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!
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It's the most common question I'm asked...
Why do you want to be a nurse? The truth is I NEVER wanted to be a nurse...or at least I didn't know so. Throughout high school I was engulfed in a law and history based program convincing myself I would one day be an attorney. However, towards the end of senior year something clicked in my head. I suddenly had a moment where I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. Until one day the beginning of my freshman year, I just sat down and thought to myself what do I want to gain from my profession? I came to the conclusion that: 1. I want to be challenged every day. Nursing requires you to think on your toes when you have a split second to decide what is the best medical call. It requires you to use your brain and file all the information you've ever learnt into a space that you can access in a second. It is an unpredictable job. You never know what is going to come through the door or who is going to take a turn for the worst. Its the most exciting job. And the most important job (along with fellow healthcare professionals/doctors). You become the only thing standing between the patient and their grave. I believe there is nothing more challenging than using your skills and knowledge whilst being confident in yourself to make a life or death decision. 2. I want to make a difference in the patients comfort and happiness in one of the most vulnerable times of their lives. I want to feel everyday as if I made someone smile even if for a brief second, to ease their pain or discomfort. I want to be there to celebrate victories; no matter how little. And to be the advocate and cheerleader my patients will need. 3. I want to feel rewarded that everyday I did the best I could to benefit the lives and well being of others. I want to go home feeling at ease that I did something unselfish to better something or somebody else in the world. Once I had this realization, I thought "Ok... now do I want to be a nurse or a doctor". And for me the choice was simple. Nursing focuses more on bedside manner. Nurses are the people that are always there and who form the closest bonds with their patients. They're there to relieve their pain, to chat when they are bored and lonely, and to be the advocate that sometimes they cannot be for themselves. Nursing simply felt like there was more of a personal and caring centered side to the job. With knowing that, I decided to apply to my universities nursing program. When I received a phone call/acceptance letter I balled my eyes out. I had never been so excited and so thrilled. In that moment, as if it were a sign, I knew this is exactly what I was supposed to do with my life. From then on I was immersed in nursing prerequisites and nursing core classes that I fell in love with. And for the first time in my life I could say that I loved school. I know I know only nerds say they love school! But I really do. Minus of course the horrible hours studying and unforgiving tests that ruin your grades and create stress....but none the less, something about these classes solidified yet again this is what I should be doing. The information became so interesting, I was so excited to get to class and learn something new. Soon enough everything began to build on each other. Fast forward to now, I am months away from starting my first clinical rotations. Nursing isn't for everyone. And I have discovered it is the most unforgiving, fulfilling, challenging, rewarding, profession/major that has the power to make me feel absolutely stupid and absolutely brilliant at the same time. It is a roller coaster ride... but one I wouldn't change for anything. This is exactly what I should be doing. |