Any Positive Nursing School Experiences

Lisa CCU RN, RN · Oct 21, 2007

I graduate in 7 weeks and right now I have senioritis, but it was pretty good.

Kiringat · Oct 21, 2007

I'm quite honestly pretty burned out at the moment, but I do have a memory which keeps me going.

The very last day of clinicals last semester, I was caring for a middle aged patient recovering from surgery. The first day I worked with her, she wouldn't get out of bed, wouldn't eat, was running a bit of a temp, and just felt like crap. I had to be a bit mean, but by the end of my shift, she was walking the halls, eating, and feeling better. The next morning, she was ready to be discharged.

At the end of that last shortened clinical day, I was late to post-conference (due to an interesting dressing change), so I was hauling butt off the floor. The patient spotted me going by her room. She chased me down the hall, gave me a big hug, and told me I would be a wonderful nurse someday.

That memory still gives me the warm and fuzzies. :)

locolorenzo22, BSN, RN · Oct 21, 2007

I'll be honest, there are some days that are VERY hard to do....when you first start, you're overwhelmed in the amount of info that you get in your first year, first exposures to hospital settings, and LTC beyond visiting your Grandmother....

It took me at least 5 months to get my studying down, learning the types of questions and what to look for in them, time management, etc....

Then I started working FT on nights at the hospital....tell the truth, I learn more on the job some weeks....

I LOVE the relationship I have with MOST of my classmates, there will be a few that will turn everyone off...complain to the head when you get out of clinicals an hour early cause there's no one left on the floor...etc....

You become very close with your classmates because these are the people you see more than your own family some weeks!....

With clinicals, I was NERVOUS the first year because I'd never done ANY of this before....and LTC is not the best place to start..I almost got kicked out the first week!!! (Funny story now, PM to hear, too long to post)......Now, I'm fine. I can assess someone in under 5 mins usually, talk to them, communicate, get them set, and away I go......almost every week I have at least one patient tell me, "You're gonna be a great nurse, you take the time to listen....I can tell you care..." and most of my patients at work tell me I did a good job with them....so, I must be doing something right!!!

You will have good days and bad days...the thing is not to let the bad ones weigh you down so much...and let the good ones ride on your shoulders!!! We're always here for each other, so keep on posting!

futurecnm · Oct 21, 2007

"I study at home around 6 hours a day during the week and mostly nonstop on the weekends."

Just know this is probably rare, I would never go to nursing school if this is what was required to get an A!!! Maybe for some but not for most. I study about 2 hr a day but some days not at all and some days 5-6 (before a test or if something big is due) but there are days I go without even opening a book. I try to study what is really important and not spend my life studying. Nursing is important to me but it isn't the only thing in my life. I got A's 1st and 2nd semester and am in my 3rd right now (out of 4).

nurz2be · Oct 21, 2007

"I study at home around 6 hours a day during the week and mostly nonstop on the weekends."
Just know this is probably rare, I would never go to nursing school if this is what was required to get an A!!!

Actually, it isn't rare. I am in an accelerated RN program, 18 months to be exact. We are in class 3 days a week for 4-6 hours and in clinicals the other 2 days for 8 hours. EVERYONE in my class and who attend my school, both past and present, are on this cycle. and YES we ALL study like this. We have to. We do in 1 month what most nursing classes do in 3. So, please don't assume that your school is like all. We go ALL year. There are no breaks, no vacations, this is our lives for the 18 months we attend. If you are attending a school where you can days without opening a book that is something I, as a student who knows only what I am instructed and study, would be concerned. We have 4 classes of 24 who enter and graduate each year at our school with a 98% 1st time NCLEX pass rate. We don't get that from sadly only opening our books when it's test time.

You, as I said, will get out of school and be that kind of nurse, what you put into it.

futurecnm · Oct 22, 2007

You, as I said, will get out of school and be that kind of nurse, what you put into it.

seems as though you are assuming a lot about me from this comment. obvious in an accel program you would study a LOT more, and if you are doing it 3x as fast then you probably study 3x more. I apologize for getting you upset as I was maybe wrongly talking about a regular (not accel) program. Maybe the original poster is looking at an accelrated program and then I apologize for misleading her/him. I definately do not just study for tests or open a book when I'm having a test the next day. I said above that I study on avg a couple hr a day. That includes keeping up with reading, taking notes, doing classwork etc. I never said that I only study for tests, so that is a big assumption on your part. And I do not think you have any idea what kind of nurse I will be from my post. Our school has a 98% pass rate as well.

Nursegirl1010 · Oct 22, 2007

.....

GottaGetIn · Oct 22, 2007

Don't focus on the negative posts. I was scared to death about "drop out rates" and other things before I started my first semester at an ADN program this year. So far, we haven't had anyone fail out or drop out and we're all doing pretty well! We're a very dedicated bunch of students. I think it's all what you put into it. I try not to even read the negative posts anymore. They only freak me out and so far I've been freaked out over nothing. Nursing school is amazing, a ton of work, but a ton of fun, too!

mzjones6 · Oct 23, 2007

I just wanted to thank everyone who posted on this thread. I'm a month into an accelerlated ASN program, we started on Oct.1 and we finish on Aug.1, so we're under alot of pressure. Like the original post said, there's alot of negative threads on allnurses and alot of times that's what people focus on. But I've now learned just to stay away from those posts and focus on my particular program and what I have to do to make it through to the end. Thanks again for reminding me that there is a light at the end of this nursing student tunnel.

beth66335, BSN, RN · Oct 23, 2007

[quote=nurz2be;2457911

You, as I said, will get out of school and be that kind of nurse, what you put into it.

Harsh!

richardjboro1 · Oct 23, 2007

I'll add my comments here. Nursing school is what you put into it. It's fun, difficult, challenging, weird, funny, difficult, strange, and downright gross at times. I have several friends I've made, that will most likely be lifetime friends, since "only fellow students can understand how you feel". Some of the instructors are hell bent on tearing you down, while others will bend over backwards to make sure you get all you need to from them. It's kind of like that famous book " it was the worst of times, it was the best of times.....".

Richard

beth66335, BSN, RN · Oct 24, 2007

I'll add my comments here. Nursing school is what you put into it. It's fun, difficult, challenging, weird, funny, difficult, strange, and downright gross at times. I have several friends I've made, that will most likely be lifetime friends, since "only fellow students can understand how you feel". Some of the instructors are hell bent on tearing you down, while others will bend over backwards to make sure you get all you need to from them. It's kind of like that famous book " it was the worst of times, it was the best of times.....".
Richard

You said difficult twice,lol.( You ever see "Chicken Run")