The Huddle

It’s officially been one year, three semesters, 60 credits, and another Bachelor of Science degree to add to my academic collection. Was it the right decision to become a nurse? How am I still functioning after such a rigorous program? How will my nursing career unfold?

All I can say is that making the decision to become a nurse has been the best choice I’ve made thus far. If you future nurses ever needed any validation, I hope this narrative will power you through your ETP year to make a difference…

The start of my integration (senior preceptorship) was only a day away. I was standing outside a men’s shelter talking to my classmate about how excited we were to begin integration, and the experiences we hoped we’d have.  All of a sudden, a towering man with scruffy clothes walked up to the two of us and stood patiently between us. Initially I thought he was loitering or waiting in line for one of the nearby food carts, so we shifted out of his way. We continued to share past clinical stories when out of the corner of my eye I noticed he was now standing beside me, still waiting patiently. I felt concerned and told my friend I’d see her next week during our first integration seminar and we went our separate ways.

I started walking back to my apartment and heard the man yell “HEY!” I was shocked and turned my head towards him. He walked up to me and said, “Remember me, Max? How are you?” I was at a loss for words and stuttering, scared at what my response would trigger. So I said,” umm… hi?”

He told me his name and that he was recently discharged from a hospital where I did my psychiatric clinical rotation five months before. Immediately, I recognized his name and my face went cold. I was stunned, first that he remembered my name and secondly, that he recognized me when I wasn’t wearing my nursing uniform.

He shook my hand firmly and told me he had something important to tell me if I had five minutes to spare. I said sure, and he told me that he was recently discharged from the hospital and wanted to thank me for everything I had done for him. He continued:

“Thank you for being my friend when I was at my lowest. When I needed someone to listen to me, when I was frustrated with the doctors and nurses who constantly tried to force medicine down my throat to make me less depressed or less of an alcoholic.”

I was still in shock, but this time I felt euphoric: This was the validation I needed and the most powerful experience I’d ever had. We said our goodbyes and I wished him all the best and that I hoped he would continue to keep up the good work.

If you are feeling worried, stressed, or need a positive experience to prove that nursing was the right decision for you, think about your patients, and always remember that often times the most powerful form of therapy is not your prescription pad, but your words..

CONGRATULATIONS Columbia Nursing CLASS of 2014!! We did it!!!

-Maxwell W. Tom, ETP Class of 2014

We all know that the ETP program is an all-consuming, intensely rewarding, life-changing, crazy, crazy-busy year.  In that respect, it is much like parenting two small children except you get a diploma at the end and it actually does end, unlike parenting-which never ends and has no spring break. 

Starting the ETP program with an 18-month old and an almost five year old at home was not a simple decision for me. It involved a huge transition from being at home full-time to mostly away.  Obviously, everyone’s situation is a bit different, but I do know that the few of us who do take on this venture while caring for small children firmly believe that the benefits of a dynamic and interesting program and the subsequent entry into nursing – (the best profession ever)  far outweigh the sacrifices we might make.  So yes, an accelerated nursing program like ETP is quite the experience, and yes, sacrifices will be made. When I speak of sacrifices, mostly I mean TIME.

No one is more used to a lack of time to do ANYTHING than parents of little kids.  Well, in ETP you will also lack time to do ANYTHING so that won’t change. In fact, you will adapt and become so efficient at finding time you will probably break down your calendar into 15-minute increments because 15 minutes is a lot of time in ETP.  The multitasking skills you have been honing at home – getting two toddlers dressed and fed and re-dressed because their dress got covered with food – will be put to excellent use in ETP.  You will also learn that 4 am is a great time to study, when everyone is asleep and no one wants anything and that weekends are over-rated. You will lack time and you will be tired, but by preparing and managing your expectations you will make it through.

So how do you “prepare” for ETP? Well, first off, I don’t advise springing your new schedule on your family at the last minute.  In my case, we made a family decision and I made sure everyone was aware of the changes that lay ahead.  As I knew that ETP would involve a lot of changes for my family, it was important to manage variables like housing, childcare and activities, and get everyone as stable and comfortable in their routines as possible before the program started.  If it “takes a village” to raise a child, then “it takes a village” to get a young family through ETP.  Help from friends and family was vital when my school responsibilities took me away from recitals, loose teeth and basic family logistics.  The transition was enormous for everyone, but tapping into a pre-constructed support system was really the key to navigating the ever-fluctuating waters of ETP.

