What was the toughest part of Nursing school for you?

FutureNurse2005 · Jun 15, 2006

I have not graduated yet, so I hope you dont mind my replying!

So far, integrating from part time to full time has been horrible! The majority of part timers are "mature" whereas the majority of the full timers are the youngins just out of high school. My program has us part time for year 1 and then joining full time for year 2. Let me say that those youngins dont like it much! They feel that they are better than us somehow...

Anyway, making this transition has been really hard on me.

allele, LPN · Jun 15, 2006

Boy! Bless you, honey! Sounds like a nightmare. Now you can look back on all that and smile!

LOL Thanks! I do look back and smile!! It was ALL WORTH IT! I love nursing, I love that if I get burned out in my current area then I can go look for a new one since there are SO many options out there for us!! School was tough while I was there, but in hindsight it seemed to go by so quickly and I'm glad I was put through all that work. One day at a time is all it took! Good luck with your schooling! :)

banditrn · Jun 15, 2006

I disliked the psych rotation! And that is still an area where I have NO desire to work!

DavericaRN · Jun 15, 2006

Hi, I just wanted to know if you have already applied for nursing school? If so, have you been accepted yet? I applied and Im waiting for a letter. All these posts are great. I have been a nervous wreck waiting to hear from the school. I know we also have to take an entrance exam which I am nervous about.

leslie :-D · Jun 15, 2006

my absolute worst part was having this dreaded, unpopular instructor, who i swear, was out to fail me.

by the time i had her, i had lost over half my class from failing. many told me it was because of 'her'.

she made my life miserable: i dreaded clinicals; i'd vomit ea noc. i was a wreck.

but i passed.

this instructor was a hospice pt. of mine a couple of months ago.

she recognized me and you could see the horror in her face.

poor soul.

we talked; i told her that she made me into the nurse i am today.

i got to know her family, and our relationship turned from ominous to very positive and respectful.

and that's what i see as life coming full circle.

leslie

Chaya, ASN, RN · Jun 15, 2006

Leslie you have my admiration for prevailing, forgiving and moving on. Takes a lot of inner fortitude.

mandana · Jun 15, 2006

my absolute worst part was having this dreaded, unpopular instructor, who i swear, was out to fail me.
by the time i had her, i had lost over half my class from failing. many told me it was because of 'her'.
she made my life miserable: i dreaded clinicals; i'd vomit ea noc. i was a wreck.
but i passed.
this instructor was a hospice pt. of mine a couple of months ago.
she recognized me and you could see the horror in her face.
poor soul.
we talked; i told her that she made me into the nurse i am today.
i got to know her family, and our relationship turned from ominous to very positive and respectful.
and that's what i see as life coming full circle.
leslie

Wow Leslie - that's an amazing story.

For me, there were two things that nearly did me in. My peds rotation and my psych rotation. Both were interesting, and great learning experiences, but unbearably stressful for different reasons - in peds, it was the abuse cases that caused me so much pain and in psych it was the chronic cases and how we, as a society, do so very little for the chronically mentally ill.

Amanda

LADYFLOWER · Jun 15, 2006

Hi, I just wanted to know if you have already applied for nursing school? If so, have you been accepted yet? I applied and Im waiting for a letter. All these posts are great. I have been a nervous wreck waiting to hear from the school. I know we also have to take an entrance exam which I am nervous about.

HI!

Who me? No, I wont start my schooling until next year. I'm just asking as many questions as I can because I like to know other's experiences. The good and the bad!

ONSnrs · Jun 16, 2006

Oh, that is so right, not being able to sleep the night before clinicals, and then having to get up at 5:30 a.m. and have the appearance of having it all together so that my clinical instructor would not send me home.

rninme · Jun 16, 2006

The 4 hour presentation I had to do for my nursing leadership class...hand outs, audio-visual presentation, LECTURE.....AHHHHHHHHHHH:o !!! It was absolutely TERRIFYING for someone who HATES public speaking....there I was shaking so hard I almost rattled my teeth out of my head!....trying to present a COHERENT and INTERESTING class on the Legal and Ethical Issues in Nursing!!! Graded on every uhmmm, ughhh, errrr, etc.....I can laugh now.....but at the time I was practically hysterical with fear!!!

DaFreak71 · Jun 16, 2006

The worst part of nursing school has been the downright evil attitudes of a few instructors and the backbiting of some of my classmates. I actually love clinical, don't mind the careplans and don't think the tests are all that hard.

I think the biggest stressor (aside from the nasty instructors) has been time management issues. You have to really set time aside each and every day to study and prepare for your next class/clinical. It's not like regular classes where you just show up and spend the last few days before the test studying, if you have something come up often times you'll fall behind. It's a constant game of staying ahead or at least on track.

Don't let my experience scare you though. For each wicked instructor I've had, I've been blessed to have one very supportive instructor. For each small minded and gossipy classmate I've encountered, I've made close friends with one who is kind, funny and helpful. The good is helping to balance out the bad, although at times it's easy to feel like the bad overwhelms the good.

sonja77 · Jun 16, 2006

care plans!!! :madface:

i hated them! having to go in the day before clinicals, looking up all the patients' info, ....

then doing nurses notes, lab values, medications, nursing diagnoses, ...

it would sometime take me hours just to do the nursing diagnoses, trying to apply them to my patient. i often stayed up past midnight to prepare what was required for the next day, then having to get up at 5pm for clinicals. i remember one time i stayed up past 3am! had to take a few caffeine tablets the next day. but i got a 99.25 on that care plan, at least it was worth it!