The reason why I am posting this message here, because I am wondering if I am the only one that has had so many obstacles and valleys to cross over, go around, go through [etc...], with wanting to become a nurse. And will I see the day that I will be a nurse and futher my career as a nurse.
Maybe I shouldn't post this message, because I will open myself up to more negativeness. No I don't want to be beat up more then what I have been already. I am looking for a ray of sunshine, hope that this dream, this goal will come true. I am looking for a soul [so-to-speak], that I can connect to, that has gone through similar trials and errors and is a nurse and has been one for sometime and has futher his or her career.
This journey that I am on, started in September 1994. I was 32 at the time. Never been at a college, did not know anything or anyone. Did not know what to do or who to talk to. I was told from the financial aid office, that I could never take less then 12 hours because of the student loan I was getting. It was the Stadford Loan that I was receiving. Which I found out too late, that they lied to me.
Anyway as I was saying, I started to a 4 year college in 1994, going for my BS in nursing. The day was cold, but excited. Everyone that was majoring in nursing, met in this big auditorium.
We were told that you choose your schedule/courses and your assigned advisor will ok it and if there is any problems she will help you choose alternatives. That is when my bad luck [if you want to call it that], began.
I chose my courses. Yes you had to take prereqs before getting into the nursing program. Chose the courses I was going to take, 16 hours, took the form to my assigned advisor. While she was looking over the courses I signed up for, I asked her, "is everything ok, so far?," and told her that "this is my first time of ever being in college." She never did respond back to me. She ok my paper and told me to go to financial aid office. So I did.
I was having a rough time. My grades were not good. I was making B(s) and C(s), mostly C(s). I studied and read, but just wasn't doing that well. And too at this time, I was a mother of two and a wife. Then in the middle of the quarter [yes at this time this college was on the quarter system], when I was in microbiology, this girl asked me, "what are you majoring in and what courses are you taking." Well I told her, she looked at me and asked, "why are you taking 2 of everything." I looked at her and said, 'two of everything, what do you mean?' I gave her my copy of my schedule that had all the courses that I signed up for and my advisor ok signature on it, for her to look at it. That is when she pointed out to me that even though the courses has different names and different course IDs and section numbers, basically they were the same. The Statistic course I did not have to take, being a nursing student that I will have that after I get into the nursing program. I just looked at her, feeling so stupid and embarrased. She even made the commit, why did my advisor ok these courses, when they were the same. I told her, I don't know. I asked her what should I do. She told me that I need to go to my advisor and ask her why did she ok for me to take these courses. Well that is what I did.
And of course that cost me, because I was going to this college on a student loan. Money I will have to pay back when I get finish.
So I went to my advisor, told her what was told to me. I handed her the copy of paper that had the courses that I signed up for with her signature on it, okaying it. She admitted to me, "verbally," that I was taking two of everything and that I should not be taking the statistic course. She also said that she will take care of it, for me to w/d from everything and start over fresh in Winter of 1995. I asked her about my student loan, if this will have any barring on it. She said, "no it will not." I even asked her, will this be on my transcript? She said, "no, it will not, that she will take care of it."
Well to this day, those courses are on my transcript and I am going to have to pay back that money I borrowed, to paid for those courses that I was trusting this woman to advise me honestly and truthfully and in the right direction. Not only that, but this w/d, went on my records, finacial aid records at this college which lead to a penalty.
Over the time, from September 1995 to June of 1998, I have had to w/d from courses because of medical reasons and because of some of the courses that I was taking as an elective, the instructors flat out told you, "I do not allow nursing students in my class." Which again, I went to my advisor, the same one that I had from the very beginning at this college, and told her how I was being treated by these instructors and what should I do. She advised me to w/d and that she will take care of the instructors for the way that they have treated me and that these courses will not be on my transcript or interfer with my student loan. So once again, I trusted her.
