8 Things You Wish You Knew When You Were In Nursing School

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8 things you wish you knew when you were still in nursing school

Everything felt so new and amazing when you were in Nursing school. You appreciate all the things that you learn along the way and value every person you meet. But as soon as you finished studying, you start to realize that there are so many things you could have learned while you were still a student nurse.

Here are eight things you wish you knew when you were in Nursing school:

 

1. Beds can never be made perfect.

In nursing school, we were taught how to be so patient in making the beds. We were told to be careful in tucking the sheets and all that jazz. But when we ended up being full-fledged nurses, we realize that they can never be perfect. The patients will end up messing the perfectly-made bed up anyway.

 

2. Eating lunch in 15 minutes is a talent.

We never accepted this as a talent, because we thought it’s normal to actually rush while you’re in clinical rotation. But as time went by, we realized how hard it is to actually be able to manage your time as wisely as when you did three years ago.

 

3. You learn most of the things in the hospital floor.

You learn a lot of basic knowledge in nursing school, but it is when you are assigned in a hospital floor that you learn most skills needed to become a professional nurse.

 

4. Committing medication errors is not the end of the world.

Although it’s wrong to make errors especially when it comes to the patients’ medications, you don’t need to feel too bad. Making mistakes is just a part of learning. When you were still in Nursing school, you were too hard on yourself when you made a mistake. Now, all you can do is look back and wish you knew then that making mistakes will only make you try harder not to do the same mistake again.

 

5. You are not expected to know everything.

You’re a student. That means you are still learning. You are not obliged to know all the details about a certain disorder or all the side effects of a specific drug. You are in Nursing school for a reason.

 

6. The older nurses are not mean.

They are just more experienced and realistic. You told yourself that you hate them so much, but after going to nursing school, you realize that they were stern because they wanted you to learn.

 

7. Asking questions is okay.

Back then, we tried so hard to keep our questions to ourselves, because we thought that we would be labeled a noob whenever we ask. After finishing school, we realize that asking questions could definitely save lives. Nurses are supposed to continue learning every day, and asking is one way of finding out the things that we don’t know or may have already forgotten.

 

8. Pee when you need to.

When we were student nurses, we thought that we had to hold our pee for as long as we could, so we can do more. We should have known then that it’s ok to think of ourselves as well. We might get sick if we constantly hold our pee or postpone our lunch breaks.

It was fun being a student nurse, and as we look back, we think of so many things that make us wish we could go back through time. Are there other things you wish you knew when you were still a student nurse? Share them with us!

 

About the Author: Mary Elizabeth Velarmino Francisco earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing Degree from the Ateneo de Zamboanga University, Philippines. She is always happy to share her passion for writing and blogging. With coffee running through her veins, she enthusiastically battles each day, one article at a time.

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