I've been in nursing school for approximately 1.5 years now, I graduate in May of 2021, but I've realized that I've never taken time to reflect on lessons learned from my experience.
With only one semester (hopefully) left before graduation, I figured now is a good a time as any to reflect on those lessons and share them with those of you who are entering and finishing nursing school.
Let me know what lessons you've learned from your nursing school experience in the comments below!
1. It doesn't get easier
At first glance, it may seem like nursing school should get easier with each semester right? The information builds upon itself and you get used to applying knowledge, clinical rotations, and everything that comes with being a nursing student right?
Wrong.
Well, partially wrong. Some aspects of nursing school get easier. Personally, getting up at 5 a.m. for clinical was really hard for me my first semester. However, as the semesters went by, getting up at 5 a.m. to be at the hospital by 6/6:30 a.m. became easier and more routine.
Unfortunately, though, there have been many things that come with nursing school that have not gotten easier for me. For example, I SUCK at studying daily. I typically have to worry about so many extracurricular activities (sorority things, clubs, and working) that I do not make time to study daily. I typically make time to study on my lighter days of the week, days that I don't have meetings, and days I get out of class early (ex: on Tuesdays, I get out of class at 12:30 but on Thursdays, I get out at 4:30. So I typically get more studying done on Tuesday rather than Thursday). I definitely have to maximize my time!
I know you're probably wondering why I haven't quit my extracurriculars so that I can devote more time to studying daily. The answer to the question is this: I don't want nursing school to swallow my life and be the only thing I live for. With my extracurriculars, I have a break from school and I feel more fulfilled, holistically. So, I suck it up and find the best way to balance my extracurriculars with my school needs and get by just fine (mostly).
Another part of life that hasn't gotten easier throughout my nursing journey is the fact that every lesson builds upon another. With that being said, if you don't have a solid foundation of a subject, disease process, etc, everything else that you need to learn concerning that topic, becomes more difficult to understand. This has been especially hard for me recently since the outbreak of Corona.
Story Time.
Corona interrupted my junior 2 semester, mid-semester. It was a mess. Clinical rotations became eight-page papers and virtual simulations. Courtesies that were normally granted to us by our instructors such as reviewing rationales for missed test questions were now taken away to protect test integrity. Everything about nursing school as I knew it, had changed. It became harder to focus and stay motivated, having to finish school online and at home with my family and five-year-old brother.
All of the material that was being covered at that time became a blur, as I was just doing enough to get by and get the semester over with.
Bad decision. Very bad decision. I didn't grasp concepts that would be crucial to understanding material that was coming in the following semesters. Even though the semester ends, you will see the material again, as your classes build upon one another, so be sure to get a solid foundation of every topic to set yourself up for success and fewer headaches than I endured!
2. The program is meant to wean out the "weak"
It's sad, but it's true. Not everyone who sets out to be a nurse is meant to be a nurse. You have to have more than just a kind heart to be a good nurse.
There are skills and knowledge that need to be obtained, which is why schooling is required to obtain a degree in nursing and then there is a certification test that you must pass in order to obtain a license to practice nursing.
There are skills and knowledge that need to be obtained, which is why schooling is required to obtain a degree in nursing and then there is a certification test that you must pass to obtain a license to practice nursing.
My nursing program has a grading scale that is a bit more "rigorous" than the 10 point scale that my university applies to anyone else who is not enrolled in a specialized program.
For instance, in my nursing program, an A is a 94. Before I entered the nursing program, an A was a 90. Additionally, anything less than 80 is considered failing in my nursing program. So, on your transcript, if you have an 80 in a class, it will show up as a C. If you have a 77 in a class, that is a D and you will have to repeat the class.
The increased rigors of a nursing program can cause problems for people for two reasons as I see it. For one, even though you may pass all your classes with 80's, they are still C's on your transcript and will therefore drop your GPA. If you enter nursing school with a 3.0, and your GPA drops as a result of the C's, you could be in jeopardy of losing scholarships that require you to maintain at least a 3.0 GPA.
Second, most teachers will not provide extra credit, and if they do, it's not the 10 points added to a test or dropping the lowest test grade like you may be used to. You're lucky in nursing school if you get anything other than your four tests and final. With that being said, you have to bring your A-game EVERY time. If you have a bad day and fail a test, you need to prepare even more for the next exam to get yourself back in the green.
Nursing school drives you into a constant state of high performance, failure is not an option.
3. Don't just finesse the system, it's not all about the points
4. Don't just study the PowerPointould be reading and learning even more than what your teachers are asking because anything nursing is fair game for NCLEX. Learn the material and save yourself the headache later when you're prepping for NCLEX.
