Final Analysis

As I reflect back on the past three years of my nursing

journey at Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing (BSMCON), I

feel a lot of mixed emotions. When I first began nursing school,

it felt like I had a long time to go until graduation. Now, it

feels as if it moved a little too fast. Over the years, I have

grown emotionally, physically, spiritually, and professionally.

It has been one of the most difficult but rewarding years of my

life, but I would not change any of it because it helped me grow

into the person I am today. When I first got the call that I had

been accepted into BSMCON, I remember my heart beating really

fast and my eyes filled up with tears. In that moment, I knew

that my life was going to change forever, and I was destined to

be the best nurse that I could be. It has been an amazing

journey and I will never forget any of the moments because all

the memories touch me in some way, shape, or form.

When I first began nursing school, I was more of a novice

because I had no idea what I was doing or how to care for

patients in the acute care setting. During my first clinical

experience, I remember my clinical instructor assigning me and

another one of my peers the same patient, and I was scared to go

into the patient’s room. I did not know how to communicate with

the patient and was nervous to bathe the patient and take vital

signs, because I thought I was going to do something that would

further injure the patient. As I look back on that experience, I

see that I have grown tremendously. Not only am I bathing my

patients in an efficient manner, I am able to communicate with

their families about their care and implement nursing

interventions, such as passing medications, completing

assessments, and communicating updates with physicians about my

patient’s conditions.

Now that I am a senior two in nursing school, I feel that I

am more of an advanced learner because I am able to work

efficiently and effectively with minimal assistance, but I know

when to ask for assistance. During my time in nursing school, I

had to learn that asking questions was not a bad thing, but it

is a good thing because we are all on the same team. Everyone’s

main goal is to provide great quality of care to their patients

while minimizing any risk of patient harm. I think completing my

immersion on the critical care unit (CCU) helped me improve my

assessment skills, understanding titration of drips,

participating in interdisciplinary rounds, and being able to

participate in other learning activities; which in return,

helped me build confidence, gain critical thinking skills, and

being able to adapt to the acute care setting. During my time on

CCU, I have felt myself growing professionally each and every

day. It feels amazing knowing that I feel more confident to be

able to take care of the critical population and understanding

the importance of monitoring this population closely. It had

been a great experience and I could not be more grateful for all

the people I met along the way.

During my time in nursing school, I had the opportunity to

experience several different units such as, medical-surgical,

neuroscience step down, cardiopulmonary care, oncology, ED, and

ICU. Being able to experience a variety of units gave me the

exposure I needed to be able to understand how each unit

operates. Even though I will be working in the ICU at St. Mary’s

Hospital, I think each unit prepared me for this moment because

I am able to use each experience as I care for my patients. Even

though I will be out of school when I start, I will ensure that

I participate in every learning opportunity to enhance my skills

as a critical care nurse. I am very excited about starting my

journey at St. Mary’s and being able to learn as much as

possible; so in a few years, I can pursue my dreams as an Acute

Critical Care Nurse Practitioner.

Nursing school has been one of the hardest things I

accomplished in my life. When I first started nursing school, I

did not realize how difficult it was going to be to balance my

personal life from my professional life. I had a difficult time

managing my social, work, school, and personal life, and I felt

myself being distant from my family and friends. It has been

very challenging trying to make time for activities outside of

the school environment. Now, I feel that I learned how to

implement self-care so that I would not be as stressed as I used

to be, and I am able make time for my family and friends.

Even though I feel more confident in the acute care

setting, I know I still have a lot of learning to do. I will

continue to work on my communication skills when communicating

with nursing staff, patients, families, and physicians. I need

to learn how to update physicians on pertinent information and

understanding the reasons behind my patient’s diagnosis. I need

to continue to learn how to document effective assessments and

feel confident in my decisions for my patient. Also, I need to

learn how to speak up for my patients by being their advocate

and ensure that the physician has the patient’s best interest at

heart. Overall, I will dedicate my life to be a life-long

learner and maintaining a positive attitude no matter the

circumstances.