What "ONE" thing do you know now that you WISH you had known then...

[Roland]

either before starting nursing school or entering the profession. It seems like that I can look back at my life at every stage and find at least ONE thing (unfortunately usually more) that I wish I had known, done differently or acted upon at the time. For instance, now that my parents are both gone how I WISH, I had spent more time with them rather than chasing girls or hanging out with friends. Are there any insites that you've gained that might benefit new students or nurses that would be of some benefit?

[Mr_D]

It's almost comical how many were having second thoughts at the altar! 8 years later and I'm still wondering.

Had I to do over again --

Thinking in terms of the "right" decision or "wrong" choice creates a helluva lot anxiety! I had enough smarts to know I needed therapy -- took several years to realize:

* A choice is . . . simply a choice.

** I am a choice maker **

* I live with my choices!!!

And you can do a real nut-job on yourself when you temporarily forget those points. I came to the conclusion that I'm not very talented at making good choices. These days, I rarely make one by myself -- I consult with my "advisors" (folks who really care about me), sometimes even on simple things. It's the most powerful tool I've ever learned.

More concretely, I met a lot of cool guys and gals along the way, and I was too self-absorbed to notice or care. You know, a simple "hello, how are ya?" or "happy birthday" or "so sorry to hear your mother died", even an annual Christmas card. ha! I barely returned phone calls. I took a lot of potential friends for granted, and hurt a few feelings along the way. And now I've discovered in my late 30s that making new friends is a lot harder b/c everyone is so damn busy. I set myself up for a lot of regret. I definately would have reprioritized things so that people who offered me the opportunity of friendship could be a part of my life today.

I would done more fun things too, like improv comedy, acting and (real) dancing. Your 30's tend to be the busiest time in your life -- so ham it up in your 20's!!

Mr_D

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

If I had done things differently, I wouldn't be where I am now, with whom I with now. But I'll play anyway.

I wish fresh out of high school when mom and dad sent me to college I realized I would want to become a nurse, would study hard and get that BSN when I was 21 years old and pursue nursing back then instead of 15 years later.

There's others too personal to list. But as I said my mistakes and lessons learned make me who I am. I have no regrets.

[canoehead, BSN, RN]

I would have quit the jobs that were making me sick sooner.

And I would have called in sick on that last day that I just couldn't face. (What were they going to do, fire me?)

[gyn/onc-RN]

I wish I had listened to my nursing instructors lecture on swimming with sharks. My best advice that I have learned the hard way is that people at work are CO-WORKERS. They are not FRIENDS. Just because you work with people doesn't mean you have to let them into your personal life. I wanted to be "a part" of my unit so when I was invited to parties, dinners, lunches with "the girls" I thought was was great and I was making so many friends. Then a terrible rumor was spread about me out of anger from another nurse whom I thought was my friend. I was flabergasted. I thought we were friends. No, we are co-workers and that is all she should be.

[Stephanie D]

I would have spent more time on academics in high school and not

so much time on cheerleading and spending time with my friends.

[Tilleycs]

I would not have thrown away my comic book collection when I lost interest in collecting. I'm getting back into it now, but MAN I wish I still had the ones I spent all that time and money collecting, and all those hours enjoying!!

On a personal level, I wish I'd been more patient with life, myself, and everyone else. Obviously, that's something you have to learn and grow in over time, but I wish I'd had more patience growing up. I would have been a lot happier and a lot easier to deal with at times.

I'm glad that I was never able to marry any of the ones I thought I was going to marry! I'm getting married for the first time this November (we're both 32, and it's the first time for both of us), and it was worth the wait. I'm so glad I haven't had to go through the pain, heartache, loneliness, and financial damage of a divorce.

I wouldn't have bought into the mindset of my former church - that when you stopped going to church there, you were headed straight to hell. It's taken me years to get over that mindset and the guilt that came from deciding to not attend there any more.

[mattsmom81]

This is rough to admit, and over the years I have done the best I could in the situations I found myself in, and have enjoyed some aspects of my career. But I truly wish I had known before investing time in nursing school just how little respect nurses get. If I had known the extent of the problem, I would honestly have chosen a different career path. I was not raised to be subservient and am constantly disappointed to see how many of my coworkers just roll over and take the abuse from all sides on the job. It has become a cultural nightmare for me, as my nature is NOT to just 'take it'...so I seem to be continuously bucking the system, which relies on nurses to be scapegoats. It tends to backfire on me too.