[FuturoEnfermera]

Originally Posted by Biol20fan

I'm really excited, so I think that will help me to have a positive attitude. Plus, I'm not only doing this for my family, I'm doing it for myself. I've busted my tush too much to not give it my all. And I am a very good student (good study habits, etc.), so I hope that will help.

Just have to say this applies to about 99% of people who get into nursing programs! I guess lottery may be different but at least at my school no one got in with below a 3.5 or below an 89% on the TEAS.

Nursing school is just a totally different beast. I'm pretty impatient so my main gripe is wanting to learn more, and in more depth (NS is much more surface level than pre-requisites), faster than what is presented. The best part is the amazing friendships that you'll create. That aspect is just awesome! My class is so tight I never could have imagined this type of support system. We're like a big sorority with a few guys mixed in!

[Biol20fan]

Originally Posted by FuturoEnfermera

Just have to say this applies to about 99% of people who get into nursing programs! I guess lottery may be different but at least at my school no one got in with below a 3.5 or below an 89% on the TEAS.

That was one of the things I really appreciated about my Human Phys and Microbiology classes. If you were in them, you were there to learn, and everyone really worked their you-know-whats off; plus, everyone was working towards (almost) the same goal, which made for great camaraderie . It was soooo much different than finishing up some of my gen ed classes (which, thank god, I've already finished all of them; I'd hate to have to worry about those and my nursing classes at the same time), where we had so many slackers and students who just didn't care.

I can't remember what the minimum GPA was to get into the lottery (it's been so long since I'd entered it! LOL). Now I need to start preparing for the TEAS.

[goingformydream]

I would say 90% of the time, I love it.. other times, esp. on Mondays, I am stressed... that is my busiest day (clinical, then care plan due the following day for the next clinical day) It is not hard per say.. just very, very timeconsuming... lots of information. I have a very supportive husband as well... keep dating during this process... we go out to dinner (just the two of us) on Friday evenings. I have 4 children and we make the most of our time together.. that is the hard part.. they know Mondays they don't see me.. but after Clinicals on Tuesdays, they get me for the afternoon and evening (unless I have a test the following day for theory) this is spring break, so I am making up a lot of time, and spending time refreshing my brain on drug classifications, side effects, teachings, etc.

oh.. I have had to say "no" to other outings with my extended family.. that is hard.. but I will hook back up with them during the summer.

Good luck.. the best part for me is the patient care!

[Biol20fan]

Originally Posted by Southernkitten

I love nursing school. I am finishing up my second semester in a BSN program, I have three sons aged 19, 17 and 15 with a boyfriend who lives in another time zone and a one hour commute (each way) to school so I am STRESSED most of the time, but this is what I want to do and I really enjoy it. I GOT TO HELP TWO WOMEN LABOR AND DELIVER THEIR BABIES!!!! It was amazing. I am slightly psychotic (haha) most of the time because I NEVER have time to study and it feels like I'm always driving (plus my transmission went out for $2K to repair) and we are going deeper into debt every month because I have more money going out than coming in, but I've had this dream since 1992 and I am making it a reality. Life is short! Make it what you want! I have NO help and I am doing it - with a supportive family you should be able to make a great go of it.

Wow, it sure sounds like you have your hands full! It's always feast or famine, isn't it (it sure seems that way in my life)? My last semester of prereqs (Phys, Micro, and Terminology) was really hard on me mentally; I won't bore you with details, but let's just say I lost about eighteen pounds due to all of the stress. I'm hoping that since my family's life has settled down, I'll have an easier go of it.

What is really making me feel great at this point is that everyone seems to be so proud of me. I have an older brother who recently retired as an Army Medic (he was given two medals for service, not that I'm proud or anything ), and for him to say how proud he is of me, that just wrecks me (but in a good way).

Do you want to go into L&D? That's my hope, but I can't say until I actually go through the clinicals. Wow, getting to help deliver two babies! How amazing, and what a miracle it is, don't you think?

Southernkitten, it sounds like you will make a great nurse! And you are providing an excellent example for your boys.

[Biol20fan]

Originally Posted by goingformydream

I would say 90% of the time, I love it.. other times, esp. on Mondays, I am stressed... that is my busiest day (clinical, then care plan due the following day for the next clinical day) It is not hard per say.. just very, very timeconsuming... lots of information. I have a very supportive husband as well... keep dating during this process... we go out to dinner (just the two of us) on Friday evenings. I have 4 children and we make the most of our time together.. that is the hard part.. they know Mondays they don't see me.. but after Clinicals on Tuesdays, they get me for the afternoon and evening (unless I have a test the following day for theory) this is spring break, so I am making up a lot of time, and spending time refreshing my brain on drug classifications, side effects, teachings, etc.

oh.. I have had to say "no" to other outings with my extended family.. that is hard.. but I will hook back up with them during the summer.

