Learning About Florence Nightingale
Category: Practical Nursing Reflection
Date: August 2025
Topics: Nursing, Patient Care, Nursing History, Reflection, Florence Nightingale

When I started the Practical Nursing program through dual enrollment at sixteen, one of the first people we learned about was Florence Nightingale. Before that lesson, I knew her name, but I had never truly understood why she is considered the founder of modern nursing. Learning about her life gave me a new perspective on what nursing really represents.
What stayed with me most wasn’t just what Florence Nightingale accomplished—it was how certain she was about her calling from such a young age. Reading about her made me reflect on my own journey. I may not know exactly where nursing will take me, but I recognized that same excitement I felt when I decided to begin this program while I was still in high school. Her story reminded me that every experienced nurse was once a beginner, learning one lesson at a time with the hope of making a difference in someone’s life.
That lesson continues to motivate me. Whenever I learn a new skill or study something challenging, I remind myself that nursing is built on much more than medical knowledge. It is built on compassion, lifelong learning, and the willingness to care for people when they need it most. Learning about Florence Nightingale wasn’t simply a history lesson—it became one of the first moments that helped me understand the kind of nurse I hope to become.

Seeing Healthcare from the Patient’s Side
Category: Practical Nursing Reflection
Date: September 2025
Topics: Nursing, Blood Donation, Patient Experience, Reflection

One morning, I walked into class expecting another regular day in the Practical Nursing program. Instead, our instructor told us there was a blood drive on campus. If we met the age requirement, we could donate. I had never donated blood before, and although I was nervous, I decided to do it.
I quickly learned that donating blood wasn’t what I expected. I had always assumed you shouldn’t eat beforehand, but the staff insisted I eat—and eat a lot. Between snacks, water, and plenty of encouragement, they made sure I was ready before the donation even began. It was a funny surprise, but it also showed me how much preparation goes into keeping patients safe.
The part that stayed with me most happened once I was sitting in the donation chair. The person who was going to draw my blood turned out to be Brazilian. Even though I speak English fluently, the moment we started talking in Portuguese, I felt myself relax. It was difficult to explain, but hearing my first language during a moment when I felt anxious made everything feel more familiar and reassuring. For the first time, I truly understood how powerful it can be for a patient to communicate in the language that feels like home.
As the donation continued, I watched the blood fill the collection bag. I remember being surprised by how dark it looked and by how much blood was actually collected. Afterward, the staff handed me apple juice and even more snacks, reminding me that keeping my energy up was just as important after the donation as it was before. Every step of the experience was designed to help me feel safe and cared for.
Walking away from that blood drive, I realized I hadn’t just donated blood—I had experienced healthcare from the patient’s perspective. It reinforced something I now carry with me as I prepare for clinicals: patients don’t only remember the procedure itself. They remember how they were treated, how they were spoken to, and whether they felt understood. As someone who hopes to care for patients from many different backgrounds, I want every person I meet to feel the same sense of comfort that I felt that day.

The First Time I Took a Manual Blood Pressure
Category: Practical Nursing Reflection
Date: October 2025
Topics: Nursing, Clinical Skills, Vital Signs, Reflection

Before starting the Practical Nursing program, I never gave much thought to how blood pressure was measured. At every doctor’s appointment, a machine seemed to do all the work in seconds. I had no idea how much skill and concentration it actually took to measure it manually.
The first time I had to take a manual blood pressure, I was nervous. My classmates and instructor were watching, and suddenly I had to focus on everything at once -listening through the stethoscope, watching the gauge, and making sure I didn’t miss the first or last sound. I remember thinking, What if I don’t hear it? What if I get the wrong number? It felt like there was so much happening at once, and I didn’t want to make a mistake.
When I finished and realized I had measured it correctly, I felt an immediate sense of relief. More than that, I felt proud. It was one of those moments where I realized I was capable of doing something that had once seemed impossible.
Looking back, that skill was about much more than taking a blood pressure reading. It reminded me that every experienced nurse once had a “first time” too. Each new skill may feel intimidating at first, but every challenge I overcome brings me one step closer to becoming the confident, compassionate nurse I hope to be.

