Every nurse I’ve ever asked always has many stories about their nursing school experience, and I am no different. I could tell hundreds of little stories, most of which wouldn’t make any sense to those who weren’t there at the time or aren’t in the healthcare field – some people may even find some of my stories “gross” or “too weird.” But to those of us in my graduating class, these stories are precious memories which we love to share over and over again. And I can guarantee that some of these stories will appear in this blog from time to time.
Quick nursing school background…
I started nursing school in the fall of 2013. Going into it I was scared spitless at the prospect of what I had signed up for – two years of school, at the end of which I am responsible for human lives. But I felt God nudging me in that particular direction, and so I obeyed.
Our class became quite close, which was both a survival technique and genuine friendships. Clinicals were a major team-building exercise, at least from my perspective. In case this is a new term in your vocabulary, “clinicals” refers to times when a nursing student works in a medical setting, under the supervision and guidance of one or more instructors and staff at the particular facility. There is typically a boatload of homework involved, and you have to get up at o’dark-thirty in the morning to get to clinicals on time. The team-building came into effect when we would cover for each other during breaks, team up to complete a series of tasks, or listen to each other vent about how stressed we were. It was nice to know that we weren’t alone in this craziness.
The greatest blessing of nursing school was connecting with other Christians in the class. I’m not sure how many of us there were… at least nine, but I think there were a few more. God used our network to encourage each other during some very difficult times. My dearest friend from the program is a single mother who had to move to an apartment closer to school, got her car stolen, and needed good childcare for her young son at odd hours while she was working. God used these stressful circumstances to show us how He will provide for our needs – her apartment wasn’t perfect, but it was a home, the stolen car was recovered in working condition, and since her apartment was close enough to where I lived, my family and I were able to babysit her adorable son many times.
We graduated with 25 in our class, and I think a lot of our class is still in touch through their alumni Facebook page. There is still a lot of settling in to do with regards to our new careers, but thinking back on these past few years, I am amazed at how much God has protected and blessed our class.
A Special Strength 