Now for the hard part (at least for me) – Managing expectations. Ugh, this sounds extremely dull and adult-like. In my experience, during ETP expect a lot of work.  This program is a full immersion into nursing for a whole year and is thereby extremely unique and exciting. But for parents and non-parents alike, it leaves little time for other activities. For me, managing expectations  was truly indispensable.  I internalized early on (like the first week of summer courses), that my new ETP life would consist of school, FAMILY and….yeah.. that is pretty much it and more than ENOUGH.  I quickly abandoned ideas of training for a marathon or learning to knit or re-reading Game of Thrones. While my non-class hours left me some time to exercise, see an occasional friend, eat dinner with my family each night, read stories to the little one, the older one and to “Bidebum” (the older one’s doll), I had to let go of new hobbies and a full social calendar.  If you are a parent, this elimination of extraneous activities and commitments might seem familiar to you, you probably made similar adjustments when you had a new baby or a baby that wouldn’t sleep. Adjustments, tiredness, extreme busy-ness= parenting = ETP.

Sacrifice, preparation, expectation management and a pervasive time crunch. I fear I have painted a less than delightful picture for the parent managing life and school in ETP.  I am not going to say it wasn’t hard at times, but it is do-able, it can be fun and you will learn a lot.  As I rapidly approach integration next week, (Yeah!) I can tell you that it was well worth the time.  My 18-month old is now a chatty 2.5 year-old. My pre-schooler is now a soon- to-be kindergarten grad.  My husband and partner has become old-hat at things only Mommy used to do. And as for me, well I think in few short weeks (NCLEX willing), I will be a nurse! As is true for any achievement in life, goals are not met all on our own, thank you Andrew, Corina, Hudson and “Bidebum” for being awesome and joining me on this adventure.

– Rafaela de la Huerta, ETP class of 2014

Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) has a number of different options if you’re interested in extracurricular activities, from a capella to a student run clinic. I’ve been dancing off and on for about 15 years and wanted to find a way to reconnect with that part of my life. That’s when I stumbled upon Dance Haven, the CUMC dance group. Run through the P&S Club (Physicians & Surgeons), anyone who is a member of the CUMC community is eligible to join! There is one big showcase at the end of the Fall semester and several smaller performances in the Spring semester. Each dance typically rehearses for one to two hours per week. Some dancers are absolute beginners while others are former professionals, and dance styles range from Bollywood to lyrical to tap. If you have a creative urge to choreograph you can do that too!

In addition, Dance Haven sponsored an entire day full of fun, interesting dance classes this year including two master classes with renowned choreographer and educator Sean McLeod. Dance Haven is a wonderful way to get some exercise, meet people from other CUMC schools and unwind.

This semester there were four of us representing the ETP nursing program in the showcase. Check out the Dance Haven Facebook page for photos, other videos of students from nursing (me!), public health, and physical therapy, and for more information. https://www.facebook.com/PSDanceClub

–Kent Haina Jr. ETP ’14

The Right decision..

Good advice is often generalized from personal experience.  I was told numerous times that choosing a specialty is next to impossible before actually spending time on various units.  I have to admit that I essentially blew this off thinking that I knew exactly what I wanted to do.  I loved kids.  Pediatrics was “my thing” and my allegiance to the specialty was unwavering.  Columbia Nursing’s  flexible policy on switching specialties was unique and wonderful for students that were still unsure of their passions, but irrelevant to my situation.

That being said, I plan on starting the DNP program in psychiatry this summer.  So…instead of providing more generalized advice, this is an account of my experience from which, please take what you wish.

Psych was my first rotation of five.  This would be my first time on an inpatient psych unit. I have a degree in psychology, a developed interest in psychopathology and I had envisioned many times what I thought it might be like, but still had no idea what to expect.  I decided to keep a log of my experiences.

Week 3 – My patient’s drawings were incredible, but she was so modest.  She tried to teach me how to draw an elephant, her favorite animal, but my doodle was nothing more than a stick figure compared to the masterpiece that she was able to come up with in less than ten minutes.  I had been sitting, drawing, and talking with her now for a few hours getting to know what she thought about living in a locked unit with 15 other girls that all suffered  from severe anorexia nervosa, a conversation similar to ones we had had in past weeks.   She paused from drawing and looked up at me.  “I’ve been crying a lot…thinking about everything that happened.”  This was different… “What happened?”  She proceeded to give me a timely and detailed account of abuse, feelings of inadequacy, suicide attempts, and other tragic stories of her childhood that all lead to her horrible illness.  I did my best to keep my composeure and channel everything we were learning in class about therapeutic communication, but this was no longer a theoretical, in-class exercise.  This was real.  I so desperately wanted to know what to say, how to help her, and guide her through her haunting history.  But for now, all I could do was listen.  We were able to talk a few more times during the 5-week rotation.  The more we talked, the more she trusted me and the more she shared.

