registered for fall 2013

I'm registered for classes!!

My Evidence Based Nursing Practice/Health Assessment class is 7.0 credits!!

Applied Statistics and Advanced Pathophysiology double count for the nurse practitoner program!!
I don't really know how busy I'll truly be because the labs and clinicals aren't in my schedule yet.

I'm excited nervous elated terrified all at the same time

This is real!

you are what you eat

I love spring/summer because of the fresh fruits and veggies that are available! Speaking of...I definitely want  this set for my new kitchen in Durham.

I want to join the clean eating/whole food/real food/natural food movement. I'm not going to go all the way[and by all the way I mean 80 percent of the time because I REFUSE to give up bacon cheeseburgers] until I move to Durham, where there is a Whole Food and a Trader Joe's within twenty minutes of me! Plus I can't really afford to throw away all my other food. But for now I am trying to add more & more veggies and real foods to my diet. On my mission I discovered the joy of persimmons and then recently I've discovered the delight of parsnips!

Recently I have cooked:

via

• roasted vegetables: artichokes, carrots, cauliflower, brocoli, asparagus, squash, parsnips, brussel sprouts
• spaghetti squash
• sweet potato + almond butter + cinnamon
• avocado juice/lassi/smoothie
• "natural" cookies which are just bananas + oatmeal + craisins + dark chocolate chips + pecans
• yummy mixture of cucumber, tomatos, plain greek yogurt and salt/pepper
• ground turkey w/ taco seasoning + spinach + salsa
• omelets with tomatoes, mushrooms, olives and spinach
• many spinach salads (my spring/summer staple)

That's also not to mention the fresh fruit I've had tangelos, mangos, strawberries, blackberries, grapefruit... No pictures of my actual meals because I'm not one of thoooose people.

hair rising adventures

Honestly!

Do you want to know how many hours it takes to go from that to this:

Why Duke?

I swear I'm not getting free tuition or reimbursed for writing this--although if anyone at Duke is reading this and would like to offer I wouldn't turn it down.... Anyway a lot of people have been asking me why I chose Duke's program. Here's why:

• I love their mission statement and philosophy when it comes to nursing (At Duke Days they talked about the importance of nursing and how they don't accept people who choose nursing because they couldn't be doctors)
• The program is only 16 months (13 months seemed way tooo short and anything longer than 16 months seems too long--I wanna be a nurse as quickly as possible without wanting to kill myself)
• All of the faculty have doctorates or are working on their doctorates (rare for undergrad nursing programs).
• 15 credits of the bachelor's degree double count for the master's degree
• They have neat electives (you can concentrate in medical spanish, research or genetics)
• They use a variety of teaching formats (lectures, case studies, role playing, patient actors, multiple teachers, etc.
• All the curriculum is focused on helping their students become nurse leaders and the majority go on for a master's or a doctorate
• Duke 99% NCLEX pass rate (way higher than Hopkins)
• Duke has a good attrition rate. they said only 4 students in the past few years have dropped out and it's only been because of lack of finances, a desire no longer to be a nurse, and family/health issues
• Each student is assigned an advisor
• Supportive faculty! I've heard they even give their personal home numbers for students who have questions
• Small class! They usually only have a cohort of about 63-79 students. Clinical groups are kept small
• Nursing students have 24-hour access to stimulation labs
• 94% of their graduates have nursing jobs within 6 months of graduating (the national average is 70%)
• I've heard they are really good about taking students' opinions into account and change things often to help students
• You can rank your choices of where to go for clinicals
• The opportunity to go abroad for community health clinical (I have my heart on going to Tanzania)
• They have an early-decision option for the nurse practitioner programs
• If I work for Duke Hospital they will pay 90% of the tuition for the nurse practitioner program
• Duke has the exact nurse practitioner program I want to do (and if I wanted I could also be certified in neonatology). 
• Their only undergraduate nursing program is the ABSN so all the curriculum and resources are focused on it
• There are a lot of interdisciplinary opportunities and collaboration with the medical school
• I did research on allnurses and asked former and current students about what they disliked about the program and the only thing they said was the cost
• It's actually less expensive than most of the other schools I applied to
• They treated me like a person instead of a number during the application process
• The application process was really organized
• The Making a Difference in Nursing program (which, unfortunately, I think is being discontinued after this year)
• Beautiful campus
• North Carolina is gorgeous. I could see myself living there long term. It also has a low cost of living
• I liked the singles ward and there are a good amount of members out there
• Awesome basketball team (maybe I should have lead with this? Haha)
• I prayed and felt like it was the right school for me. I actually did this multiple times because I'd get panicky about the price and doubt my decision, but then God has reconfirmed it to me
• I could make this list longer, but do you really want me to?

