White Coat
I have been off the grid a bit lately due to my enrollment into the MSN-CNL program. It is an 18 month program designed for people with bachelor's non-nursing degrees. It's a highly competitive program with a very high success rate with respect to graduates passing their NCLEX qualifying exams (#4 in U.S.). I have a lot of work ahead ... The 1st week was super stressful to the point that I started questioning my decision.
Two weeks ago, on Friday, I had my White Coat ceremony. It was combined with a tour for friends and family. My mom, one of my neighbors, and my partner (only 3 people per student were allowed) did the tour in the morning (while the students attended a professionalism forum). I had more friends join me for the ceremony in the afternoon. My family did the tour of the patient simulation areas. The simulation lab mannequins are fully enabled to simulate all kinds of conditions - heart rate, breathing, temperature, movement, leaking all the fluids and materials that people leak, etc. They have adult, pediatric, and maternal "patients", video recording with immediate reviews, and more. My mom, being a retired radiologist, didn't hesitate when they offered her the opportunity to examine the patients - she was very impressed.
Between the 2 parts we had lunch with several guys from my cohort. There was a small reception afterwards too. It was a long and exciting day, but I was pooped!
That's it for now. Gotta go study that pathology stuff.