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You can spot me from a mile a way. All in white. Standing tall and proud with my stethoscope strategically draped behind my neck.
Oh yeah, I’m a professional…can’t you tell? Just feast your eyes on my fancy clipboard. I know, you wish you had one, too. Nope, gotta be part of my club. Only the very elite get to be part of this club. Watch out, future nurse coming through!
I stop sometimes and think how ridiculous I may look to people. I remember rolling my eyes when my younger sister was in nursing school….I thought she was nuts.
Well, here I am some few years later. I am doing the same exact things that I thought were hilarious back then. Sometimes I feel like I have learned so much, other days I know I haven’t even learned a fraction of what it takes to become a nurse.
Top Ten Reasons Why I Know I Am A Nursing Student:
1) I am constantly diagnosing people.
2) I think I have certain diseases we are learning about in school.
3) I get excited over putting in Foleys!
4) I am constantly using medical jargon whether it is necessary or not.
5) I am using proper aseptic technique just to apply a band-aid to a cut on my finger.
6) I feel the need to whip out my stethoscope when my kids have a cough.
7) I have more books than I do shoes.
8) I think it is so fun to flush a saline lock!!
9) I don’t have a social life anymore.
10) I am guilty of practicing writing my name Megan Gilbert, RN 
Oh, woops, you mean this is not normal behavior for someone NOT in nursing school? Damn. I knew something about me was a little off.
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Becoming obsessive compulsive about washing hands- even carrying antiseptic wipes to swab push -doors at local shopping center…this is going a bit too far!
I used to stand in front of my mirror and try to decide which side the diaphragm of my stethoscope should be on. I also used to practice writing my first initial, last name and RN! I also still enjoy a good IV flush.
I don’t have a social life anymore, I have lost a lot of friends along the way, I constantly wash my hands, and using hand sanitizer…not to mention I won’t touch doors anymore without a paper towel….hehehe hahahaha!
Student
Nursing Student (you can change this when you graduate!)
The school I go to is primarily a technology college. It also has a school of professional studies. In the building that my classes are in, there are various health majors. I am of the opinion that there is something (i don’t know if it’s mannerisms, mode of dress, or something else) that allows me to differentiate what a student’s major is. This goes so far, that when I was an unclassified health student, and I was required to attend orientations for all of the health majors in the college, I was already able to tell what a student’s intended career was. The funny thing is that most of the time I’m right. I guess each field is just a breed of it’s own