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Berry College nurse instructor demonstrating to a class
April 2, 2025

8 Essential Real-world Experiences Nursing Students Need

Nursing is a profession that demands classroom knowledge but also a wide range of skills to prepare students for the complexities of a career in health care. This article will explore eight real-world experiences that nursing educators agree are pivotal for success in the field of nursing.

Nursing students need the opportunity to...


1. Apply theoretical knowledge in practical settings

Applying knowledge beyond the classroom is essential to the nursing profession. Reading about a moment and living it can feel like two completely different experiences.

For example, describing her experience on the Kenya nursing abroad trip, Taylor Yonfa explained how she was pushed beyond her textbook knowledge while traveling: “In Keyna, sometimes, we didn’t have what we needed, or patients’ problems were more than medical. Many situations in Kenya required us to solve problems with limited resources. It was challenging but important work.”

Finding opportunities in your program to stretch your brain is an excellent way to put what you have learned into action.

2. Practice critical thinking and problem-solving

It’s no surprise that nurses need strong critical thinking skills. When faced with a variety of patient scenarios they must be able to make the right call at the right moment.

At Berry College, nursing students strengthen their problem-solving through the thoughtfully designed, scaffolded curriculum. With a strong grounding in research too, they know how to assess situations, research solutions and recommend changes, a skill applicable to future leadership roles where they can change policy and affect practice for the better.

Look for nursing programs that give you opportunities to do more than memorize technical material. Find a place where you can learn and put your knowledge to work.

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3. Regulate and manage emotion and stress effectively

Nursing can be an emotionally and physically demanding career. Learning to regulate and manage stress is imperative for maintaining personal well-being and providing high-quality care. Whether a nurse cares for a traumatic situation or must adjust to a night schedule, knowing how to care for oneself is crucial to success in the field.

Nursing programs that offer support systems, discussion around these topics and opportunities for reflection can help students develop resilience and coping strategies. One of the Berry experiences that really pushes students to practice regulation is the annual cross-cultural immersion trip to Kenya. There, students encounter many emotionally charged and physically demanding tasks.

One nursing faculty member who travels with students explains, “This past year in Kenya, Berry nursing students took care of children with severe burns who had no access to pain medication. Their physical suffering was evident, and many students struggled with providing care while actively processing overwhelming emotions. It was a situation that called for the difficult practice of self-regulation to give the children the best care possible in such dire circumstances. This experience provided an opportunity for faculty to help facilitate active reflection and resiliency components necessary for a successful transition to practice.”

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4. Practice prioritizing ethical decisions

Nurses are certainly not strangers to ethical dilemmas in their work and must develop a strong moral compass in high-stress moments. Because this is commonplace in the medical field, navigating difficult situations during training can help prepare students and develop a strong ethical framework for their futures. From understanding patient rights to confidentiality issues, programs that incorporate ethics into curriculum and lab scenarios give students practice in making principled decisions in complex situations.

Referencing the strength of Berry’s ethical training in the nursing program, Grace Eckstein says that when nursing students say they attend or graduated from Berry, they are immediately given a certain amount of respect: “Hospitals in the northwest Georgia area immediately trust you. As a nursing lab supervisor, I helped set up and participated in the practice scenarios, and now, as an ER nurse I see how Berry prepared me for this level of intensity.”

5. Develop strong collaboration and leadership skills

Nurses need significant experience working with others. In many situations, nurses will be a part of a team of health-care workers navigating a difficult patient situation. They need to be comfortable discussing different scenarios and coming to a combined conclusion to take action.

Fabian Cummings, a registered nurse II in the Emergency Department at Wellstar Cobb Hospital, got experience working on an interdisciplinary team providing direct patient care at Heyman Hospice in Rome, Georgia, while studying nursing at Berry. Prior to this position, he was unsure of the role he wanted to take. Observing the nurses at Heyman Hospice helped him better understand the power of teamwork in nursing.

Nurses often take on leadership roles, too, whether in direct patient care, administration or education. Nursing programs that offer leadership training, mentorship opportunities and experiences in team management uniquely prepare students to continue growing in their career development.

6. Hone effective communication with empathy and attention to detail

Effective communication is a key part of a nurse's job. Whether conveying patient information, treatment plans or changes in a patient’s condition to other health care professionals, nurses must be excellent communicators. By strengthening communication skills through their college experience, students become confident caretakers, ready to share accurate assessments and highly detailed information.

They also must be ready to share information effectively with patients and their families. It is not just what nurses communicate but how they communicate that can be a key factor in quality care. For example, recent research shows how health-care providers communicate medication protocol can impact whether the patients take lifesaving medications.

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Noting this emphasis at Berry, Kylee Davis, a recent nursing alum and a Daisy Award winner in her first year of nursing, says that therapeutic communication is woven throughout the nursing curriculum.

“Faculty at Berry talked about it so much that before I was a nurse, I sometimes rolled my eyes at it,” she says. “But now I see the difference therapeutic communication makes. It matters how you speak to people and care for them. It expresses to patients that you are their advocate and support.”

7. Embrace difference with empathy

Nurses work with diverse populations and need to be able to provide culturally competent care. Respecting patients' backgrounds, beliefs and values is a crucial step in getting them on board with a care plan. Nurses must be able to embrace differences with empathy and understanding. Nursing programs that emphasize cultural competence and provide opportunities for students to interact with diverse communities and cultures foster this perspective.

Coming from an underdeveloped country where the health system’s quality suffers due to its lack of qualified medical practitioners and resources, Ni Vang saw the value of empathy firsthand.

“I believe that having empathy and compassion is an essential asset in health care,” says Ni, “because most patients are vulnerable emotionally, mentally and physically while they are hospitalized. My job is not only to provide care for patients but also to be understanding.”

8. Foster innovation and creativity

Finally, health care is constantly evolving, and nurses need to know how to be flexible and creative in their approach to their work and responsibilities. Programs that encourage students to think outside the box, explore new technologies and participate in research projects help cultivate these qualities in student's futures. Nurses who can lean into innovation are ultimately the ones who play an important role in improved patient outcomes and more efficient health-care practices.

Deciding on the right nursing program can be a tough decision. These eight formative experiences not only lead to enhanced medical knowledge but also cultivate the skills, empathy and resilience needed to provide exceptional patient care and drive positive change in health-care settings.

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If you're looking for personal and professional development opportunities like these, check out Berry’s nursing program today.

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