Jane is just starting nursing school and beginning her first online class. She has always dreamed of becoming a nurse and is excited to begin nursing school. She bought her nursing school uniform, books, new shoes, and a stethoscope. She has updated her computer software, reviewed the announcements and printed the syllabus for this class. She has organized her planner and is trying to improve her time management. She has a part time job and her boss is really understanding and allowing her to take it easy right now so she can get adjusted. She is supported at home by her boyfriend and her roommate and feels so excited to begin this new chapter of her life she can barely sleep.
Before Jane knows it the first week is almost over and she is not where she thinks she should be. She was on time with her first discussion post, but she read the announcement wrong and only responded to one of her peers instead of two. She is having a really hard time understanding format and was graded lower than she expected. Jane woke up feeling physically sick and overwhelmed. She was overwhelmed with her student responsibilities, constantly double-checking everything to make sure she completed the tasks accurately. She began to doubt her ability to perform competently. Her instructor assured her that these were normal issues experienced by almost all students during the transition period into nursing school. When her instructor questioned her about the amount of time she spent working on format prior to her submission, Jane burst into tears.
A. What are some of the indicators that Jane was initially in the “honeymoon” phase of reality shock?
B. How did Jane manifest characteristics of the “shock and rejection” phase?
C. What steps could Jane take to adapt to her new environment successfully and cope with the reality shock?