I am just so grateful for this opportunity. It feels miraculous. I know that Heavenly Father has intervened on my behalf in so many ways. I am so very blessed! I can really see how practically my whole life has been leading up to this. Just lots of little things here and there.

each life that touches ours for good

soon I will be there!

The latest on DUKE is they sent us a LONG list of things to do before May 15th.

This includes getting a background check, getting a titer (to make sure we've had our immunizations), submitting immunization documentation, taking a urine test, getting fingerprinted, signing a confidentiality agreement, reading clinical core information, reading training modules, taking a quiz on that information, registering for CPR class, filling out a long range academic plan. There were also things that are due after May 15th like registering for classes (!!!), signing up for parking, getting health insurance, getting a Duke student i.d, reading the student handbook, RSVPing for orientation (!!!), buying books, etc.

Like a nerd I am SO EXCITED to do all of it. It means I'm steps closer to actually attending DUKE!

There is another BYU girl who is going to be in the ABSN program with me! We've been texting and emailing back and forth, but Sunday we actually met in person. It made me even more excited for the program and it helped me to feel normal because she is just as obsessed with DUKE as I am. We are trying to figure out housing--it's kind of an elaborate and complicated situation... but isn't it always?

The other day I went on campus to hand deliver a thank you card and some BYU fudge to one of the teachers that wrote letters of recommendation. He is such a sweet man and my favorite teacher ever. I
loved taking physiology from him. It was so good to see him, but it was hard because he had just lost his wife of 47 years.

It just break my heart. I picture him going home to an empty house, eating dinner alone, sleeping in a lonely bed. I can't imagine that his wife is no longer there to take care of him, plan with him, make him dinner or to talk to him about his day. We have the gospel and I know that he'll be okay and will be reunited with her again some day, but I know he just misses her so much. We both got teary-eyed as we talked about her and her passing. He had always talked about his sweetheart. He showed us pictures of her and she would come to class sometimes. He spoke of her reverently and it was clear that they were a team.

I am reading a book called "The Social Animal" and it talks about how married couples are one. They share hopes, trials, dreams, fears, desires, visions, fears, and countless experiences. "At the core of both our souls lay our identical hopes and dreams...these hopes were not separate or distinct hopes but were just one hope, one clear thing that defined us both, that welded us into a unit." Can you imagine 47 years of being one and then having that person be gone all of a sudden?! My heart aches for him.

Especially because he is such an amazing person and an amazing teacher! He is the epitome of what you want a teacher to be: brilliant, engaging and passionate! His class was challenging but I learned so much and he genuinely wanted us to learn and understand the material. I remember once he showed us some white blood cells and referred to them as beautiful. Because this was at BYU, he was able to reference the Creator in almost all his lectures and inspired in us a deep appreciation for the human body. He had the best stories and ways of explaining things. He is just fantastic! I still have audio recordings of class on my iphone that I refuse to delete. By the way, his packet is so amazing and wonderful that BYU grads that go on to medical school (even Harvard's medical school) say they still use his packet to study. After class, my classmates and I would always talk about the cute things he said and how we wanted him to be our grandpa. I feel so blessed to have had him as a teacher. Everyone deserves a teacher like him! I hate the thought of him suffering like this.

That day we talked a bit about his wife, but we also talked about me and my future. He is so supportive and excited for me. I was able to give him some hugs. And as I was leaving, he told me he was proud of me.

my nursing journey

At this point, I feel like an EXPERT at applying to second degree nursing programs. I spent hours researching programs and weighing my options. This has been years in the making and I know that Heavenly Father has led me on this nursing path. God has really been part of this process every step of the way. Looking back I can really see His hand in all things. He has put me in the right places at the right times and inspired me. I have no doubt that He has intervened for me. I am overwhelmed with gratitude and awe. I trust Him to help me through the program and with funding it (ahhhh shoot me now! debt is so scary).

