3 Things I Wish I Knew Before Starting Nursing School

In this video today, I'm going to talk about three things that I wish that I knew before I started nursing school. Now make sure to watch the whole video because you probably haven't heard these before. This is just my experience and I'm also going to share some pretty embarrassing stories about some of my failures and weaknesses and struggles in nursing school in the hopes that you don't feel as alone. So I hope you enjoy it. Let's do it. So I will be the first one to stand up and raise my hand that I am not perfect. Like I make mistakes all the time. And that was totally true in nursing school. Nursing school has this ability of bringing out the worst parts about you, like your weaknesses, like personality wise because you're stressed all the time, you just don't feel like yourself. So in this video, I want to talk about the three things that I wish I knew before starting nursing school today to really help make it smoother, less stressful, and probably a lot more joyful. So the first one is to not compare yourself to others. I wish that I had really put up more of a boundary with not looking at the other students and thinking that I wasn't good enough. That's probably what it really more comes down to, like I'm not good enough as a student, as a nursing student, as a nurse, whatever. I think that was really more of a boundary thing, like comparing myself to other students. And here's the thing, this is what I learned. That everyone learns and remembers things, memorizes things, has different strengths and weaknesses in different ways. So one of your other classmates might have a strength in something else that's totally not your strength, but your strength might not be their strengths. So it's really hard to compare yourself to other students. You really should not do it. It will really, really, really get you caught up in really that comparison game, the loop of negativity inside your mind, like I'm not good enough, I'm not good enough. That kind of cycle that you get into nursing school because it's so stressful and you've got all this kind of seeming competition with the other students and you know, your classmates. And it's just, it's really, really tough to overcome that idea that you are not good enough and you will continue to compare yourself to other people. But here's the thing is that everyone is different. Everyone learns at different rates. Everyone learns through different modes. You know, you could be a visual learner or an auditory learner or a kinesthetic learner and learn by doing. You Know, there's different types and different rates. Like people learn things faster or slower. For example, I always like using this. My BFF in nursing school, she was a stinking rock star at skills, and I was not. I really, really excelled at lecture class, learning things. The book text stuff. Oh my gosh. Like, give me pathophysiology any day. I get it. Like, that clicks for me super quick in a nursing school. Hand me an iv, hand me a syringe. I had no idea what to do. I was a disaster with skills. Literally every single skills check off that we did, I had to retake it, my friend. I'm not kidding. Every single skill we did, I had to do a retake because I failed the first time. Skills were not my strong suit, but hers was. So we really helped each other in that way. Oh, so hardcore. Like, she carried me through skills in nursing school because we would do it over and over and over again until I would get it. Like, she would get it. She was so good. Oh, my goodness. If you are a patient, she is the nurse you would want because she's amazing. And then I would help her with lecture class because that's what I was good at. That was my strength. So everyone learns different things, different rates, has different strengths and weaknesses. That doesn't make it bad. That doesn't make it bad at all. That just means that you can exactly like what we did. Find somebody that has a strength that might be your weakness and pair up, team up, really help each other as you're learning all the things that you've got to learn because there's so much. So really, really use that teamwork. Make sure that you're balancing each other's strengths and weaknesses. And do not compare yourself to other people. Just stop it. It doesn't make you any less because you don't know something. If you don't know something, that's totally okay. You have time to learn it. You're in nursing school. That's what you're here for. Nobody expects you to be perfect. Nobody expects you to be perfect. I know it kind of seems that way, but no, no. We've all been in nursing school. Everyone gets where you are right now. So do not worry. Do not compare yourself to other people. Do not feel like you're not good enough, because, girlfriend, you are good enough. Now, the second thing that I wish I knew before I started nursing school, this one is more on the personal end, and that is my struggle with anxiety. So what I wish I had known before I started nursing school was that there's a difference