Things I wish I knew before becoming a Nurse

Fun fact: when I registered for college at the University of Nevada-Reno, I had NO idea what I wanted to do with my career. I went to freshman orientation as an “Undecided” major and watched all the other students group up into their major categories (Engineering, Business, Nursing, Education, etc.) and thought to myself, “My campus tour is going to be so boring and generalized,” so I hopped on over to the “Pre-Nursing major” group and snuck into their campus tour.

The tour guides were incredible.

They knew so much about the campus but also the history behind UNR’s Orvis School of Nursing program. I remember being very inspired, simultaneously thinking back to all the random times my parent’s friends suggested I look into nursing as a profession. This tour made me FALL IN LOVE with the idea of nursing.

We were in the largest tour group of students, all of which very dedicated to fighting for the hard-earned and prestigious Orvis School of Nursing BSN program in town which only accepted 42 students per semester at the time. I will never forget the moment the tour guides made us fall in love with the university campus, the nursing school, and the career THEN looked us straight in the eye, with the most serious tone, and said,

“Less than 5% of you here will ever become nurses.”

Many were shocked and instantly anxious. But of course naive and competitive me, never having seen a nurse at work in my life, looked to the stranger on my left and said, “I WILL be one of the 5%.” Sooo yes, I blindly entered the nursing field on a whim due to my ridiculously competitive nature BUT thankfully it was the right impulsive and insane decision of my life. I truly couldn’t picture myself on any other path. I am incredibly thankful for this career however, there are a few things I wish I would have known before becoming a nurse….

You have to make a lot of phone calls.

Truly, they’re immeasurable.

As nurses, we are thrown into the deep end when it comes to communicating with patients, doctors, families, and colleagues ALL over the hospital. I remember seeing my nurse preceptors in nursing school on the phone constantly and how intimidating it looked. I barely picked up a phone in nursing school, but wish I had.

As a clinical instructor, I prioritized teaching my students the Art of Report to all types of colleagues in the hospital and how EASY it can be. The beauty of the hospital is that we are all trying to get our job done efficiently, so abbreviated, to-the-point calls are actually encouraged.

Learning how to communicate is incredibly important and crucial to providing Better Care.

You have to advocate behind the scenes for your patients often.

Advocacy is crucial. Advocacy can mean quality of life for a patient, or even their life.

I don’t say this to scare you, I say this to be honest and to EMPOWER you. Your thoughts matter. Your education matters. As you navigate pre-requisite courses or maybe your nursing school courses, feel encouraged that everything you are learning now MEANS something. Let that thought encourage you to have a more enjoyable study session.

I was a much more reserved, timid, and un-opinionated person prior to nursing. I quickly realized that I had the power to either give my patients passive and slow-moving care, or I could give them productive and high-quality care. There is no in-between. Perfecting “time management” and “cluster care” will be your two top goals for years to come.

Questioning physician’s orders is necessary but also incredibly rewarding.

This really ties back to advocacy. Most often when you are advocating for a patient, you are communicating to a doctor about your opinions with the goal of changing or adding orders.

Doctors are not your boss. Let me repeat that: physicians and surgeons are not your superiors. They are your colleagues.

This is important for the public to know and for you to know. You have your own nurse supervisors, nurse managers, and nurse directors that you report to. Doctors have a completely separate Chain-of-Command that they report to. So when you approach a doctor to question orders or ask for any change, it is as colleagues. It is a necessary collaboration to provide your shared patient with the best care possible.

You have a specific set of skills that the doctor cannot provide the patient. Conversely, doctors have a Scope-of-Practice that they provide the patient that you cannot. Working together is necessary and incredibly rewarding when you can give the patient the best Plan-of-Care possible!

You need to learn how to cope for the hard days in a healthy way.

Some days are HARD.

Healthy coping skills aren’t always the easiest. We are naturally drawn to the easy, numbing, unhealthy versions of dealing with a traumatic situation.

As we enter this career, and see a lot of hard things for the first time, it is all too easy to burn out and question your career choice.

Learning healthy coping skills, like seeing a counselor regularly to help you process or going for a decompression walk/run after work, will be priceless to your physical, mental, and spiritual health. Your journey will be hard but with healthy coping skills, you will also grow in resilience, patience, humility, and strength.

You always have time to take a deep breath before acting on the emergency.

This is the best advice I have ever received.

My natural instinct was to freeze or question myself. I was a perfectionist, anxious about making the wrong decisions, causing me to hesitate in nursing school when an emergency was unfolding in front of me.

This is natural, this is normal, and you CAN learn to override this initial response. The first step in doing this is to literally breathe. Take a deep breath and get oxygen to your brain so you can think critically and quickly. You ALWAYS have time to take a deep breath before responding. Over time, this gets easier and before you know it, you are that veteran nurse who thinks, breathes, and responds with ease.

Your career can go in a million different directions. The options are limitless!

Nursing is probably the MOST flexible career you could ever enter into. Bedside, business, leadership, aesthetic, flight, camp, travel, informatics, biotech, remote, education forensic nursing etc etc. the list is never-ending.

And guess what! You can pivot WHENEVER YOU WANT TO. That is the beauty of entering a profession that is major need nationwide.

Enter the field. Not loving your first pick in workplace or unit? Pivot. Love the idea of leadership and management? Start the training. Want to travel or work remotely? Apply and make those moves! Nursing can be whatever you want to be. It can give you your dream schedule, your dream work-life balance, and your dream opportunities.

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