Friends for Life
Nursing school is a rough time. You are always under a ton of stress, you have very little spare time, and it seems like there is ALWAYS a test. However, your classmates know exactly what you're going through. You probably spend more time with them than you do your family at times. You start to have those "inside" jokes...jokes only you and your classmates know about and think are funny. One little note here...nursing students and nurses have to laugh about some things, even if they don't seem funny to anyone else. This is because if they didn't laugh, they would cry, and they would probably fall apart at the seams. But I digress. It is because of the close proximity to others in these stressful situations that many students find themselves in new friendships. Friendships that can be closer than any other friendship previously. That isn't always the case, but I have two very close friends that I met during college. One I met in my pre-req classes for nursing school. We still see each other every day - we work together at the university. She left to go to another nursing school, but we still went to nursing school "together". We are best friends, and she was my maid of honor at my wedding. Another friend has moved to another state, but I still think of her as one of my very best friends. So cherish those moments with your nursing school buddies. You may just get a lifetime friend ( or many) out of it!
Life as a Nurse
When I graduated, I was scared to death. I felt like I was on a tightrope without a net...and I have NO grace! I just knew that I would fall to my death. But I didn't. I had a wonderful preceptor, and she took me under her wing. She understood what it was like to be brand new and string-free (no instructor there to save me). I was doubtful of my skills. But I had the book-smarts, so I began working on honing my skills. Before long, I was the one everyone was calling to start those difficult IVs. Now, IVs, NG tubes, and Foleys are my favorite things to insert. I know that may sound weird, but I see them as a challenge. I absolutely LOVE using sterile technique to dress a CVL. I don't get to do these things much anymore since I don't work outside of education, but now I get to help my students hone THEIR skills.
One of the things I was most afraid of was taking care of a patient who had something I knew little or nothing about. Yes, we covered so many topics in nursing school that I thought my brain would explode, but what about those disease processes we didn't cover? So, I brought my books with me to work, namely my Taber's Medical Cyclopedia and my med-surg book, so that I could look things up if I needed to. It turned out that I used them very frequently. Later, I didn't need my med-surg book as much anymore, but I used that Taber's nearly every time I was at work. I was always running across new terminology, or I saw something that I had never seen before. Now, with smartphones so popular, one can look up almost anything. There are even applications specific to nursing. One of my favorites is the Taber's app. Another is the RNotes app. I also have a drug guide on my phone. It's much easier to carry a phone than a ton of books. I just have to be careful not to whip my phone out in front of everyone, because looking up something looks suspiciously like I'm texting, and that just doesn't look very professional.
One of my most memorable moments was when I was still very new to nursing. I was working on a med-surg floor, but the ER nurse wanted to turn me into a savvy ER nurse. So I bit. She would call me if she needed extra help in the ER, and I would come running after I made sure my patients were okay and someone could watch them for me. One night, the ER nurse called me and said she needed me right away. I ran to the ER to find the nurse and the paramedic from the local ambulance company in with a small girl who was actively seizing. The ER nurse said, "Hurry, I need an IV in this girl so we can give her some meds. They weren't able to get one on the ambulance because she hasn't quit seizing and she's so strong one person can't hold her arm still." I panicked. How was I going to do it if the paramedic couldn't do it? The nurse and the medic patiently and gently held the girl's arm steady for me (well, as steady as they could). I hesitated. The ER nurse said, "Don't think, just DO IT!" I took a deep breath, steadied my own shaking hand, and stuck the IV in. Blood return! YES! I threaded the IV, taped it down quickly, and we pushed her meds. I nearly passed out. I was so relieved that I hadn't hurt the little girl, and that I had gotten the IV on the first stick! The adrenaline rush was amazing. That was when I knew for sure I wanted to work the ER, and I knew I was meant for nursing.
Another story comes to mind. Again, I was working a med-surg floor, different hospital. I was caring for an elderly woman who had just had open heart surgery a few weeks previously. She was very demanding, and I could never please her. I kept doing whatever I could to appease her, but it just didn't seem like enough. I would listen to her complaints patiently, and then basically bend over backwards just so she would stop scowling. I had her for a few nights in a row, so I was worn out! I got to know her family, and the woman had quit complaining quite so much, but she still kept me on my toes. One night, she told me she was dying. Her vitals had been stable, her cardiac strips had been normal. There was nothing I could see that would make me believe this woman was dying! I tried to comfort her the best I could by listening to her and holding her hand. She told me that she was going to try to get some sleep. As soon as I walked out of her room, the telemetry room, which was right around the corner, went crazy with alarms. I didn't even look to see whose monitor it was. I ran right back into my patient's room. She was coding. We worked on her for about an hour, desperately trying to revive her, without results. The family was called in, and the doctor and I went out to see them. The family was heartbroken. The daughter asked me if she could speak to me privately. Oh no! Was she angry about the way her mother had been treated? Had I not done enough? I was sure I had ransacked every closet for extra pillows, but maybe....
The daughter and I sat down. She said, "I just wanted to tell you that mother thought the world of you." Heart...in my throat. "She told me over and over again how much you cared for her and how much you did. I know she can be a little difficult sometimes, and I just wanted to thank you for taking such good care of her. You were her angel, and I know she was in caring hands because you were her nurse." Okay. At this point, you would have thought that Ol' Faithful had started up. I began crying and I couldn't stop. Usually I have pretty good control until I am away from the family. But at this point, I had invested so much of myself in this one patient, and I had felt like I had been a huge disappointment. Now I was finding out otherwise. I tried to pull myself together. I thanked the daughter profusely for telling me that, and I told her how much that meant to me. That moment sealed the deal for me. I knew I was put on this Earth to comfort people, no matter what. When I went to work from then on, I told myself that if I just made one person's day a little brighter, then I had done my job. I went on to make a lot of people's lives brighter by living by that credo. Now I try to instill that into my students.
You're probably thinking, "But why don't you still work in the hospital instead of teaching? You can't comfort patients if you're teaching." Well, now I can comfort my students...and I can teach them how to comfort others. I can affect so many more lives this way! And...when a student has a patient who needs that extra TLC, I warm my hands up, go in the room with the student, and we comfort our patient.
wow reading the part about demanding patient made me want to tear...too bad i havent had a close friend in nursing :( and i'm in my last semester
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