Can I hear some positive things about nursing school?

neenarae · May 18, 2006

Hi,
I just graduated from the nursing program at Florida Atlantic University on 5/5/2006 and I like you had been chasing this dream for some time. I am 30 years old and have been trying to get into a nursing program since 1996! It wasn't until God decided the time was right for me that I finally got into the FAU program in 2004. And even THEN I was placed on a waiting list for a month and got my acceptance to the program 1 week before classes started. So I KNOW the excitement you feel about the journey you are about to take. My life's dream is to become a nurse-midwife and I feel so blessed to have completed phase 1 (nursing school). There were 3 men in my nursing class and about 10 in the class coming up behind us. So I am VERY pleased about the promised growth in male nurses. There were also a lot more nursing students age 30-55 in my 80+ graduating class.
The nursing program for me, a 30 yo single person-no kids who sold her home to move back in with her parents for 2 years to complete this full time program, was both challenging and exciting. Challenging because I had to humble myself and become a dependent 30 yo (savings go quickly in nursing school), and also because the information learned in nursing school was not difficult per say, but it was A LOT! Organization is the key. You also have to shut down your personal and social life for the entire program because you just truly live, eat, sleep and breath nursing school. Many a mornings did I wake up reciting dosage calculation formulas or pathophysiology terms. I really commend all the students in this program who had families and small children because I don't know how they managed.
It was exciting because this has been my dream for so long that I truly absorbed all the new and exciting things that I learned. I overcame personal fears and feelings about death during my Hospice rotation, I learned more about the "person" behind the AIDS diagnosis during my Palliative and Long Term Rehab rotation. I marveled at life during my Acute Care rotation when I saw my first surgery in the OR. It was an open heart surgery to replace a stenotic mitral valve and the surgeon allowed me to stand on a stool at the head of the bed (where the anesthesiologist is) as he performed the surgery from start to finish, explaining his procedure to me every step of the way. I will never forget the sight of the human heart beating in a chest. (Drs like to teach by the way. You let them know you're a nursing student and they'll teach all day :) ) I conquered my fear of dealing with 2 year olds during my Community Nursing rotation when I had to create a teaching program for the 2 yo class I was assigned to in the Day Care. I taught them how to brush their teeth by creating a cute song to the tune of Row Your Boat. It was truly a joy to see them take off with the song and mimic the routine of dental hygiene. I fell in love with Maternity all over again when I witnessed my first lady partsl delivery by a nurse-midwife and respected Obstetricians more when I witnessed my first emergency c-section and saw a doctor bring a blue baby born with the cord wrapped 2x around it's neck AND a true knot IN the umbilical cord under the umbilical cord membranes (not where the cord itself was knotted but UNDER the membranes- it was wild!) back to life during my OB rotation. I really truly realized that Psychiatric Nursing wasn't for me when a severely schizophrenic and psychotic patient almost physically attacked one of my fellow nursing students when we partnered on that ward during my Psych rotation - but it was exciting to see all the text-book cases in reality.
All in all, I must say that the thing I most enjoyed during these last 2 years was seeing myself and all of the other nursing students grow in attitude, personhood and disposition during the program as we dealt with various patients. We all helped each other through the program, giving extra study help to those who really needed it and giving encouragement when times were hard (like when we had to take our HESI nurse exit exam - and students with A's like me had to take it 3 and 4 times before actually passing the stupid thing). We also really stuck together (despite our differences) when a few of the clinical instructors tried to get 2 students kicked out of the program for foolishness. We all rallied together on those students behalf because we ALL worked really hard to get into the program and we ALL worked really hard during the program and we ALL had this dream of becoming a nurse to help people in need and we ALL didn't want to see anyone get left behind because they did what they were told.
YOu are embarking on a career path that will change your life FOREVER! YOu will meet new people whom you thought that you'd never come across, you'll respect humanity, you'll learn about the walls that people put up and you'll help them take them down. YOu'll have struggles with your classes and classmates cause we ALL did. YOu'll make lasting relationships with a couple of people in your nursing class, but you'll remember ALLLLLL of your nursing classmates because you'll be together - joined at the hip- for the next 2 years! YOu'll have FUN, FUN, FUN and you'll want to come home and share all of your experiences with your family and friends because you'll be THAT excited about what you've seen and learned. Just remember not to break any HIPPA laws in all your excitement! And most of all you'll feel GRATIFIED because you helped someone in some major or minute way every week during clinicals.
Recommendations for you:
1. Leave your opinions at home and open your mind to learning new things and new ways of understanding (Causes less stress and arguments during class!
2. Purchase the latest edition of the Saunders Comprehensive Review for the NCLEX-RN Examination by Linda Anne Silvestri - tab the pages by content (Fundamentals, Maternity, Pediatric,etc.) and read those sections when you are learning that area that semester. IE: When you are learning your Peds nursing, read the Peds section. There are WAYYYY too many things to learn in nursing school and wayyy too many pages to read in the text books. This book gives a GREAT content review hitting all the major things that NCLEX needs you to know. That way when you read the textbooks and hear the lectures, it'll be clearer and you'll better decipher a "good to know" from a "need to know". THIS BOOK WAS A BLESSING indeed!
3. If your school requires you to take a HESI exit nursing exam, purchase the HESI review book. Myself and classmates found that the rationales for HESI are slightly different than the rationales for NCLEX. So when studying for HESI, read the HESI review book and practice the HESI CD only! (That's why I had to take it 3 times before passing. I kept studying my NCLEX stuff for HESI and wasn't getting the majority of my answers correct- and my GPA is a 3.8. After using the HESI reveiw book when preparing for my 3rd retake I passed the test with a 950 out of 1000. )
Good Luck and Be Blessed!
-Carrie Campbell, GN
Florida Atlantic University - Christine E. Lynn School of Nursing