I was hooked.  My experiences during my psych rotation (including diagnostic exercises, group therapy, and conversations with patients suffering from schizophrenia and other affective disorders), weighed heavy in my mind.  I began spending what little time I had outside of class looking for more information about mental illness in children and adolescents specifically.  I even starting taking a class at the New York Foundling Center for Child Protection on child abuse and trauma informed care.  It took about five weeks to convince me that a change from pediatrics to psychiatry was pertinent to my career development.  Three rotations later, my genuine passion and excitement for psych and my pending career continues to develop.

As we round the final turn for the ETP year and the deadline to declare specialty areas approaches, I am able to compare my experiences with my classmates, many of whom share similar passion shifts from one track to another and several who remain happily where they started.  Weather or not the ability to change specialties was relevant to our personal situations, we can all agree that having options allowed us to think freely and explore new interests that potentially would have been ignored.

 -Katie Reeves ETP ’14

Left to right: ETP student ambassadors Anna Szarnicki, Mark Mariano, and Maxwell Tom with Judy Honig, associate dean of student affairs; and Judy Wolfe,  director of admissions and financial aid

The moment you’ve been waiting for, Visiting day is in 24 HOURS!     I remember it like it was yesterday.  Has it already been a year since I had those butterflies, thinking,  “I finally made it! I WAS ACCEPTED! NOW HOW DOES THE SUBWAY SYSTEM WORK? What do I wear? What questions should I ask?”  I remember how  hungry I was for any and every  bit of information that either students, faculty, or alumni could throw at me. I was a bit overwhelmed, and had so many questions! Nervous, Concerned, So much uncertainty!

We all have felt that, and we’re here to help you! Hopefully this blog will ease some anxiety and answer some questions that have been lingering. My advice? Go into tomorrow with a fresh cup of coffee, lots of questions, and remember YOU WERE ACCEPTED FOR A REASON!

-Maxwell Tom,  ETP ’14, PNP Pediatric Oncology Candidate, Visiting Day Ambassador

CURRENT STUDENTS’ ANSWERS TO SOME OF YOUR BURNING QUESTIONS ABOUT BEING A COLUMBIA NURSING STUDENT:

Being from Sunny California, has it been a big adjustment moving to NYC?

New York life? Is it a big adjustment? Uh? yes.  Of course it is.  I picked up and moved 3,000 miles across the country from the only state I had ever lived in, to one of the most infamous cities in the world.  There were expected difficulties that newcomers to New York are usually well aware of. I had to adjust to buying clothes fit for the arctic tundra. I had to adjust to getting cozy with strangers on the subway. I even had to adjust to paying inconceivable amounts of money to live in a room six inches wider than my bed.  But I also had to adjust to the magic of the city, the reason why 1.6 million people deal with the cold winters, germ ridden subways and high prices.  I had to adjust to how beautiful sunsets are from any roof in the city.  I had to adjust to seeing Jennifer Aniston around my neighborhood filming movies.  And I had to adjust to the infectious energy of the iconic island.  So, yes.  Big adjustment.

-Katie Reeves, ETP ’14, Psychiatric-Mental Health NP Candidate, Visiting Day Ambassador

What’s the hardest academic part  of ETP and how do you deal with it?

Some of us ETPers are not coming straight through from college and may be many years removed from formal education. The hardest part academically was readjusting to the student lifestyle: sacrificing time on the weekends to study and creating new study habits. However, your peers are in the same boat, so group studying was helpful for readjusting socially to being a student. I would recommend managing your time in a planner or calendar because your weeks are full of classes, labs, etc. and it’s helpful to know what to expect each day. I would also recommend taking time to do things to de-stress like go outside, utilize the gym or sight-see in beautiful NYC.

-Emily Owen, ETP ’14, PNP Candidate, Visiting Day Ambassador

What is one thing about the Columbia Nursing program that you didn’t anticipate before starting?

Before I started this program, I was very confident of my path in nursing. Little did I know, each specialty rotation would shake that confidence just a little bit. I didn’t anticipate how much I would fall in love with them all! Each experience was even better than the last! From Pediatrics to OB/Women’s Health, I found myself totally head over heels in love with every aspect of nursing! While I’m still confident of my path, I’ve already started brainstorming about how I can incorporate other specialties, such as Mental Health and Community Health, into my future practice.

