Do you keep your personal life private while in nursing school?

[Kadambari]

Do you keep your personal wherabouts to yourself--such as if you have a family, if you work, etc?

I've learned to not reveal much to myself because there seems to be other students who get quite bitter or jealous that someone else

a. doesn't have to work

b. doesn't have any children

c. gets financial aid

I became friends with a woman during my pre requisite classes. We really clicked and I felt like I had known her my whole life. I opened up and told her everything, about my financial status, who was helping me pay school, etc. And she became very jealous by telling me that if she has to work full time, then so should I. It was ridiculous.

I've encountered other students like this before, so I have made it a habit to keep my personal life very private to avoid any hostility from other students who may have more responsibility than I do

[akilah530]

I will definitely keep my private life PRIVATE...people get jealous over the weirdest things. I'm pretty much a loner anyway, so it shouldn't be too hard. However for some reason people always cling me and want to tell me all of their business/problems. Sometimes that can wear u down too.

[Racer15, BSN, RN]

Not really. One of my classmates and I have become really good friends, we actually took a mini-vacation together over the summer and we'll probably go out of town to celebrate graduating in December. Quite frankly, I don't care what anyone else thinks of me or if they get jealous about something in my life, like the fact that my grandparents pay all of my tuition.

[nik415]

That's ashame (sp?) about your friend, but going through nursing school is very different than pre-reqs. You might you feel very comfortable telling others about your personal life, or may not. It really depends on the people in your class. I'm in an ADN program so there is wide range of people from age to lifestyle to money needs. No one has been rude to me because I live at home and my mom supports me. I would never look down upon someone else for doing what they needed to do to get through nursing school.

Good luck!

[Katie71275]

Personally, I don't. I believe that you become a family in nursing school and family helps out others. So we pretty much know a lot about everyone's life :)

[ImKosher]

I don't keep my life private. It's an open book. In my opinion if I get financial aid, which I have, why should my friend be jealous? If they applied for it, and did not get aid, most likely it was a fault in documentation, or they make to much money.

If they didn't know how to get it, I would tell them how to get it and answer any questions they have.

I like to get to know people, when you get to know them, you can share valuable information and make great friends. Again, you may be an introvert, and that's perfectly OK. I'm an extrovert 150 percent.

[amoLucia]

In school and the work environment --- LESS IS BEST. At least until you get to know and trust those around you.

[Stephalump]

Nope. I'm an open book. :).

[QuarterLife88, MSN, RN, NP]

Big private introvert over here. I keep to myself, while remaining friendly. I don't reveal anything unless asked, and even then I don't go into much detail, sometimes I'll even omit or outright lie if I don't like the person or trust them.

[loriangel14, RN]

My classmates and I all became a tight knit group during school. We chatted about kids, husbands, work, recipes,vacations etc.We went to each others weddings, threw baby showers and gave comfort when family members passed.We got together outside of work on a regular basis.My teenagers babysat one of my classmates kids.We rejoiced when one of our classmates got pregnant after trying for 2 years.Many of us are still good friends 6 years after graduation.

[QuarterLife88, MSN, RN, NP]

This thread reminded me of something: Sometimes on the first day, (even in college, sadly), instructors have you go around and introduce yourself to the entire class and tell your whole life story. Am I the only one that despises this practice? It wastes time, and if I or anyone else cared to get to know someone that badly, we would go up to them on our own time and ask! It just seems like something that should have been left in grade school.

This also includes the first clinical day when an instructor makes us go around and state to everyone in the group why we want to be a nurse. It's so cheesy and I have approximately 5 sec to make up some Hallmark sounding b.s. It feels horribly fake. Does it matter why I'm there as long as I do my job?

[SunshineDaisy, ASN, RN]

I ditto Katie...my nursing school peeps are like family. I have a BIG groups of friends that know a lot about me, and a few "sisters" that know just about everything about me. If people get jealous of me than so be it, that's their problem. Would I like to go through single with no kids and it being paid for by someone else? Of course! But I'm not. I'm not bitter that I have kidless friends. It does make me appreciate this degree a whole lot more than my other degree. I have to work A LOT harder for this one!