So, here I am again just days until the end of the term: 12 days to be precise. I have 1 individual paper, 1 group paper, 2 reflections and 2 tests until I am done!! There is nothing disappointing about being at this point in the term. I have good grades going in all 3 classes with the potential to get an A in each of them. I have gain much knowledge and grown in my writing skills, yet again. Being done will be a weight lifted, a time to rejuvenate and reconnect with my family, and clean. Unfortunately, stress and mess come with graduate school. I dare you to stop by my house unannounced, you will be amazed by what you may find. I am amazed on a daily basis as to what I find. After long weekends working I shouldn't be amazed by what I come home to but often I am. Dishes from Thursday, piles of laundry and toys galore! But I try not to get upset because I know how difficult it is to watch 4 busy kids, let alone keep up with the house work.
Bring on spring cleaning! I have double the reason to get the house in order in the next weeks. Mainly, I cannot stand the mess: the clutter that has built up and the dust bunnies ready to attack! Second, with my up coming trip to Honduras, I may have extra help in my house and I really don't want to be embarrassed by my messy house. So the plan is to take one room at a time and clean it thoroughly over several days before moving to the next. I hope to get a little help from the family!
This brings up thoughts of April and all it had to bring. Spring term starts on April 9th and I fly to Honduras, for 8 days, on April 13th. That means I have 4 days to complete several assignments and get a grip on what I need to do for the term! That's a tall order considering I will also have to grocery shop, cook, clean, make child care arrangements, and pack before I leave for Honduras. Yikes! Definitely going to need some Divine intervention to get me through all of that.
The bonus to writing a blog is that I just spent 20 minutes NOT working on school work :) A little reprieve for my overloaded mind!
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Monday, February 20, 2012
Where does the time go!
One month, two days, 21 hours and 40 minutes left until the end of this term! Wow, I feel like I just started and here I am more then half done. Every term seems to go like this: The first week I usually think: "I can't get this all done. There is no way I can do this. I will never see my family." The stress is high, I snip at my husband and my kids want to hide. By week two life has usually mellowed out and I have the course work some what under control. Week 5, Panic! Again, I think I won't get everything done by the end of the term.
In the end, I usually finish everything early. I like to have time between terms to enjoy life so, I set my deadlines earlier they they are due. I have yet to turn an assignment in late or have to take an incomplete. For me this is a measure of success. I have to remind myself that the true measure is what I learn and can apply to my future practice. Currently, I am putting off a 5 page paper that is due just before the end of the term and a scholarship application due at the end of the month. I know that at heart I am a procrastinator. This is actually the other reason I set early deadlines for myself. If I procrastinate I still have a buffer of time if the kids get sick, I have to work extra or life happens.
As I continue down the road to becoming a Nurse-Midwife I get a little scared. I worry that I will not be smart enough to be an advanced practice nurse or I won't pass boards. The other part that scares me is that I won't be able to find a job when I am done with school. Who wants to pay mucho bucks for an education they cannot use? Not me! But I may have to be patient and wait for a job to come up. Living in rural Wisconsin does not lend itself to a plethora of Nurse-Midwife jobs. Opening my own business is out of the question. I can barely run my family let alone a business.
The one blessing I am so thankful for this term is my great team members. I have to do group work in two of my classes and team members can defiantly make or break your term. All of them keep me going, are flexible and have the same goals as me. We work well together and always get our assignments done before the due date. Thanks Katie, Kendra and Cindy!!
In fact, I could not do this program without the help of all my classmates and frontier sisters!
In the end, I usually finish everything early. I like to have time between terms to enjoy life so, I set my deadlines earlier they they are due. I have yet to turn an assignment in late or have to take an incomplete. For me this is a measure of success. I have to remind myself that the true measure is what I learn and can apply to my future practice. Currently, I am putting off a 5 page paper that is due just before the end of the term and a scholarship application due at the end of the month. I know that at heart I am a procrastinator. This is actually the other reason I set early deadlines for myself. If I procrastinate I still have a buffer of time if the kids get sick, I have to work extra or life happens.
As I continue down the road to becoming a Nurse-Midwife I get a little scared. I worry that I will not be smart enough to be an advanced practice nurse or I won't pass boards. The other part that scares me is that I won't be able to find a job when I am done with school. Who wants to pay mucho bucks for an education they cannot use? Not me! But I may have to be patient and wait for a job to come up. Living in rural Wisconsin does not lend itself to a plethora of Nurse-Midwife jobs. Opening my own business is out of the question. I can barely run my family let alone a business.
The one blessing I am so thankful for this term is my great team members. I have to do group work in two of my classes and team members can defiantly make or break your term. All of them keep me going, are flexible and have the same goals as me. We work well together and always get our assignments done before the due date. Thanks Katie, Kendra and Cindy!!
In fact, I could not do this program without the help of all my classmates and frontier sisters!