 Here is more than you ever wanted to know about how I got here (minus stuff that's too personal to share):

To make things brief (hahaha) I majored in English and minored in Sociology at BYU with the goal to eventually go to law school. I wanted to do adoption law or non-profit work something like that. However, when time came to take the LSAT I did not feel right. It was more than test anxiety (although that test is WAY WAY WAY worse than the GRE). It felt like divine intervention. I really started thinking, "why law school" and the more I thought about it...the more it didn't feel right. So I scrapped those plans.

Then Heavenly Father led me to nursing. It was perfect! Not only nursing--but I was also able to quickly figure out that my ultimate goal was to be a nurse practitioner. I toyed with the idea of neonataology and midwifery, but through inspiration and shadowing experiences I realized I need to do pediatrics. Then that evolved into knowing I wanted to work in the pediatric intensive care unit. Unfortunately at this point I was pretty far into my college career. BYU's nursing program is super long so the advisors there pointed me in the direction of second degree programs.

These are programs for people who already have bachelor's degrees in another field. You can become a registered nurse much more quickly than a regular 4-year BSN program or 2-year associate's program. There are accelerated bachelor's of nursing programs or direct-entry programs...I decided to apply to both types.

A few prerequisites, a 19-month LDS mission, and even more prerequisites later...  I was ready to apply to schools!

the first version of my list of schools to apply to. i didn't copy the whole spreadsheet but they all have different requirements

When I put together recommendation packets I had 14 schools on my list to apply to! I was super nervous about getting into A school. But between sending transcripts, application fees, and sending GRE scores I knew that applying to 14 schools would not actually be feasible. I prayed throughout that Heavenly Father would help me find good schools to apply to and that I would be able to get into at least one. I also prayed that He would help me go to the school that was right.

I was able to whittle down the list through more research and things that seemed like coincidences at the time, but I now recognize as inspiration. I ended up only applying to five schools which seemed like the perfect number. I didn't apply to schools in WA or UT because I felt like Heavenly Father wanted me elsewhere. Plus I wanted a whole new adventure!

Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions (ABSN) -  I applied to their accelerated bachelor of science in nursing program because MGH is the hospital associated with Harvard's medical school. The program has clinical rotations in some of the best hospitals in the country and at Boston Children's Hospital (one of the best children's hospitals in the country). I also thought I would love to live in Boston. I chose to apply to their ABSN program instead of their direct-entry BSN/MSN program because they only give the bachelors at the end of their program and their PNP focused on primary care. I figured if I went here, after I graduated, I could apply to Northeastern's master's program because I actually want to be a PNP-AC.

University of Virginia (MSN-Clinical Nurse Leader) - This direct-entry program is unique in that you skip the bachelor's of science in nursing. You get a master's degree but not to become a nurse practitioner... you still need more schooling to do that. I chose this program because they have 1,000 clinical hours and one-on-one preceptorships throughout the program. I knew if I attended I would be a very competent entry-level nurse. They are #15 in graduate nursing programs.

Columbia University (Combined BS/MS Program) - My cousin is actually in this direct-entry program and likes it because it's super fast. I thought I would love to live in NYC and their PNP isn't solely primary care and I could specialize in pediatric oncology. They are #21 in graduate nursing programs and #9 in pediatrics.

Johns Hopkins University (BS to MSN program) - I applied here because Hopkins is synonymous with healthcare excellence. Their direct-entry program allows you to do clinical rotations abroad, there are interesting electives you can take, etc. They are the #1 nursing program and #12 in pediatrics.

Duke University (ABSN) - Although this isn't a direct-entry program, they have an early decision option for the master's. There are so many reasons I love Duke...I'd have to write a whole entry on it separately but some of the biggest draws was being able to do a clinical rotation abroad, their combined PNP-AC/NNP program, the size of the program, etc. They are #7 in nursing and #5 in pediatrics.

After I applied it was a waiting game. I started to panic and think I should apply to more schools but I felt reassurance that my list was fine. Then the acceptances started coming in. I actually got into every single school! I know that was divine intervention because on my own I don't think the schools would even look at me.

