The past three years of nursing school have been one of the biggest opportunities of

growth for me. I remember my first day of nursing school, walking in and thinking these next

three years are going to drag. It felt like graduation was a million years away. Here we are

though and December 12th, is right around the corner! It certainly has flown by. The past three

years can only be put into so many words but the biggest word to describe nursing school is

challenging. Nursing school itself was hard! Studying for all the tests, trying to make sure all the

projects were done to perfection, clinical, and then the endless amounts of reflections was insane.

I did not know though that nursing school was going to be challenging outside of the school and

hospital walls as well. I had to make time for family, friends, a boyfriend, a job, and on top of

that try and make time for myself. While many sacrifices were made to get where I am today, I

would not trade a single moment of the past three years for anything!

I remember my first day of clinical so vividly. I was super nervous and paired with a

partner to care for our first patient. It took two of us to take vitals, two of us to give a bath, and

two of us to take a simple blood sugar. We barely even knew how to talk to our patient, because

it seemed as if they were so fragile. Luckily, our patient had much more faith in us than we did

ourselves and made the first day of clinical a little less stressful than anticipated. A few weeks

later, I remember having to give my first subcutaneous shot. If you thought I was nervous the

first day of clinical, you should have seen me before giving that injection! All I could think was

what if I hurt my patient or don’t give the injection correctly. I finally gave the injection and

remember thinking thank goodness that is over, I can’t believe I worked myself up like that. As

each semester came, and we embarked upon a new clinical experience there were always nerves

when attempting a new skill but at the end of each semester I started to feel more and more like

an actual nurse.
 I have officially completed my immersion experience and it was one of the best learning

experiences I have encountered during my time in nursing school. The first day of immersion felt

like the first day of clinical all over again. My nerves were through the roof as I sat in my car at

the hospital waiting to go in. What if my preceptor and I didn’t click, what if it wasn’t what I

thought the floor would be like? So many different questions running through my head. Luckily,

I had one of the best preceptors and learned more than I could have imagined. The last couple of

weeks I felt confident in knowing that in a few months I would be caring for a group of patients

on my own. I was doing it on my own at immersion and it made me feel like I had come so far

since that first day of clinical two and a half years ago. My preceptor and other staff members of

the floor were constantly encouraging me and letting me know how great of a nurse they thought

I would be. My patients though made me feel even more empowered as a student, constantly

thanking me for all I did and letting myself and my preceptor know how I had done that day.

Two hundred and fifteen hours later, I feel as ready as I can be to begin my journey in just three

short months as I prepare to step into the position of a new graduate nurse in the Emergency

Department.

I would not change a single thing the past three years! Nursing school brought me so

much including a great education, confidence, and luckily some of the best friends on top of it

all! While it has been challenging, it has been great at the same time. I have learned so much

from instructors, peers, nurses that have helped guide us in clinical, and even patients. There

were some days that were harder than others, but it made me the good days so much better. I

have grown so much as an individual as well during this time! Here’s to the past three years and

the last two steps…graduating and passing the NCLEX!