Journey through Nursing School: THE END!

It's over, done, finished... WE MADE IT!  

Nursing School has officially come to an end.

I was selected as our class speaker.  Here is the speech I gave at our Pinning Ceremony.

Pinning Ceremony Speech – December 2015 – Lauren J. Sprague

Good evening.  We appreciate that you were all able to join us tonight.  My name is Lauren Sprague and I am proud to be part of this December 2015 graduating class.  First and foremost, on behalf of our entire class, we would like to say thank you.  Thank you to all of our family, friends, and loved ones who have stood beside us on this journey.  Nursing school has been no easy feat for us, and we know it hasn’t always been particularly easy for you to deal with us along the way!  From the hours of studying, writing care plans, reading chapters and chapters and chapters of textbooks and of course diagnosing every family member with whatever terrible disease we most recently learned about.  Thank you for being behind us every step of the way and helping us to realize our dream of earning our Bachelors of Science in Nursing.

Next, we would like to take moment to say thank you to all of the faculty and staff.  Whether it was a class that we loved or loathed, each one of you has taught us valuable lessons throughout this journey.  From handwashing to heart rhythms, from pharmacology to PICO, from mental status exams to maternal health, from developmental stages to nursing diagnoses, from organizational structures to the origins of community health nursing; you have challenged us to open our minds and stretch beyond our comfort zone.  Beyond just standing in front of us in a classroom, you knew when we needed caring encouragement or even a little tough love to gain the knowledge and experience we needed to become amazing RNs.

This pinning ceremony is not the end, but simply the beginning of our lifelong call to service.  Through the example of our faculty, and all of the nurses we have encountered along this journey, we are prepared to take our place in this incredible profession.  Tonight we will receive more than just a pin, we are being welcomed into the nursing profession and challenged to dedicate our lives to serve those around us.

The role of the nurse is anything but easy to explain.  According to the American Nurses Association, nursing is ‘the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, facilitation of healing, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human response, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, groups, communities, and populations.’  But what does this look like?  As nurses, our role is to welcome newborn babies into this world, and hold the hand of an individual as they take their final breath.  Yes, we can make beds and give baths, but we are also there to listen to our patients, to hear their anxiety and fear when they can’t express in words how they are feeling.  We are there to start IVs, monitor heart rhythms, and administer medications, but we are also there to support and comfort the patient and their family.  As nurses we will educate patients how to manage diabetes, congestive heart failure, and many other diseases, and we will do so with unwavering patience and kindness.  We will each take a different path, filling many different needs in the community.  But whether we will be working in pediatrics or geriatrics, oncology or orthopedics, renal or research, or any of the many other roles that are available, we will do so with firm grounding of knowledge and a humble heart which is open to serve.     

We have each taken a different path to arrive at this point, but we have come together, in and out of the classroom.  We’ve experienced joy and triumph, pain and grief, but we have done it together.   We have been there to support and encourage each other along the way.  Throughout this journey we have gained the strength we need to face the future as we travel out into the world.   Our journey at Marian has come to an end, but we are now ready to embark upon new adventures.

Tonight we were also able to physically have our hands blessed.  We have been blessed through our entire nursing school journey with wisdom and knowledge that we will carry on to share in our new profession.  Having the opportunity have our hands blessed also serves as a reminder of the spiritual side of nursing.  We should always be true to our beliefs and will not soon forget the importance of the Franciscan Values that were a central aspect to our education at Marian.  Through the work of our hands and our hearts, we will lift each patient up and provide the loving care that each individual deserves.  

This pin symbolizes our future.  We will wear this pin with honor as we follow in the footsteps of amazing individuals who have come before us, take pride in joining all those who are currently serving as nurses, and hopefully we will be able to serve as role models for those who will come after us.

I would be remiss in ending this without leaving you with some words of wisdom by someone other than myself.  And since I am going into pediatrics, I thought I would regale you with a few quotes by Dr. Seuss:

“Think left and think right and think low and think high. 

          Oh, the things you can think up if only you try.”

       “You have brains in your head. 

         You have feet in your shoes.  

         You can steer yourself any direction you choose.”

And finally:

       “You’re off to great places! Today is your day! 

         Your mountain is waiting, so get on your way!”

Congratulations Marian University Leighton School of Nursing December Class of 2015.  We made it!  We are ready to join our colleagues in nursing, share our gifts and talents, and do our part to make this world a little better place.   

Although that was the 'official' speech I presented, there was another version that ended up on the cutting room floor.  Here is that version as well:

Our Journey in Nursing School 
as told through Nursing Diagnoses

By Lauren Sprague

 December class of 2015….We made it!  Just in case you need a reminder, here is a look back at our nursing school career.  It seemed only fitting to use everyone’s favorite, Nursing Diagnoses, to complete this trip down memory lane. (No, they are NOT all NANDA approved and I did NOT include evidence-based rationales!)

Our journey began completing prerequisites and applying to the nursing program.  We were kept on track with the application process before we had even learned what a nursing diagnosis was… but we would soon know our diagnosis during this period was clearly:

·       Readiness for enhanced immunization status related to (r/t) application to nursing school as evidenced by (AEB) having titers drawn and receiving all required immunizations (don’t forget your flu shot!). 

Next, that moment came when we had official been accepted to the Marian University Leighton School of Nursing.  Our diagnosis at this point was:

·       Overwhelming Joy r/t acceptance to nursing school AEB a broad smile, purchasing of a stethoscope and wearing our new scrub uniform around the house.

