Everything I wish I knew about nursing school
For more, Follow me on IG
Dos and Don'ts of nursing school
What is the most important things you should know when starting off.
I graduated in 2013 from the RPN program and started working in the nursing field shortly after. After 5 years of experience I went back to school to complete my RN degree in 2017. Today, I am working in the front line of COVID-19 in the pediatric department (Yes with cuteee babies). Many would say that nursing school is stressful and difficult and I couldn't agree more so here are some Dos and Don'ts that I have experienced and hopefully it can help you along your journey.
Myth: You have to be super smart to complete the program.
Reality: Smartness do not equate finishing nursing school. It's takes organization, and having proper resources available to help you along the way for example tutoring.
Myth: Resources are widely available.
Reality: Resources are only available if you take the time to figure out what you need help with. You need to be specific about the goals you want to achieve. For example, if you need help with chemistry you need to figure out which area of chemistry you are struggling with in order to get the proper help.
I know I struggle with a lot of subjects in school. I wanted to quit a couple times, but what kept me motivated was the end goal and I know nothing good comes easy. You have to work hard to achieve what ever goal you have in mind.
Myth: You get no sleep, you have no life, there so much studying and it's almost impossible to have a work life/school balance.
Reality: You can still balance school with everyday life by staying organize and have time management. For my part, I choose days where it's specifically for studying, tutoring, and clinical. Other days I would take off for my personal and work life. At that time I use to work at Hardrock Cafe by Dundas. I used to do weekend morning from 10-5pm and reserved my night and evening for my partner, friends and family. That's how I juggled everything. But even with that, I have to say I started feeling overwhelmed. During my last semester where I had to be at clinical pretty much 7 days a week. During that time, I had to take a 4 month break from work and IT WAS HECTIC!
I paid my way through school ... but during the last semester I had to rely on OSAP to pay my way. It help me because I was not able to work during that time. Regarding OSAP I choose to not take it throughout my early years of nursing school because I wanted to finish the program with the lowest amount of student loan debt possible!
Becoming a Nurse
My First day!
In total my RPN took 2 years to complete then I made the transition to RN that took me an other 2 years.
I choose to do the RPN program first because I wanted to get some work experience before I made the transition.
My first day on the job I was at Providence Healthcare in Scarborough. I was very nervous but excited at the same time to finally start my journey. I remember my first day like it was yesterday, I was assigned to the Palliative Unit this unit is mostly end of life patients. I was assigned 4 patients but luckily I was able to have other veteran nurses on the floor that helped me if I had any questions.
When we had the first meeting in the morning, I let the nurses know it was my first day, and that I might be slower and ask for help when needed. They were very patient and kind to me. I was very lucky to have that.
The fact that they were aware of that it give me a peace of mind to do the job.
It's okay to be nervous and to ask for help
- Nurse with the good purse
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
Recieve our latest weekly releases, offers, guides and more.