Dear 1st Semester Student,

I wanted to begin this letter with saying congratulations on getting into the UofA nursing

program! I know that the process was rigorous, exciting, and nerve-wracking. In terms of advice,

I would like to pass on to not forget to focus on your own mental health throughout this journey

in nursing school. During my time in the college, I found it easy to submerge myself into the

assignments and studying, which caused me to neglect myself and my own mental health. I am

not saying that nursing school is something to be scared of, because it is not; however, I do

wish someone would have advised me to look out for my own mental health from the beginning

of my journey.

Beyond focusing on your mental health, I would say that in terms of studying, utilizing

the given study guide is very beneficial; however, not every class gives one. For those that do

not give study guides, I found that completing questions in the back of the chapters and the

objectives from PowerPoints were very helpful. In addition, I took time to sometimes write out

the concepts that I struggled with. When I began nursing school, I was mostly a straight A

student; however, I ended up getting a few Bs and nearly a C in one of my courses. I wanted to

tell you now that this is completely okay! Nursing school is A LOT more rigorous than the pre-

nursing program. In fact, I feel as though nursing school humbled me a lot with what I consider

to be an okay grade to get.

You will be challenged and at times you may question yourself, but do not let that stop

you! If I had given up when I got poor grades on exams, and I mean I got my first D on an exam

in nursing school, I would not have made it to where I am today. If you do get a poor grade, try

to work with your peers in studying or utilizing the methods I listed above. It helps! Also, trust

your instincts on quizzes, exams, papers, and homework. I am a person who likes to reason my

way out of answers, and I can tell you firsthand that 90% of the time your first instinct was right!
 I know that some of the things I mentioned in this letter may be scary or nerve wracking

but trust me when I say they are not meant to be! Nursing school is the hardest part about

nursing, and you will hear that from many nurses that you will follow or be a preceptee of. I hope

that this letter was useful to you, as it was some things that I wish I was told before I began my

journey. You are an amazing individual and you got this far! You will do amazing things and will

be a great nurse one day! You got this!

Sincerely,

Alize Bowman: 4th Semester Student