African American male here. I have some questions for my fellow nurses

Published

For the past 6 months I have been so stressed out about getting into nursing school. My GPA wasn't the best, but I made a 93% on the HESI Entrance exam. This ranged from crying, yelling, and overreacting to everything. A couple of weeks ago, I went to the mailbox and saw this letter. (It was kind of creepy sitting there) I picked it up and there it was, "You have been accepted". I made the weirdest sound when I saw those words but happiness filled my soul with excitement!

Right now I'm going through the "Nursing School is going to kill me" phase. I've heard so many horror stories about Nursing School that I'm actually getting very terrified. People are saying how I'm not going to get any sleep, I will loose all my friends now because Nursing is going to take up so much time, and the dark terror of the dreaded "care plans". I know this isn't a big deal but I do feel that since I'm a black male, I might have more eyes on me than usual. (I live in the South so bear with me) I know that shouldn't be a factor in my education, but that's the stigma the south portrays unfortunately...

Now that the sad stuff is out the way, I have some questions for my fellow nurses!

What was the biggest obstacle you experienced while being in nursing school?

What would you have done differently if you could do Nursing School again?

Other than studying and time management, what is the most important lesson I should learn before I go to Nursing School?

Any help would be appreciated!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Congrats on getting into nursing school!

To answer your questions in order:

1. I had a couple of obstacles when I went back to school. One of the biggest was financial aid since I wasn't eligible for any and it was a struggle to figure out how I would pay for everything. Relationships will definitely become strained. Many of my classmates' relationships faltered through the year and mine did as well too. I lost a lot of friends because no one really understood my lack of free time. I wasn't even in school full time my first semester but I literally had very little free time. So some of my classmates became my surrogate family.

2. I would have plannned ahead before starting nursing school. I got most of my finances in order however I underestimated the amount of money I needed to save. My school schedule was not very job friendly and I found it very difficult to find a job.

3. I would definitely learn to not be afraid to ask questions from anyone and everyone. Its good to be inquisitive. I find that my coworkers (I work in a hospital so all nurses/ns students) are a great source of information. Also dont be afraid to experience all that clinicals have to offer.

Hope this information helps you. Again, congratulations!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I'm not in NS yet, but your post made me laugh when I saw what you said about the sound you made at the mailbox. I think that allnurses.com should have a thread dedicated to people's reactions when they read their acceptance letter for the first time. It would surely be a hit on YouTube. With all that said, I wanted to say congratulations to you; I'm sure that you will do well. Now, you have to make sure that you make a video of yourself after you pass the state board! Oh, and like you, I'm from the South as well. Skin color should have nothing to do with it, but I do know where you are coming from. Being white, I can't say that I know exactly how you feel, but I think that as long as you are doing what you are supposed to do, that should be all that matters. Do your best to prove those who have stereotypes wrong. Maybe it will open their eyes.:)

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Congratulations to you!!!!!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Telemetry, OB, NICU.

It is not too hard, but it is very very busy and overwhelming. Doable, if you give up on some things in your life.

To be honest with advicing, I would discourage you from reading horror stories on this website while in nursing school. I was lucky not to know this website while in nursing school. I met allnurses while I was preparing for NCLEX, and it gave me enough creeps for nothing; I can't imagine reading it during school. lol. I would probably have quit.

Just try to stay on top of things and don't procrastinate. You'll be fine. Good luck.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Congratulations to you! I hope one day I will get accepted into a Nursing program. Congrats once again.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.

