Breakthrough...

As many of you know I have spent the last 13 months in an intensive Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree program. The time has flown by (I have 95 days until graduation) and much of it is a blur. I often think about how in the world am I going to be working as a REAL nurse in just a few short months??? I don't know anything (or really much of anything). And then I have a breakthrough...

Last semester I found a roommate who was just beginning the Accelerated program I am in and I spent quite a bit of time with her answering questions, giving advice and so on. I have found I really enjoy sharing my knowledge and experiences with others. This semester I was looking for a new "Mentee". And I was hooked up with one through a classmate. We met for the first time this evening to talk about the basics...how to study, what to do first, how much time...etc. For those of you with no nursing school experience it is a whole OTHER world! You may have been a AMAZING professional in your other life but nursing school will kick you in the tutees (or for those of you unfamiliar with Yiddish-butt)! After spending time with this woman giving pointers as to what to study, how much to study, organizational tips and so forth I realized HOW FAR I HAVE COME!! I really have learned so much since beginning this program and well it makes me want to kvell (cry)! I put explanations into nursing terms and it was just all flowing out of me without even realizing it! I am SO PROUD of my accomplishments! It really take putting it all together and helping others out to figure this out. Maybe I should write more of it down but here are a few of my survival tips...

1. GRACE- those of us in an accelerated nursing program are the very definition of NEUROTIC!! We are Type A to the max and will stress ourselves out to the point of a MI (heart attack) if we don't remember to be gracious to ourselves! Being a straight A student in nursing school is darn near impossible and with a grading scale like we are up against having a B+ average is FANTASTIC!! The Belmont the school of nursing grading scale a B+ is a 90-92%-which again is fantastic!

2. Balance-One MUST MAKE TIME for other endeavors if a nursing student is to maintain their SANITY!! I have learned that I study better in the morning so I often get up early to study. On any given day I will study until 7 PM and then I am done. After 7 I am free to do the things that I enjoy doing such as knitting and watching TV. This is VERY important as if I all I ever did was homework I would come to resent it and its ability to take over my life. I have found that I am a big fan of audiobooks as well and between listening and reading I have "read" about 20 NON-SCHOOL books since beginning the program. This was a tip that I learned from my dear friend Ruth who will be graduating with her PhD the day after me and her support and encouragement as well as her accomplishments I am SO PROUD OF!!

3. This one goes along with the previous two but I learned it from my Favorite former boss Pattie (who learned it from her former boss Ian) Fuck it! Sorry if that may be offensive to some however this is also necessary to maintain sanity. Or you could say it another way in the words of my Mental Health professor Dr. Fold, "I did the best that I could under the given circumstances" and thats the best you can do and to stress over in the end is pointless!

This whole process has truly been an amazing learning/personal growth experience and though it has been challenging, trying, and infuriating at times I know that when it is all said and done...graduation and the NCLEX behind me I WILL be ready to begin my new career as a RN!!