#NurseLife

Whichever route you take, you’ll still be successful! 

When I decided that the medical field was what I wanted to seek a career in, I was presented with many options. A registered nurse, licensed vocational nurse, respiratory therapy, radiology, scrub technician, and many other routes. I wanted flexibility. I wanted to see different things in the hospital. That’s when I decided nursing was for me. I decided to get my vocational/practical nursing license. In 12 short months, I could be an entry-level nurse, getting my foot in the door and gaining experience while possibly pursuing higher education. That’s when I started receiving backlash for the route that I chose. Comments such as: “LVN/LPN’s are getting phased out.” “You will only work in LTC.” “You’re not a real nurse.” It hindered my decision until I did more research. So here’s what I found out about the career and everything it has to offer.

When they say, you can’t… Remember you can

Whether you’ve just applied to your dream program, are in the middle of finals, or just finished the most tiring semester you’ve had yet, you might still be questioning your ability to make it in nursing. We’ve all done it; we wondered if we have what it takes or whether we’ll be able to support ourselves financially through school. Some have families and kids to take care of, while others lack confidence and let that imposter syndrome creep in. Nursing school involves hours upon hours of schoolwork every week, long clinical hours, and high-stakes exams like HESI and ATI. We wonder if we’ll have the time to do it all and still pass. This made it more difficult when you add it to having a job. I can’t tell you how many times our faculty have lectured us on why we may want to reconsider working while in nursing school (if only it were that easy). If any of this applies to you, chances are you need a little motivation and inspiration to keep on pushing through. And since it is the season of giving, I’m here to share some.

Asking For Help: Is A Strength, NOT A Weakness

So many times in nursing, we hear all of the individual tasks we must do on any given day as nurses. YOU hand out these meds; YOU take this patient here or there, YOU bathe the patient, YOU have an admission. I often hear so many new or even experienced nurses talk about the "weight" they feel having for 12 hours straight, 3-5 days a week. We feel overwhelmed, scared, angry, and most of all, alone. I am slowly learning as a new grad; we do not have to feel this way! There are SO many tools, resources, and most of all, our peers to assist us daily in the numerous tasks and skills we must perform.

Now, this is something I struggled with, especially as a student! I felt like I was burdening the nurse, asking too much of them, distracting them from what they needed to do. But one thing I was told by a very knowledgeable nurse, "If you do not ask, you will never learn if you do not know how to ask!

It’s a Marathon, Not a Sprint. How to Handle Failure in Nursing School

Nursing school is a long process. Whether you are in a two-year or a four-year program…there are bound to be failures or areas where you fall short of your expectations. Coming into nursing school, I was used to failure. It was all I knew because I failed out of college two times before beginning again in 2018. I had to meet with advisors, appeal my academic suspension, provide letters of recommendation, and re-take the classes I failed. Being back from that and getting accepted to nursing school, and maintaining a 3.90 GPA has been one of my most significant accomplishments. Not only am I in a position that I never thought would happen, but I am doing it, and I am doing it well. So, how do you handle failures while in nursing school and come back stronger?
While I have been doing well in nursing school, I have failed. Quizzes, medication calculation exams, skills check-offs, it happens. More important is how you handle it and what you do to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.

The Weekly Preparation: Plan Your Work, Work Your Plan

I think we can all agree that there is so much prep every week in nursing school. Papers to be written, chapters to be read, notes to review… it can become very overwhelming! The anxiety of thinking about everything on that extensive to-do list we have written in a notebook keeps piling up. But managing this list and working through that list in a productive, positive way is beyond important! Here are some helpful tips to consider:

• Get A Planner: Yes. This one may be obvious, but having a monthly and weekly layout can sometimes be the simplest of solutions to the overwhelming feeling!