#Open Mind

Hello, everyone! I'm back with another #advicetobabynursingstudents, and this one can be applied to all aspects of a person's life... it doesn't JUST have to do with nursing students!

Keep an open mind about what area you want to work. You may be surprised at what you enjoy once you get some experience in it! 

I know that I found this advice especially true when I got into my acute care clinicals. At that point in nursing school, I had enjoyed everything I experienced. I loved working with both adults and children, and although I wanted to work with children, there wasn't really anything I hated. However, the one thing I swore I'd never want to do was work on a burn unit.

There was something about burns that got to me... I guess it was the pain that those patients were experiencing, and not really being able to do much to take that pain away. At that point, I had never been around someone severely burnt. However, the second semester of my junior year, my clinical group was assigned the trauma/burn unit, and I was going to be thrown into something I swore I'd never be able to do.

I loved it. 

Now, it still is not something I'd want to do for my career. However, I realized quickly that in any setting, my passion for nursing came from patient interaction. In the burn unit, I still was able to have those human connections with my patients. Yes, they were in severe pain. But if anything, they appreciated my presence and care more than anyone else.

Bottom line is, don't write off the unknown. You truly have no idea what you're going to enjoy until you actually experience it. Nursing school is the perfect opportunity to get a taste of various units, and decide for yourself what you want to or don't want to do as a career. I still want to work in pediatrics, but I know that wherever this life takes me, I will be able to enjoy what I'm doing because there is nothing I can't do. Think the same for yourselves!

I hope you are all having a great week. Thank you for continuing to follow along on my blogging adventure! Please leave me any comments or critiques-- I'd love to hear from you! Xoxo.