Wonderful ..... you really helped me... thanks alot for your words...

neenarae

NancyNurse27 · May 18, 2006

I just graduated two weeks ago with my ADN and I can't believe it's over. Nursing school was by far the hardest thing I have ever done in my life but also the most fun I have ever had in my life. I met some wonderful people and have made such great friends. My experience was probably a little harder due to the fact that I worked, had two children, got divorced and moved during school but I loved every minute of it. My advice to you. Do your assignments as soon as possible, take advantage of every opportunity you are given and don't worry, EVERYONE is nervous!

latinanurse2be · May 18, 2006

This is an awesome thread!! I was a little down because I also heard some bad things about school and I will start my pre-req courses this summer. After reading this I am really happy to see that there are many people in my position. This is my second carreer and I am scered but sitting on a desk is not giving me any rewards. I really can't wait to start working with patients directly. Does anybody know what kind of job I could do to learn some terminology or at least get some feeling about nursing while I go to school?? :rolleyes:

MIA-RN1, RN · May 18, 2006

This is an awesome thread!! I was a little down because I also heard some bad things about school and I will start my pre-req courses this summer. After reading this I am really happy to see that there are many people in my position. This is my second carreer and I am scered but sitting on a desk is not giving me any rewards. I really can't wait to start working with patients directly. Does anybody know what kind of job I could do to learn some terminology or at least get some feeling about nursing while I go to school??

If you can get a tech job at a local hospital you will be a step ahead of the game.

professorrn · May 18, 2006

Nursing School is a wonderful and very challenging experience. Stay motivated and remember that the cream always rises to the top. Everyday that you start out on this journey, applaud yourself and see yourself as the cream. :yeah:

fnlyRNstudent05 · May 18, 2006

i just finished my 1st yr of a 2 yr program....i have a lot of good things to say:
i love it! i love it! it's challenging and a lot of hard work, but i have never gone to school for something that i absolutely love. it's a fascinating field, i have never learned so much in such a short amount of time. i have met some great people, made some great friend along the way too! it's extremely rewarding and very interesting.
some tips for getting though it:
stay motivated, keep looking at what you will have when you are done, a great career, that pays well, is in demand, and is also very flexible. i keep looking for the light at the end of the tunnel because i know this will pay off.
[color=yellow]study, study, study! i studied everyday and this really helped me, even if it meant flipping through my notes for 10-15 mins. i didn't study 6 hours a day just here and there and a little more intensely the days before the tests, 1-2 hours.
make time for school, you have to schedule things well, you can't cook a 5 course meal, clean the whole house, and study for a test. something has to give, so hopefully you have a supportive family to pick up the slack. i just finished the semester and i am just now switching my winter and summer clothes and it's the middle of may. you are not [color=yellow]superhuman, you can't do it all, and school comes first over cleaning/cooking/shopping/etc.
you will become burnt out at times, talk to your classmates, this helps a lot because you are all in the same situation. also, try to find some people to study with, and try to get together often, study in groups helps a lot, but not more then 3 people, more then 3 no one will be productive.
keep a positive attitude or at least try to, some people in your program will be very negative from things that they have heard, but people do leave nursing school and become nurses, not everyone fails out. you just have to keep reaching for that goal even when it looks so far away. it will go so fast because you will be really busy.
and remember you can't do this if you don't love it, i am convinced of it, so if you love it or at least like it, you will do well!
good luck!!:welcome:

