Making it through
I've made it through the first 3 weeks of the nursing curriculum! Whee! Pretty good, seems how I thought I was going to die after the first syllabus day.
I signed up for a mentor this week. The nursing program at my school sets sophomore students up with junior or senior nursing students, and you stick together through the duration of your program, or however long you need them. I'm all about seeking advice from anyone that can help me! I also spoke with one of my pals who has done SANE and other types of nursing for 30+ years, and she gave me some good advice and antecdotes for getting through school. Here are some of the tidbits that she gave me:
- The first semester is the hardest. They cram as much information as they possibly can into your brain, but you don't yet get to apply it in clinicals with real people.
- Think about a nurse that you've encountered who was lazy, mean, or dumb. Remember that they went through nursing school too, and if they could make it through, you definitely can!
- Nursing is always interesting and ever changing. Even through she has been a nurse for more than 30 years, she said that she didn't feel like she had been in the same profession the whole time and isn't desperate for retirement to come.
I read a couple of "how to survive nursing school"-type books before I ever enrolled, and I remember this quote from one of the books from a student:
"Even if you were a straight A student in college before, in nursing classes you have to learn to be satisfied with C's and thrilled with B's."
Oh my gosh, this is so true. I took my first two tests this week, and got an 84 on one and an 88 on the other. The tests were so difficult that I thought for sure I would flunk when I was taking them, but then I nearly kissed the professors that handed them back with B's on them!
