FAQ's: Nursing School and a Basement Update

Hi Kids!  How's it going?  I don't get to talk to you very often, but when I do, there are some questions that keep coming up, so I thought I would address them here.

First up: the basement.

Q: How is the basement coming?

Good news!  The basement IS coming!  Actually a lot has happened since our last update, but it was over the holidays and (insert list of excuses here).

Q: Do you have stairs yet?

Yep!  My strapping, intelligent, and capable husband built us new stairs and a landing! #BTTJDNMA We didn't buy each other Christmas gifts this year, but I consider this his gift to me.  Tim, on the other hand, kind of got gypped, because I have nothing to offer him.  I did bake some cookies, though, so... there's that.

Look at how spacious that landing is!!! It feels luxurious compared to what we had before.  Also: super-safe.

Before

Q: What next?

As you can see, Tim is in the process of tearing our the old toilet room.  For those that aren't familiar with this space, it was basically a closet with a toilet.  No sink.  Just a toilet.  On Saturday I left for work and Tim said he was going to re-route the plumbing so he could tear the room out.  I came home from work and I could see through to the breakfast nook!  

Current status

It was a fantastic surprise.  If you can't tell from the pictures, the elimination (no pun intended) was necessary for the head clearance, since our stairs are out further now.  After that's done, we'll work on framing and insulating.

I would love to promise you weekly updates on the process but... nursing school.  We'll do the best we can, though.

Secondly, as I have mentioned a few times already: nursing school.

Q: So, how's nursing school going?

Well, I don't really know how to answer that.  Physically, it's kind of kicking my butt. I'm exhausted and I'm sick-- not because it is physically demanding, but in addition to nursing school there's this thing called "life" going on, and sometimes the two of them add up to more Stephanie than is available.  Thankfully, (as the Lord keeps reminding me), He is with me, He will provide what I need --always!-- and He is growing me through these trials.

So far I am enjoying school and find it quite interesting.  My first week in pharmacology was a little overwhelming since we were talking about all kinds of med errors and how they happen.  I know that nursing was a lot of responsibility, and I think I'm prepared for that.  But when suddenly you are seeing all the things you can do wrong, and you know that mistakes can literally be a matter of life and death, it's kind of like "whoa...why do people sign up for this?"  And then you realize that if no one signed up for it, there would be a lot more people dying.  And you just have to be responsible and careful.  And trust God.

Q: How long is the nursing program?

Sometimes this feels like a trick question, but I know it's not.  Here's my best answer:

• I had to take 2 semesters of prerequisites.
• The LPN (Licensed Practical Nurse) program is 1 year long.  I just started this, so I will graduate in December.
• The RN (Registered Nurse) program is another year after that.  However, it only starts in July.  So I will have several months off between finishing the LPN program and starting the RN program.

Lord willing, I will be an RN in May 2017.

Sometimes dogburts like to help me study.  Usually they would prefer to sit on my book and keep me from studying.

Q: How far do you want to go with your education?

I plan to get my BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing).  The school I am at only offers up to RN, so I will need to do an RN to BSN completion program after that.  I can do that online, and I hope to do it while I am already working as an RN.

As far as becoming a Nurse Practitioner... I don't know.  I'm open to it, maybe.  Right now, I'll just focus on getting my LPN.

Q: What kind of nursing do you want to do?

My instinctual answer to this question is "I have no idea."  Then I remember that nurses work about a thousand other places besides hospitals, so I say "I want to work at the hospital" (although in my head, I think "I want to work in hospital" which is how the British say it, and for some reason I like that better).  Right now I think surgery would be interesting, but we'll see what I think once I'm in my clinicals.  I want to do whatever will keep me from getting bored.

So, that's kind of life right now.  Any questions?

How are you doing, by the way?