Well, the break is officially over. I must say that it was wonderful being out of school during the holidays and into the first few weeks of 2009. I enjoyed it immensely and spent lots of quality time with family and friends near and far. What a privilege it is to be a student at Rockhurst University and Research College of Nursing!
As of Thursday, Jan. 22 it was back to academic business. The day began with a welcome ceremony for the incoming sophomores to the nursing program. There were speakers from the current junior and senior nursing students, faculty from RCON, and a presentation of nursing pins symbolic to those that will be received when they graduate. The program ended with breakfast and a room full of smiling, excited faces. It's amazing to think that I was sitting in that same "welcome to our program" seat just last year; now, I'm a junior student ready to help the next wave of students succeed as they begin this new journey. Again, what a privilege!
After the welcome ceremony it was time for our first class. Everyone exchanged big hugs and shared how their holiday & break was. And overall everyone was ready to dig in and get started with the spring semester of classes.
On Friday, Jan. 23 class began with a TEST! That's right ... there's no time to waste in nursing school. We had a drug calculation quiz first thing in the morning, which had to be passed with a 90% or better. All aspects of nursing skills and knowledge are critical to the health of the patients we serve; and while technology and machines are great we are ultimately responsible for knowing how to calculate medicinal doses on our own. After the test (and yes, I passed) we had orientation to our clinical sites for this spring. That was exciting and a bit nerve-racking as I realized just how much we'd be doing each week. Nevertheless, I'm ready ... because the best way to learn something is to roll up your sleeves and get to work.
The weekend has zoomed by and Monday morning class will be upon me before I know it. I can say this, I am VERY excited about being able to share another semester of "behind the scenes" as a student at Rockhurst University and Research College of Nursing.
In closing, I want to say "welcome" to all the new students at both college campuses. I hope your spring semester is fun, academically interesting and rewarding, and that you meet people who quickly transform from strangers to classmates to friends.
Remember, be who you know you are and the rest will fall into place.
Talk to you again soon! LJ
5 years ago