Decided not to go to MGH because in reality...it was a safety. I liked the other programs much better. They have online classes and I did not want to spend that much money to basically teach myself. Plus it isn't as highly ranked or well-known. In this economy it is really hard to get jobs even in nursing and so I wanted to make sure I have every advantage.

I decided not to go to UVA because it was 2 years for an entry-level nursing job. I also thought it might be better to have a bachelor's in nursing as well as a master's. Not too many people are familiar with the direct-entry MSN degree and so I didn't want trouble later on when applying to NP schools or for jobs. Also they wanted me to retake statistics because I took it back in 2007 and "aint nobody got time for that".

I didn't love NYC when I visited. Even though Columbia offered me 35k it was still going to be more expensive than Duke. I just didn't get a very good impression at Accepted Student's Day. Columbia also does not have an option to do clinical work abroad. But I was really honored to be accepted to their school.

Hopkins has an amazing program. If I didn't get into Duke I would have been perfectly fine and happy going to Hopkins. However, it is located in east Baltimore which is super sketchy (if NYC made me nervous I can't imagine what Baltimore would have been like) and the program is bigger than I'd like. Overall Duke has always been my dream school and I liked it much better than Hopkins. But I would not have been disappointed if I "had" to go to the #1 nursing school in the country! It was cool to be notified by phone call and I enjoyed the personal note the director of admissions wrote on my paper letter.

DUKE!!! As I said on facebook, I sure do love a school that uses as many exclamation marks as I do. I mean, I also got an official letter, but this is way better! It pretty much sums up how I felt about getting in: !!!!!!!!!! I think I really will write a whole entry about why I love Duke.

Feel free to ask questions. I honestly feel like I could get a job advising people in this process since I have done so much research and asked so many people a million questions. I am excited to attend Duke in the fall!

Columbia Visiting Day (March 8)

It is kind of difficult to write about this trip to NYC because at this point we already know I am NOT going to Columbia and I didn't love the trip as much as I wanted to, but to perserve the legitimacy of this blog I had to share about the trip (even though everyone already saw the pictures on facebook).

First of all the trip started disastrously because I had food poisoning from some bad shrimp the night before. Sooo I am basically vomiting up bile while waiting around the airport. I was no help to Rachel even though that was the plan. Then the whole flight to Denver and waiting for my flight to NY I am so weak (I couldn't even keep water down) that they actually got me a wheelchair and wanted me to see the paramedics (I refused).

Fortunately I started feeling better. I landed in NYC at Lagurdia Airport close to midnight and took a cab to my mom's friend's house in Queens. My first impression of NYC was that people were rude and not very helpful because finding the cab and my way out of the airport was actually pretty stressful.

The next morning I had to go to visiting student day which was for people that were accepted into Columbia's ETP program. I was accepted into their pediatric nurse practitioner program with an emphasis in Oncology. I was excited to see the campus and hear about the program. Unfortunately I had NO IDEA how I was to get down there. My friends started talking about subways and walking and I must have looked as confused and stressed as I felt because then they offered to let their driver drop me off. It was nice, I felt like Blair Waldorf. I thought "man this is travelling in style".

I arrived at the school of nursing for a continental breakfast, very long introduction to the program and an unhelpful Q and A. I was comparing it to Duke Days and it was not at as well organized and seamless  There were no times for the presentations and they did not give us a copy of the slides. The director of the pediatric nurse practitioner program wasn't even there (they said they didn't know where he was). The Q and A was just people asking really specific to them questions (questions that could have been emailed). I don't know if I was just biased and already knew Columbia wasn't for me, but I got super sleepy during the presentation, bored, and annoyed. It felt like a waste of time. I had a friend next to me that I had met at Duke Days and she also was not too impressed with the program. However, the faculty did seem enthusiastic and the program does contain lots of interesting courses and great opportunities.

We did get a fun goodie bag! A CUSON (Columbia University School of Nursing) folder, pen, umbrella and the CUTEST hand sanitzer known to man!

