When WHO officially announced 2020 to be the year of the nurse I couldn't be more excited considering it would be the year we graduated and went into the field. But as we know, 2020 took a quick turn to the worst with COVID-19 creating the idea of going into the field as being uncertain and cancelling once in a lifetime events we worked so hard towards.
When I found out COVID-19 cancelled my graduation I cried. When I found out my pinning ceremony was cancelled I cried even more. Nursing school is tough as sh*t and I know those of you reading this know EXACTLY what I meant by that. I never thought I would possibly be strong or smart enough to make it through nursing school. That sounds super insecure but it's true and I think we can all say we've had our doubts within ourselves throughout this journey. I was heartbroken when graduation was cancelled however I knew that it was coming with the current state of the world. But my pinning ceremony was of upmost importance to me. It was sort of the right of passage into the field and something, in my eyes, more significant than a 30 second walk across stage. It was having an instructor, more so a mentor, pin me. It meant I finally did it, I was a nurse and holy sh*t would that be a realization moment lol. It was also receiving a double honor from FAU's SNA chapter earning one of the most prestigious NSNA awards and being a part of the executive board during that time. That was the hardest of the two grieves for myself. It is healthy to grieve losses that aren't physical. In this case for a lot of us, it was those ceremonies we worked so hard to experience. But here's what I did about it... After receiving the news a few weeks later, I took a step back. I realized it was healthy and important to grieve the loss of these prestigious events. But then I realized, why am I not proud anymore without these events? I don't need a room full of people to validate my hard work and triumphs through my program. Of course, I would have loved to have a time to celebrate, however I began to notice that myself and my friends started to invalidate the hard work we had done over the years. I noticed we weren't as excited and lost sight of the light at the end of the tunnel. And thats exactly what inspired me to sit down and write this. I always wanted to be a nurse to help and heal others. It was never about getting the highest grade on a test or having all eyes on me during a graduation ceremony. I took the time to center myself in realizing that ceremony or no ceremony I was still so damn proud of myself. I took a look at all that I endured over my time in nursing school. I mean you literally name it... hard breakups, losing friendships, watching my mum battle cancer for a year and a half. I learned so much about myself...how resilient we really can be, how hard we can apply ourselves to studying, how much we can persevere through hardships, and at the end of the day how we can put on those scrubs, go to the hospital and continue to care for those around us as if nothing else was happening. I learned when to turn on my tough and when to turn on my humanity. And above all I learned my capabilities as a nurse. So I may never get my graduation ceremony. And I may never get my pinning ceremony. But at the end of the day I still get to call myself a nurse. To me, thats the greatest accomplishment of them all.
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It’s currently 10:30pm as I’m writing this and it’s the night before my LAST first day of school ever. Yup, senior year officially starts tomorrow. I cannot believe I’m here. I never thought I would fail nursing school, but boy was I tested the last few years. Nursing school isn’t easy, it’s not glamorous, and at times it’s the most defeating passion in the world. So tonight, before I begin my final year, I wanted to write a little something about what I’ve learned that may benefit all of you pre-nursing, freshman, or even sophomore or junior nursing students out there.
Clinical confidence comes and goes. You’re probably like Sam what? But let me explain. During my first clinical I was scared... I mean petrified. I felt like I was seriously playing dress up wearing scrubs to a hospital and having little to no training. My instructor was amazing but she was totally a throw you in there kind of person so I felt really like I needed to gather my sh*t in order to survive. But I learned that throwing myself into new experiences, practicing skills, passing meds, giving shots, etc was the only thing really helping me learn properly. I’ve learned that you can be extremely smart when it comes to lecture classes and study the heck out of your textbooks. But when it gets to clinical you need to turn on your nursing persona and get the job done. My biggest tip to those of you reading this post and are nervous about starting a new clinical is just to know that: 1. Everyone is in the same boat as you and are literally so nervous. It’s good to be nervous otherwise you’d be overconfident and potentially hurt your patient by doing so. 2. Volunteer to perform skills and medication administrations. It’s petrifying to say you’ll do it & then realize it’s a real human and not a dummy. But it’s the best feeling in the world when you do it right (or wrong and learn from it). You’re there for experience so make sure you get all the experience you can get your hands on. Plus you get bragging rights to your clinical group haha! This is my biggest tip to building up your confidence in the clinical setting! 