So here I sit on a Monday afternoon. Normally we would be ending class about now, but today is a holiday, so no class today. It’s the perfect time to reflect on the events of last week…our first week of the final semester. The title of this post sums it up. Shock and awe.
Shock and Awe is a ” term for a military strategy based on achieving rapid dominance over an adversary by the initial imposition of overwhelming force and firepower.” Although there was no force or firepower in the technical sense, our instructor (who happens to teach both lecture and clinical) apparently adheres to the belief that we will either sink or swim as “expert nursing students” by becoming fully immersed in our clinical education.
Our first lecture began with a comprehensive tutorial on the paper based charting system used by the clinical facility. As she began to explain the system to us, I took a glance around at the class. Normally I sit up front in class, but I apparently got there late (I was only 20 minutes early) and had to sit in the back of the class. This vantage point actually gave me a new perspective on my class. As I mentioned, I glanced around at the class and saw many different expressions. Some were in shock, some completely bewildered, others were frantically scribbling down every word that the instructor spoke. I had to chuckle. Here we were about to begin our last semester and there was an air of panic in the room. It was as if we were starting all over again.
I attribute this feeling to two different factors. First, this particular instructor has a reputation for being very demanding. Not in a bad way, mind you. She expects you to be at a point in your education where you can start putting together the knowledge that was gained and start using some critical thinking skills. Again, not a bad thing. I think that the way our class began last Monday really gave people (myself included) a bit of a wake up call. We were not first year nursing students. We were supposed to be moving beyond fundamentals and into our roles as novice nurses.
The second factor was the fact that the way or program was designed (and for upcoming students this has been fixed) we had about 8 months of classes and clinicals that did not require us to do regular physical assessments or “traditional” med/surg care plans. We’re all a bit rusty in our clinical skills and we’re expected to hit the ground running. Many of us found that we were lacking in our clinical evaluation skills on our first clinical day this past week. We’ve decided to take advantage of some lab time and have our own review sessions over the next several days.
The thing that I found most frustrating and surprising during our clinical this past week was that I was an absolute nervous wreck! How could that be? I thought that all of the time I spent in my externship would have prepared me to be able to handle the day. I was, apparently, wrong. I think I let our instructor get into my head and throw me off my game. I was not one of the lucky people who actually had a patient on our clinical day – I actually shadowed RT – but I’m going to get my head back in the game and not let myself get freaked out for our next clinical. I can do this!
I guess I’m just used to doing things the “externship” way now, not the “student” way anymore. I have to back myself up and remember that some of the things that I’m expected to do at the externship are not things that I’m able to do right away in clinicals without observation. It’s strange to think that I’ve done 4 in and out caths in one day during my externship, but I have to be checked off on them for my clinicals. Should be easy, right? Not when you are being graded on it! That’s what I mean…I can’t let the instructor get into my head.
So, it’s already the middle of January and we have about three and a half months until we are done. It’s going to be a fast and furious semester. Anyone else in the same boat? Are you nearing the end of your nursing school journey? Do you find the idea of being done and starting a job intimidating? I’d love to hear what you have to say.
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