Keeping It Sterile
Category: Practical Nursing Reflection
Date: December 2025
Topics: Nursing, Clinical Skills, Sterile Technique, Reflection

One of the first hands-on skills that truly challenged me in nursing school was learning how to maintain a sterile field. Before practicing it myself, I thought it simply meant keeping everything clean. I quickly learned that sterile technique requires much more than that—it demands constant awareness and attention to every movement.
The first few times I practiced, I felt like I was overthinking everything. I caught myself constantly asking, Did I touch something I shouldn’t have? Are my hands still where they’re supposed to be? It was frustrating to realize that one small mistake meant stopping and beginning the entire process again. At first, I saw those restarts as failures. Over time, I began to see them as part of becoming a safer nurse.
The biggest lesson I took away wasn’t how to set up a sterile field—it was understanding the importance of accountability. If I know I’ve contaminated something, it’s my responsibility to say so and start over, even if no one else noticed. Patient safety depends on honesty, not perfection.
That experience changed the way I think about nursing. It showed me that the kind of nurse I want to become is someone who chooses to do the right thing, even in the smallest moments. Skills can always improve with practice, but integrity is what allows patients to place their trust in the person caring for them.

Learning Through a Second Chance
Category: Practical Nursing Reflection
Date: January 2026
Topics: Nursing, Head-to-Toe Assessment, Clinical Skills, Reflection

rom the first weeks of the Practical Nursing program, our instructor talked about one skill more than any other: the head-to-toe assessment. Unlike the other check-offs we learned throughout the semester, this wasn’t just one procedure to memorize. It combined nearly everything we had been practicing—assessing vital signs, listening to heart, lung, and bowel sounds, evaluating range of motion, checking neurological status, and much more. It was the first time I realized how all of those individual skills came together to form a complete patient assessment.
For weeks, I practiced every chance I had. Eventually, I felt ready to perform it for my instructor. I walked in confident, but once the assessment began, my nerves took over. I knew the material, yet I found myself forgetting the correct order and second-guessing what came next. When I didn’t pass, I was disappointed—not because I hadn’t prepared, but because I knew I was capable of doing better.
Instead of letting that moment discourage me, I went back to practicing. I repeated the assessment so many times that the sequence eventually became natural. By the time I attempted it again, I moved through each step with a level of confidence I hadn’t thought was possible. I even caught myself wondering if I was going too fast because everything finally felt so familiar.
One comment from my instructor stayed with me. After my first attempt, she smiled and said, “It’s okay to try again. Even I failed skills in nursing school.” Hearing that reminded me that becoming a nurse isn’t about being perfect the first time—it’s about being willing to learn, improve, and keep going.
Looking back, passing the assessment was rewarding, but it wasn’t the most valuable part of the experience. Learning to recover from disappointment and trust the work I had put in gave me confidence that I’ll carry into clinicals and beyond. Nursing will always present new challenges, but this experience taught me that growth often begins with the courage to try again.

Learning the Language of Nursing
Category: Practical Nursing Reflection
Date: March 2026
Topics: Nursing, Medical Terminology, Clinical Skills, Reflection

When I first started learning nursing abbreviations, I remember looking at the long lists of letters and wondering how I would ever remember all of them. It felt like nursing had its own language, and I was just beginning to learn how to understand it. Between abbreviations for procedures, precautions, medications, and patient care, there seemed to be something new to memorize every week.
At first, I treated abbreviations like another thing I needed to study for a test. I would write down the meanings, review them, and try to memorize as many as possible. However, as I continued practicing and hearing them used in class, they slowly started to become more familiar. They stopped feeling like random letters on a page and started becoming connected to real situations in healthcare.
This change became even more noticeable when I began recognizing these terms outside of the classroom. While volunteering and spending time in hospital settings, I started seeing abbreviations and precautions that I had previously only learned from my notes. Instead of feeling like unfamiliar medical terms, they became reminders that every word in healthcare has a purpose and is connected to the care a patient receives.
Learning what NPO (nothing by mouth) meant was no longer just memorizing a definition. It became understanding that a patient might not be allowed to eat or drink because of a procedure, a medical condition, or another important reason. Now, when I am in a hospital setting and a patient asks for something to drink, one of my first thoughts is to consider whether they are NPO or have fluid restrictions. That small moment reminds me that what I learn in class directly impacts the way I think about patient safety and care.
The same happened with terms like contact precautions. At first, it was simply something I needed to remember for class: when to wear gloves, gowns, and follow specific infection control steps. Over time, I began understanding the reason behind it. It represents the responsibility healthcare workers have to prevent the spread of infection and protect the patients who are trusting them with their care.
Looking back, I realize that learning nursing abbreviations was about much more than memorizing letters. It was one of my first experiences learning the language of healthcare and understanding how nurses communicate, think, and make decisions. What once felt overwhelming slowly became part of the way I view patient care.
As I continue my nursing journey, I know there will always be new terms, skills, and responsibilities to learn. However, this experience taught me that becoming a nurse is not about knowing everything immediately. It is about continuing to learn, asking questions, and recognizing that even the smallest pieces of knowledge can make a meaningful difference in the care I provide.