Well, all I can say was that the first two days were very intense. So much "new" to take in. New to school again after so many years, new school, new classmates, new routine, new courses, new home routine (doing more 'domestic' stuff since I'm home more now), feels like new everything. By the end of the first couple hours at school on Thursday, I was starting to longingly think of the comfortable, known confines of my office and work routine....to think a mere week ago I was in my safe, regular, known work environment...
But somehow I made it through those first 6 hours. The first prof started his lecture with the 'classic' line that I'd heard and read about for years in medical classes. We were each instructed to look at the people sitting on either side of us, and then were told that one of the three of us would no longer be in the program by the end of first year. Something else that I heard this week and that really surprised me (I had no idea!), was the nursing school admittance ratio. Apparently nursing school is very competitive to get into, and only one person was admitted into the program, out of every 12 applicants.
Luckily for my brain, the profs shortened their lectures somewhat on the first day, and there were some brief presentations given by upper-year students about 'best practices' based on their experiences in nursing school thus far. We were even treated to a pizza lunch. I had forgotten to bring my water bottle, so by the end of the second lecture, I was beyond dehydrated and my brain was full of new info, that I was a bit dazed leaving the lecture hall. I will admit that that evening, and the next couple, I was so mentally tired that I was sound-asleep by 9 pm....
I met many new classmates, and am feeling very good about the group of us 'mature' students in the class. I had met one classmate earlier via the Internet, and so I had someone to sit with right off from the start. That made such a difference -- it was great. By the first break, we were able to start mingling a bit, and I figure by the end of the day I had probably chatted with about 10 classmates. The ages certainly vary from clearly fresh out of high school, to older than myself. There was also a much greater number of males in the class than I figured there would be. This is good for the profession to have a better gender mix, in my opinion.
Learning at university has also changed much since my first go-round. Everything is online now, and profs post lecture notes, various additional learning materials, even quizzes and assignments on their websites. The learning experience is definitely much enhanced now, and I think that is great.
On the flip side, I was a bit surprised by the degree of 'spoon feeding' that was present. I'm not sure if it is the expectation of the new generation (based on the questions they were asking the profs and tidbits I'd heard about the reality of high school these days), or if this is the new 'norm' that has evolved at university. I'm not complaining, it is just an observation comparing from my earlier experiences at university. Either way, that's the way it is, and frankly, I can just take advantage of this to further my own personal academic goals and results.
I hope to start writing more regularly again soon, as I adapt to this new lifestyle and reality. This is going to be great...
But somehow I made it through those first 6 hours. The first prof started his lecture with the 'classic' line that I'd heard and read about for years in medical classes. We were each instructed to look at the people sitting on either side of us, and then were told that one of the three of us would no longer be in the program by the end of first year. Something else that I heard this week and that really surprised me (I had no idea!), was the nursing school admittance ratio. Apparently nursing school is very competitive to get into, and only one person was admitted into the program, out of every 12 applicants.
Luckily for my brain, the profs shortened their lectures somewhat on the first day, and there were some brief presentations given by upper-year students about 'best practices' based on their experiences in nursing school thus far. We were even treated to a pizza lunch. I had forgotten to bring my water bottle, so by the end of the second lecture, I was beyond dehydrated and my brain was full of new info, that I was a bit dazed leaving the lecture hall. I will admit that that evening, and the next couple, I was so mentally tired that I was sound-asleep by 9 pm....
I met many new classmates, and am feeling very good about the group of us 'mature' students in the class. I had met one classmate earlier via the Internet, and so I had someone to sit with right off from the start. That made such a difference -- it was great. By the first break, we were able to start mingling a bit, and I figure by the end of the day I had probably chatted with about 10 classmates. The ages certainly vary from clearly fresh out of high school, to older than myself. There was also a much greater number of males in the class than I figured there would be. This is good for the profession to have a better gender mix, in my opinion.
Learning at university has also changed much since my first go-round. Everything is online now, and profs post lecture notes, various additional learning materials, even quizzes and assignments on their websites. The learning experience is definitely much enhanced now, and I think that is great.
On the flip side, I was a bit surprised by the degree of 'spoon feeding' that was present. I'm not sure if it is the expectation of the new generation (based on the questions they were asking the profs and tidbits I'd heard about the reality of high school these days), or if this is the new 'norm' that has evolved at university. I'm not complaining, it is just an observation comparing from my earlier experiences at university. Either way, that's the way it is, and frankly, I can just take advantage of this to further my own personal academic goals and results.
I hope to start writing more regularly again soon, as I adapt to this new lifestyle and reality. This is going to be great...
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