On our very first clinical day, we nervously showed up in our polo shirt and khaki pants.  Two nursing diagnoses that we had throughout that first semester are:

·       Anxiety r/t our first clinical check off AEB pacing, nervous discussion and obsessive washing of hands to practice for the clinical day.

And of course:

·       Frustration r/t trying to learn how to write a nursing diagnosis AEB throwing the Ackley book across the room!

We then received some good news which led to the resolution of the diagnosis:

·       Disturbed body image r/t the khaki pants and polo shirt uniforms AEB burning of said uniform when it was announced that we only had to wear scrubs now!

We continued on our journey.  Throughout Fundamentals, Pathophysiology, Dosage Calculations, Pharmacology, Med-Surg 1, 2 AND 3, Peds, OB, Mental Health, Research, and finally Leadership and Community, there were several reoccurring diagnoses:

·       Risk for activity intolerance r/t studying during nursing school AEB hours and hours and hours and hours and hours of reading textbooks.

·       Imbalanced nutrition: more than body requirements r/t studying for exams AEB excessive consumption of junk food, probably whatever was at the POD.

·       Acute confusion (and eventually chronic confusion) r/t what in the world do we need to learn now AEB a completely blank stare when an exam is passed out… am I in the right class??

·       Powerlessness r/t to waiting for exam grades to post AEB crying, pacing, and hitting refresh on the computer 487 times in 5 minutes.

·       Risk for aspiration r/t exam grades posting AEB almost choking when seeing that passing grade!

You might have noticed a theme of studying A LOT!  Besides the endless hours of studying, we also had the pleasure of completing clinical rotations and Sim lab experiences (and loving every minute of writing care plans!)  A few diagnoses for this period:

·       Sleep deprivation and excess fluid volume r/t balancing clinicals, care plans and studying AEB massive consumption of caffeine and still being exhausted.

·       Impaired spontaneous ventilation r/t that very first blood draw or starting your first IV AEB holding your breath and PRAYING that you hit that vein on the first stick.

·       Nausea r/t caring for a patient with c-diff AEB that smell NEVER leaving you

·       Risk for impaired liver function r/t…we probably shouldn’t talk about that one…

·       Stress overload and Decisional conflict r/t overwhelming care plans AEB finding absolutely ANYTHING else to do before actually completing our paper work

·       Ineffective Role performance and Risk for compromised human dignity r/t Sim lab experiences AEB dressing up in crazy costumes and feeling like an idiot when in the role of a patient or family member

·       Risk for shock and situational low self-esteem r/t drawing the RN role in simulation AEB perfuse sweating, fumbling around to orient yourself to the patient room, and feeling like this simulation is lasting an eternity

·       Impaired social interaction r/t overload of nursing school AEB only being able to carry on conversations by speaking in nursing diagnoses.

But we made it!  Through all of the ups and downs, we have continued to push ourselves (or received a swift kick in the behind) to reach our goal.  As school began to wind down, I couldn’t help but diagnosis many of us with:

·       Wandering r/t the end of nursing school AEB having no idea what do to with ourselves when we didn’t have 32 chapters to read, 14 assignments to complete and 5 exams to study for.

And now we here to celebrate our accomplishments.  We have done it!  We have earned our Bachelors of Science in Nursing from the Marian University Leighton School of Nursing! 

Our final nursing diagnosis is:

·        Overwhelming pride r/t completing nursing school AEB huge smiles, excessive hugging, and tears of joy.  

What do you think has changed?

You asked me a simple question, What do you think has changed?  I wasn’t able to immediately articulate an answer.  I have thought about that simple question and this is what I have come up with.  
Last spring, I had been running so hard for so long in this journey through nursing school.  I believed that I was finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel only to suddenly feel like the only light I was seeing was a train heading straight for me.  Instead of crashing into the oncoming train, I was able to receive much needed help to turn around on the tracks.  I then felt like I was able to stay a few steps ahead of disaster, but still found myself running for dear life.  

Finally, this summer I stopped running.  I realized that I needed to simply step off the tracks.  I wish I could tell you exactly when or how this happened, but I am unsure myself.  I have come to realize that neither heading straight into an oncoming train nor trying to outrun it would ever prove to be successful in the long run.  Somehow I had forgotten about me along this journey.  I wanted to do and be everything for everyone, but in the process I had lost myself.  Clearly in not taking care of myself first, my ability to juggle the rest of life suffered greatly.  At this point, life is far from perfect, but it never will be.  Life will always be life with its ups and downs, triumphs and defeats, but what has changed is my feeling toward myself.  It has taken multiple people practically shouting at me to finally realize that I might not be messing this whole life, family, school stuff up.  I am enough.  I have realized that I am actually doing a pretty damn good job!  

So thank you for being part of the journey to help bring me back to the point where I can recognize me again.  I was immersed in a crazy and chaotic world, and yet it was a dark and lonely road I was traveling down.  Life is still crazy, busy, and a wild ride, but I realize that I am not traveling this path alone.  Externally not much has changed; the kids are still amazing little beings that need lots of attention and love, meals still need to be made, laundry still needs to be done.  Internally I have been able to find the value in me, the strength to seek out help, and a sense of peace to keep on loving this crazy life.  

So what do I think has changed?  Me.