between stress and anxiety. They are two very different things. And if you struggle with anxiety, you know what I'm talking about. Hardcore anxiety feels like this path, this constant struggle in your mind that's like a prison that you can't get out of. It's a consistent barrage of negative thoughts, things just like we just talked about, right? That I'm not good enough. I can't do this. I don't know what I'm doing. You know, all of these things. It's that constant anxiety that has this ability to just take over your mind and keep you enclosed, where you really just don't feel like you can get out and move on. Whereas stress is really just this. At least for me, when I feel stressed, I know that I can get things done. I know that I have a lot to do. I'm feeling that stress, that pressure, but I know that I can do it. Whereas anxiety for me is no. Like, I feel like I'm totally not good enough. It's this constant negativity in my mind that I cannot get through this. And in nursing school, that was such a huge weight for me. And in nursing school, it's kind of weird. I noticed that a lot of instructors would talk about the stress is good. Right? Stress is good. Do you have nursing instructors that say this? Like, stress is good? Sure. Like, there is a type of stress that's good for your body, you know, and it helps us to adapt and move forward and strengthen our skills. But no stress in nursing school, as people consider stress to be stress and anxiety is not good. It's not healthy for you. You need to make sure that you're sleeping and eating healthy and, you know, drinking water and all of those things. But anxiety doesn't let you do that. Anxiety is like, no, I'm not good enough. I never will be good enough. And so this is just where we're going to stay. Does that make sense? I hope that this makes sense. I know that a lot of other people struggle with anxiety, so I'm just gonna throw this out there. This is my experience for me, and how it is was in my mind until I figured it out. This is what I wish that I knew before I started nursing school was that there was a difference. I did not realize when I was in nursing school that I was struggling with anxiety and not just that healthy stress that nursing instructors talk about all the time. Right. Right. Weird. I don't know. I don't know why people talk about that all the time. Like, stress is good. For you. But when you. When we actually about stress, it is bad. Like, it is bad for you if you're, like, not eating, not sleeping, not taking care of yourself. That kind of stress, that kind of anxiety, not healthy. So I wish that I had realized that there was that difference in nursing school, and I didn't realize that. I thought that I was. It made me feel worse about myself, that I was just not good enough, couldn't figure it out. And it was always just gonna be this way, that I was always gonna have that. That path of thoughts, that. That constant barrage of thoughts and negativity in my mind. And that was all the anxiety talking. So it wasn't until last year, and if you follow me on Instagram, I talked about this. Last year was when I had a huge anxiety attack. And I had had anxiety attacks through my life, but this was the biggest deal for me, and this was the one where I did decide to get help. So last. It was last summer, I ended up going to therapy. So for anxiety treatment. And holy moly, like, what words can I throw out here right now to say to communicate the change that happened in myself? It was the biggest deal. I wish I had done it sooner because it changed my life. It literally changed my life. Getting treatment, getting therapy for anxiety. I have a lot of students who have asked me since that experience that I had. You know, they saw my stories on Instagram and saw that post asking me, how did I. How did I work through it? And that was it. I went to therapy for my anxiety and. And it worked. It worked for me. It's still a constant battle, but I really recommend that I have a lot of students that ask me, how can I get through nursing school? I'm so stressed. I have all these things, like, all. Like all of that anxiety. And honestly, I think there's a difference. Like I said, I think there's a difference between stress and anxiety. And if you have anxiety, you need to get help. Like, if that is really where you're living. That's my best advice, is because it worked for me. I could not. I could not myself get through it by myself. I needed help, and I recognized that I needed help, and so that's why I went to therapy. And so that's really the second thing that I do wish that I knew before starting nursing school was that there was a difference between stress and anxiety. Because I feel like if I had heard that there was a difference between stress and anxiety, maybe I would have gotten help sooner, maybe not. God always has a plan. But that worked for me, you know, so last year I did start therapy for anxiety. And it is still a constant battle. It's going to be. I know for me, it's going to be like a lifetime thing of constantly working on