Hello everyone! This post will contain a few highlights from this past semester. As most of you know, I just completed my first semester of nursing school! What is it like? Was it hard? Do you really not have a life?  If you are curious, keep reading!

Busy work.

I have heard many nursing school YouTube channels say that nursing school would be a lot easier without all of the busy work…It is true! Between the ATI assignments, readings, ATI worksheets and lecture preparation you are drowning in little “things” to do. Did I mention clinical, labs, simulations, check-offs, etc.? However, I did not mind it. All of the busy work is actually helping you reinforce the information. It can only help build a firmer foundation of knowledge.

Pharmacology struggles.

This semester, I was frustrated with myself because I could not do as well as I wanted to on Pharmacology exams. During exams, I would panic and the self-doubt would kick in. Normally I can push past the self-doubt, but Pharmacology test bested me. My frustration would only grow once I would sit down in office hours and be able to break down why I got each question wrong.

I was so embarrassed every time I went to office hours because my instructor would literally just say “Okay, I’m not going to explain, because I know you you know what is wrong”. This was very humiliating. I even had an “A student” (student who literally got As on everything in first semester) baffled. They asked me “How in the world can I be an A student and you know the content better than me”? This was true whenever asked to recall information and apply it in clinical, I did very well compared to high-scorers. If anyone knows what might have been going on please share in the comments…

Impostor syndrome.

I don’t know if everyone goes through this, but I definitely did. At one point in the semester, Impostor Syndrome hit me hard. My mind began fighting against me. “I am too dumb”. I think I will go through this until graduation, so I am just trying to deal with it.

Content over grades.

This is something my Developmental Psychology professor told me and it has revolutionized my learning and retention. “Study to learn the content and your grades will follow”. I began doing that and even though I had good grades before, it relieved so much pressure to focus on the information. Now, I always judge my preparedness by my content knowledge base. This is honestly, my comfort and something I remind myself of all the time. I believe it will pay off in the long run.

I struggle with partner work.

This semester we were assigned a different clinical partner for each hospital clinical day. I found that I struggled to take care of a patient with a partner attached to my hip. This  sounds really bad and I don’t mean it to…I look forward to feeling like a “real nursing student” next semester where we work independently. I know I will be challenged next semester, because we will be expected to think like nurses…

I became very irritated towards the end of the semester.

Anyone that knows me personally, knows I am very introverted. I don’t like to talk unless necessary, and I prefer blunt, direct answers. A lot of people are surprised I even work where I work, because it requires a very extroverted personality…Nursing school is very much a social setting. After all you are spending the next couple of years with the same people. After a couple of months, I was annoyed with how much the majority of my class talks. During other people’s presentations, during lectures, when our instructors are trying to give us sound advice… Dare I say that many of my peers are childish?

Overall, I enjoyed first semester! I cannot see myself doing anything else, truly. I am not really good at anything, but I feel I could be a very competent nurse with time. If anyone has any questions on first semester, please feel free to ask! I am an “open-book”.

Thanks for reading and enjoy your break if you are in school!

Anna