To the Nursing Students...
Submitted by Katie Paige
Tags: education jobs nursing school nursing students
Remember when you first applied to nursing school and the excitement you felt? Remember the first time you got that acceptance letter in the mail saying you got in? Remember the excitement of your first clinical and being able to see patients for the first time? That is the feeling you want to keep throughout the whole process to help you get through. Being a nursing student is hard and comes with many challenges. You may take your first test and fail. You may fail a class and feel like the world is collapsing around you. You may lose friends and miss out on opportunities that make you feel alone. You may feel like you are never going to get through the program and there is no light at the end of the tunnel.
I am here to tell you that there is light at the end of the tunnel. All of the feelings of doubt will go away eventually. I was one of those students who failed a class, failed the NCLEX, and felt like my life was over. I remember the first time I failed a class and thought to myself that I was not smart enough or capable enough to be a nurse. After that, I proved to myself I was capable and finished the rest of the program with high B's. Once schooling was over, and it was time to take the NCLEX, I thought for sure I would pass. When I failed it the first time, it was the most humiliating thing that I have ever experienced. I almost did not go back to take it again but somehow forced myself to do it. I almost gave up nursing and could not remember why I decided to put myself through this. The program is tough, I shed a lot of tears, but I did not give up and made it out strong, landing my dream job. I started out of nursing school working on a postpartum floor which was very sought after. I knew it was my dream to work on a postpartum floor and did not give up even with everything that happened.
As the nursing student you are, you have to remember why you decided to do this in the first place and stick with it. You will be proud of yourself. You will feel accomplished. You will land your dream job and be able to care for patients. You will have financial freedom. You will be grateful for every second you spent in school. Yes, there are bad days at work, but that is with any job. You may start fresh out of nursing school feeling overwhelmed and like you learned nothing during those 4 years. That is also okay as it takes time to learn how to be a nurse and get on the job training. There will be negative nurses that you work with trying to bring you down when you first start but that is something you have to look past as well. Be the nursing student who makes it through even if you have doubts. I promise you if you get this nursing degree, it will be one of your greatest accomplishments in life as well as one of your proudest. You can do so many great things with a nursing degree and have so much flexibility with how you want to work. You will not regret it in the end. Remember why you are becoming a nurse and never give up on that. Think of the hard days as only being temporary and that your future is worth more than a couple of bad days/weeks in nursing school.