The Good and the Bad.
One of the questions I was asked to write about was, “What is the worst part of nursing school?”
Several things.
The worst part is:
-the first day of class being told that you will be seeing much less of your family and friends in order to succeed.
-going from never needing to study a day in your life to eating, breathing, and sleeping with your textbooks.
-explaining to your non-nursing friends why you can’t go out. Again.
-studying for hours and hours both alone and with study groups with more flashcards and supplemental textbooks that you can count and still barely passing.
-knowing that if you get a 79, it is considered failing and that anywhere else it is a C+.
-clinical uniforms.
-having to do uniform inspections.
-reading nothing but nonfiction for the duration of school.
-getting weird looks when you talk about bodily fluids at the dinner table.
-when you start having dreams about clinicals.
-feeling like a fake nurse when you’re just starting out.
-how many trees have to die for your printed powerpoints.
-group projects.
-having a whole bookcase devoted to nursing textbooks.
-that it is the hardest thing you will ever do in your entire life.
-academic standing.
But, allow me to throw in another perspective.
The best thing about nursing school is:
-how badass you feel when you learn a new skill.
-the moment when you advocate for a patient for the first time.
-the family you gain b/c the bonds you build are like no other.
-when your patients tell you that your care made a difference.
-understanding what the medical dramas did wrong.
-being the respected opinion on everything medical at home.
-knowing that a stable career is at the end of the tunnel.
-being able to advocate for yourself when you go to the doctors office b/c of your new perspective.
-learning how to save lives.
I know I probably wrote more cons than pros, but that’s cause I’m still in it and my and nursing school are not the best of friends now. But keep up the faith! It’ll be worth it in the end.
Do you have any to add to the mix?
Also, be sure to check out the new section for more questions over here!
Thanks to Kim at Emergiblog for all the Change of Shift mentions and welcome to my new readers.
=]
Love,
Laney
[photo cred here]
Nursing Student Chronicles 
