A tiny disclaimer…
Welcome to week 1 of my Nursing Survival Guide! My survival guide is based on my experience in an accelerated program. But I really think our nursing school journey – at least the parts that really matter – are universal. And I bet you’ll relate and I hope this blog is helpful no matter the kind of program you’re heading into!
So consider this your home-base when you first navigate to my site. Each week, there will be a post with some helpful tips on what to expect each step of the way. Basically, my goal with this first series is to help you adjust to a new type of learning and set the groundwork for a strong, successful year!
Welcome to Nursing School!
Look, I don’t have to tell you you’re about to start one of the most exciting, stressful, and life-changing years of your life. Things are about to move insanely fast, and in a few months, you’ll be looking at a different you in the mirror. Be excited. Don’t fear the unknown, which I’m sure feels like just about everything in this moment; embrace it. You’ll have your questions, probably about a million of them, and you’ll find your answers and will absolutely find your way.
Say it with me: “I’m going to make it. This is my time. My one year to become a damn good nurse so when it’s over I can get out there, impact others, and go save lives.
So, what the heck is this 7-hour lab?
You thought you escaped the dreaded “lab” classes after finishing bio 115 and organic chemistry where nothing seemed to even remotely relate to what you were learning in lecture. Those were fun times.
Thankfully, nursing school lab is totally different. You’ll learn your most valuable and practical skills in nursing. You’re in a safe environment where you won’t actually harm or kill anyone and you can ask 45,000 questions without the patient’s mom or husband hovering and challenging your every move at the bedside. It’s a great place to take charge of your learning and really make it count!
So, in lab you’ll be placed in a group of 8 or so people and I promise you’ll become very comfy, very quickly with these people as you do full head-to-toe assessments on each other in patient gowns every week.
Want to really get ready for labs? Check out my Lab 101 post
You’ll practice assessing things like their gag reflex, palpating their NDNT (non-distended, non-tender) abdomen with +BS x4 (positive bowel sounds in all four quadrants), checking for PERRLA (pupils equal, round, reactive to light and accommodation), listening to their CTA breath sounds (clear to auscultation) and so on. It gets a little personal.
But honestly this is the place you safely learn so many practical nursing skills: obtaining VS, NG tubes, trach suctioning, straight cathing, wound care, positioning a patient, colostomy care, bed baths, etc. (PS get good at bed baths ASAP because at clinicals we were a mix between CNAs and nurses and I found myself starting almost every day with a hearty bed bath and getting vitals on 1 or 2 or 8 patients)
Stay Postive and don’t be a victim (some tough love)
Nothing would drive me crazier than people who would complain and argue how much they have to do, and how they’re so tired, and X, Y, and Z. Like, Hello? Welcome to one of the most intense nursing programs in the country. Everyone has their baggage and their disadvantages, but don’t let your circumstances dictate your attitude or be the focus of your conversations or mindset.
I promise if you make excuses and act like you’re entitled to anything in an accelerated program, you will struggle. I’ve seen it happen and I saw those people fall behind. The program moves so fast and there is no time to stop and whine about every change that takes place or a mishap in class. Plus, no one wants to listen to the person who always complains. It’s a bummer. Don’t be a bummer!
Embrace the go-with-the-flow attitude as best you can – it’s a vital skill especially when you start working as a nurse. Because no matter how organized or type-A you try to be, you can’t always prevent or stop a stroke, a code, or a patient in decline. It’s a good time to learn how to let things roll off you and just push forward.
You can do this. Decide right now that you’re going to do it, no matter what, and you’re going to try and make the best of it, even when it’s literally the last thing you actually want to be doing. I truly think it was my shift in mindset early on that got me through the program successfully and with my sanity still somewhat intact.
Get in the right headspace
Call me crazy, but I believe in the law of attraction. See yourself succeeding and waste no time making excuses or complaining. Be thankful for the bumps and struggles along the way and know they’re preparing you for the next and more challenging and probably exciting thing.
Some people see the thing they want,
Simon Sinek
and some people see the thing that prevents them from getting the thing they want.
If you get the chance and are into the idea, before starting day 1, take a minute, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, whatever time you have to write a little note to yourself. Write a little something to remember why you’re even starting this. Before the lectures start, before the late nights, and before the overwhelming times when you’re just not sure about this.
Remember why you picked this path
Everyone’s motive for becoming a nurse is likely completely different. Give yourself something to look back on reminding you of your reasons. You just may need it when you’re hitting rock-bottom and don’t feel like retyping those notes, or listening to another lecture or YouTube video and just want to say, F-it. Trust me, been there. but one of the best things i’ve learned was to be kind to Tomorrow Me, or Next Month Me. Right Now Me may not want to type my notes, but I’ll do it for Tomorrow Me, because I want her to be better than I am now.
Welcome to your nursing marathon. It is not a 20-yard sprint, and you can’t afford to lose sight of the big picture. Let the negative feelings come and go, but never forget why you even started this whole crazy journey. Because it will be your own drive that is going to get you to the end.
I think you’re ready to kick Week One’s Ass! Get excited, set your goals high, and be ready to put in the work. I believe in you!
Xoxo, Lindsey ♡
Love this! Thank you so much!
This is good!
Good luck with this🤗