After that we had a very nice catered lunch and met a student ambassador. This was the highlight of the visit. We were able to ask her a lot of questions and to get to know each other. We had a financial aid presentation and our ambassador didn't know where we had to sit (again showing the disorganization). After that we had a "tour" of the campus...which basically was us following her around NYC randomly. I know I saw different things than my other friends and it wasn't organized at all and just felt random. I know I complained about Duke's tour but it was much much much much better. And then we just kind of wandered away? There was no distinct ending.

she did show us the children's hospital

Some of the girls in the program and I met up with people at a local bar/restaurant. It was super crowded and uncomfortable so we left. A friend and I rode the subway to Columbia's main campus.  I have to say that was my first time riding the subway. It was comfortable only because I was with four other girls and they told me exactly how to buy a metro card and we all got off at the same spot.

me and shayla! she is wearing heels and i'm short

Columbia's main campus is much more beautiful than where the nursing school and medical center are located. It also felt more safe.  I met up with Shayla and Ben there. We rode the subway together to go to shake shack! Again I felt safe because I was riding the subway with people I knew. We saw Naomi of Love Taza/Rockstar Diaries while there, but I did not do anything creepy like take a picture of them or introduce myself as a fan (thank goodness). Shayla and Ben also took me to Time Square and we walked past all the Broadway theaters. It was awesome. I think I would love NYC more if I was richer...

not the actual Shake Shack we went to (we went to the one on upper west side)

delicious

oh you know just being a tourist

Shayla and Ben told me how to take the subway back to Queens and so I rode the subway by myself and I was terrified and it was scary. I honestly felt anxiety but I made it safely there.  Now is the part where I recap the trip in bullet points because I am tired of being super detailed:

-Felt anxiety riding the subway by myself back to Columbia's campus for a diverse students' brunch. I actually really enjoyed this. We had good discussions and I met some cool people. Unfortunately they had changed the location for the brunch so me and another girl were late...

-I went to Grand Central Station to meet up with Cheri. Felt anxiety riding the subway by myself (I should get a stamp made of this)

-Saw Cheri and went shopping in West Village with her. We were doing thrifting which we always did together in Seattle. However now that she's an NYC hotshot her idea of cheap are stores that have shirts for $200...

-Cheri treated me to delicious bbq & I failed to get a picture of us together

-I was supposed to meet up with my friend Nat but his phone died so I was standing on a street corner in NYC by myself for about fifty minutes crying because I felt anxious and stuck

-But it ended up being okay and I met some people in his ward and stayed with his friend, Erica who recently graduated from NYU's ABSN program. Rode a cab with Erica so I didn't feel anxious

-had a fab girls reunion at a yummy pizza place and rode the subway with Christie so I didn't feel anxious

-didn't meet up with my cousin who currently attends CUSON because I was too afraid to take the subway to see her

-went to church on Sunday in HARLEM! felt anxious walking around even though Erica was with me

-went to a fun dinner party with Nat

-left NYC knowing I could never live there by myself and knowing that Columbia is NOT the school for me and it made me appreciate little Provo, UT that much more

All my life I've dreamed about going to NYC and Paris. They're just two places I thought I would love with all my heart but...I did not heart NYC. I felt hurried, uncomfortable, unsafe, crowded, dirty, and lonely (when I was by myself). It was mostly my fault though. I went alone and I did not plan the trip out. I was all laissez-faire like I was when I went to Duke, but a trip to NYC should be planned out more.

Next time I go I definitely want to go with my future spouse (any volunteers?) or with my family or with some friends. The times I was with friends were fun. But when I was by myself going between friends was anxiety inducing. I probably don't even know what anxiety really is, but I did feel nervous. My friends were very generous with me (paying for meals and cabs) but I also think NYC would be more fun if I had unlimited resources and could take a driver everywhere... I would have loved to seen broadway musical and eaten at the fancy restaurants and explored more.

Man, I feel like such a negative nancy in this entry. I am sure if it was my only option I would have made the best of it, but thank goodness it wasn't! I am super grateful to my friends who helped put me at ease and were understanding and assured me that they also felt overwhelmed when they first got to NYC. Not sure if that's true but it did make me feel better. All in all I would give the trip a 7/10 which translates to "I had fun moments, but overall it wasn't my favorite, but I would give it another chance".