[color=plum]you hit the nail on the head! i am in the same boad and i assume there are many of us and everything above is how i feel and other classmates talk.

it is very challenging and rewarding. when things get tough i remeber the orientation day at my community college when the professor said "you will not have the life you are used to... & it is time to give up the hang ups of getting a 4.0 and trying to do it all." they were right and my motto is "no one ever said it would be easy! if that were the case anyone could do it

good luck

TabyRN · May 18, 2006

So, after 10 years out of school, I went back to be a nurse. The associates degree where I attend I am in my third year but entering my second year in clinical and just 3 semesters from graduation( let the countdown begin:lol2: ) . I will say this classes are what you make of them. It's very hard when you have a family to take care of on top of classes and such. for me the majority of my class is older or younger then me. At one point I let the BS catch up with me I then made a decision to just worry about classes and graduating. I am doing great and believe I have made a great friend in the process ( I think)

The one thing I can tell you is study when you can, however you can and always remember, most employers do not look at your GPA, So you do the best you can and remember that your best is your best not anyone elses!!!!

sayitgirl · May 18, 2006

i am about to embark on my journey in to nursing school. i have dreamed of this moment for many years and it is finally happening. i am an older student, wife and mother. i know there are alot of students that fit my profile, and i would love to hear some encouraging feelings on the positive aspects of attending nursing school. i have been hearing a lot of negative feedback and it almost scares me. it makes me think i am really heading in to a war zone. please someone out there reply with some positive thoughts on your experiences. :monkeydance:

you will meet the best examples of nurses in your career; your instructors. :lol2:

NCnursingstudent · May 18, 2006

I, like many others are sooo glad that you asked to hear something positive. I was recently accepted into my local nursing school (yay!) and all I've heard are horror stories. Everything from instructors who wanna see you fail to the whole nursing dept. banking on over half of it's students dropping or failing! I've really gained a more positive outlook on my upcoming experience this fall. Thanx.

nlh0358 · May 18, 2006

I, like many others are sooo glad that you asked to hear something positive. I was recently accepted into my local nursing school (yay!) and all I've heard are horror stories. Everything from instructors who wanna see you fail to the whole nursing dept. banking on over half of it's students dropping or failing! I've really gained a more positive outlook on my upcoming experience this fall. Thanx.

One thing that you will learn in nursing is that people have to vent their frustrations somewhere. And as wonderful and rewarding as nursing is, there are frustrations--including the path to get there.

BBs like this one is are places people come to vent where they know there will be people who understand. Consequently, the BBs tend to be filled with all the frustrations and negatives which can give the newcomer the idea that nursing is all horror stories. That's why it's import to have threads like this one to balance it out a bit. Even those of us with the worse horror stories also have some inspiring ones--sometimes we just need to be 'invited' to share them!

Nursing instructors don't WANT you to fail--although at times it may seem that way. Talk to them about want you need to learn and how you learn best. Come to clinical prepared and you'll find your clinical instructor becomes your partner in learning and not a barrier to overcome.

:welcome: Welcome to the joys of nursing, not just the sorrows. There's no better way to spend your life than making life better for others.

phatgirl76 · May 18, 2006

i also start school in august, 2006. I am a single mom of 3children 14,11,and 5. I keep telling myself that it will not be easy, but anything worth having is not easily attained. For me, my motivation comes from knowing that after I graduate I can take care of me and my children much more efficiently. I am currently a CNA, and I only make 20bucks an hour. I am struggling, and most often living between paychecks. I do not receive child support from my husband, but its ok-always remember God sits high but looks low-He brought me all this way, I refuse to believe that I will fail now. :nono:

neenarae · May 18, 2006

i also start school in august, 2006. I am a single mom of 3children 14,11,and 5. I keep telling myself that it will not be easy, but anything worth having is not easily attained. For me, my motivation comes from knowing that after I graduate I can take care of me and my children much more efficiently. I am currently a CNA, and I only make 20bucks an hour. I am struggling, and most often living between paychecks. I do not receive child support from my husband, but its ok-always remember God sits high but looks low-He brought me all this way, I refuse to believe that I will fail now.

Excuse me but 20.00 bucks an hour for CNA... wow we get that for RN here sheeeezzzzzzz maybe ill move there and stay CNA.. (smile) Gl to you

neena