One Year In: What They Don't Tell You About Nursing

A year ago this month, I walked into UNC Rex as a brand new pediatric nurse. Twenty-three years old, fresh BSN in hand, thinking I knew what I was getting into.

One Year In: What They Don’t Tell You About Nursing

Spoiler alert: I had no clue.

They tell you about the medical stuff in school - the procedures, the protocols, the charting. What they don’t tell you is that a four-year-old will ask you to sing ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’ seventeen times during a blood draw, and you’ll do it because her smile makes the eighteenth time worth it. They don’t tell you that you’ll memorize the coffee maker’s schedule better than your own sleep patterns, or that you’ll develop the ability to function on three hours of sleep and pure adrenaline.

Morning reflection after a long night

Last week, a little girl I’d been caring for told me I was her favorite nurse, and I had to excuse myself to ugly-cry in the supply closet for five minutes.

The quiet moments between shifts

This job breaks your heart and puts it back together in the same twelve-hour shift. Some days I come home exhausted, questioning everything. Other days, I drive home knowing I made a difference in someone’s scariest moment.

Processing the year through words

One year in, and I’m still learning every single day. But I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be, even when it’s 3 AM and I’m running on my fourth cup of coffee. Especially then.