What Does a Nursing Student’s Day Look Like?

This is a summary of a story by Sarah Morrison on School of Nursing.

Jake Benoit wasn’t always sure he wanted to become a nurse. In fact, he wanted to be a baseball player – but ended up pivoting to healthcare after COVID.  

Having studied business in college, Benoit entered Duke University School of Nursing’s Master of Nursing program – which is specifically designed for people with a non-nursing bachelor’s degree. In his second semester in the program, he shows off what a day in his life looks like.

Much of his time is spent in class, learning through simulations in the state-of-the-art Center for Nursing Discovery and studying to become a registered nurse.

But one day a week, Benoit gets clinical experience working with patients in the hospital. He spends his day checking in on patients, dispensing medications, and reviewing charts – all under the guidance of experienced mentors.

Benoit found academic demands were similar to his college experience. Yet what was new to him was how much of becoming a nurse happens through observation and repeated experience in clinical settings.

During a recent pediatric clinical experience, Benoit cared for a 5-year-old with asthma who was unhappy about being in the hospital. He watched clinicians give the child small choices, including the opportunity to help hold a stethoscope – putting the child more at ease while healthcare providers could get their work done. Those small interactions have helped Benoit recognize the difference between knowing clinical information and knowing how to apply it.

“The depth of learning that occurs outside of the classroom surprised me,” he said. “There are little things in clinical environments that you pick up over time that are so important.”

Longer term, Benoit is considering becoming either a family nurse practitioner or a certified registered nurse anesthetist.

Journeys like Benoit’s begin with a single step – and Benoit encourages those interested to take the leap.

“It took three people telling me, ‘You should apply. At least give yourself the opportunity,’” Benoit said. “Maybe [someone who hears my story] will say, ‘You know what? I’m going to apply,’” he said. “And it changes the whole course of their career, like it did mine.”