4. Don't just study the powerpoint
As I mentioned earlier, your teachers provide a condensed set of information from the book and probably put this information in a PowerPoint. If you're lucky, your teachers will review said powerpoint in class with you, hitting the highlights.
However, in my two years of nursing school, I have never, I repeat, never, had a test that was simply on the material covered in the PowerPoint. Essentially, your teachers want you to APPLY the information that you are learning, not just memorize it.
For example, your teacher's PowerPoint may only include that a normal fasting blood glucose ranges from 60 - 110, but they may expect you to take it a step further and know signs of both hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia, especially if your book covers it within your assigned chapters for the test.
This is where the application piece comes in. You may know normal serum glucose levels but what do you do when those levels are abnormal? What physical symptoms should you be able to recognize in a patient with hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia?
Quality of study time is always better than the quantity of study time.
I always like to read the assigned chapters while going through the PowerPoint provided by my teachers. I add information that isn't included in my powerpoints to further my understanding and fill in any gaps that may come up when I'm studying.
In addition to studying the PowerPoint, I also use practice questions to study because it allows my brain to process the information in a different way than repeatedly reading the same notes over and over. Sometimes when you get used to reading the same set of notes, you zone out and begin aimlessly studying.
Quality of study time is always better than quantity of study time.
5. There are no handouts, don't set expectations
Nursing school is difficult. It's supposed to be. So don't expect to receive "handouts" from your teachers or even your peers.
I don't say that because I want you to think your teachers don't want you to succeed and every student is aiming to out-do the next. I say that so you don't walk into your first nursing class with unrealistic expectations.
My father has always told me, expectations lead to disappointment.
In nursing school, you get what you work for. If you feel you should've earned a higher grade on an exam or project than what you got, your teacher may allow you to schedule an appointment with them to review your test and explain your thought process.
This appointment could result in you earning those "extra" points or it could result in you walking out with the same amount of points you went in with, but also a better understanding of your teacher's thought process and how you can perform better on future tests and projects.
Nothing will come easy.
Even if the whole class thinks a question on an exam is unfair, your teacher still maintains the right to decide to give points back on that exam or not.
All you can do is do your best. Success is where preparation meets opportunity.
The journey will already be hard, but you can make it easier on yourself by not setting unrealistic expectations, take every event for what it is- a learning experience.
Do not confuse these statements as me saying do not have goals, as goals and expectations are two different things. Goals are flexible and include a defined plan as far as how you plan to reach them. You work to achieve a goal and receive some sort of satisfaction when you do.
An expectation is fixed. You want something, or believe you need something, but you never set a plan on how you will achieve it. In a sense, it is a goal without a plan. A goal without a plan can never be accomplished, it will always lead to disappointment.
6. You CAN have a life outside of nursing school
We've all seen the depressing memes and statements about being a nursing student on our social media accounts. My favorite, "I can't, I'm in nursing school".
Even when you get past your first semester of nursing school, figure out your learning style, and find a routine that works for you, it still seems like nursing school takes over your life.
I am proof that you can have a life outside of nursing school.
I joined a sorority the semester before I started nursing school and became president of that sorority my first semester of nursing school. While being president and a nursing student, I managed to help bring 18 new girls into my sorority while passing all of my classes. Additionally, I traveled, joined new clubs, partied, worked two on-campus jobs, and never pulled an all-nighter to study.
I did all of those things and still managed to pass all of my classes. However, I had classmates who also did all of those things and didn't pass all of their classes. The differences that may have separated us could be determination and productivity.
I have always been determined to accomplish my goals, it's one of my favorite things about myself. Nothing changed when I entered nursing school. The challenge of balancing my social life with academics presents itself every day.
Every day I have to choose whether I'm going to indulge in habits that are more satisfactory than studying, study for the majority of the day, or do both. Most often, I choose to do both. I will study for 1-2 hours and take a break in between to do something that I like such as watching an episode of my current Netflix series.
If I have a meeting for my sorority in the evening, I will be sure to get a good portion of my studying done beforehand.
I have to prioritize my activities to ensure that I can get my studying done but also maintain my sanity. Of course, I tend to get jealous of my friends who could wait until Sunday night to study for a test or complete all of their homework assignments, as I don't have that pleasure (you try studying 7+ chapters the night before a nursing exam and let me know how it goes). However, I have to remind myself of the end goal and stick to what works for me. And look at me now, I am one semester away from graduating. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Pro tip: if you're socially active like me, it's okay not to study every day! Pick study days throughout the week to get your studying done and be consistent, it all works the same.
Stay true to your goals. Persevere. Stay determined. You've got this!
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