-Kent Haina, ETP ’14, CRNA Candidate, Visiting Day Ambassador

As a Master’s student Looking back, can you give the future ETP-ers your #1 advice? What’s the BIGGEST difference between ETP and the Master’s portion of the Columbia Nursing experience?

Learn as much as you can during physical assessment lecture and lab over your first summer at Columbia Nursing, it will be a terrific foundation. The biggest difference between the Master’s program and the ETP program is that you are more likely to be working outside of class/clinical and have to juggle your time better. Your time spent in clinical is exciting! You are expected to not only take health histories and perform physical assessments, but also plan for the care of the patient.

-Michelle Conklin, ETP ’13, FNP Candidate

How do you feel about the experience?

My advice to incoming ETP-ers, is that if you are moving from another location, especially if you have never lived in New York City before, start planning your housing early. New York City apartment hunting and leasing is a squirrelly and  scary beast that can work you over if you are not prepared. If you’ve never lived in the city and want to live off campus, do research on things like how to not get scammed by real estate agents, how to do a bed bug history on buildings you might live in, how loud is that street at night, do they routinely spray for roaches, all those lovely things that might not be on your radar.

Ask former ETP-ers about good apartment buildings and brokers. Better yet, consider living on campus the first semester, if not the first year. You will be on campus all the time anyway. It saves you subway money. Nice security staff greet you every time you come home. Your packages are held in a safe place until you pick them up – no standing in obscenely long post office lines or tracking down lost packages. Laundry is in your building. Beds and desks and internet are provided. And it offers you a chance to scope out the city and decide where you might want to live. The housing options aren’t perfect, but the Towers and 154 Haven are comfortable. If you are sensitive to traffic noise, be sure to ask for a room that is not on the river side (Henry Hudson traffic is loud). I’m in my 30s, and didn’t intend or want to live on campus in the beginning, but it ended up being a saving grace. Moving to NYC is overwhelming enough. You want a comfortable place to land and sleep after the long days you’ll have!

The biggest difference between ETP and Master’s for me (and several of my classmates) has been the feeling of responsibility that goes with the broader scope of practice. It’s something that I knew in my mind, but did not really “get” until I started with clinical rotations. To diagnose, manage, and treat – to be responsible and held liable for someone’s well being – is no small thing. It is a subtle and peripheral knowledge that becomes more present and real as the year goes along. Although the class load lightens a bit, the pressure to retain the information feels greater, along with knowing about health care systems, insurance, EMRs, documentation, licensing, etc. No one feels ready at the end of it, from what I hear. Graduation feels like the edge of a cliff. And yet we all will be ready. There’s only so much we can learn in school. The real learning takes place in practice, making mistakes, and learning from patients.

-Isabel Washburn, ETP ’13, WHNP Candidate

From the Financial Aid Office…

1.On average, how long does it take your students to pay off loans for the entire program?

Most students choose the standard repayment option of 10 years with a fixed payment for federal loans. Repayment options vary based on lenders with private loan,s but 10 years is the standard.

Lastly, One piece of advice for surviving visiting day…

I recommend that applicants use Visiting Day as a pre-orientation. Take this time to meet your future professors, get to know future mentors and colleagues (our amazing ambassadors), start building relationships with fellow ETPs, make new friends! Most importantly, ASK questions, everybody at Visiting Day is there to answer them or if they don’t have the answer will help you find someone who can.

-Judy Wolfe, MsED, director of Admissions and Financial Aid

Come Say Hi to the Financial Aid Office!

1. How competitive would my cohort be?

Coming from a small undergraduate school and taking some time off between college and ETP, I wasn’t sure what to except from my fellow cohort. Would everyone in the program be a brainiac?

After all, Columbia is known for its academic prestige. But would my cohort collaborate and help one another, since we’re all going through the “ETP-gauntlet” together? Or would it be mano a mano?

Thankfully, I chose a career that emphasizes compassion, empathy, and altruristic qualities. From sharing helpful tutorial videos, to voting for one another in scholarship competitions, my cohort has been extremely supportive of one another.

2. Being from California, How would I handle the concrete jungle?

I’m originally from San Francisco, where the weather doesn’t get above 75, and no colder than 50. Also, I have never purchased “winter boots”.  However, weather wasn’t the only issue, what about the NYC stigmas? Would I be forced to walk faster, smile less, and how would I adjust to all the bright lights?!

