I can’t believe this page in my life is finally over.

I am actually closing the book to

nursing school. I have had some of the best and some of the worst experiences throughout the

program but that is the beauty of nursing. You never fully know what you are going to get when

it comes to nursing and why it is so appealing to us select few.

I came into nursing school with some experience in the medical field but still completely

oblivious about what I was going to experience. I was the deer in the headlights but acted as

calm and collected as I could. I hate when people seeing me struggle. I began with Competencies

I and Health Assessment which were absolutely terrible for me in the very beginning. I already

was a Certified Nurse Aide, so it was everything I had just learned and practiced at work. I felt

like everyone kept coming to me for help and looked at me as the teacher in some respects. I did

enjoy that fact, though, because I naturally feel as if I have a leader-type personality. Overall,

this was the least enjoyable clinical experiences out of my nursing career.

Competencies II was much more enjoyable by bringing me into the emergency room for

all of the clinical experiences. At the time, I wanted to be in the emergency room, so I thought I

was in heaven. I am a very fast paced person and love the adrenaline rush. In addition, we began

our Adult Nursing Science Practicum which I finally started feeling “nurse-y.” I was able to

assess and begin putting clinical nursing skills to practice. After the first semester, I just thought

floor nursing is not for me. I was set on the emergency room by the end of the semester.

Once we began our second half of Adult Nursing Practicum, I started learning the flow of

different units. I absolutely fell in love with the intensive care unit and was slowly shying from

the emergency room. In addition, we began the Mental Health rotation. I love psychological

issues and was hoping that I could get the psych patients while in the emergency room. I think

that I believed it was the best of both worlds. I didn’t like the Mental Health rotation due to the
lack of nursing skills utilized. I believed that I spent way too much money and time for these

skills to just lose them based on the job I choose. Altogether, I was still set on the emergency

room.

I began applying for other jobs other than my home health position in order to gain more

experiences. I had applied to every part of the hospital hoping for the emergency room. I ended

up getting numerous call backs but of course, not for the emergency room. I accepted a job on

the Cardiopulmonary Care Unit. I was very reluctant to start on this unit since it was going back

to the floor nursing that I had brushed off so quickly.

I finally began the final year. I believed that it should be easy and a walk in the park. This

was definitely not the case. I began the maternal health and pediatric rotation. I did not start off

excited for this experience and was very nervous. My biggest fear was seeing something happen

to a child or baby that they have no control over. I am definitely an adult nurse by nature. I just

hate knowing that a child or a baby hasn’t lived their life without something debilitating happen.

I’d rather take care of a sick adult patient who has lived for more than a few years. Overall, this

was my least favorite semester.

I finally began that very last semester. The finish line is finally in sight. I had never

thought this time was going to come. I am about to start the final leg to the race which is the

lovely immersion. I was hoping to get into the intensive care unit, yet my current nurse manager

had another opinion. I got immersion on the unit I worked on. I was so upset initially. I couldn’t

believe I wasn’t going to learn any new experiences because it is everything I already see on a

daily basis. Well, I was completely wrong. I had the best immersion experience surrounded by

the people I have already grown to love so much. I have learned time management, critical

thinking, and assessment skills that I wouldn’t have learned on a unit I was unfamiliar with both
the people and area. I was so content, I even applied and accepted on my unit in order to become

my first stepping stone in this nursing career.

Altogether, I had an amazing time in nursing school with experiences that are

incomparable to anything I have ever done in my life. I have started as a deer in the headlights

and have developed into a buck ready to tackle on this life as a nurse.