This morning as I'm hurriedly walking into the building where my classes are held I happen to see a lady whom I recognize as one of the previous instructors, who had resigned just before classes started this August. Low and behold, she's walking into my classroom.
I started a post a while back, and never posted it...now's the time, because a lot of what I said is now coming to a head:
If you're following my blog, a lot of what is about to be said is repetitive, (such as here, KLS, Student Nurse: dilemma, or here, KLS, Student Nurse: to be or not to be, but I'm hoping to pick the brains of newer readers, as well as anyone else who makes it through this whole thing.
I intend to lay it all out, even if it's just for me to see it all in black and white. Please bare with me.
First and foremost, let me say I have wanted to become a nurse for nearly ten years. A wrench was thrown into my first attempt at nursing school, back in 2000, when we received orders to go overseas.
At the point when we had settled into our new home in Italy I started taking classes toward a B.S. in Psych, that was the fall of '01. It was then my intention of either articulating that degree into a possible career in education, which for me was the next bext thing, or nursing, if I so chose to swing back that way.
After arriving back in the states I applied for the local public schools and was finally hired as an instructional assistant, for the local high school special ed department, for the '06-'07 school year. By this itme I was pretty much leaning toward teaching.
Fast forward to '07-'08, during which I decided to go back to my first career aspiration-nursing.
Many factors came into play, a major one being that it's always been an itch that couldn't be scratched away. I applied in February, and received my acceptance letter in May.
September 9th we were notified by our dean, during lecture (Our dean is teaching our Nur100-Intro to Nsg class. There was a huge instructor turn-over right before classes started), that our program is not accredited. This has caused me a lot of stress since then. I've researched other local programs and toyed with the idea of transferring.
Then there is the idea that if I'm going to do that why not just transfer into one of the BSN programs. I have a leg up because I will be able to transfer in as a junior, or even into an accelerated program.
Because I have been going to school since 1999, when I first started in a pre-nursing program, I am burning out at the speed of light. Part of me just wants to be lazy. I could be done with school in December!! Done, finito...finished, at least for a little bit.
Or...I could take the next year off. Once you're in the program you have a total of four years to complete, so I could take a break and start up again. I could even work during that time.
Which leads me to one of my other issues. I've mentioned before, there are a lot of things I want to do. There are home improvements to be made...a lot. We are not going to remain in this house forever, and so we'll eventually need to sell. Improvements need to be made prior to putting the house on the market.
Or...just stay where I'm at, what's two years? I would graduate in May '10, and then be able to get a great job...or would I?
Back to today...
I walk into the classroom after this instructor, only to notice the normal instructor is not present.
I arrive at my desk, and one of my classmates tells me one of the new instructors (one of the ones who just started prior to classes beginning this semester), had walked out, hence the other instructor's presence. Walked out!? Yeah, as in quit...or was she fired? Who really knows!
Can we have a big ole WTF!?
Just last week I had resigned myself to stay in this program, because after all, I am in this program...not to mention they are accepting credits that another school might not.
So this newer instructor who just left, yeah, well, she was the one I really, truly thought was going to be the one to turn our program around. We were in the VA State Board of Nursing's report, from this July, as one of the schools with a less than 80%pass rate!
Who needs the stress of a program that isn't accredited, there is no guarantee of passing the NCLEX (not that there ever is, but you have a better chance with some schools), and now who's to say the old instructor is here to stay for the long haul? Or is she just here as a temporary fix? And if that's the case were going to have to deal with another new instructor come Spring semester who needs to get his or her act together.
What's a student nurse to do?