I knew I was in for a bit of a shock, when I was taking the subway to visiting day. I decided to let another person enter the train before me, and then suddenly, the doors abruptly closed before I could get on. “Welcome to New York!” It was quite the introduction.

Living in New York for almost 8 months has definitely added additional layers to my epidermis.  I purchased my first pair of winter boots and I walk considerably faster. However, I still smile at my cashier and tell them to have a great day, even though they routinely smirk at me.  The key for me was to find my happy medium between that California sunshine kid and the gunner attitude of NYC.

3. Am I the only one afraid of the rigors of an accelerated nursing program?

The ETP office does a great job during orientation week scheduling social mixers to get to know your cohort. I’m glad they did, since the people I met felt the same way. Throughout my ETP year the professors, TAs, and  alumni have always offered support and guidance. Additionally, Columbia Nursing and CUMC also offer great outlets to de-stress like yoga, dog (petting) therapy, and weekly spin classes in the gym at Bard Hall. Overall, I would compare ETP to New York City in the sense that there are a lot of people who share your same emotions, but you may not know it until you ask.

—Maxwell Tom

Stage 1: READY and overly ambitious – when you call realtors and start looking for apartments in February for May or June start leases, be prepared to be the laughing stock of the agency. Housing in NYC is in crazy high demand and everything is done at the last minute. For May 1^st or May 15^th leases, plan to look for an apartment in mid April. Also – do your research on what you have to prepare in advance. As a student, you will need proof of an acceptance and a guarantor who makes a boatload of money to back you up (note: it doesn’t have to be a family member). Or good recs from previous landlords. Be ready to share things with your realtor and landlord that you probably don’t share with friends. They need to gain your trust. In the end, it all will workout and you WILL find somewhere to live.

 Stage 2: First Day of School Jitters – attending classes in the summer is definitely strange. The temperature fluctuates like crazy: cold subway, hot subway station, steaming pavement, freezing classrooms, crowded classes– but the thrill of starting nursing school trumps any of that baloney. Your fellow students will amaze you, intimidate you, and be remarkably friendly. ETP is something people VOLUNTARILY do, to achieve their nursing dreams. Everyone is smart, ambitious and probably more worldly than you are. Don’t worry though! You will find your niche. From West coasters to lifelong New Yorkers, there’s a spot for you. Also – age range is about 21 – mid 50s with most students falling into their mid to late 20s. While everyone is on a level playing field academically/nursing-wise, the range of experiences your fellow students will have is incredible.

 Stage 3: Homesickness and a bit paralyzed – NYC is bigger than you can ever imagine. So you will become very intimidated very fast. Being overwhelmed automatically reduces one to homesickness and missing familiarity. Don’t let the stress of a new place and program get you down! Instead, take the time to get to know the city and the people in your program. They won’t bite. Also – invite a loved one to come visit you in the big apple so you can explore the city with them. NYC in the summer is pretty fantastic: equipped with roofdecks and central park strolls. Classes will dominate your weekday existence, but explore the city via café hopping so you can get out and study at the same time! Hopefully your clinical placement allows you to see a new part of Manhattan. There is nothing like the bond of your first clinical group. Enjoy every minute of feeling like a newbie and always ask questions!

Stage 4: Summer Break Chaos – One month of no work? Yes – that is right. Get everything out of your system that you forgot to do before the program started. ETP year is intense and now is your opportunity to travel, sleep, and embark on new adventures. Remember, you’re the one who signed up for a program to get your BSN in one year! It won’t be a walk in the park, but it is achievable.

Stage 5: Back to Reality – WHOA. After a summer of mastering the fundamentals of nursing (ASSESS, DIAGNOSE, PLAN, INTERVENE, EVALUATE) and a break for a month, you will come back feeling refreshed and ready to rotate through the different specialties: Medical-Surgery, OB, Psychiatry, Pediatrics, and Community Health. These rotations will fly by, so really note how you feel during each one for this will guide you into making sure you are enrolled in the appropriate NP program. Make time to reflect on how you like or don’t like the clinicals. It is easy to go through the motions, but remember, this is your lifelong career we are talking about so you want to create your own path.

Stage 6: Cruisin’ – Each rotation has a different style and vibe depending on the professor and your clinical instructor, but breaking it up into smaller groups makes the time fly by. While you may not be in the group with all your best friends from the summer, this is a good opportunity to meet other people in the program. Also – now that you are more comfortable with the city, get involved! Whether it be student activities, volunteering at COSMO or going to different talks within the CUMC campus. You’re at COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, take advantage of it.

