Reflections On The First Semester of Nursing School

Recharging

I slept in today and woke up very late. Then I laid in bed and did nothing for a bit before stretching and then rolling over to lie on my side for a bit longer. I did some thinking, rolled some ideas in my head, and finally eased out of bed. It was really nice!

Cleaning The House

After that, it was a productive day of washing windows and horizontal blinds. The dirt really builds up in one year because of all the pollution of being near the highway. After washing 6 big windows and blinds, I took a shower and headed out for some Christmas shopping.

Fighting Germs

I think I'm coming down with a bug since my skin hurts and my tummy has a dull ache that doesn't go away. Sometimes the ache is in the front, and sometimes the ache is in the back. It's very odd. I've had it since sometime during the exams.

I tried to look it up to see if I could figure out what it might be, but scary diseases and illnesses come up, so I decided to stop looking so that I won't become a hypochondriac that thinks I have every disease in the world. I'll just pop in to see the doctor when she gets back from vacation. I have a feeling it's just stress-related.

Grades

The grades came out for all my courses and I actually did really well this semester. I had told myself that it wasn't realistic to get great grades for first semester, but I ended up getting them anyways. It was such a huge relief for me when I saw them. I was really worried that I had bombed the final for one course, but it was A-okay.

By tomorrow we'll find out which hospital we'll be assigned to for next semester. I'm hoping for the hospital nearest to me since it will be easier to get there for 6:30 am start times.

Classmates

While Christmas shopping, I've bumped into a couple classmates. We always rush to ask if the other person passed all their exams and whether they'll be moving on to second semester. The relief is mutual when we've both confirmed that all is well and that we'll be seeing each other again in January. I feel like my classmates and I have been through a lot together. It binds us together even for the students that I didn't interact much with during the semester. I don't think that some of my friends really understand that about me yet. However, I feel like my family understands. My family has been really supportive this semester and I'm really thankful for that.

Worries

Sometimes I feel really scared about becoming a nurse. I walked away from a good job with good co-workers, and I think that being a nurse will be much harder than being an animator. I have had almost 5 years of being an animator, but I have only 1 semester's worth of training as a nurse. I worry that I'll make a mistake and that people will get hurt, and I worry that I don't have what it takes to be a nurse. However, if grades in school are any form of indicator (and I don't think they are, but I'll just pretend they are so that I feel better), then I am unnecessarily worried. I freaked out all semester and I probably made myself sick because of it, but the grades are excellent.

Plans for Semester Two

So, my plan for second semester is to work hard, stay focused, but to also worry less. I am growing more certain that I can do this and that I can handle it, and I have to hold on to that because I can't keep being so stressed all of the time. It's not healthy, and it's not beneficial. I need to exercise more so that I am physically fit and able to handle the hard work of being a nurse, and I need to learn to relax and just drop the stresses because it will make me more efficient and effective.

Even talking about that now makes me feel a little better.

Thanks for sticking around as I work through all the challenges of making a career switch. It's nice to know that I come here and write about it. Hopefully, this can help someone else out there who might be thinking of making a similar change in careers (or of becoming a nurse!)

Have a great week!