North Orange County ROP: LVN Program

Hello Everyone! As most of you know, I have been accepted into the Licensed Vocational Nursing Program at North Orange County ROP (Regional Occupational Program). Believe it or not, I have survived the very first three weeks! Before I delve into my exciting new learning experiences, I want to introduce the program. North ROP is a government based program located in Anaheim that supports vocational education to high school graduates and local adults. There is an intensive screening process in order to be selected for the LVN program. As an adult, I was to score a passing grade on a pre-entrance exam that covered most basic math and English skills. At that point, I was then accepted into an introductory course called Fundamentals of Nursing I. This class was seven weeks long and covered a variety of subjects along with very basic nursing care. After successful completion of this course, each student was hoping to be invited into the program. The LVN program acceptance is based on a point scale. Students were able to obtain points based on their level of education, grades, and medical based work experience. Each individual’s point summary was brought to an interview with the Director of the Nursing Program and a teacher also from the program. At this interview each student had to answer a few questions and ultimately prove why he or she should be accepted into the program. After two excruciating weeks of waiting, I received a letter stating I had not been awarded an adequate amount of points and that I could wait another four months for the next screening process. As you all know, I was not going to pass that opportunity up! I was determined to be accepted into this program! Months later, I presented my resume to the Director convincing her I was more than qualified to kick butt in this program. Shortly there after I received the news I had been waiting to receive for over one year! I was finally accepted into Fundamentals II which is the first course of the LVN program! This course also runs seven weeks long but on the third week starts our first clinical rotation. The first two weeks was preparation for the clinical site to which we would all be assigned. There are five separate facilities where we could be placed and I was assigned to Kindred Westminster. This is what led me to where I am now. I have only been on the floor for four shifts and so many exciting things have already happened. I am challenging myself to “blog” these experiences and I wanted to share them all with you. My idea is to write about everything I am busy doing on a day to day basis. I will be defining medical terms and explaining procedures in detail in hopes you all are able to learn a thing or two. I am really excited to document this experience and share it with you. I think I should cut to the chase and begin blogging, so here it goes…enjoy!

Katie VNSROP