Dear New Nursing Student,

Congratulations! You have made it into nursing school and now are on your way to

becoming an RN! What an exciting time, don’t forget to celebrate and enjoy the little moments

in all you are accomplishing.

Sometimes, there is no sugar coating it- nursing school can be difficult and you’ve made

it this far, so you know that you can continue to achieve great things. My biggest piece of advice

is to take each opportunity as a learning experience whether it goes well or not as well as you’d

like. In my experience, even the uncomfortable situations can teach you what kind of nurse you

want to be and how you would like to handle difficult ethical situations in the future.

Some days you may find it easier to look at the big picture, while other days you may not

be able to look past the week because of all the assignment deadlines- do not worry! Everyone is

in the same boat. Take a deep breath and tell yourself that you can do it. The BSN interviewers

would not have picked you for the program if you were not capable. Take things a day at a time

if you need it; your education is not a race. Some people will compare scores, but don’t feel like

you have to. You just need to remember that the testing scores aren’t always accurate to what

you know. Give yourself positive affirmations each morning.

While you’re on this journey for the next 2 years, remember to take care of yourself and

the friends you make. Working together and supporting each other will help you remember that

your education isn’t always the most important part of life. Something that stuck with me was

when a nurse told me, “you can’t take care of others unless you care for yourself first.” Nursing

burnout is a very real thing, but know that there are things you can do to prevent it. Find the

reason why you want to be a nurse and use that as your motivation.
 Some subjects you take won’t be as interesting to you as others and that’s normal. Just

make sure that you don’t neglect studying that material. For me, I wasn’t interested in

maternal/newborn or pediatrics, but I fell in love with intensive and critical care. People may

take more time than others to find what interests them and that’s perfectly normal; don’t feel like

you have to know exactly what you want- your ideas may change! And they may continue to

change even after you pass the NCLEX and are out working in the ‘real world’.

Feel free to reach out to me with any questions you may have! I always do my best to

support others as the practice of nursing is a team effort. If you ever feel like you need help,

don’t be afraid to ask a friend, family, instructor, or even me. Good luck on your nursing school

journey! Time will fly and before you know it, you’ll be walking down the aisle in your cap and

gown graduating. Bear Down!

Sincerely,

Gillian

gilliansemail@comcast.net