More news on the pre-nursing school front!
- I handed in my immunization records. Luckily my mom’s pretty good with the record keeping and I had all of my childhood records! No need to get a million polio shots! I got a MMR shot[1. Measles, Mumps and Rubella] because I never got a second vaccination against mumps as a child, and I got an Acadel shot [2. Tetanus, Diphtheria and Pertussis]. When I went to my GP’s office to get vaccinations done by one of the nurses, once they found out that I’m getting vaccinated/boosters for nursing school, they started showing me around and showed me how they prepare syringes for vaccinations. Very cool – I don’t think I do that until second term! My arm was sore for a while after my tetanus booster (because tetanus is a bitch).
- I handed in my criminal record check paperwork and paid $40 for the pleasure of proving that I don’t possess a criminal record. Awesome, right? It’s really for the hospitals where I’ll be placed for clinicals to know I’m not some raving lunatic, which is always reassuring.
- I still need to get textbooks (I have 18 chapters of pre-reading to do), do a respiratory mask fit test and get recertified for CPR. My CPR certificate is under a year old, but I need to keep it up to date at all times. I need to get all the certificates done before the start of the program. I also start clinicals in the second week of classes – oh goodness.
In other news… Now that I’m out of school (and currently unemployed), I’ve actually been having a social life. It’s really odd for me because I’m not used to it. I’ve hung out with friends (multiple times), I’ve actually devoted time to exercising (!), I’ve been volunteering… It’s been fantastic! Over the next couple of weeks, I will be attending a friend’s birthday party at a pub (club? I don’t know, either way there’s music and drinking involved), getting a pedicure (a graduation present from my sister), walking across a stage in a cap and gown, and going on a road trip! I think that’ll be really fun. One of the stops on the road trip will be the Victoria Bug Zoo. They let you hold the insects! It’s hands-on! I’m so excited to get to hold giant stick insects. Best type of insects ever.
I’ve also been playing a lot of games on my Nintendo DS. Mostly Pokemon, because that’s how I roll… Embracing a part of my childhood before I’ll have no time at all to play games ever again (at least for 3 years). I’ll be starting the program in August and finishing it up knock on wood in May 2015. Which also means that I will have been in post secondary school for 8 years and in school for 21 years (1 year kindergarten, 12 grades, 8 years post-secondary). And I’ll be 25 when I’m finally done which means all I will know is school, and some summer terms spent working in an office setting. It’s kind of daunting, in a way. There is a light at the end of the tunnel! I will finish school! I will have some form of degree that can get me gainful employment!
As far as my Bachelors degree that I’m graduating with in just over a week, it’s in Life Science and Earth Science. Which means I took a crapton of biology-related courses and several oceanography courses. It was a fantastic degree. I didn’t like having to take chemistry or physics or calculus or statistics, but I took them as requirements. The problem is that degrees like that, while fantastic and very interesting, aren’t particularly useful like they were 5 or so years ago (when I started my post secondary adventure). People were looking for people with Life Sciences degrees five years ago. If you’re going for a B.Sc now, I would highly recommend something like a degree in chemistry, it’s a lot more useful than biology. Don’t get a very specific degree like biochemistry or pharmacology – it’s hard to get a job with those degrees because people are primarily looking for people with chemistry degrees. My sister who has a pharmacology degree ended up going back to school because there’s nothing in her field. My other sister who has a cell biology degree (and a minor in psychology) is now working in a position that’s technically more suited for a chemist but all of her work experience post-graduation has been all chemistry related. Chemistry is where it’s at. Too bad I have a strong dislike for organic chemistry!
But as far as if my B.Sc was worth it? Yeah, it kind of was. Yes, it’s terribly expensive and I spent a lot of time studying courses that will probably never get to be applied to my future career, but it was a fantastic experience. I made friends, some that I will hopefully stay in touch with. I learned how to study, something that I never learned how to do in high school. In high school, my method of studying was rote memorization. I couldn’t do that in post secondary and I had to learn how to study (for real). I learned something about myself. I got some fantastic pets from a professor. I made connections that I’m grateful for. I became friends with some of my professors and they’re wonderful people. And lastly? It’s because of my post secondary credits (and work references and prerequisite course grades) that I got into nursing. So yeah, it was worth it.
On the bright side, my degree title is going to have the word “Science” in it four times. I’m nothing if not thorough.