Not impressed and depressed - Page 5

"Nursing school is hard.
No really, it's hard.
Don't get pregnant in nursing school.
Books are expensive.
Nursing school is hard.
Don't fall behind.
Here, have a cookie on your way out."

This is almost verbatim what we were told. We got pizza, salad and a cookie
Ironically, the pregnancy suggestion didn't work, 2 of my classmates are pregnant and we have not started 2nd semester. lol

I am not really friends with any of my classmates, and who cares. I won't be living in this area after I graduate anyways, and like others have said, nursing school is not about being best buddies with everyone. Too much socializing can get you into trouble (drama, people being bad influences, etc)
There are several instructors who I swear give me a death glare every time they see me. Who cares, I passed their classes and clinical rotations. It is not their job to be friendly. It is their job to make sure that when I graduate I am actually a competent nurse. They are doing their jobs to that end. I think of it as tough love. And it is helping me to develop that thick skin that we so desperately need as nurses.
As the saying goes, "nursing school is not for sissies". I would venture to say that even with friendly classmates and supportive teachers, it would still be the hardest two years of your life.
If you are already wanting to get out after orientation, you aren't going to make it. As much as I want to be a nurse, there were so many times in my first semester where I came home bawling my eyes out saying I wanted to quit. Yet I am still in the game because I am not going to let other peoples' attitudes run me out. You should really consider if you actually want to be a nurse. If the answer is yes, then you need to brace yourself for some tough times and learn to not care about whether or not people like you. You will prove your worth on exams and in clinicals. When everyone is at clinical all stressed out, you may make a friend just by being there to help a classmate when they need it.
Honestly, it sounds to me like you are just letting your anxiety get the best of you, and you are trying to give yourself a reason not to go to school. Put the negative attitude and negative self-talk on a shelf. Give your professors and classmates a do-over on their first impressions. Go to class for a few weeks and see if anything gets better. And even if it doesn't, like others have said, if this is really what you want, you'll find a way to get through it despite everyone else.
I am not letting anyone stand in the way of me getting my degree and achieving my dream, not even myself.
Good luck.

Funny, I spoke to our incoming class about the nursing program today, and this was what I told them.... Look around the room, some of these people will be your best friends and biggest supporters at the end of

Funny, I spoke to our incoming class about the nursing program today, and this was what I told them.... Look around the room, some of these people will be your best friends and biggest supporters at the end of 10 weeks (our first clinical is only 10 weeks). Not sure how your registration for clinical works, but people who are friends may or may not end up being in the same group, and the chance that those cliques will stay together in clinical for the whole 2 years is not likely.

I remember that when I started in January, I knew 5 people in the program, and none of them were in my clinical group. There were at least 2 sets/groups of people in my clinical group who came in as really good friends, so I definitely know how you are feeling. I felt like an outsider, and like I was never going to fit in. Keep a positive attitude, and it will change.

As for the teachers, I had a really hard time with my first clinical instructor, but in hindsight, she was one of the best instructors for first semester. Her concern was to make us the absolute best nurses she could in the short amount of time she had us. I also had a nurse at my clinical site tell me that first semester is kind of like boot camp. Maybe it is a little bit of a weeding process.

If you're feeling on the outside, try joining the Student Nursing Association on your campus. I ended up joining the board, and it was the best decision I made. You don't need to be on the board though, it's just another way to meet people who have common interests, and besides, it looks great on your resume.

Best of luck to you. I leave you with this that I found on Facebook today:

When you feel like quitting:

Think about why you started.

Funny, at the event we did today, we served pizza, salad and cookies for lunch so nobody had to go off campus..... plus we had clementines and drinks! Pretty much every thing listed above was said to new students too.....

OP, I can kinda sympathize about feeling out of place. I pretty much *always* feel out of place and awkward. I'm a pretty self-conscious, so large groups make me feel lost and very very alone. I really tall and kinda chubby, so I feel like I seriously stick out.

That being said, I could give a rat's booty about making friends during nursing school. I had a few good friends in high school, and I've made 2 or 3 friends since I started college 8 years ago. I'm just not someone who needs to amass a bunch of people. I might get lucky and make one solid friend over the next two years, but I have my doubts.

If you're feeling super alienated but still want to be a nurse, just try to tough it out till clinicals. You'll be around a smaller group of people on a regular basis. It'll be a bit easier to make a friend or two.

EDIT: I'm also a bit jealous of everyone else getting food at orientation. All I got was a huge stack of paperwork. Well, and a little swag, but no food

We also got the "don't get pregnant" lecture. That and the "don't get romantically involved with anyone in this room" lecture were my favorite lol

Yeah that's normal same at my school they were sizing us up and weeding us out. I went in with a take no ******** and take no prisoners attitude. Don't let them intimidate you they put their scrubs on legs first too..

<wondering if the OP is going to come back>

....

I've found putting my scrub pants on head-first is a great way to start the day. Wakes me up better than a pot of coffee.

We didn't get any lectures about pregnancy, either!!! I may demand another orientation. Or I should be working on getting pregnant. Not sure which.

OP, are you feeling better???

Just think of nursing school as boot camp. They break you down, try to convince you that you don't know anything about anything, make the smallest of tasks considerably more complicated than they need to be, harp on you about things that seem to be utterly pointless (like the length and color of your socks), and re-teach you how to think, talk, walk, and live "in a nursing manner." There is some method to this and some of the people in nursing school probably actually need it, but those of us who don't feel like it is an unnecessary petty bunch of ****. Just remember, when you are done in a very short amount of time, you can do things your own way, but you will feel an amazing sense of accomplishment for having lived through it all and maybe just maybe some of it will actually make you a better person. Don't fall into the trap of being personally insulted by it all, the ones that do generally don't make it. The same thing will actually apply when you start your career, you will be inundated with policy from the place that you work and a lot of it will seem frivolous, you will be taught their mission statement and expected to live by it (sort of), you will even be treated like you only function with half a brain by some residents, attendings, management, probably even experienced nurses, and definitely patients. If you can't handle it in nursing school, it is definitely time to start thinking about a different career path.