There Are Few Life

There are few life-altering experiences that a person will have throughout their lifetime. Collectively, we are experiencing one right now. Tonight, they will place a pin on our lapels, to signify our accomplishment. The pinning ceremony has been a part of nursing school graduation celebrations since the 1860’s, though the rite has been traced back to the 12th century (thank you Wikipedia, it is finally ok to use your extensive and easily obtained, albeit questionable, knowledge again.) One can’t forget to cite their sources. Tomorrow, we will wake up college graduates with a degree in nursing. Three years ago, we all received a letter in the mail that welcomed us into this program. Oddly, nothing was said in that letter about the sadistic sleep deprivation study that was being performed under the auspices of “nursing school.” Apparently, that was in the fine print that nobody reads in the twelve pages of syllabus boiler plate that accompanies each class. Even after we became aware of this plot, most likely due to some nursing school Stockholm syndrome, we endured the elements and have now emerged graduates. However, also according to Wikipedia, one the major side effects of sleep deprivation is the presence of hallucinations, so it is quite possible that we may all be sharing the same hallucination right now. Over the last three years, we have read hundreds of pages a day because apparently, there has yet to be one nursing textbook author whose editor did not love every word they put on a page. We have cut and pasted the same ten medications’ side-effects hundreds of times. We have written process papers revolving around pain and infection so often that we can recite Ackley verbatim on those two diagnoses. We have reviewed so many journal articles and have written so many papers that we can each give an example of every rule of APA format for you right now, off the tops of our heads. We have also performed hundreds of hours of clinical. So, we can assess our patients and even complete strangers while waiting for our cappuccino at the local coffee shop. We can also take vital signs, change wound dressings, perform CPR, calculate and give medications, start IVs, place a tube that goes from your nose to your stomach, run and read EKGs, speak to you therapeutically, and perform many other nursing skills with relative confidence. We have had the opportunity to practice these skills over many hours, over many weeks, over many months. When we move on to our new positions in hospitals, we will not be thrown to the wolves…maybe to vicious housecats, but not to wolves. So here we are, together in the same room for what is likely to be the last time for most of us here. I was interested to see if we would all set ourselves down similarly to how we have placed ourselves in the classroom over the last three years. Who knew all I had to do was go

to nursing school to find my OCD people. My front row ladies Leila and Wendi, and our front row man, Dejan have been inseparable since the first weeks of class. I sat there because I can’t hear, they did it to appear more studious, but that is neither here nor there, on with this speech… I see this ceremony serving two purposes. On one hand, we are congratulating ourselves for making it through the last three long and arduous years successful. On the other hand, we are being signified for that accomplishment, and as we go on to become graduate nurses, we are also taking on a great responsibility. The pin is a reminder of that responsibility. From here on, we are not just mere citizens, but a breed of superhero called nurses – people will seek our opinion for advice, refer to our knowledge for answers, look to our actions for guidance, and most of all, trust our expertise with their lives. How can we handle all of this pressure? Over the years, and I acknowledge I have lived a few more than the average student in this class, I have been privy to some very good advice. So, I will pass these five points of wisdom onto each of you to take with you as you embark on your nursing career. 1. What you don’t know is way more important than what you do know. Being aware of this allows you to never make the mistake of stepping across the line where your knowledge ends and your ego begins. It also provides you with the ability to continue to learn, as your sights are set on filling the holes in the body of knowledge rather ogling the body’s silhouette. 2. Loving your work is great, loving your life is way better. Take it from a workaholic – you must find the things in life that bring you joy and make sure to schedule them with the same diligence you use to schedule your work. 3. When you find yourself struggling to like someone, remember these words. This may be the worst moment of that person’s life – what conclusions would people draw about you if they were to judge you by only the worst moment of your life? 4. Every day, it should be your goal to be better than the day before, to learn more, to teach more, to be more kind, to be more generous – being better is often very difficult to do. The best decisions you ever make are the ones that turn your stomach with anxiety as you make them. Each and every one of you has it within you to do amazing things – so do them. Be better. 5. Finally, question everything, especially the words of a stark-raving-mad, sleep deprived, grey headed nursing student, oh wait, nursing school graduate who is mentally unstable enough to accept your invitation to speak for this class.