Nearly three years ago when I first became a nursing student in this program, I

was timid, had little knowledge, and could not even imagine reaching the end of the road

and becoming a registered nurse. It seemed so far away it didn’t feel real and felt more

like just a distant dream. I remember my first days of clinical being too scared to go into

a patient’s room and do the simplest tasks such as check a blood sugar or give a bed bath

without having one of my classmates at my side for moral support. In our first days of

learning new skills in Competencies, I remember thinking about how nerve-wracking it

was going to be when the time came to perform these skills on a real patient. In Health

Assessment, I recall the daunting head to toe assessment check-off and convincing

myself I would draw a blank and forget everything and fail. The thought of doing a full

assessment on a real patient for the first time was even more terrifying.

Throughout my clinical experiences, I gradually learned and grew and became

more comfortable interacting with my patients. The knowledge gained through my

classes allowed me to understand what was going on with my patients and utilize critical

thinking skills to develop an appropriate plan of care. I was able to safely administer

medications and understand the reasoning behind why I was giving them. By the end of

the Senior 1 semester, I had come a long way and grown a lot as a student nurse, but was

still unable to envision myself ever reaching the point of being ready to care for patients

on my own.

My final semester of nursing school, I had the opportunity to do my Clinical

Immersion in the Intensive Care Unit at St. Francis Medical Center. This was a very

valuable experience for me, and I believe that I learned and grew more in my 215 hours

of immersion than I did throughout all my previous clinical experiences. When I went in
for my first shift, I still needed some guidance doing simple things like hanging an

antibiotic and programming the IV pump because I lacked confidence, but by the time of

completion of my hours in early April, I was able to monitor and adjust multiple titratable

drips with ease. Over the course of the semester, I had the chance to fine-tune my

assessment abilities and gain new skills and knowledge as I cared for a variety of

critically ill patients. I cared for patients on multiple pressors, with acute strokes, on

continuous dialysis, in septic shock, and more. I cared for patients I will never forget who

truly touched me and also endured the most difficult situations I have ever encountered,

including comforting my good friend and her mother after we witnessed her father

unexpectedly code and ultimately pass away. Overall, my immersion experience was

very rewarding and made me feel much more prepared to handle the transition from

student nurse to starting my first job as an RN.

As I prepare to enter my career as a professional nurse, I still have so much more

to learn and potential to grow. I plan to soak up every minute of time I have with my

preceptor during my twenty week orientation in the Emergency Department in order to

gain as much knowledge and helpful tips from her as possible, but I also know that I will

learn so much more when I am forced to step out of my comfort zone and care for

patients on my own. I hope to become the best nurse I can possibly be and to continue to

be a lifelong learner throughout the duration of my career. I hope to never become

complacent and to always have the desire to be better. I hope to reach the point where I

am confident in my abilities as a nurse, but never too confident. I hope to practice with

empathy and do the best I can to make an impact on the lives of my patients. I also hope

to always practice according to the values and beliefs I have developed throughout my
time in this program. The thought of taking the big step from student nurse to beginning

my career as an RN after I graduate and pass the NCLEX this summer is scary, but I am

excited to take on this challenge and could not be happier to get started and finally fulfill

my dream of becoming a nurse.