Editor’s note: In her own words, nursing student Elizabeth Harris describes what it is like to be enrolled in the new accelerated bachelor of science in nursing program at the UNMC College of Nursing. The 12-month program condenses into one year what the traditional nursing students learn over two-and-a-half years. Harris is one of 20 students expected to finish the program and graduate with a BSN in December.
I started out my college career as a psychology pre-med student at UNL and decided that I enjoyed the social sciences more than the bench science found in many of my medicine pre-requisites. After getting some experience in research and working, I found that I was still feeling a call toward health care.
Nursing is great because not only do you get to look at the clinical aspects of things, you also take a look at patients in a more holistic manner – looking deeper into our common human experience. My psychology background works great with this.
For me, this program is perfect because I am a self-motivated learner and have a strong work ethic. I have a lot of experience in independent study and loaded semesters in college.
I definitely feel overwhelmed at times. A classmate of mine calculated that with studying time (assuming the standard 3 hours for each credit hour), eating, sleeping and class time we have 10 hours of free time a week. Most of that time I wish I could be sleeping. Luckily, everyone in the program is really positive and motivated, which makes the long hours tolerable.
What keeps me motivated is knowing that this program is only 12 months and that every skill I learn is going to be important when it comes to the care of others as a nurse. My classmates are also very motivating in that they work really hard while still spending time with family and keeping up with other responsibilities.
A typical day starts much too early and ends in the evening. I go home, eat, finish any paperwork or assignments that are due the next day, maybe study for an upcoming exam (which is quite often when you are taking 25 credit hours) and then hopefully get a half-hour hour to maybe watch some TV. I think I allot myself a little more than the 10 hours of free time my classmate calculated. I really appreciate any chance I get to spend time with friends and family on the weekends.
If I had to give some advice to the next students coming in I would say if you can handle some fast-paced learning and a little bit of stress, go for it. I would also tell them to get organized early. It’s really about maximizing your time to advance your career.