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Into a new Frontier
November 2010, I attended Bridge Bound at Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing. I was beginning my journey to become a nurse-midwife! Excitement, nervous, trepidation; these were the feeling going through me as I prepared for my trip. I traveled with 2 crossing students (students who had almost completed their bridge year) and 2 other bridge students, on a 14 hour drive from my home to Hyden, Kentucky. A bridge student is someone who has their Associates degree and will complete classes equivalent to a bachelors degree and will then start right into Master's level classes. Frontier does not grant a Bachelors of Nursing science but will grant the Masters of Nursing Science upon successful completion of the program. So my first year of classes were considered the "bridge" year. At bridge bound I met women who would help me through more then just my classes but the ups and downs of life as an adult online student. I also met my instructors and the Dean and associate deans. This was important to me so I understood who they were.
My bridge year certainly brought it's ups and downs. stomach bugs plaged us in both my winter and spring terms. I coached a DI team during the winter term. My husband was taking 2 classes his spring term. Together we have 4 active children, at the start they were 9, 7, 3, and 1! Sometimes I had to leave the house to get school work done. Other times I went to work early to work on papers or take tests. The most challenging and rewarding aspect of this first year was learning to write research papers. I had written one research paper in my life. In nursing school I wrote care plans and small papers but nothing like what I would write the first year! Also, writing is not something I do well so I had to learn how to write a paper, starting with the basics. One thing I learned was to write exactly what they want, nothing more, nothing less. Do that one thing alone and my papers were acceptable usually getting me an A.
School has brought a whole new level of insanity to my life. I have never been super organized but I always knew were things were and payed my bills on time. Well since I began school, I have had 2 overdrafts (luckily the bank covers the check and just charges me) and misplaced many things. The house certainly has slipped and I can't handle the mess. I have had to stop doing something and do others better. It has been process that has helped me grow.
I attended "Crossing the Bridge" in November. This was a time of presentations and celebration. We presented our community projects to our instructors. I was also reunited with my Frontier sisters! This was so sweet. It is amazing the friendships you can build with people that you met once and communicate with online via Skype, Facebook,emails and occasionally by phone. These ladies are my lifelines, my confidants, and my frontier sisters for life! For the most part, all my instructors have been great. Sometimes you have to figure them out a little bit and some of them you feel connected with immediately. Several of them have helped me through some difficult times and I so appreciate their honest and advice.
This brings me to the present. Frontier is now Frontier Nursing University. I am in the first term of all my core courses, Reproductive Anatomy and Physiology, Nursing Theories, and Role of the Nurse Midwife and Birth Centers. So far classes have been good, I have great learning team members and a wonderful partner for a power point assignment! I still have a problem fitting everything in and I have to prioritize but I am learning and making headway! Unfortunately I have learned my most productive time is after 9 or 10 at night. This is so frustrating because I like to go to bed early but I can't stop when I am on a roll. Maybe this is preparation for my nurse-midwife days ;)
My bridge year certainly brought it's ups and downs. stomach bugs plaged us in both my winter and spring terms. I coached a DI team during the winter term. My husband was taking 2 classes his spring term. Together we have 4 active children, at the start they were 9, 7, 3, and 1! Sometimes I had to leave the house to get school work done. Other times I went to work early to work on papers or take tests. The most challenging and rewarding aspect of this first year was learning to write research papers. I had written one research paper in my life. In nursing school I wrote care plans and small papers but nothing like what I would write the first year! Also, writing is not something I do well so I had to learn how to write a paper, starting with the basics. One thing I learned was to write exactly what they want, nothing more, nothing less. Do that one thing alone and my papers were acceptable usually getting me an A.
School has brought a whole new level of insanity to my life. I have never been super organized but I always knew were things were and payed my bills on time. Well since I began school, I have had 2 overdrafts (luckily the bank covers the check and just charges me) and misplaced many things. The house certainly has slipped and I can't handle the mess. I have had to stop doing something and do others better. It has been process that has helped me grow.
I attended "Crossing the Bridge" in November. This was a time of presentations and celebration. We presented our community projects to our instructors. I was also reunited with my Frontier sisters! This was so sweet. It is amazing the friendships you can build with people that you met once and communicate with online via Skype, Facebook,emails and occasionally by phone. These ladies are my lifelines, my confidants, and my frontier sisters for life! For the most part, all my instructors have been great. Sometimes you have to figure them out a little bit and some of them you feel connected with immediately. Several of them have helped me through some difficult times and I so appreciate their honest and advice.
This brings me to the present. Frontier is now Frontier Nursing University. I am in the first term of all my core courses, Reproductive Anatomy and Physiology, Nursing Theories, and Role of the Nurse Midwife and Birth Centers. So far classes have been good, I have great learning team members and a wonderful partner for a power point assignment! I still have a problem fitting everything in and I have to prioritize but I am learning and making headway! Unfortunately I have learned my most productive time is after 9 or 10 at night. This is so frustrating because I like to go to bed early but I can't stop when I am on a roll. Maybe this is preparation for my nurse-midwife days ;)
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