The Truth About Nursing School

How many nurses out there started nursing school starry eyed and excited about the journey they were embarking on? I know I did, along with many of the girls I went through it with. I know not everyone is excited about it, for many it's not an option: it's simply a means for income. But for those of us that chose nursing as a profession because we have a genuine interest in the medical field and helping others, starting nursing school is almost as exciting as Christmas. That is, until we get to our first lecture or clinical day.

No one warns incoming nursing students about how nursing school really is. No one tells us how stuff in hospitals really goes down. No one tells us it's not about wearing the cute scrubs and passing pills. Not a soul tells us it's the hard, dirty, gross, smelly, embarrassing, sweaty job that it is. I think if that's the picture nursing recruiters were painting, we'd all high-tail it out of there and the nursing shortage would be worse than it is. I don't mean this to be a deterrent to potential nurses, I'm just telling you the truth. After all, I am a nurse- I tell you like it is.

How It All Began
I started the LPN (Licensed Practical Nurse) portion of an ADN program in the summer of 2007. I knew a little bit about what I was getting into since my mother, aunt and grandmother are all nurses, but I had no idea the extent of what I was getting into. My class started with 66 people. We had class 3 days a week from 0800-1500 and clinical 2 days a week from 0700-1500. If you had never worked full -time before this came as a huge slap in the face! The first quarter is always geriatrics and is termed the "weed-out" quarter...if you can make it through this quarter you're good to go. Wondering why it's called the weed-out quarter? I'm happy to tell you, but you may not want to hear it.

Geriatric Nursing
It's partially the school work that consists of hours and hours of pointless busy-work and paperwork, weekly unit exams worth 100 points on which an 80% is a C and a 79% is an F (yeah, figure that one out, it's nursing school math...) Oh yeah, a 79.99% is also an F, there isabsolutely no rounding in nursing school, so don't ask! Or it could be that if, during the hand-washing skills check off, you accidentally use the same paper towel on two parts of your hands that you receive an unsatisfactory and have 2 more chances to complete it satisfactorily before you fail the quarter. It could also be the clinical aspect. That's what I figure it to be. I'll put it to you this way, if changing a baby's diaper grosses you out, helping an elderly person change their soiled Depends isn't going to rock your world, either. Nor is bathing, feeding, grooming, dressing and otherwise providing complete care to an elderly person. If strong odors turn your stomach and you have no control over your gag reflex, you're sunk. If you are the least bit timid and lack confidence, you're going to have trouble. If the combination of the odor of decaying tissue and the sight of decaying flesh, blood and bone makes you lose your lunch, you may have some trouble with this quarter, but I'll tell you the stage 4 decubitis ulcer on the coccyx of your patient is a lot worse for them than the few minutes of stink and nastiness is for you. I figure this all combines to make the Geriatric quarter the weed-out quarter. It certainly was for my class- only 30 other students moved on to 2^nd quarter with me. Wonder what happens in second quarter? Keep reading!

Obstetrical Nursing
I have to say 2^nd quarter was my absolute favorite! At what other time can you be completely honest with a screaming, writhing patient, tell them to be quiet and focus than when they've been trying to push out their brand new baby for the last 2 hours? The Obstetrics quarter was tough and it wasn't all wild and crazy labor stories. There was a lot of homework and lecture hours put in, but clinical was fantastic. My favorite part was Labor and Delivery. I loved the excitement of helping a mother bring a new life into the world. But even Labor and Delivery had its downfalls. Not every birth ended in the happy Lifetime Movie moments everyone expects, emergencies happen. Gross stuff happens in L&D, too. I remember at least once when the vacuum slipped off and I got sprayed with blood and fluids-now you know why we wear face shields in there, huh? And although the birth of a child is beautiful, it's pretty gross, too. Stuff contorts and stretches in ways you never thought possible, stuff is gushing and squishing, but it is all worth it. If you've got a weak stomach, though, you still may want to reconsider.

Medical Surgical Nursing
Third quarter was just typical Medical-Surgical stuff. Taking care of post-heart attacks, post surgical patients and general illnesses. We did learn dressing changes this quarter and that was pretty fun. Wounds intrigue me-some of the gnarliest looking wounds can actually be the healthiest. Debriding a wound isn't something for the faint-you literally scrub out a wound down to the new tissue. I enjoy it, but it's not for everyone. The class load during this quarter was still super tough, but by now we'd learned the balancing act and had it down pretty good. Most of us had even learned how to work in a bit of a social life to maintain our sanity! Of course, our social life almost only included fellow nursing students and guess what we talked about? Yeah, you guessed it, nursing!

