My First Week of Nursing School

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August 2024 Update: I have been a registered nurse for over 4 years now! I did not expect that I would be coming out of nursing school to face a pandemic as a new grad nurse, but here I am now. Traumatized to some degree? Yes, absolutely. But, a better nurse for having gone through the experience? No doubt!

I didn’t make any changes to the article below. I’ve left it exactly as I originally wrote it, because I couldn’t possibly remember how I felt the first week of nursing school, as vividly as this past version of myself knew it to be at the time.

As horrifying of an experience as it may sound like, my first week of nursing school has been a very positive, exciting experience. We haven’t made a huge dent in the textbooks just yet, but I can say I have learned A LOT. They really mean business in this field of study, that’s for sure.

Dear, Fellow Baby Nurses…

I’ve only been in school for about three weeks now, so I honestly don’t have very much advice to give just yet. But I do want to share my experience and offer what ever advise and words of encouragement that I can for anyone who is or will soon be going down this same career path.

So far, I can tell you these few tidbits:

Everyone is Nervous, Not Just You

At first I felt little out of place, being the new girl from a different state. I thought it was obvious that I was completely lost, confused, and nervous in my first few days of class. Luckily for me,  my fellow classmates are very friendly. We were split into groups for a project that was assigned during a couple of snow days we experienced within the first week. The other girls and I got each other’s phone numbers and we started a group chat.

I could immediately tell most of them were shy. Probably due to the fact that we all hardly knew each other just yet. And were all experiencing all of this for the first time togetherWe had only had 2 classes together in person before the snow storm came through.

I took it upon myself to try and break the ice by sending a message pertaining to the project and volunteering to set up a Google doc so that we could all collaborate on there together. I didn’t used to be so brave when it came to social interactions, but figured I would need to start getting used to stepping out of my comfort zone if I was going to become a nurse.

You can’t be shy if you want to work in the medical field. Get yourself out of that shell while you’re still in school. 

Your Instructors Once Sat Where You’re Sitting Now

Every one of your nursing instructors who has “RN” after their name as been in the same position as you are right now at one point in their life. They should all have empathy for the stress you are facing and understand it first hand. And the good ones will make sure you know that they understand.

Remember this if you ever feel intimidated by an instructor and feel like you will never know everything that they know or be as confident as they are. They started at zero once too, but have now had years of experience to get them to the point that they are now.

Don’t Forget, You’re all There for the Same Reason

To graduate, and become a successful nurse you will need to lean on your classmates at times. Just as they will with you when the going gets rough. It’s not a competition or a race. It’s the dynamic you’ll want to have with your coworkers once you’re out there in the field as well. It takes a team to do what nurses do every day.

Nursing school is probably one of the most stressful degree programs out there. You will need the support just as much as they all will. Get their phone numbers, set up study groups, be social, and work towards your goals together.

Get a Planner That You Like and WILL Use

                      Maybe you’re the type would wants one of those fancy pants planners from the craft store with the cute cover and a few sheets of stickers. Or maybe you like your planner to be simple, straight forward and not so distracting.

I mean, if you already have one of those and it works for you that’s great! But if you’re new to the concept of using a planner, or have tried before but never kept up with it, now is the time to make it into a habit.

This is a photo of my planner that I bought at the beginning of the semester. I love the picture of the owl on the front, for one. Also, I think that the set up of the pages is on point with how I feel most organized.

Of course, I do have one of those big old craft stores planners that I do use for my planning outside of school. But I felt it had too much going on. I just need to be able to see my assignments and important dates in a simple and easy to read set-up.

It was also just way too big to fit in my backpack.  Nursing school = books, books, and more books.

With that being said, get yourself a comfortable backpack. Something made for utility more than style. You don’t want it cutting into your shoulders when you’re carrying a heavy load to and from class. Having one of those little rolling crates or bags just for textbooks is also a very good idea.

You’ll need to have a good back once you’re an RN working on a floor. You don’t want to ruin it before you even get to that point. 

I’ll leave you with this…

I have one final thing to say about my first week, and that is do NOT give up. In your first few weeks you will learn one of two things. You will either learn that becoming a nurse is just undoubtly, not for you. That your passions lie else where and your heart just isn’t in this field.

Or, you will convince yourself that becoming a nurse isn’t the path for you. Knowing this fact and convincing yourself of it just because you’re feeling little intimidated are two entirely different things. Make sure you know the difference before you make any decisions.

I will also advise always staying up on or ahead with your school work. Don’t just aim to have it done “on time.” I get it, we all have busy lives outside of school. Work, kids, family, a social life, etcetera. On my previous degree I learned that this one was hard for me at times, but would always make sure to get my self caught back up when ever things started to pile up. I knew future me would be glad that past/present me did that. And I was.

The day you filled out the application for nursing school you were making a dedication, knowing full well that it was a time-consuming dedication. The day your teacher tells you about, or posts the newest upcoming assignments online dig in! At least read through it and understand what it is you will need to do.Don’t just skim through, find the due date, and say you’ll do it later.

Later turns into tomorrow, which turns into next week. When finally you reach the night before your assignment is due, and you’re scrambling to get it done well enough that you don’t fail entirely. Nursing school isn’t about just getting by and making the grade.

Each and every assignment you will receive has a purpose. It’s not just some filler work given so that your instructors can meet some quota. At least not in my experience so far, but would not be surprised if there were some not-so-awesome instructors out there who did just that.