To be continued…

-Emily Owen ETP ’14

8:00 – My alarm jolts me awake and my day begins. I shower quickly, get dressed and throw some bread in the toaster. Most days I will be on campus for about six-eight hours a day, but because this is the long day of the week it’s actually more like 11, nine of which will be spent in a classroom. In order to avoid spending $20 on food today, I put together some lunch and other snacks; pb&j, mixed nuts, a banana, some pretzels, a yogurt. This is college student budget dining at its best!

 8:40 – Ack! I should be out of the house already but I still haven’t made coffee. Oh well. Better get to class. I’m lucky enough to live just a 20 minute walk away. Some of my classmates commute all the way from Brooklyn (a trip that can take over an hour, especially if there are train issues), others are driving in from the suburbs (traffic!). On the opposite end of the spectrum, those who live on campus in Bard Hall can roll out of bed and walk across the street to class!

 9:00-12:00 – Science of Nursing Practice: This is our weekly three hour lecture on topics ranging from catheter insertion to dressing changes to oxygen delivery systems. The topics covered today are the same ones that will be covered in skills lab later in the week. All 170 of us are taking the same classes this semester, filling large lecture halls. We are in smaller groups for our clinical day (groups of about eight), and for skills lab and physical assessment lab (groups of about five-six and 20, respectively).

 10:15 – Fifteen minute break! Hallelujah! Coffee time!!! I forgot to bring K-cups for the public Keurig machines in the basement, but we are lucky enough to have a café on the first floor. $1.50 for a cup of joe is a small price to pay for me to be able to pay attention.

 10:30 – And we are back…

 12:00PM – Class is over. I need to print out the PowerPoint lecture slides for the rest of my classes today. While many of my classmates bring their laptops to class I’m very old fashioned and still use paper and pen. J Computers on campus can be difficult to grab at peak times but I manage to find one and check my email and print my slides. I still have 45 minutes to enjoy some sunshine and eat my lunch.

 1:00—3:00 Topics in Nursing Practice: aka Town Meeting. This class covers many different topics from mandatory hospital trainings to nursing concept maps to lectures on global health.

 3:00 – Another hour long break. I just ate a couple of hours ago but I still have a four hour lecture to make it through. Luckily I brought my snacks. I have to print out some more slides for tomorrow and am also going to use this opportunity to complete a computer module for one of my other classes. Other weeks I use this time to run to student health to complete immunizations, run personal errands or to do some studying/reading. The Summer of ETP is relentless and you have to organize yourself and utilize your time wisely or things can very quickly pile up. In addition you just never know what can happen in your personal life to throw everything off.

 3:40 – Ok I HAVE to go outside. By the time I get out of class the sun will be setting or set. Must get vitamin D!

 3:50 – Remember that 4 hour lecture? It is time for more coffee…

 4:00-6:00 Advanced Physiology: This is a graduate level physiology course. In fact, the ETP students are in the class, together with the lateral entry masters students (that is, those masters students who did not go through the ETP year). We learn the ins and outs of the body systems and how truly amazing the human body is. This is a fantastic class with a wonderful professor, but it can be difficult to make it through at the end of the day.

 6:00 – ZZZzzzzzzzz…zzzzzz…zzZZzzz. Huh?! Oh. (wipes drool from mouth) Cool…ten minute break.

 6:10 – A little less than two hours left! You can do it!!!!!!!

 8:00 – And we are released!

 8:30 – I get home after stopping at the grocery store. I prepare and eat dinner in a somewhat dreamlike state.

 9:30 – Time to hit the books. I have reading to do for skills lab, physical assessment to review, laundry to do before clinicals, and tables of drugs to create in order to study for Friday’s Pharmacology exam.

 11:00 – Ok. I need a little time to unwind. I can fold laundry and watch a little television.

 1:00AM– Time. For. Bed. I am mentally and physically exhausted. It is important that I get some good rest because tomorrow I will go to class for four hours, continue to study for the pharmacology exam, watch a one hour pre-recorded physiology lecture online, take a quiz on that lecture material, meet with my physical assessment partner for two hours to practice the physical exam, work on my patient profile database for clinicals and maybe find time to go to the gym. The ETP year is physically, emotionally and mentally demanding but it is also incredibly rewarding, exciting and inspiring. What an unbelievable year!

–Kent Haina Jr. ETP ’14

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