Medical Surgical Nursing
Fourth quarter was the final quarter of the LPN program. It was scary to think that at the end of this quarter we would be real-live nurses! We learned how to start IV's this quarter-another personal favorite of mine. We learned how to insert naso-gastric tubes (in your nose and into your stomach!) and how to do tracheotomy care (tube in your neck, into your airway so you can breathe). It was also a more in-depth Medical-Surgical quarter. We saw a lot of the same types of patients as in quarter 3, but were able to provide more care. Although we could provide a little more advanced care, please don't get the idea that we weren't still changing Depends, helping patients on and off bedpans and helping bathe, because we were. If you're any kind of nurse at all, it doesn't matter how much schooling you have, you'll still help your patient with their most basic needs.

Graduation
Fast forward through graduation and finding out you're pregnant (that's me)! Don't ask how I had time for that, my husband and I still can't figure it out! I am now embarking on the journey to become an RN. Only 3 more quarters and I'll be a Registered Nurse! Let me tell you, it's the longest three quarters ever.

Becoming An RN
Fifth quarter was the hardest quarter for me. It was the Mental Health quarter. My brain just does not function in Therapeutic Communication mode, apparently. I don't hold much stock in the whole Psychology thing, and I'm sorry if that offends anyone. I do believe that there are mental illnesses and that the victims of those need medical help, I do not, however believe asking how the fact that the toilet didn't flush correctly makes them feel (or something similar, you get the picture). I think that "No" is a perfectly acceptable word to use with a mental health patient, and child too for that matter. Basically, for this quarter I had to choose answers and actions opposite of what I thought. I was far from the only one- a lot of us struggled with this quarter's content. It was the weed-out quarter for the RN program. I think we lost about 25% of the students we started with.

On Saving A Life
Sixth quarter was a super-in-depth Medical Surgical quarter. We were able to start, maintain and hang IV's, perform all kinds of other procedures and pass meds independently. It was the quarter I learned the absolute most. Not from my theory instructor, though, she was a joke. I learned from my clinical instructor. She had been a nurse for close to 30 years and bent over backwards, did dances, raps and anything else she could to help us learn content. Notice I said learn, not memorize. My clinical instructor ended up tutoring the entire theory class because none of us were learning a thing from the theory instructor. Anyway, we got to do ER and ICU rotations this quarter. I didn't like ICU, much. It was pretty slow unless there was an acute need. I loved ER, though. I liked the pace and the comradery of the staff. The ER staff has to work together in emergency situations and that was a different feel from other units in the hospital. We were also still doing basic care (remember, I told you that was a must if you want to call yourself a nurse!). This was the quarter when it kind of clicked that "hey, I'm a nurse. I have to think on my feet if I want to save this guy!" One particular situation made me come to that realization. My patient had swallowing problems, couldn't talk or feed himself. His family had fed him earlier in the evening and apparently he had aspirated (food had gotten into his airway/lungs) some. He began coughing, so I sat him up. That didn't seem to help, so I leaned him forward a bit and tried to help him expectorate some mucous, but that didn't work, either. Pretty soon he started gurgling and struggling for air. I yelled to the hallway and told another student I needed our instructor, but she was busy. I had to grab the nearest RN and we suctioned a quart of fluids, food and mucous from this guy. He was literally drowning in his own secretions. Sure, it was scary. It was down right terrifying. Here I was, 8.5 months pregnant, wrestling with an 80 year old patient, suctioning him and just trying to get enough out of him so that he can breathe again. It was at that moment (after he was stable again) that I realized I had made the right career choice. It was great to know that I had helped this guy live. It's kind of an indescribable feeling.

A New Beginning
Wondering about 7^th quarter? Well, I didn't quite make it there. I had my daughter early and couldn't get back into that school for another year or two. So, I took some time off and transferred. I started Fall Quarter in a new RN program and have 2 quarters to go. I'm loving it. This quarter is Cardiac and Respiratory problems. Of course it's difficult, but definitely worth it.

It's What You Take Away That Matters
I hope this gives some people a little glimpse at nursing school-the good parts and the bad. It's not roses and butterflies. It's a long, hard road, but if you're determined you can get through it. And trust me, it's worth it. If you decide to go to nursing school, I hope you'll learn a bit of what I have:

I've learned that just when you think your 12 hour shift is almost over and you feel like you can't take another step, you can. In fact, you can go on for another few hours if you're needed. I've learned you can go with out meals, the toilet and other stuff if things are getting nuts on the unit. I've learned that patients don't care how cute your scrubs are, if they have to puke, they're going to puke...quite possibly on you! I've learned that no matter how smelly, disgusting, sweaty, etc a patient is, they wouldn't be lying in that hospital bed if they had a choice: they are a person, they are my patient and they need my help. Most importantly, I've learned that I am, indeed, a nurse.