it, but it is so much better than it was. And I know if I went to nursing school right now, I would handle it completely different than I did back then. So I hope that helps you, maybe gives you a little bit of encouragement if that's what you're struggling with too. You're not alone. And kind of along those lines of anxiety and health. The third thing that I wish that I knew before I started nursing school was how important it was to actually get healthy and stay healthy. And I'm not talking, like, just the whole, you know, eating healthy and, you know, all those things you think about health. But, like, honestly, like, sleeping, you need to sleep in nursing school, full stop. Like, you have to sleep in nursing school. If you don't, you will feel like a shell of yourself all the time. If you struggle with anxiety like I did, like we just talked about, a lack of sleep will make it so much worse. You need to make sure that your thoughts are healthy, too, and that you're not constantly getting caught up in that negativity, that negative cycle, that negative thought pattern in your mind telling yourself that you can't do it because you are good enough. So that's what I mean by when I say, like, getting healthy. Not only do you need to eat right to fuel your body in a healthy way, drink water in the same, you know, the same thing. Make sure you're drinking water, staying hydrated. You need to get sleep, and you need to watch your thoughts and make sure that you are not getting stuck in the constant comparison with other students. Not getting stuck in the cycle of I am not good enough and I never will be good enough, and not getting stuck in that, you know, anxiety and negativity cycle. And this is kind of funny, slash embarrassing slash terrible, made me feel terrible. But when I started nursing school, I went to go shopping one day and I was looking for shoes, right? White shoes. Because you wear white shoes in nursing school. And as I was. It was actually a shoe store that I was. I was shopping in, and there was another gal there, and she was like, oh, are you going to nursing school? Because obviously no one buys these, like, white, you know, clunky shoes unless you're going to nursing school. And so she asked me, she was like, oh, are you in nursing school? And I said, yeah, yeah, I'M going to nursing school. And she wanted to know, you know, how did I do it? And what were my best tips and all those things. And the first thing I said was, well, you honestly need to get healthy. Could you imagine right there in that moment, I realized that that was not the right thing to say, because I saw it on her face that that is not how she took it. Like, how I meant it. Like, just how I described it. Like, sleeping, making sure your thought patterns are okay. Like, that's not how she took me telling her to get healthy. You see what I'm saying? I have felt like the rudest person in the entire world, even though that's not what I meant at all. So I did explain to her that, no, you have to, like, sleep well. You need to, you know, make sure that. Make sure that your, you know, everything in your life, like, holistically, is in a good place to go to nursing school because it sucks up so much of your life, your entire life. It just sucks it all out of you. So that was super embarrassing. I felt like the worst person in the entire world, as you could imagine. I don't like offending people. Obviously, no one likes offending people, unless you're like a psychopath or something. So I felt really, really bad. So. But that's really my third thing that I wish that I knew before I started nursing school was get healthy. In all of the ways, all of the things, all of them, you've got to get healthy so that you can then take on everything that nursing school throws at you, which is a lot. So, friend, I'm so glad that you're here, because just because you're here on our channel, watching these videos tells me that you want to be the best nurse that you can be. And I so, so admire you for that. And I so badly want that for you. I know you can do it. You are good enough to become the best nurse that you can possibly be. Now, I would love it if you left a comment below telling me what you wish you knew before starting nursing school. I want to hear from you. And of course, if you are not subscribed, make sure you subscribe to this channel, hit that, like button, and share this video with a friend. If you have a friend that you think might be blessed by this video, I hope it helps her as well. Now, I have a video for you to watch next. It's all about how to pass nursing school. So if you're struggling with the nursing school, feeling like you're just caught in this hamster wheel of not gaining any traction. Not sure what to do. We've all been there. I have a whole video on getting you out of that cycle, on how to pass nursing school and just start owning it. So I'll pop that link down below for you to check it out. Now go become the nurse that God created only you to be, and I will see you in the next video. Take care, friend. Bye.