BUSY LIFE AS A NEW GRAD…

During this time, I was fairly busy with two to three days of class and two-three days on the unit during the week for the first couple of months. The last month was spent working night shift and preparing for the final exam/simulation. Transitioning from the student to primary nurse role can be stressful, but I was determined to continue my lifestyle and actually made great progress during that time!

1. MAKE NO EXCUSES.

The first thing I did was I made ZERO excuses for getting my lifts in and eating properly. Class time was always at 0830. I made sure to wake up hit the gym from 0600-0700 each class morning and whenever I felt like going on my gym days.

2. BRING FOOD.

One thing I made sure to do, not matter what was bring my own meal preps and balanced snacks with me. This makes it easy to resist the temptation of the junk that may be in the breakroom or the vending machines. Does this mean I restrict myself? Absolutely not. If I feel like having a few pieces of sour candy, I will! That is what adds to my balanced lifestyle.

3. HYDRATE

This is also really important for me, but honestly was hard to do on most days of orientation. I have a one liter reusable water bottle that I use and try to drink on work days. Hydration is key!

4. REST

Rest is such an important part to making strides! I never went to the gym on work days when working day shift just to allow myself to rest up well. When I trained on nights, it was easier to go without jeopardizing my sleep. Now that I am being swung back to days for about three months I will more than likely have to cut down from five days to three once I finish the program I am currently running. That is okay!

That is the straightfoward information on how I stayed balanced while completing my new grad nurse residency. Was every day easy? Absolutely not there were many days where I dragged myself to the gym in a hoodie and feeling moody. I got it done though and you can too!

Thanks for reading!