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So it's totally for sure.  I'm OFFICIALLY a student here!  I had my first 'real' day of class today, though it was kind of a 'fake' day because it didn't follow any regular class schedule.  Normally, we will be at our clinical assignments on Wednesdays.  But anyway, we had a nice long day of lectures.  First, we had a review of the med-surg syllabus by our 'mom' for the year.  After that, she dove into our first class lecture on the role of nurses and the nursing process.  I'm glad I read the class notes ahead of time, but it was all manageable information.  What's crazy is that it didn't really feel like school!  I wasn't looking at the clock or antsy (except when that morning coffee made its way right through me!) and I thoroughly enjoyed the class material.  

Some keys points I learned today:

*THE NURSING PROCESS:

--Assess

--Analyze/Diagnose

--Plan

--Implement

--Evaluate

*Nursing defined--what can we do for the patient that he would do for himself if he had the strength, will and knowledge?

*Three parts to a diagnosis:  The [nursing] diagnosis PLUS what it's secondary to PLUS what it's manifested by.  Example: Impaired physical mobility secondary to pain and discomfort as evidence by the patient unable to walk without assistance.

*Treatment goals must be realistic, attainable, and measurable. 

New Terms:

Diapherisis: technical term for sweating

Orthopnia: inability to breathe while lying down

After the class lecture, we had a professor talk to us about holistic nursing and guide us through a guided imagery meditation.  It was pretty sweet.  When she asked us to picture ourselves walking on the beach and meeting someone, I pictured a very large bacon cheeseburger with legs (it was almost lunchtime).

The stuff after lunch was pretty laid back: a film, and then a presentation by the living previous deans of the school.  Lots of history and politics and insight into the profession.  Hooray.

But the exciting part is that we got our clinical assignments!  I'll be at an urban hospital about 30 minutes away (which is kind of a bummer).  But, I'm on evenings (4p-10p) which is cool, and one of the other girls lives in my building and we're already friends.  PHEW.  I'm excited that it actually seems real now!

Well that's all for now.  I'm off to organize my binders and read about fluid balance!