by Lynda Lampert

Created on: June 23, 2010   Last Updated: October 17, 2010

We've all been there. Everyone who has been a nurse has sat in anatomy class and wondered what it's like in the real world. We have all wondered what nursing students should know. It is shocking to find out what really happens when you step outside those protective walls and take a patient load of your own. Your heart pounds the first time someone asks you to make a decision about your patient. Obviously, you will want to keel over when a patient goes bad on you for the first time.

So, what should you know, students? What advice do you need so that you aren't blindsided by the world? Here are the top five things a nursing student should know .

Patients do not read textbooks

Know that just about everything you learn in nursing school is a generalization. Patients do funny things of their own. Some people's heart rates are naturally in the 40s. Some blood pressures are 90/40 and everyone is okay with that. It will scare the heck out of you the first time, but the patent's body doesn't know it is giving you fits. It is doing what it does best – maintaining homeostasis the way it always has. Nursing students should know that patients do not follow the textbooks you study so closely.

Ratios often get in the way

It is a sad but true statement about nursing today. You will have large numbers of patients, depending on shift. The good news is that you eventually get used to it. The bad news is that it can be crushing at first. Student nurses need to know that ratios happen everyday. It is not fair to the nurses or the patients, but it is reality. Expect at least over five. Over ten and perhaps you ought to find a new job. The truth is that ratios get in the way of the daydreams you may have of patient care. Good nurses find a way, but it is important to realize ahead of time that you will have more patients than you feel comfortable with at first.

Everyone is scared

All nursing students should know that we all get scared. Even nurses who have been around for twenty years get scared when a patient goes bad. Hands shake, voices are shrill, and hearts beat wildly in a code situation. No matter how many you have been through, it is always a scary ordeal. Now, you do get used to it to a point, but everyone is scared during these times. Just know your patient well, answer the doctor's questions the best you can, and take the help from the team that responds and your coworkers. Don't feel bad if you are scared. All nurses are.

You are never alone

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