TWO WEEKS LEFT!

So our semester in the city is coming to a close, and so is being a college student! This semester has been one full of learning, transitions, and change, none of which I am very good at, but here I am! I’m very very thankful for the semester and the fact that it provided a little bit of an easier transition into “real life.” Living in the city this semester was quite the change from college. It’s meant navigating city transportation on my own, paying rent, setting up my own cable and internet, and checking my mail everyday. It’s meant getting up early on a regular basis and packing a lunch everyday for work. I’ve found that working (almost) full time is way more exhausting than I thought, and finding time for friends, exercise, and relaxation is definitely a challenge. However, I’m getting more used to all of this, and I’m finally starting to adjust. Having this semester to kind of bridge the gap between college and “real life” has been exactly what I needed to have a fun semester that also put me one step closer to graduation!

Living in the city has been such a fun experience! Using public transportation is great because you can get anywhere! There’s also tons to do, plenty of places to try new food, and lots of interesting and new experiences! One of the things I’ve really been loving recently with a little warmer weather is being so close to the lake! It’s a great place to walk or run, and hopefully these next few weeks will bring warmer weather and a chance to actually experience the beach!

My internship has also been quite a learning experience! I work on the pediatrics floor at UIC hospital. The staff there has been great. Everyone is interesting and nice, and they’ve done a great job of making me feel welcome. It’s taken some time to get used to the different patient population and working in a very busy high stress job. I’ve faced a lot of difficult learning situations-my floors sees a lot of abuse, poverty, cancer patients, and a variety of other chronic conditions. However, this means I get to work with a lot of the same patients over and over, and have really been able to form relationships with them. Working with different types of patients with a variety of different conditions has stretched me and forced me to do a lot of growing and a lot of studying, but I’ve loved every second of it! It’s taught me so many lessons about how to be a better nurse and how to be a better person. I’ve loved getting to know my patients and my coworkers, and feeling like I’m making a difference in people’s lives.

With only two weeks left, I can say that I’ve loved this city experience, and that it’s really prepared me to become a college graduate! It’s still crazy to think that these four years of my life are about to come to a close, but being here has made me so much more confident as a nurse and as an independent person!

~Elizabeth Meyer

Hello all!  Time is really starting to fly by in the city! I cannot believe we only have five more weeks here. Moving to the city was a big adjustment for me as I have lived in rural West Michigan all my life, but I now feel quite at home in the windy city.  Now that the warmer weather is here things have really started to brighten up. The spring break shoppers have arrived in full force and the number of joggers on the running trail has significantly increased.

My internship is at Northwestern Memorial Hospital on a heart failure floor. So far, it has been a really great experience and I have learned a lot. I am so grateful for the chance to have an extended internship, as it gives us the opportunity to feel more comfortable and become increasingly independent.

Aside from internship we have been able to enjoy many other aspects of the city as well. Lauren has been keeping us nursing students busy with a different restaurant each week after class, which gives us all a chance to catch up on each other’s internships and experiences. This past week we went to an Indian restaurant. The food was extremely spicy but great!

Recently, we had the chance to see a Chicago Bulls game at the United Center. It was a lot of fun, especially since I had never been to a professional basketball game before. It also helped that they won!

Part of our experience here includes community service and a couple of us got to work in a greenhouse this past week. It was great to experience something new and totally different from what we normally do on a day-to-day basis and see how it can positively affect a community.

Chicago Semester has been great and I am thankful that I had this opportunity to live and learn in a new environment.

-Sara 

Midpoint already!

I can’t believe that it’s midpoint already; the semester is flying by! I feel like I’ve done so much during the last seven weeks and, at the same time, I feel like there are still so many things I want to do.

Living in the city has been an amazing experience. I am originally from the Chicago suburbs, so I’m glad to be back in the middle of things. There is always something to do in Chicago and I never find myself getting bored. I’m living in the Gold Coast, which is an area known for its shops and restaurants. I share a one-bedroom apartment with two other girls. It’s super tiny, but what we lack in space, we make up for with our amazing location. I love being so close to everything; I can even walk to work!

I am doing my internship in Labor and Delivery at Prentice Women’s Hospital, which is affiliated with Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

I absolutely love my placement! All of the nurses on my floor are really smart and very helpful. I have had the opportunity to practice so many of the skills I learned in the lab back at Hope and I am really proud of the progress I’ve made. Each and every day is a new learning experience and I have seen so much in just a few weeks. I feel confident managing all aspects of patient care and I am well on my way to becoming an independent nurse. In fact, I like it so much, I’m hoping to continue working on my floor when I graduate.

Each week the nursing students meet for class and we cover important topics to study for the NCLEX. Although I’m still nervous about taking the test, I know that I am going to be very well prepared. After class, we all go out to dinner together. It’s something that I really look forward to because all of us nursing students get to hang out and catch up. This week we went to a diner called The White Palace Grill. It’s a good old-fashioned diner and was even featured on the Food Network program Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. I had a delicious hamburger and chocolate milkshake.

Participating in Chicago Semester is one of the best decisions I made about my college experience. Living, learning and working in Chicago has given me a perspective on the world that Holland never could and I have learned a lot about my future career and about myself.

- Caitlin