Resolutions

I never made too much of New Year's Resolutions -- they always seemed to be too much of a downer when you realized that two weeks later, they'd all been broken.  As we collectively enter 2008, I could resolve to stop smoking (which I don't), or I could resolve to lose 50 pounds (which I probably never will) or I could resolve to buy my dream BMW this year (which would be a miracle).

No, this year I'll only make one:  I resolve to graduate from my RN-program nursing school.

Those who have never been in nursing school or who have never known a nurse VERY well, will no doubt sit there and say, "what kind of resolution is that?  That's no big deal."  But nurses, their families and close friends will appreciate the fact that nurse training is like military training:  they both are "boot camps"... the only difference is that student nurses don't get their heads shaved down and they don't drop and give their instructor "50" every time they answer a question wrong.

And we also have to give credit here to the fact that most people have this impression of nursing students as perky, cute little 18- or 19-year old girls just out of high school, probably still living at home with mommy and daddy, and only need enough spending money that they can get from grant refunds and their part-time job at Hot Topic.

Sorry, I don't fit the demographic.

So what's the big deal about a resolution to graduate nursing school?  In the first place, I'm neither 18, nor perky, nor a girl.  I'm one of the growing number of men in nursing, choosing nursing as a profession because it's what I wanted to do all along -- but never did until now.  I did something else for my Bachelor's degree, and had a decently successful IT career before heeding the calling I ignored since the mid-80's.  Second, try pulling a full-time, 40+ hour per week hospital job along with a full-time schedule in nursing school, with its lecture time, school laboratory, hospital clinical time, study time, tests, etc. -- not the easiest thing in the world.  Add to this, a wife, 9-year-old daughter, 3 cars, a mortgage, and the fact that I'm over 40 (which, thank God, I see a growing number of my generation entering nursing school for the first time), and you have the picture of how hard it has been for me over the last 2+ years.

Granted, I will give credit where credit is due to any nursing student who braves the nursing school boot-camp and makes it out alive with their GN in hand.  But I will give more credit to those such as in my position who have to work full-time and go to school full-time, who are older and have been out of the school environment for 10, 15, 0r 20 years, and are even holding their own and passing.  As the nursing student mantra goes, "C = RN".

And the choice of school makes a difference, too.  Some schools make it harder than it all needs to be.  One school I know of in my local area has turned this into a virtual art form, doing a variety of things to deliberately cause students to fail so they can narrow the field from the 120 they bring in every fall, in an attempt to keep those they believe have the best shot of passing the NCLEX (the "state board" nursing license test), so their pass rate percentages look good and they can continue getting state and federal money for their program.  Other schools take the "let's work with you to help you understand" approach (such as the school I've found) who won't necessarily hand you a grade, but will go the extra mile to help you learn the concepts and equip you to not just pass the boards, but to be a good entry-level nurse.

This is where I believe the difference is.  Students can fall all over themselves trying so hard to pass tests and memorize things well enough to get a grade, but does that really equip them to make it in the real world where the test is a patient with non-specific symptoms and you have to think on your feet enough to differentiate what you tell the doctor when you call, or if you need to call at all?

I think the best entry-level nurses are those who don't feel the intense pressure of weekly pencil-and-paper tests, but where their skills are taught, learned, and practiced to the point of near-proficiency.  I have already met enough nursing students from other schools whom I wouldn't want to see over my hospital bed when I regain consciousness after some accident or other.

Being trained as one of those skills-based, not "book-based" nurses, I can't wait for this semester to begin (in about a week).  I can't wait to graduate.  I can't wait to get out and help people.  Yes, the money's great, the concept that I have the choice of a job practically anywhere I want is great.  But the opportunity to be a blessing to someone by helping them to recovery... that's the greatest reward.  And unlike some seasoned nurses who I know that whine about being burned out, maybe when I get "burned out" (if I do), I'll be ready to retire anyway.

So, this year, I will graduate from nursing school, and I will make a difference.