Nursing is a practical, smart, and tough career choice. Rewarding as it may be, we all know how tiring it can be to take care of sick and needy souls. Nursing school prepares these people for what they will face in the workforce and it can get a little intense. Not to mention strange. Gross. Questionable. And interesting at best. Make sure you thank a nurse for all of the time, care, blood, sweat, and tears they put into the world. It's not an easy job, and the day you find yourself in the doctor's office or the hospital, you will be eternally grateful they are there. We hardly ever see the Doctors anyway, they're always making quick appearances, five-minute talks you never really seem to understand, and sowing people up. The nurses put in the dirty work, making round after round to your Great Aunt Tessie who just got her appendix removed and will not lay off of the nurse call button. She's fine, just full of complaints. Like at Christmas time.
It can be a cool experience to see what they deal with. Gross stories. Weird textbook pictures and diagrams. Heartbreaking moments. Heartwarming ones, too. You get to understand a little piece of the nursing world. And more importantly, you're on the journey with them while they prepare for their career.
Here are 17 things that happen when your best friends, roommates, and even family members are in nursing school...
1. You have gotten many Snapchats like this.
Just another day in class.
2. Them: "Hey wanna see something?" You: "What?" Them:
3. The first thing they tell you about when they come home is how much poop they came into contact with that day.
4. They let you show them your snot to see how sick you are.
5. After a long day at clinical, they look like this.
6. They can almost never go out on the weekends because they have another test coming up.
7. You've seen more pictures of micropenises than the average person.
8. They always know what to do when you aren't feeling well.
9. They tell you the nutrition facts they learned about your junk food.
Still don't care.
10. You ask them about a potential hemorrhoid you may or may not have.
11. They lecture you about your sub-par study habits.
12. They take your blood pressure when you're feeling anxious.
13. Trying to make plans on class or practicum days:
14. You've used their enormous textbooks as a step stool or workout weights.
15. They may as well pay rent to the library.
16. Their fantasies and dream men almost always include a McDreamy or a McSteamy.
They're fighting over the hottest nurse in the hospital.
17. They use all their "nice" on patients so once they see you...
To my favorite future nurses Mary-Kate and Annie!