Adjusting to the stress of nursing school

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I'm a first year Nursing student in a 3-year accelerated BN program. I'm almost finished term 1 already (started August 30th), and my grades are pretty exceptional, even in A & P. However, I'm having a hard time dealing with the stress of it all. I realize its an adjustment, but I'm having a really rough time handling that constant feeling of tightness in my chest, guilt anytime I'm not studying, and major performance anxiety when it comes to doing performance tests in my Nursing Techniques lab.

There are some days where I feel so overwhelmed that I won't be able to handle it.

I realize that "everyone" feels like this, but does anyone have any tips on how to manage the stress Nursing school ultimately brings? Its early and I already have to remind myself on a daily basis WHY I'm doing this.

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Specializes in Emergency; med-surg; mat-child.

Exercise, and plenty of it. Give your body a way to lose the stress and get a benefit while you're at it. Get enough sleep, even if it means losing out on a social life. Remember it's only 3 years. Take it a semester at a time and don't worry about what's coming down the pike. You have THIS semester to get through. You can worry about next semester after it starts.

Write everything down in a calendar and plan out your week. If you're not studying, that's okay. Your brain needs time off to synthesize the information, so go for a walk. Listen to podcasts if you feel the need to be all nursing all the time. Then you get exercise AND get some learning in.

Eat well. Crap is appealing but it will bog you down. GET ENOUGH SLEEP. You'll remember more if you're well rested.

Before you test out on skills, take a deep breath, count to ten, and remember you can't kill anyone on this, so it's okay to make a mistake. A lot of times, we can point it out and if it isn't critical, just acknowleding the error gets us a pass. If we gave a med to an allergic pt, clearly that's a fail. But forgetting to check for CVA pain? Not critical in a general assessment.

Breathe. Forgive yourself. Do something totally pointless once in a while. Practice, practice, practice. Breathe some more. It's all good.

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pockunit gave you good advice.

Exercise! One of my best professors told us that when we most felt like there was no time to hit the gym ... was when it would do us the most good. She was right.

Sleep. sleep, sleep, sleep whenever you can.

I cannot possibly advise you about junk food, since I'm sitting here eating candy and studying for an exam. Try to be good :)

Some things will get better with time and exposure but the stress is probably going to stay with you for most of the program. The good news is ... it will all be over one day !

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Thanks a lot, guys! Sometimes I just have to remind myself to calm down and focus only on what I DO have control over.

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