Fall Schedule for 1st Year MSN Program

In case you were wondering what classes I'm suffering through taking this fall term (they started Monday!), here is a list as well as a short synopsis from the school catalog. Bastyr University focuses on a whole-foods curriculum instead of individual nutrients, which is what drew me towards the school to begin with, but I've heard from second-year MSN students that during the first two terms, it doesn't really feel like that's the case. I'm a little apprehensive about this term, but I also know that I've made it this far and have gotten A's in my hardest classes (organic chemistry, A&P, biology, and biochemistry, to name a few), so I should be able to succeed this term, as well.

My fall schedule:

Disease Processes 1: This course is designed for nutrition master’s students and is an introduction to pathology. Included are the inflammatory process, cell repair and basic immunology. (3 credits)

Fundamentals of Counseling: Basic Skills (+ Lab): This course covers the fundamentals of counseling, including essential counselor characteristics, basic communication and interview skills, the establishment of a therapeutic/wellness alliance, proficiency in stimulating health and nourishment, and suicide assessment and referral. The theory and research in common factor models of psychotherapy are emphasized. (3 credits)

Research Methods in Health Sciences (+ Lab): This course covers the major research methodologies used in health sciences research. Qualitative and quantitative methods are discussed. The emphasis is on the design and interpretation of research studies. (3 credits)

Advanced Nutrition: Macronutrients: Nutritional biochemistry of the macronutrients, including integrated metabolism, is discussed. Macronutrient digestion, biological requirements, absorption and metabolism are emphasized. Students apply these principles to various dietary and metabolic states. (5 credits)

Nutrition in the Life Cycle: Physiological, metabolic, interpersonal and developmental relationships to nutrition are explored through the various stages in the life cycle, including infancy, childhood, young adulthood, pregnancy, mature adulthood and older adulthood. (3 credits)

If you'll notice, that's a total of 17 credits, and 5 classes plus two (non-science!) lab periods, which is the most I've taken in one term since my undergraduate degree. Needless to say, you won't be seeing much of me here on the blog for the next few months!

Here's my pile of required books for this term. Lovely, eh?