By: Marie Marcelin, RN
I could always remember, ever since I was 6 years old, my dad, whom always placed emphasis on education would ask me, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” In my little girl’s voice, I would respond to him, “I want to be a Nurse.” Of course, at 6 years old, I had no idea why I wanted to become a Nurse. I just knew that is what I wanted to become. Fast forward to my college years, my first day of Nursing school, I was asked along with my classmates, “Why do you want to become a Nurse?” Still, I had no idea why, I just knew ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to become a Nurse. Therefore, after passing my prerequisites, I was accepted into a Nursing program, and I was finally on my road to realizing my childhood dream!
Now, here I was, a young woman living with my parents, I was able to complete my prerequisite courses at a community college – Anatomy & Physiology I & II, Chemistry, Statistics, College Composition I & II, etc. Moreover, I was able to graduate with an Associate’s degree in Liberal Arts and maintain a GPA above 3.0! I had this all figured out. In my mind, I was confident that I would ace this Nursing program without a doubt! I just needed to prepare myself to sleep less, study more, and memorize. Right?!
Wrong!!!
Little did I know, Nursing courses are nothing like any course I had ever taken in my life. So, unfortunately, I was not successful the first time around! But, (yes there is a but) take courage and be hopeful! Although I was discouraged, my dream to become a Nurse never died! So, I decided to put it on hold. I changed my major to Social and Behavioral Sciences with a Minor in Psychology, completed a few more courses, and graduated with my Bachelor’s Degree. Eventually, I worked full-time as a Counselor. Fast forward, 5 years later, I enrolled in a Nursing program at a community college. By the good grace of God, my prerequisites had never expired, so I did not have to retake them – A MAJOR BLESSING! I completed the entrance exam and within a year, I was notified of my acceptance to begin the Nursing program.
The difference here was my lifestyle had changed completely. I now had family obligations as a full-time wife, a full-time mother (my infant son was 2 months old at the time), and I worked as a full-time Counselor. Later on, I switched jobs to work per-diem as a Patient Care Technician at a community hospital. Of course, I do not have to remind you of the challenges that are to be faced in Nursing school. But, the key is this time around, I did things differently (which you will read about shortly)! Again, by the grace of God, He allowed me to successfully complete Nursing School in 2.5 years. Furthermore, He allowed me to pass the NCLEX-RN exam upon my first attempt within 2 months of graduating, become licensed as an RN, and He blessed me with my first RN job within 2-4 weeks of being licensed – AGAIN, A MAJOR BLESSING!
Continue to read my 5 methods of application below which enabled me to transition from a successful RN student to a successful RN:
- Put God First – the Lord says in His Word, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” – Matthew 6:33. He also says, “I am the vine; you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing” – John 15:5. Being mindful of His promises as His child, this time around, every morning, I woke up to a “daily bible verse”, I remained close to the Lord through daily prayer, asking Him for wisdom to understand all course content. I also asked Him for strength to persevere as the courses became more difficult in addition to when I felt like giving up. As a result, my faith and trust in Him provided me with the hope I needed to actually realize my dream despite all of the challenges I faced!
- Self-care – I can understand how being in college can lead to feeling neglected, because it happened to me before! So, this time around, I was extremely careful about my diet, the amount of physical activity I did, and ensuring the proper rest each night. I ate more lean protein (chicken and fish) and minimized consumption of fried foods, by adding more of grilled and baked foods. I drank about 3-5 bottles of water daily. I walked more daily and I took stairs rather than elevators. If I had the option, I also parked farther from my destination to walk more. At night, I was very critical to have no less than 7-8 hours of sleep. This allowed my mind to be renewed and I would feel more rejuvenated to accomplish my goals each day. Moreover, I was certain to expand more time for myself, by going to the hair salon every 1-2 weeks, writing in my prayer journal, and listening to my favorite music genre – Christian music – regularly.
- Study Effectively – Now, this goes without having to say much; I studied, I studied, and I studied! At my first Nursing orientation, I was advised, for each course, multiply the amount of credits by 2. This would total the least amount of hours required to invest for studying each week. For my Nursing courses, I decided to multiply the total number of credits for each by 2, then multiply that product by 2. This value represented the amount of hours that I needed to study effectively every week solely for Nursing!
For example, if a Nursing course was 8 credits: 8(2) = 16 16(2) = 32 HOURS TO STUDY/WEEK
Moreover, I had to figure out how to maximize studying according to my learning styles. Since I learn best visually and by practicing, I typed chapter notes and wrote lecture notes alongside its PowerPoint slides during each lecture. I also did at least 50 NCLEX questions daily to promote critical thinking, as opposed to just memorizing the content.
- Prioritize – Nursing school can be extremely challenging and overwhelming if it is not managed properly. For this reason, it was essential for me to let go of everyone and everything that was unnecessary in my life. Doing this allowed me to prioritize everyone and everything that was necessary for promoting my success! This is where Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs also comes into effect, which means I did not just use it to study, I used it for my life!
- Mentorship – Lastly, but certainly not least, I had a great mentor! I knew my mentor from the first time around as my Nursing professor in Fall 2007 – Dr. Jamesetta Halley-Boyce. I could remember sharing with her how I was struggling with my Nursing courses and requesting for her guidance to be successful. Her response was, “If you want, I can help you!” She scheduled an appointment with me to meet with her during her office hours, she gave me an assignment called the SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) Action Plan, and it was then that she offered to become my mentor. I was honored to accept her and ever since then, I was blessed to have her as a genuine supportive team member. I always felt comfortable to share my achievements as well as my failures, my strengths as well as my weaknesses, and my career goals with Dr. Halley. She sacrificed to be supportive in every way possible and she witnessed the fruits of her labor when she was present at my Nursing Pinning Ceremony. Furthermore, she expressed her fulfillment as my mentor when I shared with her that I was blessed to pass the NCLEX-RN exam on my first attempt! Still now, Dr. Halley and I remain connected, which I truly thank the Lord for the way she has contributed to the success stories of my life as my mentor!