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Initial 2-Page Reflection Paper

Emily King

University of Arizona, BSN-IH

NURS 479 Transition to the Professional Nursing Role

Kelly Froehlich & Tracy Vezzosi

May 21, 2023

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In my final semester of nursing school, I have many fears and anxieties running

through my head. I believe that the main fear I have is whether or not my final semester

of nursing school will give me the confidence I need to be a competent nurse following

graduation. Throughout the process of nursing school, each semester has gained me

confidence in my nursing skills and care. Each semester, I have this fear, however,

semester after semester has proved to me that I do have the knowledge and confidence

to succeed. I know this is an irrational fear, since this school was created to prepare

students to be competent and successful nurses. This is a fear that I need to overcome,

and I know that I need to focus on the knowledge that I was taught by my faculty, since

they know the curriculum necessary for us all to learn.

I will overcome this fear by focusing and studying the information given to me to

learn by my faculty and practicing self-care. Studying is always helpful to gain

confidence and knowledge, however, self-care is life changing in creating the mindset

needed to overcome this fear. I can know all the information in the world, but if I do not

have the confidence in myself, I will not succeed. Having the confidence in yourself and

ensuring proper education in your final semester of nursing school is incredibly

important since, “Nurses have been directly linked to ensuring patient safety and quality

care outcomes” (Murray, 2017). If a nurse does not have that knowledge, they will not

be able to provide proper patient safety and quality care outcomes.

A self-help activity I will practice for self-care to help me relax and gain

confidence in myself is going on nature walks. Ever since I was young, when I would get

stressed, I would enjoy taking a walk around my neighborhood or around beautiful

scenery. Whenever I would do this, I would feel a sense of peace and relaxation in my

mind and body. Since I started nursing school, I have incorporated nature walks into my
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weekly routine, to help me relax and clear my mind. In my final semester of nursing

school, I will take nature walks two times a week for thirty minutes to help clear my mind

and improve my mental health. I will take these nature walks around my neighborhood

and at my favorite nature walk place, the botanical gardens. My final semester of

nursing school is incredibly stressful, since it is my last one, and after, I will be an RN

taking care of patients. Whenever I feel overwhelmed, I will take a step back, and get

myself immersed in nature. I will also incorporate diaphragmatic breathing exercises

into my nature walk routine, to further relax me. Nature walks have many benefits on

stress, “Nature based physical activity improves post-traumatic growth and reduces

traumatic stress” (Ahmed, Ansari, & Noushad, 2022). I have experienced a significant

amount of traumatic stress in nursing school, and therefore, my nature walks will help

me to succeed, relax, and gain the confidence I need to be a fantastic nurse.

The specialty area of nursing I am the most interested in is critical care. We had

our critical care rotation during our third semester of nursing school, and I completely

fell in love with it. I have always enjoyed the fast-paced environment of nursing,

especially during our medical-surgical rotation. I got to experience the same excitement

during critical care, except even more. I loved the high acuity patients I had, seeing

them improve, and even be able to transfer them to a lower acuity floor. It was very

rewarding to me to be able to see the patient progression, and that the care I was

providing was making a difference. During my ICU rotation, I had a young patient, at the

age of 20, pass away. I was heartbroken by this, since it was my first patient death, and

the patient was so young. I was able to overcome this by practicing my nature walks

and self care. It was difficult, but also taught me how rewarding the nursing profession is

and the difference you can make in patients and families lives.
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References

Ahmed, S., Ansari, B., & Noushad, S. (2022). Effect of nature ‐based physical

activity on post‐traumatic growth among healthcare providers with post ‐traumatic

stress. Stress & Health: Journal of the International Society for the Investigation

of Stress, 38(4), 813–826.

https://doi-org.ezproxy2.library.arizona.edu/10.1002/smi.3135

Murray, E. (2017). Nursing Leadership and Management for Patient Safety and Quality

Care with DavisPlus Resources. F. A. Davis Company.