What my class days are like as a UC nursing student
My weekly schedule is busy, but all of my classes prepare me to become an amazing nurse
By: Gabrielle Iordache, Bachelor of Science in Nursing '24; Nursing Student Ambassador
Tuesday, 9 – 11 a.m.
As a sophomore in UC’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing program, my schedule is fairly busy. I start off my week on Tuesdays with my Fundamentals lecture. It is two hours long and goes from 9 to 11 a.m. In this class, we learn about different complications with patients and how to use different tools to help control patients' issues.
Tuesday and Thursday, 1:30 – 3:30 p.m.
Later in the day, I have my Pathophysiology and Pharmacology class. This class is also two hours, but it goes from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. In this class, we learn a lot about common diseases and how they affect each patient. We also learn about every type of medication that is used to treat the diseases. I have the same classes on Thursday at the exact same times.
Friday, 8 a.m. – 2 p.m.
My last in person class is Fundamentals Lab, a six-hour-long lab on Fridays from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. This is by far my favorite class of the semester. It’s where we get to practice all of the skills we learn for clinicals. Each week, we go over a new body system and learn how to assess and document our findings properly. We also learn how to detect abnormal and normal findings for each body system. In the lab, we are provided with so many tools like simulation mannequins and hospital beds, among other supplies. These help to simulate what being in a real hospital would be like and allow for the best practice possible to prepare us to be confident in clinicals next semester. The lab is a safe space to mess up and to learn from our mistakes. Our teaching assistants encourage us to keep trying until we get it right and they never put us down for not doing something perfectly on the first try. They really create a safe and comfortable learning environment for everyone.
Any time of the week
My last two classes are online and asynchronous. This means that I do not have a specific meeting time for the class, but I do have assignments due each week. These two classes are English and Nutrition. In English, we learn about discourses and do research on communication and how certain people interact with each other. In Nutrition, we read about ways to properly take care of your body through healthy eating choices, physical activity and managing chronic diseases.
I thoroughly enjoy each and every one of my classes because they broaden my knowledge in ways that I could have never imagined and prepare me to become an amazing nurse.
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