September 24th,
2012
To My First Week
of Nursing School,
Where to start? There’s just so much
going on in my head that I don’t know where to begin. The past month has been a
wild, crazy, whirlwind adventure. The day after I moved all of my belongings
across the country for move-in day, I hopped straight on a plane to travel
around Europe for two weeks before our classes began. I figured it was my last
opportunity to travel for a long time at least until I graduate and work for a
couple of years. I’m still trying to catch my breath. Even now, after the first week of nursing
school, it hasn’t sunk in that I’m going to be a nurse in the very near future.
I don’t think it is going to hit me until I pass the NCLEX, land my first job,
and walk down the hospital halls as a registered nurse.
This week has passed by so fast! I
barely got any sleep Sunday night because I was anxious about possibly not
being able to wake up in time for my off campus clinical. As nerve wracking as
it is, to strut down the streets of New York in bright purple scrubs, I
realized that they are a necessity! When I arrived at the off campus clinical
site, I wandered around for a good 10 minutes before Professor Rempel, sitting
on a couch nearby, acknowledged me. From what I gathered, this semester I will
be working in a cardiac telemetry unit. For the most part, the hospital staff
was welcoming, but the nurse of the patient I was assigned to seemed as if she
was very in a hurry and it felt like she just wanted to concentrate on her
tasks at hand. I was surprised to see that the patient was so kind and thorough
with explaining her condition even though she wasn’t in the best of shape.
Since I hadn’t attended any classes before the off campus clinical I was
shocked by the careful charting nurses need to perform. I think that day I had
the most difficulty when trying to communicate with the patient. Since we were
paired with another student, I allowed my classmate to take over the
conversation because I did not want to interrupt her and overwhelm the patient.
Also, I can see how difficult it is to speak to patients who are hard of
hearing because it’s hard to find the balance between being too quiet or too
loud.
I guess the last matter I want to
address is that I’m still getting used to being away from my family, friends,
and the awesome California weather. I still have so much to learn and to
explore in New York. One of my biggest worries was meeting new people and
making new friends. It may not be apparent to others, but I am a very shy and
self-conscious girl. I am constantly battling with myself to squish my shyness,
and once I overcome that hump the “getting to know people” and “people getting
to know me” part is considerably easier.
I’m glad that everyone I’ve met thus far is so friendly and welcoming.
Goodbye First
Week of Nursing School,
Clos3tGirlyGirl
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