Evolution from Novice to Beginning Professional Nurse

N100 - Fundamentals of Nursing

Nursing fundamentals was only a taste of what I was in for. I was just beginning to grasp

what nursing was. Thinking back on this course, some of the information was quite simple.

Despite that, the amount of information in this subject of nursing was quite overwhelming. Yet, I

cannot say that fundamentals was the easiest course, nor was it the hardest.

What made fundamentals so challenging was that it completely changed my perspective

on how to study for a course. Prior to this class, I was used to skimming the reading, and just

reading the power point. That was how I studied and it was effective. When I tried this method

for this class it completely back-fired. It just proved to me that I did not understand the concepts

as well as I initially though. I then attempted reading entire chapters. This method was also

ineffective since the amount of reading was so large, I was often overwhelmed and there was no

improvement in my testing scores.

Eventually I started analyzing the syllabus more closely. I took note that specific sections

are selected out of a chapter. Upon discovering this, my average was increasing. However it still

was not enough. I barely passed this course, and I knew that I needed to make a major change if I

wanted to be successful in future nursing courses.

N121 - Introduction to Medical Surgical Nursing

This course was certainly a step up from Fundamentals. This course featured my first

clinical experience in a hospital setting. At the time I was both excited and extremely

apprehensive. This was the first time I actually got to interact with a patient and see the good

and the bad first hand.

Studying for this course was tougher than I'd like to admit. I was still reading sections

specified in the syllabus, but I took it one step further by doing practice questions and going

to our instructor held reviews. This was the first class where students had begun leaving to

pursue other careers. Thinking back on that, I remember often wondering if I was capable of

being a nurse, let alone pass the class. As of now, the answer is clear, and making it this far

in the nursing program only affirms it.

The content of the course was straightforward with no tricks. I began to understand that

nursing is not only complex, but at times simple. By simple, I do not mean easy, rather it's

more of having a reaction where you would say "oh duh". I began to see that I have the

general idea in most concepts, and that I just had to tie everything together, including the

minute details. I also barely passed this class, but I was determined to keep going as long as

possible.

N201 - Medical Surgical Nursing

In this course I was slowly gaining my confidence. The content was not too heavy and I

was able to apply myself to my studies with no issue. This nursing course was the only one

where I am able to say, I'm glad I studied. What may have motivated me was that I did not

want to fail another class. When I was repeating mental health, I saw all those people I knew

ahead of me, and it made me feel pathetic. Due to that, I buckled down and studied my heart

out.

My only regret was that I did not really take the time to get to know my instructor. I was

so focused on studying and passing the course, that all I did was come to class, take my

exams and go home. I don't really remember ever having had a conversation with my lecture

professor.

The clinical experience I had was a great one. I finally felt confident that I could in fact

do this for a living. My clinical instructor was also a great motivator and made me think past

the bedside. Not to belittle bedside nursing, but advanced practice is also an important aspect

to consider.

N204 - Mental Health/Psychiatric Nursing Mentally Ill

This course was a strange experience for me. This was a course that I had failed, and

needed to repeat. This was my first nursing course fail, and when I got my final grade the

first time, I was in shock. I felt as though I understood the concepts of mental health nursing

more easily than I did practical medical surgical nursing. This may have been due to the fact

that I really enjoyed studying psychology, so reading did not feel like a chore and I was

feeling confident.

Despite all of that I took everything too lightly towards the end and that was my

downfall. I felt completely worthless. I was not even a year into my nursing courses, and I

failed a class already. So when I repeated the class, I was determined to pass. Now that I

think about it, every time I have a hard time in a class, it usually is during the term where we

all have our holiday breaks.

My instructors were also very good. When I was frustrated at my advanced medical

surgical nursing course, I bumped into my mental health clinical instructor. He gave me the

boost of confidence I needed, and simply said something along the lines of, mental health is

not any easier than any other nursing course.

N290 - Physical Assessment

Physical assessment was a course that allowed me to establish my general assessment.

You can only read about something for so long, but actually having an assessment as your

final pressures you into learning them all. Truthfully I may not remember every assessment

down to the dot perfectly anymore. However, what it has done is instill in me the basics of

the assessment, and the steps taken.

When I took this class it was the same time as my introduction to medical surgical

nursing class. I was beginning to gain a better grasp on the concepts and how to tie them in

together. The whole purpose of the assessment is to find the problem. If an assessment is not

conducted, them the problem will not be found. We constantly heard a multitude of stories as

to why an assessment is necessary. These physical assessments is what saves the patient

because we are the eyes and ears of the doctor.

However it is always easier to say things after the fact. The fact is I still struggled this

term. I had finally just started to get a feel for my bearings. In other words, I was not yet

comfortable with myself in regards to my nursing skill.

N306 - Expanding Family and Community (OB)

Truthfully, this class was the one I felt most uncomfortable with. There is absolutely no

way I plan to work in an OB nurse setting. However, this course is still an important aspect

of nursing. I had to keep in mind that no matter where you work in the hospital, anything can

happen, so I need to be prepared.

Aside from that, I found myself struggling with both this course and pediatrics for what

was almost 1 year. Individually, the course is not too bad, and a lot of the content of OB

nursing is highly focused on knowledge based content versus the level of critical thinking

required in an acute care setting.

