Anyone else out there who's similar to me...

[semester1kid]

...where in lab, I like being the first in various demonstrations and don't mind (too much) making mistakes because it 'sticks' in my mind better?

I think too many people are afraid of making mistakes - yet for me, lab is the time to get them out of the way and at this point (mid way through first semester), we're all still just mere novelists and can't expected to be experts. You don't get to have these experiences out in clinicals or else you can cause harm. So I guess my point is use lab to get these things out of your system, ask the so called 'dumb' questions (since in reality there is no such thing as a dumb question-and more times than not, there's probably several other people thinking 'thank god someone asked that question') and learn how to go with the flow.

And learning how to go with the flow may be the most important thing to learn. Although I'm new to this particular field, one thing I find similar to anything else I've done, regardless of whether it was a high school job flipping burgers or dealing with clients in my current accouting/finance job - you're taught how to do the job in text book style...but at soon as you face a client (fully dependent on their mood, attitude, etc), half the stuff you learned gets tossed out the window and you still have to deal with it. Lab is a good place to start experiencing when things don't always go as planned.

[knittingmonster]

Seeing as how mistakes in lab can cause failure from the program, I do mind making mistakes. During lab practice, I'm all about learning from mistakes. Check-offs? Not so much.

[DolceVita, ADN, BSN, RN]

What she said!