3. Ask so many questions. There’s never a dumb question and I can’t tell you how much more the nurses you work with will appreciate you for doing so. Asking questions or asking a nurse to walk you through a procedure/skill is great practice and they often are so happy to see you taking the initiative to learn. This goes the same to other healthcare professionals. Another point I’d really like to share is that there is so much studying. But know that you will be okay and you will get through each challenging exam and class. Friendships are important and I guarantee your cohort will become so tight knit when it comes to studying and surviving together that it becomes comforting to know that everyone else is feeling and doing the same as you. Make sure to study hard, don’t neglect things till the last minute because these classes are too complex for that. But know that you have to take time to take of yourself as well. Do something little each day for yourself to decompress or destress through all of the studying! It’ll keep you sane and more productive by doing so. Leading from that, time management is KEY! Planners will be your best friend and making even a mental layout of your day will help you achieve so much more. For me, I prioritize class, studying, gym, and friend/family time every single day. With practice and time management, I’ve been able to have that every single day of nursing school without compromise. My point is you can have a life outside of nursing school, just make sure to balance everything in order to do so that way nothing suffers. Nursing school is hard. And sometimes it sucks if you have friends in other majors that really don’t understand the time commitment. But keep your head up, focus on working hard, and have fun too! You can have it all I promise you that. This post was sort of all over the place and I will happily dive more in depth into some of these topics in upcoming posts but I wanted to give you all some motivation before the semester starts! I hope you all seriously have an amazing first, last, or whatever semester it may be for you this fall! You’ve got this! The semesters coming to and end and I’ve completed my first clinical rotation: med surg/chronic care. Going into the whole clinical setting on the first day I was SUPER nervous. I mean everything we learned in the textbooks, in sim lab, or in fundamentals suddenly has to be implemented and drawn together to help care for a person. A real person! After a few weeks I started to find my groove a bit more. I was becoming more comfortable talking to healthcare professionals and approaching them with concerns about patients. I became more comfortable asking questions and trying to problem solve with my nurse. And most importantly I became comfortable within myself to take care of my patient. Below are some of my top tips I learned about how to gain clinical confidence as well as things to be remembered...
1. Everyone is in the same boat. Everyone is nervous and curious as to what will be thrown their way that day. Just remember you are a student and you’re here to learn. 2. Have confidence in what you’ve learnt. We’ve spent years learning skills in class so now it’s time to use them. 3. Don’t be over confident and unsure. If you’re uncertain about something speak up. Ask your nurse, your instructor, or even your peers. It’s never wrong to get a second opinion. 4. Remember that you’re there to help patients. I had to make sure I put aside my own insecurities in order to properly communicate with my patients confidently. 5. Go into your patients room confidently and speak clearly. Nobody wants a nervous nurse. 6. It gets better! Throughout your weeks it will become more natural. Talking to patients will be less daunting. Performing skills with your Instructor and giving shots won’t freak you out anymore. 7. Be confident when talking to healthcare professionals. It’s all about professional intercollaboration. Nobody could function without one and other. Make sure to be respectful, use the SBAR to provide information, and ask questions if needed. 8. It’s ok to be nervous! If you weren’t nervous you wouldn’t be willing to learn and become a better nurse. Clinical confidence is something I gained throughout my weeks. And to be quite honest, I’m sure I will continue to gain more confidence. Nobody’s perfect. Just remember to try your best, be willing to learn, and go in confident! You’ve studied so hard it’s time to let your hard work pay off! So I’ve finally started clinicals!! Hooray! It’s been so exciting finally being able to be hands on and getting some real life clinical experience! With this being said, I thought it would be helpful to my fellow nursing students going into their clinicals as well to share what I carry in my bag!
PENS: I make sure to carry 2-3 on me at all times! You never know when you need to write things down! MINI POCKET SIZED NOTEBOOK: Again, you’ll never know when you need to make a note! I also will add little reminders to myself in here such as important lab value ranges or procedural steps, etc. STETHOSCOPE: An obvious essential! How else are you going to assess your patients! My go to is my Littmann Cardiology IV! I love it so much! PENLIGHT: I always make sure I have one or two of these with me on rotation since I’ll have to check my patients eyes/reflexes! BADGE/BADGE REEL: My hospital requires our student card to swipe into the hospital as well as for identification! My badge reel is from Badge Beauties on Etsy/Instagram and I use the pink ribbon one in honor for my Mum battling breast cancer at the moment! I love how this is a personal accent on my scrubs. They come in all shapes, colours, and designs so definitely check her page out! PAPERWORK: I’m talking care plan sheets, SBARS, and mini charting documentation sheets. My clinical instructor likes us to fill all of these out as well as charting in Docucare. I make sure to always have a copy on hand of these SNACKS: I’m going to dive deeper into this in a different post on what foods I bring with me to clinicals however I ALWAYS make sure I bring a protein bar. They’re just easy to eat in a few minutes, give me energy, and keep me satisfied for a couple of hours! My favourite bars are the Zone Perfect Nutrition Bars in the chocolate chip cookie dough flavor! They literally taste like dessert and have a ton of nutritional supplements in them! WATER BOTTLE: Essential!!! The more water you drink the better. Obviously not for the lack of time being able to pee but it keeps you more awake, alert, and oriented (AAOx4 lol) during your shift! There’s nothing worse than being dehydrated. |