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Sorry for leaving some of you out of the loop on the nursing school situation; I hope this catches you up.

After hours of filling out applications, writing essays, attending information sessions, and going to interviews, the good news is that I’ll be going to nursing school somewhere this coming January, after I finish up at the Big U in December.  The bad news is that I really don’t know how I’m going to decide where to go.  I’ve been accepted to ISU and Methodist so far, and am still waiting to hear from OSF.  All three programs are BSN.

ISU’s program in Normal is accelerated, and therefore crammed into one year.  Methodist and OSF are both located in Peoria, and are two year programs.  There are advantages and disadvantages to each, and I don’t have very long to make a decision.

Again, ISU would only take a year, although I’ve been warned that it will be a very terrible year.  It is also difficult to know whether or not there would be a difference of quality in terms of retaining information, etc., considering it is moving along so quickly.  The class is very small with only thirty students accepted into the program, and it was definitely the most competitive program to get in to. I would live in an apartment on campus, alone if I am unable to find another girl in the program who needs a roommate as well.  Clinicals would be in Bloomington/Normal, but also within a two hour radius, which would make for some very early mornings.  Because this program is accelerated, it is from January 2nd-December 23rd, with only “3 day weekends” for “breaks” between the four quarters into which it is broken up. 

Methodist has an amazing wing for the nursing school called the Learning Resource Center, which is where all of the nursing skills are practiced before doing them in clinicals.  There are different rooms set up as though they are various units, such as ER, OB, a doctor’s office, med/surg recovery, pediatrics, ICU, and a “community room” which is where you practice in-home nursing. Unfortunately, Methodist will be doubling their class size the semester I begin, and that seems like a questionable time to enter a program.  Also, they do not have an established masters or doctorate program.  I would live in the College of Nursing building in a single-room, the same building I have class in and across the street from all of the clinicals (except when we go to county health departments). Because this is a 2-year program the semesters are the typical length, with spring/fall breaks, summer vacation (though apparently some do internships at this time), and the ability to take weekends off because it is at a slower pace.

OSF has a lab similar to that of ISU, which is essentially a large open room with many beds holding the simulated practice mannequins.  I’m sure this is adequate, and obviously all of the same skills must be learned in order to successfully pass the state exam, but it does not seem quite as real or life-like as the way it was set up at Methodist.  However, OSF does have an established masters/doctorate program, and OSF employees have first priority on those spots.  Also, because OSF is part of a network, if I were to go there and work for OSF, I could work in several different locations.  As with Methodist, I would live in the College of Nursing building where I take classes, and do clinicals at the OSF Medical Center next door (except when we go to county health departments, and for my psych clinical, which is done at Methodist, the only psych wing left in this part of Illinois).  In terms of breaks, etc., OSF would be essentially the same as Methodist.

There are a lot of other things involved with this as well, such as cost, distance from/ability to see Bean/family/friends, oh, and my sanity.  I have been to ISU and Methodist’s full open houses/information sessions, and this weekend Mom and I are going to OSF’s open house.  I already sent in a (non-refundable) deposit for my spot at Methodist, and an intent to enroll form for ISU, and I’ll still waiting about OSF.  I have about a month to make a real decision, because at that point ISU requires a very large deposit to hold my spot.

Anyway I will stop here for now, because as Bean, Mom and Dad know I can literally go on for hours about this.

I’m headed to the ARC now to swim and bike.  Oh that’s something new as well, on May 2nd I’m going to do the Illini Triathlon.  I’ll save the ridiculous details about that for another post.

Love you all! Take care,

Kaitlin