Nursing has been in my family. My own mother has been a nurse for more than 30 years and is still working on the ICU floor - has never gone into management, teaching, etc... She is passionate about it and very book smart. As kids, we had the health lectures everyday and would correct any piece of wrong information. She's grown to become very caring and less critical... except on me :) I have other family members who are also nurses - cousins, aunts, and friends.
I just graduated and I was talking with some instructors and the director. I feel like many of them see me as their "daughter" and see themselves in me... a twenty something - spazzy nursing student, enthusiastic about the profession. I am very aware of my weaknesses and one big one is that I'm not a very book smart person. I learn BEST through experiences and cannot just "get it" with text books and tests. That stuff is reserved in my short term memory and after that, I don't know anything. Being a CNA for years before nursing school, I was working alot with mental health patients and with that, I did very well in mental health. Regardless, I suck at taking tests and am not the smartest. ALL my instructors, including the director (I'm sure are very aware of this as well) know I'm not the best at this... HOWEVER, during clinicals, I do well. Apparently, there were nurses on the floor who have told my instructor good things about me, on the first day of our clinical; I had family members of patient tell the facility (who then, told my instructors) how I was "there" for them, etc... I'm also a very energy sensitive person and when there were times when patients were so frustrated, I literally became anxious and frustrated. There were 2 or 3 clinical instructors saw me cry at the back because of this. They've also told me I'm a great public speaker, which is a rarity. So I guess in terms of nursing, I'm good at "the art" but I suck at the science. Is this a bad thing? I feel a bit embarrassed about my weakness....