Well it ended up, when I started a new quarter, April, 1998. I received a letter from the financial aide office. Telling me that I am on my first probabtion and the criterias that I have to meet in order to keep my student loans. I went in and spoke to the person that was in charge of my file. This is what she told me, "According to your academic status, you have w/d too many times from courses and so you are put on probation and in order for you to continue to receive your student loan these are the criterias that you will have to meet." You have to be 12 hours or more, cannot w/d or drop out and if you fail any of the courses, just one of them, you cannot receive your student loan and in order for you to return back to this college, you will have to pay from your pocket the first semester."
Well, I went through the whole story of what my advisor had said to me from September 1995 and that I could not afford to pay out of my pocket. She told me, "what your advisor said to you there is no proof of it." When I asked her, about semester, that is when I was by told by this lady, that the college was switching from the quarter system to semester system, September 1998.
Well at this time, I was taking 12 hours. I failed A& P I. Found out that when this college went from quarters to semesters, they added more prereqs for the nursing students to take before enrolling into the nursing program. So it would have taken me another year and a half if not longer to finish the course. So that is when I decided to transfer to a 2 year college and just go for my ADN.
June 1998, transfer to the college that I am at now. Retook A&P I, plus other courses. Got the financial aid I needed and was told that the minimum hours I need to take, to get financial aid, the standford loan, was 6 hours. That summer semester, I was taking 8 hours. I had straight A(s) in all three courses. That boosted my ego tremendously. Because I needed those A(s) to pull my gpa up in order to be elgible, along with my ACT score, to get into the nursing program. The courses I took in Fall 1998, again, the grades I received were great and my gpa went up higher and so did my confidence.
But, on the down side, not everything transfer. The microbiology course that I took at the 4 yr college did not transfer, b/c it did not have a lab. So I had to retake it. This was Spring 1999 and I was accepted into the nursing program a semester early because of my gpa and ACT score. And too I was told, if I did not accept the offer into the nursing program, that it would be counted as my first time of being offered into the program. You have two tries to get into the program. So I did not want to risk it and so I accepted.
Again, I did not know what to expect. Everything was going so fast and I had so much I had to do. In my microbiology course I came out of there with a high A, but I failed level 1 of the nursing program. In order to pass this nursing, you have to make at least an 80 and they do not round up. If you make 79.9999, you have a 79. Well I had a 76.
Then in Fall 1999, the college changed their nursing program......everything.
I got reaccepted back into the new program. Had no problems. Came out of there with an 87---a B. Went on to level 2. Which by the way we were the first ones to go through the new program and were the ginny pigs, some what.
The way this program is set up, each level does not prepare you for the following level and that hurts you. Because the teachers [who taught the old currculum and did prepare you for the following level that you passed into], expected you to come into the level knowing something about what they are going to teach.
I succeeded on to level 2, no problems. Went into level 3. After the third test, I had to w/d, because I started having heart problems and I was sitting at 80.
I had to repeat level 3 and passed. Went into level 4. Had 21 days of lecture, 7 tests, final exam, plus other things we had to do. No I did not pass. I will have to repeat.
From speaking to others who did pass and went through level 4 before me, when I asked, 'how did you pass?.' This is the answer they would give me, "I memorized." I am sorry, but my memory is not that good, especially being hypothyroidism and with all the material we had to learn in the short amount of time we had.
I even spoken to several students, who have went through the program before me. This was the class that I would have graduated with, or be in the 4th level with, if I hadn't had to w/d because of heart problems. I asked them, do they remember anything that they learned in level 4. Everyone has said, "no," they do not remember nothing. In fact one said that some of the things that she learned, when she was in level 4, that "you use it when it was a code." What did she learn that you only use it when it is a code, I wonder. Because everything we had, you use it on a daily basis. The different diseases, etc....
Like I said, I am not looking for pity here. I am not asking for more negativeness. All I want to know, are there others out there that has gone through what I am going throug?
Will this affect me getting a good position?
Will I be a nurse?
Thank you,
