, Nursing School Survivor is starting to take shape. We have several divisions and I'm waiting to see which become the most prominent.
1. Smokers versus nonsmokers: The smokers hada social advantage from day one. They all met each other through their several trips outside, and they all socialize. The rest of us either have to go outside and stand around looking like we have a purpose for being there, or we have to congregate at the snack machine. However, the smoker advantage is probably fleeting and I don't think this will be a major issue.
2. Women versus men: We only have two men in our class, and 33 women. Nonissue.
3. Parents versus People Who Hate Kids: This could be a major division. One side of the room has women who have 2, 3, 4, 5 and even 6 kids. The other side of the room has several people who proclaim to hate children. And we've heard no end of how they're going to hate doing Peds rounds.
4. CNA's (Certified Nursing Assistants) versus unexperienced CNA's: Probably most volatile issue, the people who work as CNA's look down upon those of us who only got our certification so we could be in the LPN class. However, the CNA's have some very nasty habits that make the class harder for them. I could see this being a big problem.
There you have it. Tomorrow, if I have time, I'll talk about the most irksome person.
1. Smokers versus nonsmokers: The smokers hada social advantage from day one. They all met each other through their several trips outside, and they all socialize. The rest of us either have to go outside and stand around looking like we have a purpose for being there, or we have to congregate at the snack machine. However, the smoker advantage is probably fleeting and I don't think this will be a major issue.
2. Women versus men: We only have two men in our class, and 33 women. Nonissue.
3. Parents versus People Who Hate Kids: This could be a major division. One side of the room has women who have 2, 3, 4, 5 and even 6 kids. The other side of the room has several people who proclaim to hate children. And we've heard no end of how they're going to hate doing Peds rounds.
4. CNA's (Certified Nursing Assistants) versus unexperienced CNA's: Probably most volatile issue, the people who work as CNA's look down upon those of us who only got our certification so we could be in the LPN class. However, the CNA's have some very nasty habits that make the class harder for them. I could see this being a big problem.
There you have it. Tomorrow, if I have time, I'll talk about the most irksome person.
19 May 2008
Nursing Program Survivor
OK. First day of nursing school has come and gone. A classmate of mine and I met up on Friday night at the drive-in movie and we talked while the kids were playing (pre-movie, of course). We were reviewing our first day.
One question posed to us at lunchtime was "What cliques do you think will form?"
It's fairly obvious there are already some cliques. At orientation, there was a gaggle of girls who insisted on getting the EXACT same shoes, bp cuffs, stethoscopes and penlight. They all have Betty Boop on them, and I think they were referring to themselves as the Boop Group. There's also, of course, the whole group of people who work together at a nursing home right now. And then there's people like my friend and I, who just want to get in and get the job done and leave.
Second item of discussion was motivation for the people in the class. There's a pretty even split between people who are going into healthcare because they feel called to it, and people who are going into healthcare because it's a steady, decent-paying job with advancement potential. I kinda straddle both groups, really, but I guess I fall more in the first. I want to be a nurse. It seems right. I take care of people all the time and it comes more and more naturally. But I also admit that the idea of that paycheck is a good one, too!
Third thing we realized is that we are now part of Nursing Program Survivor. We know that typically of the 35 who start, about 20 finish. Five usually drop out in the first semester. So...we want to know who's going first! My guess is that one of the people who doesn't feel "called" will be out first. But we'll see!
I suppose I'll give a run-down of the class in the next entry, assuming I'm not bogged down so much I can't blog. Oh, that's the other thing. I had 8 chapters of math to do before I ever had my first class. Yeah, homework before school even started! They told us it would be tough!
One question posed to us at lunchtime was "What cliques do you think will form?"
It's fairly obvious there are already some cliques. At orientation, there was a gaggle of girls who insisted on getting the EXACT same shoes, bp cuffs, stethoscopes and penlight. They all have Betty Boop on them, and I think they were referring to themselves as the Boop Group. There's also, of course, the whole group of people who work together at a nursing home right now. And then there's people like my friend and I, who just want to get in and get the job done and leave.
Second item of discussion was motivation for the people in the class. There's a pretty even split between people who are going into healthcare because they feel called to it, and people who are going into healthcare because it's a steady, decent-paying job with advancement potential. I kinda straddle both groups, really, but I guess I fall more in the first. I want to be a nurse. It seems right. I take care of people all the time and it comes more and more naturally. But I also admit that the idea of that paycheck is a good one, too!
Third thing we realized is that we are now part of Nursing Program Survivor. We know that typically of the 35 who start, about 20 finish. Five usually drop out in the first semester. So...we want to know who's going first! My guess is that one of the people who doesn't feel "called" will be out first. But we'll see!
I suppose I'll give a run-down of the class in the next entry, assuming I'm not bogged down so much I can't blog. Oh, that's the other thing. I had 8 chapters of math to do before I ever had my first class. Yeah, homework before school even started! They told us it would be tough!
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