Nursing School: Present & Beyond

[Wake88, BSN, RN]

Good evening, everyone.

I'm a 28-year-old man. I'm old, but determined to push myself to become a nurse.

This Fall I'm going to nursing school full-time. I'm creating this thread as a be-all-end-all resource to ask questions and learn from nursing students and nurses. This guy is smart, but I know having a know-it-all attitude will get you and your patients screwed, so I want to really try to understand and learn from people who have been down this path already.

Mind you this is my second time in nursing school. The first time was in 2010, and I had a GPA of 4.0 through all my pre-reqs, not that it even matters. I was told I completely understood the science of nursing, but not the art. I was very good at the mathematics and the science, but I had extreme social anxiety because I was homeschooled under an extremely controlling father, and I had little to no interpersonal or healthcare experience under his thumb.

When it came to knowledge and intellect in nursing school that was my strength, but my extreme weakness was feeling comfortable with people. Dad made me afraid of everyone. Beat me down physically, mentally, and emotionally. He made me apologize for everything, even things that weren't my fault, and like a dog with his tail between his legs I was literally afraid of people for fear of being hurt.

The nursing instructor had me leave the clinical section, and because I couldn't do clinicals I could not continue. She gave me pamphlets for victims of domestic abuse, a hotline, and told me I needed to get to know and be comfortable around people, and that being a CNA FIRST would be the very best thing for me.

Eventually my mother and I got away from my father after he threatened to murder us by fleeing the state and filing for divorce. We had no money but we did have family, and I worked odd jobs during the harsh economy to scrape up cash for CNA school. I got through it and got my CNA certification.

It's a godsend being able to work full-time as a CNA. I've got health, dental, and vision insurance. I've probably wiped over a thousand asses by now, but in spite of that I love the work. At our specialty hospital the work is stable, but hard. 12-hour shifts. As much as I want to complain at times... I'm paying the bills, gaining both social and professional experience, and the nurses will teach me skills down to the letter under strict observation.

I'm going to a community college. Most of the pieces have fallen into place. I had about $8000 saved up for school but I had to have arthroscopic knee surgery a little over two weeks ago, so I'm trying to deal with it from multiple angles. The MRI itself, after insurance, is $3050. I've been stuck on crutches for 2 weeks now (on FMLA and on great terms with work), and I have another month of this crap before I can put weight on the knee (it was microfracture surgery).

I did manage to get subsidized loans of about $1500 per semester to help, and once I heal I'll be working my butt off to pay a massive medical debt.

Some of the nursing books are already bought. Clinical Drug Therapy and Dimensional Analysis are purchased, and I need to buy a few other things and a HESI program.

I would like to delve into these books but some people tell me to not open them up and start reading them because you can't be certain what the teachers are going to go over and test, but I feel it may be wise just to go over the bare basics at least.

Anyways, I want to learn more. I have so many questions. There's so much I don't know, and I'm kicking myself for being an older student, but I feel that it's not too late for me.

I need to learn the tips and tricks nursing students depend on the the ways nurses excel in their profession. I want to know what the successful students and nurses do, and how they do it. Should I start reading some of the books now? I'd like to learn more of the mnemonics. Drug-drug interactions are difficult to remember: how do you remember it all? I want to learn from the people who are further along this path than I am.

Thanks for hearing me out. :)

[cracklingkraken, ASN, RN]

First, I would advise that you would use minimal identifying information on AN. You never know who might be reading and how easily you can be identified. There are some days where you might want to vent about a professor or employer, and on those days, you'll want to be anonymous.

I suggest that you use this time to relax. There will be plenty to learn while in school, and there's no need to get ahead of yourself. However, you could review some of the major body systems (renal, cardiac, etc.), as those will be the foundation for many of the key concepts in Med-Surg and Pharm. Good luck, and I hope your knee heals without any issues.

[MrChicagoRN, RN]

28 is old?