About to fail BSN program. What now?

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Hi everyone.

I'm currently a 2nd year BSN-Traditional student. I've hit a major downpoint within my college career. For a little background, I have ADHD and Generalized anxiety. For the past 14 years, I've avoided medical treatment because I wanted to go through my academic career without the aid of medications. I did so up until 3-4 weeks ago after failed my 4th patho exam where my anxiety and ADHD spiraled out of control. 6 weeks earlier, I failed Exam 3 for Patho of the semester (our passing is 75%. I received a 72%) while failing my health assessment exam so that I could dedicate more time to patho (shot myself in the foot twice there) thinking that the 2nd exam would be as easy as the first exam (got an 80% on the first exam w/o studying) and 3 weeks later, failed Exam 4 (even worse... 70% and spent more time on the material on that exam than the 3rd exam) of pathophysiology. After that exam, I was heartbroken and in tears as I had a panic attack so bad that I began hyperventilating uncontrollably and nearly passed out on the sidewalk on the way back to my dorm. Just today, I missed the grade I needed to pass the health assessment course by 1 question. As of today, I failed my first nursing course which was Health Assessment Across the Lifespan.

Additionally, I'm about to fail my Human Pathophysiology course since I am at a 73% exam average and I need to get a 92% on the exam to hit that 75% which I haven't done since I arrived here let alone in any of my science courses. Failure of this class will constitute my dismissal from the program here. Since the 4th patho exam and the past 3-4 weeks, I received psychological help and received medications for ADHD and Anxiety, spent nearly every conscious moment (20 hours a day from 6 am-2am. Thank goodness for hybrid courses. Weekends minimum 10 hours), visited my professor's office weekly, and exhausted any to all academic resources so that I could pass. I just had a little taste last week of what I will be doing in the clinic next semester and after that, never had I wanted something more badly than to just continue on in the program and do what I would truly enjoy but now it's going to be delayed even longer. My mom who is an RN is even flying up just to help me study for this exam and now I feel like I'm just wasting her time and money to have her help me. Now, my confidence is shot, my anxiety is through the roof w/ another panic attack coming up and I already taken my anti-anxiety meds already, and most likely I'm going to fail out of my BSN program unless somehow I get a 92% this next Thursday and even if I do, I would have to A) Stay in Omaha to take health assessment over the summer (considering how homesick i've been. No.) or B) Take a semester off in order to take it in the Spring (I'm on a timeframe to graduate because I'm not financially well-off, I want to graduate on time so that I can help my parents send my little brother to the Private HS I graduated from because my parents should be nearing retirement but still have 2 more kids to send to school. Dad is 64 and mom is 48. My little brother is 12 and my youngest brother is 4) Anyways, I need help on where to move on in the worst case scenario. I'm thinking about transferring to an ADN program, get my EMT Certification over the summer and work as I am going to classes. However, I don't know how my credits would transfer over or IF they can be transferred. I've taken A&P, Chemistry & Biochemistry, Statistical reasoning (modified to a nursing course at my school), Microbiology, Nutrition, Lifespan Development, and Care Management I. If I transfer, I'll be back home in California at a Community College most likely. Anyways, I need advice because I really don't know what to do to move forward at this point...

Thanks.

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I'm sorry to hear that you are going through a rough time. At the end of the day, you will have to make the final decision about the next steps, based on what is right for you. Just so you are aware, transferring to an ADN program from a BSN program is equally if not more competitive. Regarding the EMT certification- you will have to contact the program to find out the requirements. In the time being, I would focus on your upcoming exam. Good luck.

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Specializes in 15 years in ICU, 22 years in PACU.

Well, I hope you learned your lesson. You MUST take care of yourself first. You are just no good to anyone if you fail to do the things you KNOW you need to.

It makes no sense to suffer through your "academic career" if you can't succeed in getting a real career. And it sounds like you may need medication long term to maintain a steady state of functioning. With all that excessive anxiety and panic in your own life you just won't have any energy to give to a nursing career. You have already started to make poor decisions in your panicked state. It is truly painful to read about your self-induced struggles.

I have RA and wouldn't dream of going through a day without my medication. It makes me a functioning nurse and a better person. I don't need to be a martyr.

