Second Degree BSN

So the second degree BSN is a beast all its own. Most people stress about nursing school. In the Second Degree programs, also called Accelerated BSN (ABSN) programs we complete nursing school in under two years. Yep! A BSN in about a year and a half.

Some schools have their ABSN programs last only about 13 months. It is crazy stuff. You really have to dedicate yourself pretty much to reading 24/7. It does all pay off though, my class is 19 people and we will have our BSN in about 18 months.

I don't plan to stop there. I don't think that you really can. While nursing provides a lot of benefits as far as a career you really should go on and get an MSN or DNP. I plan to become a CRNA right now. That is a Nurse Anesthetist for many reasons the top two being; I want to be around surgery and I want to make money. The nursing community is really pushing for advanced degrees for nurses anyway so it will be great to be ahead of the curve.

The above picture is an image from the MCON.edu website which is the school I attend and it is an actual picture from the SIM lab connected to the hospital that students use on a very regular basis.

This is the MCON building where I spend all my time. From about 7 or 8 am until the evening and ALL day on weekends.

Wild Turkeys

Well Peoria is kinda strange. As I was walking home from class a couple days ago I crossed paths with a wild turkey. Right in the middle of downtown. We saw four walk trough our front yard just the other day too it is strange.

School is busy still, but I am starting to learn exactly what I need to be stressing about and what I can relax about a little bit.

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First Quiz

Well we had our first quiz on Sunday and our first test is due today. Nursing school really does require you to think a bit differently than other types of tests. These tests are not factual they are much more theory and in depth thinking.

We have our assignments printed out for this upcomming week . . . . It turned out to be a two page excel document!!! Yeah I am pretty busy. Nursing school is really a 7 day a week job.

It is hard to get everything organized and still have time to get everything done. I feel like I could spend the entire week just trying to organize!

First Day of Nursing School

Well the first day of our Accelerated BSN program was a bit overwhelming. A lot of information is thrown at you and it is hard to determine how to organize it all. I called my friend who is about to graduate medical school and another who just finished a BSN program to get some advice on how to organize myself and my courses.

I have been told to focus on the important classes and not get caught up with others that might not matter as much. This semester that means that I should focus on my Dimensions of Holistic Nursing course and my Health Assesment class.

So far I am impressed with both my professors and my classmates. Since this is a Second Degree BSN program everyone already has a degree in another field other than nursing. We have like six guys in our cohort out of 20 total students.

I have decided to use a folder system to keep myself organized. I purchased a folder for each course where I will keep the syllabus and any handouts given. I also purchased a planner that has an entire month overview and a weekly view where I can plan out my assignments and tests. . . . Hope it works!

Why Nursing

Aside from all the reasons mentioned above I really appreciate the opportunity to work three days a week and be considered a full time employee. This will allow me to spend more time with my family and friends and only work the three full days. Nursing also provides the opportunity to move up a career ladder in a very precise way. There is the ability to become a teacher at a college of nursing. In the end I feel that the overall top reason to be a nurse is that the opportunities are completely endless both career and pay wise.

Moving to Peoria

Following the wise advice of the same friend in medical school I called MCON and asked that my acceptance to the school be deferred until the following semester. They were willing to allow for me to be the first application in the stack for the next semester but would not defer.

Within a week of starting my new desk job I was about ready to blow my brains out. It was not for me and I knew that I could not continue in this job. After some deliberation I decided to call MCON and check on my application status. Thankfully I was again accepted to attend the ABSN program starting in January 2011.

Applying to Methodist College of Nursing

Life went on and I had totally convinced myself that nursing was not for me. To make a long story short I enrolled in a program to finish my Bachelors degree in Business and begin thinking again about medicine. I investigated medical school or podiatry school. Both of these routes took too long and in the end I knew that I did not have the scholastic stamina to stick it out. At the same time I continued to look into nursing. I discovered that in reality CRNAs can make an incredible living. Not only that but many nurses in other fields make 70-80k a year and nurse practitioners can make over 100k. A brand new grad RN can make at least $21/hour in most states and up to $27/hour or more in some areas.