For those of you who are majoring in fields that require you to do clinical work at hospitals, I think we can all agree that these times are some of the most "the struggle is real" moments of our college careers. Whether you're in nursing school, physical therapy, nutrition, respiratory therapy, radiology, and so on, we can all see each others' confused and sometimes nervous stares as we try to keep up with our preceptors and somehow figure out what the heck we are doing. We are literally being taught practically what we will eventually be doing on our own and earning a salary for in a few years, which can be somewhat scary at times. I think we can all agree that there are many instances we call relate to that take place during these hectic days, and here some examples I have experienced frequently in which maybe you have experienced too.
1. Every time your alarm goes off at 5 a.m., your automatic thought is "do these patients really need medication this early in the morning?"
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I mean they don't really need me there right? And yes, they really do need this medication this early even though you end up having to wake up half your patients during those first rounds. Yet, you trudge out of bed anyway because you know you wouldn't miss your clinical if your life depended on it.
2. You wonder if this department's coffee is going to be any good today.
When you go from hospital to hospital, most places have the same type of coffee brewing in the department. At some places, you can literally taste the cheapness and lesser quality of it, but at others, some people will let you steal a little of their International Delight creamer stowed away in the fridge. No matter the kind of coffee it is, God knows we need it and will drink it anyway.
3. You appreciate the fact that you basically get to wear pajamas when trying to get ready on those early mornings.
The fact that I basically hop out of bed every clinical morning wearing something to the equivalent of what my pajamas feels like makes it a little more bearable to endure the day. Heck, I've debated sleeping in those things a time or two.
4. When you touch your shirt and feel something wet and slimy, you pray it's just hand sanitizer.
And when it isn't, this is a similar face you make.
5. You've thought up your "I'm just a student" speech for when patients ask you questions about things you haven't learned yet or about their history.
You like to pretend you're the actual professional here, but when you can't answer their questions, you lose your cover.
7. And then they get all nervous when you come back later to draw blood or give a shot, which makes you even more nervous.
This is why I tried to NOT tell you I was a student.
8. When a machine or IV pole goes off and your preceptor left the room, the look the patient gives you to fix it or the feeling of helplessness makes you wanna pass out.
Half the time, we're still trying to figure out how to work these things. And, it would be an even more horrible situation if we messed something up trying to fix the alarm or problem.
9. When you're running to a code blue or walking into an OR, you've felt like you're in an episode of "Grey's Anatomy."
And also praying you can keep up with everyone else to get there. There are many times they've allowed you to stay in the room during codes or other cool procedures because of the "student needs to learn" excuse. So yeah, move over you other RNs.
10. You've learned to suppress your gag reflex.
"Just don't think about" gets you through whatever disgusting process you're about to go through.
11. After an extremely busy morning, you fill with excitement when you finally look at the clock and see that it's time for lunch.
Sometimes you get so hungry that even the patient's hospital tray doesn't look too bad.
12. You know you're gonna crash when you get home.
Even the patient beds started to look comfy by the end of your day. But, you know the crashing won't last for long because you have a test to study for at the end of the week.
Even with the many struggles we face being a student in the medical world, we know it will all be worth it in the end. You love what you do (most of the time) and getting to help someone even feel a little bit better during some of their worst days is significant even in that. You can't wait to look back at the day when you knew you messed up continually on something you could do probably do in your sleep now. So, I encourage you all to keep learning and cherish these struggles because it's from those places that we learn the most.
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