What I've Learned

Out of my four semesters in college so far, I've definitely learned the most from this one. I can perform a full head-to-toe physical assessment in 30 minutes or less, take vitals, calculate a medication dosage, and tell you more than you would ever want to know about AIDS, heart attacks, diabetes, the immune response, the dangers of a sedentary lifestyle, and over a hundred other disease processes.

So here are some of the things I've learned after one semester of nursing school:
1. Hypoxia will rule the world! Pretty much every disease process results in an oxygen deficiency.
2. Kidneys are extremely important. So take care of the one (or hopefully two) that you've got! Kidneys filter approximately 200 liters of blood per day, plus they control blood volume and blood pressure.
3. You can't memorize everything. It's impossible. There's just too much information out there. It's extremely important to understand concepts.
4. Think critically. As one professor told me: "Nursing is 95% common sense."
5. Take control of your heart health. Heart disease has several unmodifiable risk factors (age, gender, family history), but the factors I can control are diet and exercise.
6. Read the textbook. It actually helps boost your test grade.
7. Don't use medical jargon in front of a patient. He or she is probably already scared or apprehensive, and hearing a bunch of words that don't make sense doesn't help the patient feel in control. I learned this lesson personally: I was so frazzled during our first lab simulation that I wasn't thinking from the patient's perspective and I informed him I was about to auscultate for a carotid bruit. I proceeded to do so without thinking about what I'd done, and I didn't realize my mistake until my instructor gently pointed it out after the simulation was over.
8. As a nursing student, never say, "That's not my job!" I haven't experienced this personally yet, but I've been forewarned. Always follow instructions in the clincal setting, even if it means you have to "go fishing."
And that brings me to...
9. "Going fishing" does not mean a fun day at the lake. I'll let you try to decide for yourself what that could mean...
10. Good nursing care includes patient-centered care! It is the nurse who is the patient's advocate.

Even though I've learned so much, there's still so much that I don't know yet... but I'm so excited for next fall. Clinicals, here I come!