Uni Results, Getting My Pin & First Job Nerves
It's been a bit of a funny old time since I finished my nursing masters degree. I finished at the beginning of March but I'm not starting my first job until the beginning of May, so I've basically had 2 months in limbo, nervously waiting for reality to hit. Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed my time off every much and managed to squeeze in a few holidays and nice days out! It has sort of felt like the job will never come round, but now it's within touching distance. I've been reading up on the area of nursing I'm going into (neonatal), but I think the majority of learning will happen once I'm on the ward and when I can really relate the theory to practice. Although I'm excited about what is to come, I'm also extremely nervous and suffering major impostor syndrome! I think this is normal for any new nurse though, so I'm just going to try and harness that nervous energy and go in there with a positive attitude and a smile on my face.
In other news, I received my results online yesterday. As I hit the button to find out my grades, I was over the moon to discover I had achieved a distinction! 😊 (Masters degrees are marked either pass, merit or distinction). I'm not usually one to disclose my results as I hate people thinking that I'm bragging about what I got. But after 3 years of working my socks off, spending hours reading and writing up assignments, as well as long days, weeks and months on placement, I really feel like I deserve it. It also means a lot to me because I just missed out on getting top marks on my first degree (in Psychology) and I was determined that I would put that right in this degree. It's not that your grades mean everything because they definitely don't, especially in this profession, but it was a personal goal for me that I was very happy to have achieved it.
As well as the elation over my results, I have also applied online for my pin from the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). As any student or nurse knows, this is a big deal. This is what you have worked towards for 3 years and I don't think the excitement of searching for my name on the NMC register online will get old for a while!