First steps

My aunt works at DHCM and she introduced me to a great woman there who has something to do with education (Education Coordinator or something). I called her last night and she had tons of good suggestions for how to pursue a career in nursing. She told me which colleges in the area have good nursing programs and which don't (yep, some definitely have a bad rep). She also said (and I agree) that if I'm going back to school it would make the most sense to get a Masters degree instead of a second Bachelors. Makes sense to me. That way I won't be limiting myself unnecessarily and I won't find myself wanting to go back to school again in a few years. She also mentioned that if I can't get into the program right away (she wasn't sure when admissions were) then I could always start taking some required courses (such as a math or bio) at a local college to get a headstart on things.

After talking with her I decided to check out the University of New Hampshire. She said they have a very well respected program and are flexible with adult students. I mentioned this to Alan and he said that he's always known UNH to be a well respected school as well (he grew up around here, I didn't)

What I'm most excited about though, is that she introduced me (via email) to the Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS - yep, lots of new acronymns to learn) at the maternity ward at DHMC. I want to spend a few hours "shadowing" someone there to get a feel for the job. She said this woman would most likely be happy to help me. I can't wait to hear back from her. They will also try to get me in touch with the CNS at the NICU so maybe I can shadow her for a few hours as well. I think once I've done that I'll be much more confident in deciding on nursing as a career. Hopefully I hear from her soon.

Alan and I have been talking a lot about how we can work this. UNH is about 2 hours away, so we've been talking about moving there for a few years while I get a degree. We both want to settle here, but he's open to the idea of moving for a few years. I feel so lucky to have him and have a family flexible enough to do this. Alan has such big dreams and I've been happily supporting him these years, now I'm finding my dream and he's right by my side supporting me. I couldn't ask for a better husband. Life is good.

Next steps... shadow a few people at DHMC, talk to admissions at UNH, go visit, figure out financial aid, learn a lot more about the field (what the various titles mean, acronyms, etc)... apply... hmmm... lots to do...