Artifact – Fall 2018

The picture above is of my first clinical group in the College of Nursing here at OSU. We took this picture on our first day, all very excited to be wearing our red scrubs and jumping head first into nursing classes. This picture is very symbolic of a large leap for us as students. My entire first year was mainly working so hard to just get a chance to wear these scrubs, studying day in and day out to get into one of the best nursing schools in the nation. And here I am, at the end of my first semester of nursing school. But, it has not been so easy. Exam after exam, clinical skill evaluations and vital signs checkoffs, when we forget why we are putting ourselves through all of this work, we have to look back at the smiling faces in this picture. We have to look at those students who are so eager to learn and who genuinely want to help others. Sometimes the pile of homework and all of the lab skills can obscure the real reasons we applied to nursing school.

I have grown so much this semester. My time management and prioritization skills have improved immensely, and I can’t remember the last time I retained as much information from one semester. We have to work hard because, someday, somebody’s life will be in our hands and we must be prepared to take care of them. While the classes and clinicals can be stressful, I have never been so proud of my grades and how hard I have worked. Having just finished my last clinical session for this semester, I am looking forward to spring, putting back on my red scrubs and going out into the hospital to learn.