As you may, or may not know, I am currently in the process of earning my bachelors of science in nursing at William Paterson University. I’m in the last semester of my second year out of four. (I know, totally a mouthful to say, but I do anything to make it seem like there isn’t much left.) But basically, I’m almost done. After this semester, though, is the real tough stuff: clinicals, nursing classes, and the NCLEX! It’s all so intimidating to think that what I think is overwhelming in Advanced Anatomy and Physiology will be light work in retrospect once I enter the next stage of nursing school.
With that said, what am I, along with my many fellow peers, supposed to do to protect the last bits of our mental stability? Hopefully none of us are as strung out to say that we don’t have much left, but how can we prevent it from getting that far?
I’ve spent my share of nights crying to my boyfriend about how much I hate nursing school, how I don’t want to go through this torture just to realize I learned nothing useful about the actual practice. Many of these nights, we were able to talk me out of my momentary slump and get me back on my plan of reading chapter 22 of Tortora, but some nights, I would cry until I didn’t have any tears left to spare. The pressure of needing to be good enough for my high standards by earning A’s in all my classes as well as the imbalance of hustle and relaxation brought me to a very dark place in the beginning of my college journey.
It wasn’t until recently that I really looked into myself and said “that’s enough”. I wish I had done it sooner.
I’ve spent a majority of the past month pining over Tortora and Porth’s Pathology, reading and rereading the text while taking an endless amount of notes. Each night, my warm cup of peach tea cooled beside me as I checked off my to do list of chapters read. My planner filled with a multitude of tasks sat like a drill sergeant, making sure that I compiled my notes from the text with my class notes into a forty page pile of loose leaf and post-its. Conversely, my laptop took another approach to motivation and cheered me on by playing soft tunes as I hunched over a yellow legal pad, handwriting my answers to the study guide. The printer agreed and whistled words of affirmation when I asked it to print my five pages of EKG strips to learn.
Today’s the day of my exam and I’m glad to say I don’t feel particularly stressed. I woke up around seven o’clock to review while I ate breakfast and even took a break to play animal crossing on my phone.
Life is about balance.
I know I’ve worked relentlessly for the past few weeks, and at this point, I know what I know. Hopefully it’s enough!
There is no straight answer to the question about student mental health because everyone is different. What’s worked for me is staying on track with the lessons and compiling my notes. Knowing that I’m on track has helped reduce that drowning feeling that many students fall victim to. Additionally, I’ve tweaked my night and morning routine. I’ve been trying to wake up earlier instead of staying up through the night to study. Each morning, I’ll make my bed and get the day started, whether it be a small workout or getting a head start with breakfast. As a result, I feel more relaxed getting back to work instead of tense and irritable after staying up all night.
The most important thing to remember is that life demands balance. If you don’t lean into this necessity, your body will force you into it. Let yourself fall into that space of harmony between work and play; I promise you will see a difference in your productivity!
Apocryphallyme 