by C. Lyn Walter

Created on: August 29, 2009   Last Updated: October 05, 2009

Advice is often easily given and just as often, not taken. There will be first year nursing students who may actually invite advice from "the experienced nurse" but many will want to find their way without it and really, this perspective may be the best to follow. Do we really learn from the experiences of others? Perhaps, and then again, maybe not. So take this advice if you like, or go forward without it because in any case, you will find your way. Good luck to you.

You will survive: The first year of nursing school is really an indoctrination period, one that has the potential to become a make you or break you experience, if you allow it to. Most likely, you will survive and probably become a changed person in the process.

Consider your perceptions: There is much to learn, absorb and consider in nursing, Each student will do so in their own way based on the unique perceptions they have developed along the way. It is virtually impossible for us to experience and interpret what we see in the same way, yet we are called upon to do just that. For this reason it is important to really get in touch with your perceptions.

Try not to become overwhelmed: Except for the battlefield, life and death issues are no more apparent than in hospitals. Frequent, intense situations require us to step back and put things in perspective, if you do not, it can overwhelm you. Everyone who has cancer does not die from cancer, or heart disease, or trauma, but it does seem like it at times. Remember there is a huge concentration of illness in hospitals and also remember how many survivors are at home.

Try not to get lost in minutia: Pay attention to detail but try not to get lost in minutia. Sometimes we lose our compassion and empathy in our struggle to attain perfection. Yes, structure is very important in nursing, however, nurses are not required to be colorless, humorless or emotionally invisible. Allow yourself to be human and humane.

You can become a nurse in two years: Becoming a nurse is a process, one that will immerses you in birth, death, and everything in between. It takes much longer than two, four or six years to become a nurse. It takes every day, day after day and year after year, to live the experiences that will mold you in to the nurse you will become.

Learn Your Profession Well, Devote yourself to accurately assessing your patients and implementing an appropriate plan of care by learning your profession well: Commit to your continuing education, your own standards of right, wrong and decency, and remember to bring positive signs of humanity, respect and kindness along with you. And Don't forget to smile.

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