How Can a Personal Connection Build Confidence in Your Graduate Nursing Journey?

I wrapped my bright yellow stethoscope around my neck, pockets heavy with essential nursing tools and my clipboard clenched in my right hand. It was my first shift off orientation on the bone marrow transplantation unit at a teaching hospital in North Carolina. As I listened to the change-of-shift report, I felt my nerves on edge. I repeated "be the best nurse you can be" over and over in my head as I did my best to keep calm on that first day. That is what I remember from the first day and now, a few months later, I can reflect on what I learned and what "be the best nurse you can be" means to me.