The first time I took this course, I found myself very discouraged, as I did horrible on my

first exam. This was also back when OB and PEDS was a combination course. The second

time I took this course, the classes were separate grades, but could not be dropped without

dropping the other. The second time, I found myself to be quite successful in understanding

the content, but I was forced to drop the course since I was performing badly in pediatrics.

The third and final time I took this class, was challenging. What was different this third time,

was that the lecture was not as great, as the main instructor had to take personal leave. I

found myself struggling hard, but I was able to pull through in the end.

N307 - Developing Family and Community (PEDS)

Similarly to OB, I found myself struggling with this class for a year. Pediatrics was not as

bad content wise. I think the only problem I faced was that it was simply too much information

to process for these two classes. Pediatrics is essentially still medical surgical nursing.

Every time I took this class I was extremely frustrated with myself. I was not performing

the way I'm used to. As stated before, I dropped this course twice. It was up to the point where I

began to hate nursing. I couldn't understand why I was having such a hard time and the added

stress of having back to back exams between PEDS and OB was extremely mentally taxing on

me. I was on the verge of quitting, because when I was taking these courses the first time around,

I was also taking leadership. The negativity I was feeling did not allow me to do anything with a

clear mind, and I ended up failing leadership.

On my third try, there was a new a instructor teaching lecture. Not that the previous

instructor was not as competent, this was a game changer on how I approached the class. This

was also the first time I had relied heavily on ATI content to study for a class. I discovered that

ATI modules are great resources, but they are only a brief description. If I wanted more concise

and further explanation, I would need to refer to the text book.

N310 - Nutrition in Health Disease

Nutrition was a scary course for me. Truthfully, I barely remember anything from this

course. I was placed in the nutrition class before I had taken any nursing courses. So when it

came to the nursing aspect of things, I literally had no idea what was going on. At the time I

did not even know what the nursing process was, let alone how to apply it to a question. This

is why I am truly thankful for my peers in this course. They guided me the whole way

through and I will never forget their kindness.

I was no way prepared for this class, but I still made it through with the help of my peers.

Ever since, I always found myself helping my peers despite without any regards to myself at

times. At times I think about what would have happened if I did not have my peers help me. I

probably would have failed the course, and lost all will to continue in nursing school, let

alone the healthcare field.

What surprised me the most was that I was able to at least get a level 1 on the Nutrition

ATI exam. I had no idea what most of the medications mentioned were, nor most of the

terminology. Yet, I do not regret any of it. Would I have preferred to have taken this course

after taking fundamentals? Yes I would have, but this also taught me life is never what we

want it to be, and despite the situation, we have to do our best.

N340 - Public Health Nursing

The first thing I have to say is that public health opened up several options for me. Most

of the time were forced into believing that you start at the bedside and move on to your

advanced practice if you decided to. Public health nursing opens up all sorts of opportunities,

and we are not limited to working in hospitals and skilled facilities. Personally, I would

consider public health nursing an option for myself

`The clinical portion of this course was an insightful experience to say the least. I was at

an adult day care facility. The tasks were simple and everyday felt repetitive. Even though it

was slightly boring, I had to remember the purpose of an adult day care facility. These exist

so that the older adult is in a supervised area. Often times, a fall can be fatal to an older adult

living at home. It is much safer for them to be at a day care facility to prevent injury and

death.

In nursing we learn about an individual's health and how to manage their care. Public

health takes the entire community into account. That is not really a concept that we focus on

daily. Most of the time we are focused on an individual, or ourselves.

N420 - Principles of Leadership and Management

Leadership was a class that took a lot out of me. Not only was it a course that I repeated,

but it took me a long time to understand the concepts behind the course and leadership itself.

It was a new level of critical thinking that I had not yet experienced nor was I prepared for in

any way at all.

When I failed this course for the first time, I was at a crossroads. At that time I was ready

to give up. However, I thought of my parents and my school loans. There was no way I could

give up. I had to finish what I started.

When I repeated the course, I was ready and determined to pass no matter what. I just had

to push myself. I found that clearing my mind of doubts is what helped me the most. This

class was also the first time that I reached out for help. My stubbornness is what prevents me

from asking help from others. I feel like I haven't earned my grade if I do not do everything

on my own.

I now know that there is nothing wrong with asking for help. If anything its more

respectable to ask for help then fail on your own.

N430 - Disaster Management

Not to belittle this course, I just do not understand why this course was the way it was.

Disaster management is an important aspect of nursing, but it is not necessarily something

that only a nurse can do. Honestly, it did not feel like a nursing oriented course, and I had a

hard time grasping the necessity of this course.

However, after giving it some thought. We live in a time where disaster can strike at any

time. We have to be ready for when that happens.

N480 - Advanced Medical Surgical Nursing

Advanced Medical Surgical Nursing was the most challenging nursing course. The level

of difficulty trumps every course I had taken prior to it. I always tell people that this course

challenged me the most. I had never applied myself to a course like this ever before. My

instructor would always say "study till it hurts". Its fair enough to say, that it did hurt but I am

very glad that it did. Now that this class has ended. I'm not sure how to feel about things

sometimes. Nursing school has been quite the roller coaster ride. I'm just glad to be almost

finished.

Despite this class having already ended, I know that its only the start of many difficulties

to come, but I believe that this class has prepared me for those difficulties. Advanced medical

surgical nursing literally ties all the systems together, requiring us to think critically at a whole

new level.