Good luck.. the best part for me is the patient care!

Thank you for the great advice, goingformydream! I worry that I won't have enough time for my boys (one is 6 years, the other 4 years). Typical Mom guilt, I know. Both of them said, "But Mommy, if you go back to school, then we won't have a Mommy!" I don't know what my schedule is going to be like, since I'm doing a summer start, if I'll just go go go until the end or not.

But the plan is that it will benefit us all in the end (keeping fingers crossed).

[drugstorecowgirl214]

I'm in my 4th semester of nursing school and I love it. Sometimes I hate the little projects that seem to get in my way, but I just realize that it's something that I have to do so I try to get them done right off the bat. That way I won't have to worry about them.

I work on at a hospital on an on-call basis, so I'm not saddled with having to work. My children are now grown so I don't have little ones to deal with. I really take my hat off to those of you that do! You have an incredible amount of moxie!!!

[MB37]

I neither love nor hate my program (ABSN). I love what I learn every day, I usually really enjoy clinical, and the majority of my didactic instructors are fantastic. I don't like the paperwork we have to do, and the amount of time it eats up that I could be studying, or hanging out with my husband. It's the busywork, the papers, the care plans (they tell us that they're useful, but we do them after we've already taken care of the pt - it's hard to separate what interventions you used for each dx, and we can only include interventions that we actually used), the discussion board postings that our instructor doesn't even read, the SOAP notes, the meetings we have to attend, etc. that I can't stand. I learn something from some of it, but it's significantly more than I had to do for my previous BS. I don't always like my clinical instructor, but from what I've heard it could be worse. I also feel that the material isn't actually all that difficult, it's just incredibly time consuming to learn it all when you throw in all the aforementioned paperwork. I don't have kids, so I don't know what it's like when you throw them into the mix, but hopefully you can let go a little bit and let your husband and in-laws take over while you study without feeling too guilty.

[JenniG48]

Love...hate...depends on the day. I have 3 children (7, 4, 3) so it can be very difficult at times trying to juggle it all. I also work 30 hrs per week. I love that I'm almost finished with my ADN program (down to days now). I started my pre-reqs when my youngest was 8 months and thankfully was accepted in to the PN program the following year. My husband has had to pick up a lot of the slack (housework, cooking, getting kids up on clinical mornings, putting kids to bed at night so I can study...). Overall, I have to say that I like school. I don't like the time it takes me away from my family, the hours I have to give up with my kids so that I can study and the strain it has put on my marriage (mostly financially). But, since I have only 2 clincal days, 7 lecture days, 1 final exam and 1 exit exam left...I can honestly say, it can be done. Won't be easy, but if nursing is what you want to do and is what is going to make you happy, then your family will understand (and adjust) and thankfully it is only for a few short years. Good luck.

[c2010]

As everyone else said- it depends on the day/week. I'm in my 1st semester of the program. My program runs in 8 week cycles, in other words we get a new class every 8 weeks. And yes, it makes my head spin

Right now I'm not really liking it I have a unit test tomorrow in theory. Tuesday I have a skills practical on cardiac/respitory/abdominal assesment. And we have to draw an insulin injection.

And I have to re-do the dosage calcuation test that I didn't pass I AM going to pass it this time, I have no intention of taking it AGAIN. If I don't pass, I can't pass meds in clinical next week, and I want to do that.

We're a pretty small group of people. 23. And we're all pretty close. The neat thing is- you can go to anyone and say "Hey, I'm having a problem with something" and they're all really good about helping. I think it has to do with the fact that we've lost 5 people in the last 12 or so weeks, and we don't want to lose anyone else. And the teachers are pretty good.

My kids are older, 14 and 11. It's been hard this 8 week class. I've been in class on T,Th from 2:30-8:30, and my youngest wasn't real happy at first about me not being home when she's home. And I couldn't take her to dance on Thurs anymore. But it's gotten better. And I think she'll be happy when she finds out that my clinical rotation this time is from 1-7, so it won't be bedtime when I come home!

My husband (and the kids) have stepped up and are helping out a whole lot more than they used to. Well, they have no choice. If they want clean clothes, they're going to have to operate the washer and dryer.

[oneeyelove]

Just about to finish my first semester, and I must say it has been some of the most intense, demanding schooling I have ever done. (This is my 3rd time in college) It is not that anything is so hard, it is that there is so much to learn, it all comes at you so fast. I suppose every program is different in how they teach, but doing the entire pharmacology course online in 1st semester along with everything else has been a bit much. I am looking forward to a few weeks off to catch my breath before 2nd. Good luck!