when you are a nurse...

so i just have a quick little something to say. i had my clinical evaluation this morning for my last day of my first Med/Surg rotation of my second semester in nursing school (wow that's a mouthful :))...next week I will begin my OB rotation! my clinical instructor basically told me that she enjoyed having me, i was professional, displayed great critical thinking skills, had excellent care plans and paperwork, and appeared very confident and comfortable with my patients. she asked me if i had ever worked in a hospital, when i told her no she was shocked because she said i didn't seem inexperienced at all. this was such an amazing compliment to me because on the inside i have been doubting myself for a long time. i know there is no such thing as "perfect" but at the end of my clinical days i would always go home beating myself up about something i should have done or said differently. being the youngest in my clinical group i felt like i was on a different level than everyone else and i was always fighting to prove to everyone that i was just as mature and serious about school as they were even though there is a 5-25 year gap between me and all of them. at the beginning of the semester i felt like i was going to puke during the 30 minute drive to clinical twice a week...i felt like i was awkward with patients and lacked focus. i even had a nurse yell at me on our first day about a medication (apparently she was just a difficult nurse to work with according to my instructor and other nurses on the floor). so to hear my instructor tell me that i was confident and comfortable...or at least that i appeared that way to her felt so good because i personally can tell i have grown since Day 1 and it is nice to know that other people notice as well that I am trying. Also, she said that she would have no problem being a reference for me anytime for a job or externship and even "when you are a nurse"...I don't think instructors realize the impact that phrase has on nursing students as well...not IF you become a nurse, but when you are a nurse...meaning they know you will get there and you have what it takes anyway, thanks for listening!