This will be the first of a series of articles that I intend to write regarding what it's like to be a nursing student and how I perceive and overcome some of the challenges along the way. I am starting with the very beginning; the long wait to actually start classes.
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Orientation is in 17 days. August 10th I get to meet all my fellow nursing school classmates and the instructors. I have waited for this so long. I have spent over a year doing all the pre-requisite classes and testing. I have waited what seems like a lifetime already just to get that all-important letter telling me that "Yes, you are accepted."
I am not a very patient person. If it were up to me, I would have everything yesterday. I am so excited about nursing school that I just want to jump into it NOW. On the other hand, I am also nervous, anxious and just a teensy bit frightened. I feel the pressure of the need to succeed, and all the "what-ifs" haunting me.
You hear and read all the time about how nursing school is so different from all the other classes and there are plenty of examples about anything from bad instructors to difficult tests and everything in between. It doesn't help matters that for my family, my career change is seen as a ticket out of scraping by from paycheck to paycheck. I have never been one to shy away from a challenge, and to some extent I thrive on them.
It's like when people say "You can't do this," I have to prove them wrong.
I have everything I need to start classes. I have already purchased the required uniform, stethoscope, sphygmomanometer, and most of the books. I have very few things left to do. I plan on getting my hair cut and colored, because I don't know when I will have time to do that again, and I must make sure my kids have everything they need for their own school starts.
I am glad that I still have things to keep me busy and my mind occupied to make the wait go by a little faster. My kids are important, so I do want to make sure that we do fun stuff together as a family, because chances might come fewer and further between for family activities.
I have started to read the textbooks a little bit. Not in depth, but rather a skim through to get myself familiarized with the style of the author and to prepare myself mentally for the type of critical thinking that I know will be required. I am worried that I won't have the time to read the textbook once classes start, therefore I am trying to give myself a little head start.
All in all I am looking forward to this challenge. Nursing has been my dream for as long as I can remember, and I am determined that I am going to succeed and become the best nurse that I possibly can be. That starts with becoming the best student I can be, and I can only hope that all this time spent preparing for nursing school; thinking about it, dreaming about it and preparing for it will help me be successful both as a student and a nurse.
