Pandemic Nursing Student
Hi!
This is my first semester of nursing school. I know — starting nursing school during a pandemic?! Yeah, it’s just as you’d imagine.
To start off, my lectures are completely remote. In a way, it’s almost easier. I’m able to cut out a lot of travel time, to and from campus grounds, and can attend lecture from the comfort of my own home. But I’ve realized it requires a lot more to keep me present and paying attention when I am home. It also makes it a lot harder to form connections with my classmates (beyond the select few I do know through clinical) but we’ve managed to create a FaceBook page for the entire class where we can and share helpful tips and study guides.
Speaking of clinical — Before the semester started, we had a virtual lottery for clinical settings. We were able to choose our preference of the day our clinical falls on and the available location on each day. I was so excited when I was able to score a convenient day and, not only that, a location that was just a town over from me. By the end of that lottery, they proceeded to tell us that we would not actually be attending those locations. Instead, we’d be having clinical on school grounds in the Sim Lab... Bummer.
It hasn’t been all that bad. My clinical instructor is wonderful and she has been really easing my anxieties throughout this process. The labs are pretty amazing. I guess they are a good place to learn as any mistakes cannot actually have a negative outcome on a real life. Each lab has multiple “fake patients” and the rooms are set up pretty identical to hospital rooms. Our patients can talk, cough, groan and moan, breathe, have a pulse, heart sounds, bowel sounds, and so on. Essentially, we are able to perform all of the things we would need to perform on an actual patient — but we do lack the actual facility environment and real-life situations.
I’m trying to make the best of the situation and really learn as much as I can with what is available to me. If anyone reading this has been through or is going through nursing school and has any tips or pointers, I’d love to hear them!!
Your Future RN
