Running Head: SELF-REFLECTION ESSAY 1

Self-Reflection Essay

Kaitlyn Cullen

University of Florida
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This past experience as a first semester nursing student has flown by, but in the best way.

This experience was invaluable and has strengthened me into a better student, a better person,

and a future nurse. By connecting my past and present experiences, pre-nursing, with my future

goals as a student and nurse, I am proud of what I have accomplished and eager to move

forward.

I have always been an exceptional student; however, nursing school changed my entire

perspective on how to achieve in school. I learned how to prioritize my studying, what learning

styles work best for me and how to better utilize critical thinking to become a more successful

test-taker. This experience has made me a better person because it has made appreciate my

personal relationships. I no longer have endless amounts of free time in my schedule, and I have

to use my time wisely so that I can invest quality, meaningful time with my friends and family.

Nursing school has also humbled me, as I have become exposed to various medical, physical,

and emotional hardships that the patients in my hospital and community clinicals face. Lastly,

my first semester experience in nursing school has most definitely prepared me into becoming a

nurse. In just a few months, I have interacted with patients at the bedside, performed daily care,

learned how to complete a head to toe assessment, developed a plan of care and so much more. I

know all of these skills bring me one step closer to having one of the most rewarding and noble

careers.

Prior to nursing school, I had worked as a CNA in a cardiologist office. I did vitals,

EKGs, gathered medical histories and various other clerical duties. Some things came easier to

me in the first semester of nursing school because I had already become comfortable with many

fundamental and basic care skills. However, transitioning to a hospital environment was a total

change of pace. During my first semester, I now had to learn about all of the body systems,
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instead of just cardiac. I began interacting with multiple members from interdisciplinary health

fields between my community clinical, hospital clinical and Putting Families First experiences. I

also was able to make new connections between my past and present experiences as I began to

learn about various drugs and their actions, whereas I used to just write the names down when

receiving a medication list. All of this combined made my own experience in my first semester

of nursing school different from others. One of my goals for the future is that I can take what

studying and test -taking skills I have learned as a nursing student, and use it to my advantage as

harder content and the N-CLEX approaches. I also hope to broaden my exposure to various

health conditions, as I interact with more patients in the community and the hospital, so that I can

shape myself into a more qualified and experienced nurse. As future semesters and future

experiences approach, I can only hope that I will use what I have learned so far to grow even

more as a student and even more as a nurse.