Question: why identify yourself as an African American Male?Just be a nursing student.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Black male also I just went through my whole semester and I did fairly well. I wouldn't say that it was really hard but more so the volume of information you have to learn in such a short timeframe. It can be very overwhelming if you don't keep a thorough study plan

Up Vote Up Vote ×

What was the biggest obstacle you experienced while being in nursing school? I'm not in nursing school finishing up preq's now however, I feel that balancing time & organization is a big obstacle. You have to make sure you do the following:1. Find a study area in your home school or coffee shop to study.Keep all your materials together. Books,pens, highlighters, etc.2.Make a to do list for school, work, home & stick to it. 3. Make sure your study is just that your study time.4.I have a family husband so I explained to them what I'm doing is very important & I need their help with chores, being quiet. I think you have your time management together though. :)

What would you have done differently if you could do Nursing School again? Well I don't know the answer however I'm reading a book on Nursing Theory & making some notes, & after that I'm going to sign up for a prep course on dosage & calculations so I can better understand it. Then afterwards learn my pharmacology abbreviations. Right now I have Chem, A&P2, & Microbiology lec & lab left to do. I start school in Aug2013. So in my free time I do the the Nursing Theory & other stuff at my own pace.

Other than studying and time management, what is the most important lesson I should learn before I go to Nursing School? I think if there is an area of concern you may have ie. you don't really care for ex. GI/GU. Find some materials to read up on & try to become interested in that area.

By the way I live in South Florida and I see a few male student nurses here & there and I have run into a few of them as a PCA when I worked in the hospital. I don't think color is a big issue at times. For some of my lady patients they were just funny acting when it came to a male PCA changing them or being in their room. Don't sweat it. I've seen a few male nurses African American in the hospital I worked in and it they did a bang up job taking care of there patients. BTW I'm African amercian too. :)

Where do you go to school?

How long do you have?

If I can be some help let me know I have a few friends who are Already nurses & clinical mangers & we were all once PCA's as well.

God Bless you will be fine!!!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Don't buy into the hype on this website. People blow nursing school way out of proportion to try to scare others, for some strange reason. Yes, it's hard and you will be busy, but as long as you get your work done on time and don't fall behind, there is no reason to be awake all night or lose your whole life. Take it one week at a time and you'll be fine.

The most important advice I have from nursing school is to buy supplementary material. The Made Incredibly Easy series is wonderful, as are the many NCLEX books on the market. Buy extra books, and buy lots! I got straight A's in nursing school thanks to going the extra mile to buy and use supplementary material like this.

Care plans aren't hard as long as you get a book to help you with them, such as this:

http://www.amazon.com/Nursing-Care-Plans-Guidelines-Individualizing/dp/0803622104/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1341576749&sr=8-3&keywords=care+plans

Once you have a book, even as a student and new to nursing care plans look ridiculously simple.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Emergency & Trauma/Adult ICU.

Congratulations and good luck to you! :)

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Oncology.

The biggest obstacle I had in nursing school was being unemployed and completely broke. Even if I had time for a job (LOL) I couldn't find one. I was COMPLETELY broke. As in, no money to buy a lunch, put gas in my unreliable car.. had to put my scrubs in the laundry every night 'cause I could only afford one pair. Clinicals were sometimes 2.5 hours away and the gas to drive there was killing me.

School itself was not so bad really. Careplans sucked but you got faster and they got easier as you learned. Labs and skills tests were scary.

The most important thing to learn is to check your ego at the door. There will be times you fail (I failed a skills test one time and had to retest, and I failed a regular exam once and I had to get an A on the next one to even the grade out, which I did thankfully). I had one clinical instructor who hated me and berated me for no reason it seemed, I had patients who treated me negatively and poorly and with no respect. I carried on. You gain a sense of self you'd never expect by doing things that are not exactly "dignified", like wiping stool off an old person, or post-mortem care on a patient who has died. You gain an inner sense of calm and peace from coping with the insanity you will obviously be experiencing. Not that I don't freak out (That's basically all the time for me, I am high-strung) but I can now reach deep down inside my psyche and say to myself, "Okay, you got this, what's step one" and in the middle of the storm, it's calm now. Just always remember, safety first. ABCs- airway breathing, circulation, and wash your hands, you'll be good. If all else fails, pray to whatever God you believe in, and I am not religious, but what's meant to be will be.

Congratulations and good luck!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion