The Nursing Student Phenomenon

When I started my first semester of nursing school, I was excited, anxious, and to be honest, well rested.  I looked forward to school each day an I was ready to do whatever I needed to to move on to the next step {even if that meant “learning” how to make a bed for 8 hours}.  I enjoyed my drive to school {which was kind of a novelty considering I hadn’t driven to work in 9 years} and I was generally unfazed by the tasks I had to do.  Now that isn’t to say that there weren’t moments of sheer and utter panic or crying jags from being completely overwhelmed, but by and large, I handled it like a champ.  I was optimistic about moving on to the second semester.  Let me tell you, that lasted about 7 seconds.

When summer semester hit, I knew it was going to be challenging.  What I didn’t realize, was just how hard it would be.  I have said it a million times {just maybe not on here} that nursing school is challenging, but not in the way that most would suspect.  I might be an outlier on the spectrum because I have a background in healthcare and I am a grown woman with responsibilities that are daily, mandatory and definitely do not fall under needing opening a book to read a chapter.  Learning the medical stuff, it is challenging, but not all that hard, even with a condensed semester.  Do you know what was the part that almost ruined me?  The stress of trying to manage my home and still find time to study.  My husband is hands down, the best man on this planet and really took on a lot of the things around the house that I neglected for the sake of studying.  It didn’t help that a lot of tough situations happened to fall during this timeframe and my husband and I took turns losing our ever-loving minds.  {We have always maintained that as long as both of us don’t have a meltdown at the same time, we are good to go.  Heaven help us when that day comes.}  It was hard.  It strained our marriage. {By no means am I saying there was ever any doubt we would make it through.  We have an impressive track record of unbelievable situations that we have blazed through together, so let me assure you, nursing school will not be our undoing.}  Our youngest felt the tension.  I felt like the sitter was raising my child.  I missed my family.  I missed my friends.  It was HARD.

My break between semesters was the most refreshing and needed break I think I have ever taken in my entire life.  I can’t tell you that by the end I wasn’t ready to have a schedule back and get the show on the road as far as school goes, but I did my best to enjoy the down time.  Heck, I even made a giant dinner for my circle of trust as a thank you for still being my friend after I was almost completely incommunicado for the better part of 4 months.  {Apparently, they want me to say thank you and apologize with food more often.  I wouldn’t be surprised if some of them pick a fight just so I make them make up food.  Just kidding… sort of.}

Before I knew it, I was eyeball deep in paperwork, drug cards, and case studies.  Let me tell you, this semester has just started and I already have the end-of-the-semester exhaustion going on.  I am borderline apathetic and I have uttered the words “they won’t kick me out for that” more times than I can count.  We are only two weeks in, people, and I am already fried.  I am forgetting the most basic tasks and finding objects in places they don’t belong.  {Highlighters do not need to be refrigerated.  You’re welcome.}  I honestly have no idea how to get motivated other than to just take it a day at a time and pray constantly that I don’t pull a Brittney or run away to an island somewhere and sell macramé to survive.

I’m not sure if this is “normal” or not.  Judging by the reactions and faces of my fellow students, I’m not the only one in this predicament.  This makes me think that this is just normal and it too shall pass.  Hopefully.