Nearing the midterm of my junior year in nursing school, it’s mind-blowing to look back on all I have accomplished. I’ve made it through online freshmen year classes and an uncertain sophomore year. I look back at the exams, assignments, and patients I’ve had and laugh at how worried I was. When it was happening it seemed like life or death, but now I could do most of that stuff without blinking an eye. Nursing school is terrifying but, in my opinion absolutely worth it.
If you’re worried that you’re not smart enough for nursing or any other medical profession, remember that you get out of it what you put in. Nurses, practitioners, and doctors don’t get to where they are on intelligence alone. Sure you need some common sense and comprehension but if your heart is in it that can make all the difference.
That being said, nursing school is not at all an easy path to take. You have to be honest with yourself and decide where your priorities lie- are you able to put school before everything else? If you want to succeed, expect to be studying every day, including weekends! The amount of content each class goes through in just a day is no joke and it’s essential stuff. Remember that another person’s life is in your hands (as if you really needed that terrifying reminder). You also HAVE to develop a new way of studying. I went into my sophomore year naively thinking I could just read the definitions and I’d be good. While you do need to understand the terms you also have to be able to apply them logically to different situations. The same went for starting out in my junior year. The transition between sophomore to junior year was a big one. Essentially you are moving from fundamentals to the real intense stuff- medications, disease processes, and in-depth care. If you want to pass your exams, you need to be able to apply your knowledge to real life situations.
When you get into clinicals and start applying your knowledge it can be incredibly daunting at first. You second guess yourself and panic a little bit thinking you’re going to kill your patient when you take their temperature. However, as you build more confidence in your skills and talking with patients, you leave each day feeling productive and accomplished. For me, nothing is more satisfying than knowing my patient has everything they need and that I could help make their day a little bit easier. The difference a nurse makes in people’s lives is incredibly impactful not only for the patient but for the nurse, too. The gratitude you can receive from a patient is undeniably rewarding and uplifting.
So, is all that studying worth it? Absolutely. While it’s happening it may not feel like it when you’re fighting sleep and questioning if you can even do it. But when you stop and look back on all you’ve done so far, you won’t want to stop until you’re at the finish line. With each assignment, exam, and year you have more knowledge and ability than the last. It goes by quick and before you know it, you’ll be getting out of it what you put in.