Back to the grind...

That's right. School is back as of Monday. Honestly after just a few weeks off I was glad. I thrive off routine and busyness. Maybe a little too much....Mom would ask "Why are you getting up at 5:30 to workout/run when you have nothing else much to do the rest of the day?" Yes, this does seem a little off. But if you were going to run outside you had to run that early, however it was still miserable. 78 degrees and 89% humidity... and if I didn't do it that early, well then I'd sleep till 8, have coffee, have breakfast, mess around, and well then it would be time for "The View". I couldn't miss the ladies of "The View" right?! What if that was THE day that Elizabeth's empty head fell to the force of gravity and she fell off her chair. ; ) Then working out might just get scraped all together. That's why I like to workout when it's still dark out.

Luckily now I have to get up early and have no option. This semester I have Behavioral Health and Microbiology/Lab. Micro is the last non nursing class I have to take and I already feel like it's going to be a thorn in my side. It's and hour and a half of class and then an hour and a half of lab twice a week. blah. Those same days I have two hours of Behavioral lecture and then two days a week I have 6 hours of Behavioral clinical. However I do not have the 6:30am start time for clinical that I had for peds over the summer. Woohoo! I think it's the latest clinical start time I'll ever have so I shouldn't get used to it. It's just the first week so it's hard to tell, but I might really like this class. After your 101 class you have 5 8 week intermediate courses in a random order. So I'm mixed up with kids who could be on their first intermediate or nearly their last. I have Behavioral the first part of the semester and then I'll have Maternity the second half. However, micro will run their entire semester....Each nursing class is considered 4 hours of credit. After you are done with the intermediates you have your 202 class which includes your preceptorship (where you basically work as a nurse under a nurse) and then you take the NCLEX and become a nurse! This spring I will have adult health 1 and 2 and then I'll have my intermediates behind me. Crazy how fast it goes.

My clinicals will be at the county mental health facility. I'll be working with a variety of people in different areas including, substance abuse, adult and pediatric inpatient, med clinics, detox, and the emergency department. We have one of only six cities that have psychiatric ED's in the country. I can't imagine what this will be like! We are learning all types of therapeutic communication and therapies to help people with various mental illnesses. The instructors are great and I think we will be well prepared and supervised. This will be so different from giving iv meds and checking vitals. We aren't even to bring our stethoscopes or give meds for privacy reasons. They said to bring in your car key, black pen, and id badge. Sometimes in the main hospital I am carrying so much stuff in my scrub top's pockets I can barely bend over! You'd be surprised how much you can carry in those things! Also they seem to want us to be able to eat lunch, drink water, AND get to go to the bathroom! Purse craziness. FYI I went 9 hours once in peds without a potty break. But if you don't drink any water then you don't need the breaks! Too much info...sorry. I know it won't be like the characters in fiction novels but I have ALWAYS loved reading books about people with mental health issues. I think the first one I ever read was Sylvia Plath's "The Bell Jar". If you haven't read it you should! "I Know This Much is True" and "She's Come Undone" by Wally Lamb and "The Glass Castle" by Jennette Walls are a few good ones that come to mind. I wish I could remember more...ah the days of pleasure reading.....

However it is great to be back in the swing of things. I have actually been in a great mood and love seeing all my school buds. For the first time we aren't the newest kids. See they don't offer a 101 class in the summer, so this influx of "new kids" are the first since we came on the scene in January. If my friends are any reflection of the future of nursing we are in great hands! They are a smart, caring, and conscientious crowd. I'll try not to fall off the face of the blogging world this semester, but of course I can't make any promises! Also sorry for no pictures. The only thing I thought to photograph was the infamous pug that sleeps 98% of the day, but thats probably getting old by now.