My humble advice would be to get stabilized on your meds/counseling and keep working with your school to continue with your perfectly sound plan toward a BSN. If you need an extra semester, take it. Let your parents deal with the rest of their children. You really have to focus on getting through your own schooling. It doesn't sound like you should be trying to work while in school either, so I would ditch the EMT plan. ADN programs are very challenging too.

I really think you can do this once you get your priorities straight. Don't bail now and miss out on an emotionally and financially satisfying career. Trying to solve problems that aren't yours to solve will deplete your energies and deprive others of their autonomy.

There's a nursing lesson in here somewhere.

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Specializes in Psych, Corrections.

Hopefully you can study and get that 92%. I flunked out of my last semester of my ADN. They let me go back the next year, and I finished and am now working. I met a lot of people who repeated courses and then finished. I would also say most nursing students use drugs...meaning caffeine!

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To be honest, my immediate thought was that if you need to pass this exam with a 92%, why are you posting on here instead of studying? It sounds like your lack of preparation (e.g. not studying at all for one exam, studying insufficiently for another) is why you're at risk for being kicked out of the program, not your anxiety. Respectfully, ya gotta buckle down.

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I used to have a lot of anxiety and panic attacks, and rarely do any more - I think dietary changes were the key for me. I didn't have allergies but apparently intolerances to gluten and dairy. Try keeping a food chart and seeing if your anxiety and panic attacks seem related to anything you are eating or drinking. I wholeheartedly recommend a dairy free and gluten free diet, it completely changed my life. If you can only give up one thing to start with, start with dairy. For me I think it is the casein, not the lactose that causes issues. Some people can tolerate goat or sheep milk because it has different casein.

The other thing that I found super helpful after a Dx of ADD at age 34 and, like you, a refusal to take meds for it, was hypnosis and brain wave entrainment (BWE) - there are lots of free sessions on YouTube, and low-cost apps for iOs and Android, and Kindle. Fish oil will help, as well as minimizing sugar and food additives, especially colors and preservatives.

Stay hydrated, control caffiene intake, get some fresh air and a little exercise, and learn deep breathing techniques to calm yourself down. It sounds like you are in a negative spiral of self-doubt, but on the right track to try and save yourself. You can do this :-)

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Specializes in Critical Care.

Any updates? Just wondering how things turned out. Also wondering what you decided about the EMT program. Hopefully you've already figured out that getting your EMT-B may or may not lead to a paying job, will not put you any closer to being a nurse, and you will not get any credit/"get ahead" to being an EMT just because you started the nursing program. Plus, EMT programs usually blow nursing classes out of the water in terms of intensity, stress, etc. If you did decide to go the EMT route, I hope it's because you decided that's what you really want to do, not just because it seemed like an easy way out or a way to do *something.* If you're still looking for a summer job, have you thought about doing a CNA program? Some are very quick (just a few weeks), should be easy enough for a nursing student, and there are plenty of jobs. Just a thought.

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Hey everyone!

Here's an update on my status. I unfortunately was a small percentage short on the final. (received a 90% on the exam) Although I was really hurt that I didn't make it through at my University's program, my final exam score showed me that I can do well so long as I keep my health in check. I'm done grieving that I was dismissed from my BSN program and now I have my head on straight.

As of now, I am stuck between my degree options. I am currently taking classes at a Community College and not sure what I should do before/after getting my Associates in Science. My choices are focus on getting a bachelors or focus on getting my RN. Since I was from an out-of-state private school now transferring to a California school, most of the classes I took won't transfer over and now I have 50 credits considered as "electives." So in a sense, I'm back to square 1.

I realized that if I do go the RN route, that it may take longer for my bachelors because the school I'd be applying to for a RN is a lottery selection system meaning that there will be 400-500 applicants with only 40 being accepted and after 40 are accepted, the screening/selection process will be halted. From what I've heard from other people at the college I'd be applying for nursing school, some people have waited as long as 2-4 years. So, I thought that if I focus on getting my bachelors first, then at least I have options to do a Masters-Entry Program for Nursing and so-on. Additionally, my school has the TAG agreement with UC Davis so as long I meet the GPA requirement and have 60 "transferrable" credits, then I would have admission. My head is telling me to go get my bachelors and put my path to a RN on a hold but my heart wants to get my RN. Anyways, what are y'all thoughts?

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