Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Changing Plans

Will wonders never cease? I actually feel the urge to write today! Maybe it's because I made the time to sit in front of my sunlamp to recreate the sunlight that's been lacking in our neck of the woods lately.

So 2009 is upon us and I'm nowhere further ahead than I was in 2008. I'm still procrastinating and playing ostrich with my finances. I'm not in school nor progressing towards a degree of any kind. I'm still "The Procrastinator". But I have chosen a new word for this year. That word is ACTION. Change is all well and good, but it's a new year and something needs to propel those changes. That would be where ACTION comes in.

By playing "The Procrastinator" I have effectively locked myself out of being able to register for those prerequisites that I need for nursing school. I applied to two schools and school number 1 (my alma mater) was right on the ball, accepted me, and I'm good to go. Except for the fact that the courses I need this spring are either only offered on campus (2 hours of driving each day) or the internet sections are full. School number 2 (the rival of my alma mater - old loyalties die hard folks when you grow up a died-in-the-wool bunnies fan) is even more of a procrastinator than I am! I sent in all of the paperwork 2 months ago, sent in their request for more paperwork three weeks ago, and still have not heard anything! School number two does have some open internet sections for what I need, plus one course that is located nearby for which the internet section is full. Classes start on Thursday meaning I'm really behind the curve on this. What's a gal to do now?

My lovely little plan was to be accepted for Spring of 2009, take all of those monster courses I need in one fell swoop, apply to the two nurses programs and see which (if any!) I was accepted into for Fall of 2009. That's most definitely not going to happen now. I forgot the rule of my life, which is, nothing EVER goes as I plan. So the plan is being tossed out the window and I'm flying by the seat of my pants now (what does that phrase mean anyway?!).

Since the word of the year is ACTION, I'm not going to sit around and wait to see if I can take everything this fall. I'm developing a new plan of sorts (I'm learning this is why people have back-up plans). I had originally thought that after I had my RN I would take the accelerated paramedics course and be an RN/paramedic. I'm thinking about reversing that strategy. There is a paramedics course starting next month (two nights per week for 11 months) and I'm going to apply. If I get in I'll take just a couple of prerequisites for nursing per semester and apply for RN school for the Spring of 2010 (which is what I'll have to do anyway now regardless of if I get in to paramedic school or not).

Why? Honestly, I can't see myself working as a patient care tech for the next 3 1/2 years while finishing RN school. Well, I could see it happening if the pay were higher, but it isn't. Right now I am dependent on the child support from Mr. Ex to pay the bills and since I consider him to be undependable (granted he has not missed any months but I can't count on that or him) I find it incredibly scary to think that the next 3 1/2 years of income are partially dependent on him. Paramedics in our area start out making as much as a 2-year (associates degree) RN. If I were to complete the paramedic course and be hired I would work the same amount of hours that I do as a tech but would make almost twice the pay. Considering that Anime enters high school next year, Actress hits middle school, and Action wants to play hockey, there's going to be a lot more extra expenses, not to mention the medical cost for Anime if it turns out that she does have lupus.

I am driven by money, or the lack thereof. Not a good way to be but I've spent so many years struggling for a financial security (which I promise I will eventually tell you about . . . it is an interesting and lengthy story) that I want to grasp for the next level up (income-wise).

I twittered about this recently and I don't think I made it clear that I'm not forgoing nursing school for paramedic school, just simply reversing the order. I know that nursing presents many more opportunities for advancement down the road. Of course, this is all contingent on being accepted, which I very well may not be. Then it's back to the drawing board, I guess. Good thing I'm a go-with-the-flow kind of gal.

4 comments:

Noodle said...

Maybe this is a stupid question, but how can internet classes be full?

And as an aside ... today's word verification is wormenes. I love it! We need to make up a definition for that.

Chele76 said...

Did you try over-enrolling in the class? It usually just takes permission from the instructor and a paper to sign....

Good luck!

Anonymous said...

I think thats a good plan - it addresses 2 issues: money and time! I think the thing that would end up killing you the most would be doing nothing so this way you get to actively take hold of the future and run with a new opportunity. Good on you! And good luck with your paramedic application!

The Modern Gal said...

I think the more flexible you are the better things will turn out. It sounds like doing the paramedic thing might actually make things work a bit better?

Good luck with things. I know how hard it is to have to let money make some of your decisions for you.