Am I cut out to be a nurse?

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Here's where I'm at.

I've completed my first two years.

Did awsome with anatomy and physiology,

rushed through all the nursing and patho and pharm and passed but.....

I'm forgetting it now, so I'm reviewing.

I dropped my 3rd year nursing classes for the semester and am taking a patient teaching course and a professional ethics course.

And doing major review.

I worked as a nursing attendant over the summer.

It was hard because my first clinical instructor didn't teach us anything.

Any noone liked me.

I tried to go back after I dropped classes but they didn't want me to come back :bluecry1:

I tried to get another nursing job but noone wanted to hire me for only one or two months.

So I'm getting a job at a retail store as a cashier for Christmas.

Last night I had a dream that God told me if I don't study someone will die.

And now I'm SCARED.

I'm going to study my butt off.

But I have this feeling (and usually my feelings are always right) that I am not intelligent enough to be a nurse.

Even if I pass everything.

Like, if there's a patient in front of me. And they are confused. And I don't GET IT. It doesn't click. Until after the fact.

What do you think?

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Specializes in LTC, Home Health.

Do you always put his much pressure on yourself? All of the feelings you are having are completely normal. Keep studying and have faith in yourself. You are going to be fine.;)

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Specializes in Med surg, Critical Care, LTC.

If you skated through anatomy and physiology, two of the toughest classes out there, you will do fine in the nursing classes. Don't be so hard on yourself. There's nothing wrong with studying, I strongly advocate for it, but there is such a thing as OVERstudyinig - remember all things in moderation.

You need time to have a night off with friends, or a night in with a good movie, or how about asking your crush out to dinner? Find time for those things (Just not 3 nights a week!) it will help to decrease your anxiety, and reward your busting your glutes!

Blessing to you

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I think you might benefit from speaking with a professional mental health counselor, as well as a career guidance counselor. Or maybe your religious/spiritual leader.

You scare me when you say you fear someone will die if you don't become a nurse. Well, that's a huge and deep statement. You should really not be guilt tripped into becoming a nurse. you should become one if you really think you will enjoy Nursing. To see if you will enjoy it, you should try to spend some time around working nurses to see if you like the atmosphere, the duties, the whole scene.

You also scare me when you say no one liked you and that your school did not want you back. These statements tell me you might have some behavior issues to work on, some interpersonal skills lacking, some need for help in getting along with people.

I'm glad the studying was easy for you but it is equally and vitally important to be able to get along with people. Patients and families can be nice or they can be scared, rude, impatient, and otherwise ugly. Doctors, coworkers, bosses - all can be great or great pains.

Maybe you'd be happier working not so much with people but with objects - computers, other inanimate objects. Or working outdoors or with animals. Have you ever taken a test to see where your true interests lie?

Please don't become a nurse out of guilt. Nursing is very hard work. It will be harder if you only do it out of guilt, instead of out of truly wanting to help other living beings. And please do get a little help. Best wishes and please come back and tell us what you discover about yourself.

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I meant that if I don't study and go to clinicals without studying I could make a grave error. And it was my workplace that didn't want me to come back, not the school. There were rumours circulating around about me at work. I probably do have problems. I know I wasn't assertive enough, I'm working on that.

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Specializes in critical care: trauma/oncology/burns.

Yalith:

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent" Eleanor Roosevelt.

Listen, did anyone come up to you and say, "Ms Yalith, you suck and you will never make it as a professional nurse"? We humans will always have certain self-doubts: about ourselves, others, our position in life, why are we here, those kinds of things.

As Babs and Lovebug posted: Try not to be so hard on yourself. Life is a learning curve, and as Babs posted try, once in a while, to do something fun or something for yourself. You may be one of those people that will become "burned out" if all you do is study, study, study...

I have been an RN for like one hundred years - or so it feels sometimes, sigh, but in the beginning of my career I was also not as assertive as I should have been. Oh, I was a patient advocate, but I was not self assertive. I have learned, over the years, to better stand up for MYSELF.

As Vito Andolini I too feel that nursing is a "calling" and not everyone should be in the health care field. BUT I AM NOT ASSUMING THAT ABOUT YOU, Yalith. Keep "plugging away", keep your head up high and try to be the best that you can, both on duty and off.

Keep us posted from time-time. The people on this web-site (All Nurses) are the cream of the crop.

athena

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"I am not intelligent enough to be a nurse"

I had the same feeling once, don't worry !

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Hi,I can relate to a lot of the feelings you have and also have wondered if I am cut out for it because these feelings make us start wondering and we tend to start doubting ourselves. But, I bet alot of us have gone through this and have felt similiarlly. We have to work on believing more in ourselves and try not to care what others think so much. And who knows we could be projecting other people's feelings when it could be something else. Have you thought about shaddowing other nurses out there?You could watch (without the pressure of performing)and then pay attention to how you FEEL about it. It sounds like you might be suffering from some low self-esteem(I don't mean that in a mean or negative way) and there are lots of things you can do to work on this:get some books on self assertiveness,talk to other people,talk to a church counselor and therapy are all good things to help. Remember...it is the strong ones that seek help to help themselves. Please be kind to yourself and believe in you.You have worked very hard and deserve to give yourself the best chance. Good luck to you-you can do it!!!:up::nuke:

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Thanks everyone for your encouraging replies, that really isn't what I expected :nuke: I feel a lot better now!

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Nursing school is pure hell, I am in my last semester of RN school, and have 15 days to go. I am at a 82.5 % and need a 80 % to graduate. I have three test left that I must pass to graduate. The last test is our final and is worth half our grade. So yes I understand your pain. But keep on keeping on and just do it. Don't let your fears overtake you. I am stressed out and tripping myself, its so much pressure. I pray I make it. DON'T GIVE UP

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Thanks everyone for your encouraging replies, that really isn't what I expected :nuke: I feel a lot better now!

What did you expect, Yalith?

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Specializes in School Nursing.

we have all been there ! you are not alone.

keep your focus and work as hard as you can. you can do it ! best of luck to you.

praiser :heartbeat

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