Ode to Nursing

Many people have asked me, “What’s it like being a student of nursing?”

As a response, there’s usually a little laughing, crying, and cursing,

But as I really thought about this often asked question,

I realized there was much more to these last 2 years than just nursing as a profession.

Of course we’ll remember the needles, catheters, and all the hands on skills,

And the many, many steps we must take when administering pills.

We have to remember everything we learned in med/surg, women’s health, and psychology,

But most of us still struggle a little with pharmacology,

These subjects are all very important to remember,

Every day that we are working from January to December,

But there are many other things that I will also recall,

Like the fact that we’re done with the Hesi and ATI once and for all!

During our clinicals while we walked the halls, I think it was quite a sight,

Since we all looked so good in our purple and white,

But don’t get me wrong, looking good was quite hard,

Since 5 AM came rather quickly, and our internal clocks are now scarred.

Sometimes in the winter it was a bit of a fight,

To hear what was being said in class, I don’t think we heard everything quite right!

Because when we’d turn on the heater, the pipes would bang and squeal,

The pipes seemed to be our classroom’s one and only Achilles heel.

Do you remember practicing starting IV’s on each other?

All I can remember about that day is summed up in two words…SWEET MOTHER!

Most of us only walked away with two or three battle scars,

But some weren’t so lucky and by the end were seeing stars.

Another few things about this program that I will never forget,

Is our preceptorship, the SIM man, and of course our debt!

The faculty members will stay fresh in our mind,

They probably won’t miss us though, because we may have had a tendency to whine.

But classes, lectures, clinicals, and IV’s, aren’t the only things I will recall,

When I think of the nursing program, I will mostly think of you all.

I will remember each person because we were all distinct,

But since going through this experience together, we are forever interlinked.

So here’s to Jamie, Erin, Brooke, Jen, and Mary,

Kira, JoAnn, Chandra, and Kari,

Megan, Marci, Jenny, and Misty,

Melissa, Linda, Elise, and Kristy,

We can’t forget Kayla, Mandy, Sarah, or Kristina,

Nor Heather, Shellie, Courtney, or Teana,

Chris was the only man to make it to the end,

Who had to put up with a classroom full of estrogen.

Here’s to the Lyndsey’s and Amy’s, we had 3 of each,

That’s okay though, each one was a peach!

We also had Rachel’s and Holly’s times two,

Everyone became great friends, who knew?

So thanks for the memories, and thanks for the fun,

We had a lot of laughs, I’m a little sad it’s done.

But I’ll get over it, because it’s about time we graduate,

So look out world, here comes the nursing class of 2008!

Ahh, nursing school! I think the first paragraph of the poem truly sums it up...laughing, crying, and cursing! It was definitely one of those experiences where it isn't so much fun during it, but looking back it was a wonderful experience and I even miss it a little. (But not too much!)

I'll never forget the first day of class. First of all, we had an assignment due! (What happened to just going over the syllabus and getting out 30 minutes early!?) We jumped right into a lecture and at the end of class the professor announced we had an exam next week. It covered the first 25 (yes, I said 25) chapters of the book. And just a cursory glance through the chapters wasn't going to cut it either, we had to know that stuff. Whew! Talk about a reality check!! They knocked us on our back the first day and it took me the entire year to get back on my feet again. I was just glad to survive. The most nerve-wracking of all was the pharmacology test we had to pass with 100%. If you didn't....well, sorry, but you're out of the program. You can apply again in the Fall. Eek! Math gives me anxiety, but fortunately somebody upstairs was watching over me and I managed to pass with flying colors. I do believe that was the first time I had ever received a 100 on a math test.

A's and 4.0's had always come quite easily for me in high school...and even my freshman year of college. I am blessed to be able to memorize well and so I had always excelled in school. Unfortunately, since it all came so easily, I didn't have the best of study habits, and I was also pretty versed in the 'learn-and-dump' method of getting through classes. That all came to a screeching halt once nursing classes started. First of all, I was committed to actually learning this stuff. Lives were on the line! I had a bit of a rough start gaining good study habits. Also, I got my first 'B.' At first, I was devastated, no matter what I did I couldn't seem to do as well as I previously had.

Nursing exams are different from anything I had ever done. Instead of one straight-forward answer, there were usually three right answers. You had to pick the 'most' right one. Also, to correctly answer a question you had to have a lot of prior knowledge. Nearly all of us struggled with this new testing format. To add insult to injury, not only were we not getting the grades we were accustomed to, anything below an 80 is failing in nursing school. If you don't maintain an 80% average, you get the boot. So, not only were we not getting A's, but according to nursing standards, we were almost failing! We had to learn to incorporate a little Type B into us pretty quickly. After my first couple of B's, I got to the point where it didn't really matter. I still tried for the A, but a B was good enough for me. As long as I was actually gaining the knowledge I needed, a letter on a piece of paper wasn't as important anymore. The Patch Adams quote "Always live in awe of the glorious mechanism of the human body. Let that be the focus of your studies and not a quest for grades," became my motto.

With a system designed to weed out as many as possible, all the girls (and Chris) bonded very quickly. There were only 30 of us and we all were in the exact same classes, so we got to know everyone really well. I was amazed that with all of the Type A personalities in the classroom and the stress of studying we didn't kill somebody. But we all got along really great for the most part. And oh the fun we had! Since we all basically lived in the library, we learned to have fun while we were there. I swear I have never laughed so hard in all of my life as I did in some of those study groups. Nurses are famous for their quirky sense of humor and we were no exception. We all made at least one or two semi-inappropriate jokes at one point or another. Given our subject matter and the crazy things people do, it was almost impossible not to. Plus, in an odd way, it is what keeps us sane. I guess it's one of those things you never fully understand unless you are in a medical profession.

One quick story to illustrate is the time I was working at the Bear River hospital. Since there was no cafeteria and nurses don't get real breaks anyway, the nurses would make and bring food from home for everybody to share. One night, someone brought a crock pot full of chili. Well, we had spoons, but no bowls. Since nurses are great at critical thinking and quick problems solvers, we found a solution pretty easily. A pink emesis basin (aka barf bucket) is the perfect size for a hearty helping of chili. (Sidenote: Because people have asked before, I will clarify that these had never been used and were perfectly clean.) As nurses, we scooped it on in and ate while we had two seconds between call lights. However, it doesn't take much imagination to know what it looked like we were eating. Haha, we were just eating away not thinking anything of it when a clerk came in to ask us a question. The look on her face was priceless! We thought for a second she was going to need an emesis basin too (and not for eating out of, either).

As you can see from the picture below, sometimes you've just got to take a break from studying. And hijacking Mandy's husband's gear and playing "Army" is the perfect way to do it!

Or, if there was work that absolutely needed to get done, we just incorporated the fun right into the assignment. (Thanks to Jon, who was kind enough to let us be creative with our work) The pic is of the "Clotbusters." We did a spoof on Ghostbusters and taught everyone about the clot-dissolving drug tPA. I wish I had the movie to post. Good times!

I am SO glad to be done with nursing classes, but the memories I made will last a lifetime. I made a slideshow for our graduation dinner and Teana did a write-up that I think is the perfect conclusion for this post. It goes as follows:

Joy in the Journey! These four simple words greeted us in the beginning, pushed us through the tough times in the middle, and are now welcoming us at the end. Our journey was filled with sleepless nights, frustration, and most likely an impending fear of doom. We lost tears, sweat, sleep, and at times probably our sanity. But in the process of losing ourselves…. we actually found ourselves; or at least the person that each and every one of us has been striving to become. And while this may seem to be the end, in reality it is only our beginning. Life is nothing but one long journey waiting for us to lose ourselves in. This journey that we are about to embark on will be long and I’m sure difficult at times, many things may be hard for us to understand or cope with. We were never promised that this journey would be easy, only that it would be worth it. And what is more worth it than being able to touch a life, to heal a life, and possibly even save a life.
Thank you to all the friends, family, and faculty members who helped make our dreams a reality!