Continue nursing school?

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I am in a delimma. I'm a non traditional student(43 yrs). I was an LVN student last spring semester and I did not make it past the 1st 6 weeks because my grades, a 67 in med math and a 68 in basic skills lecture. The school let me repeat the following semester so I did.

Second time around, I made it past the 1st 6 wks, ready for clinicals. My grades were better, a B in a advanced skills and a mid c in med math. Like the previous semester I had episodes of panic during lab check off. I get nervous and blank,kind of like performance anxiety. Well, I did well even though I had this problem but not when it came to cath care. I was given three tries for this check off. First time I simply contaminated the sterile field bc the teacher used the distraction technique. Second time,the teacher that would check me off made me so nervous and I messed up and blanked on the simplest of steps. Third time,was a teacher with a hard ass reputation and again I was nervous, so flubbed up bc i wasnt thinking PLUS he used the distraction technique.

So Im out of the program.. and Im not sure If I should attempt at nursing again..Ive thought about going to a different nursing school(1 that doesn't have a rep of having such a hard program) and trying LVN again or just try for RN(assoc)..? Im thinking since I didnt do well in LVN, there's no way I would do well in RN..? BUT have been told by a couple nurses and nurse students that the program for RN's is better in the sense that its not so fast paced.and nurses have outright told my bf the BSN program is very easy..?!

Im not looking for an easy school, I want to know should I try again?! When I was being reprimanded, before they let me go, one of the teachers casually asked what my plans were. I wasnt a 100%,thinking LVN or RN program perhaps, so I told her maybe Ill look into the RN program. She immed piped up, maybe I should look into something else..another field. Id get advice from ppl and they tell me, maybe this isnt for me, not right time..wth?! BF said why do LVN,tried twice and look what happened,"beating a dead horse".

Now when I was in school I had doubts..teachers tell stories about sneaky nurses you might work with, ******* Dr's, if they mess up it can still be nurses responsibility, miscalculations of meds etc and It made me nervous and in the back of my mind I didnt want to do it anymore, so I think I subconsciously gave up. I think I did this too hastily..

Anyways,if I didnt lose some of you in this long letter,what are your thoughts? Thanks!

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

((HUGS)) I am sorry you are having such difficulty.

I think that before you consider ANY program you need to get a handle on the anxiety. You need to talk with your PCP and/or seen a counselor to help you to find tools to help you deal with your anxiety.

A BSN program is NOT easier. The stress, responsibilities, and expectations are higher.....a lot higher. The program you are in now may not be a good fit...but I think it is your anxiety that is crippling you.

I wish you the best

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Specializes in ED.

I agree with Esme. This program may not be for you. Are there any other programs in your area that you could do? "Performance" is a big part of nursing school and nursing in general. I think if you are really struggling with anxiety it may be time to speak to a medical professional about your concerns. There is no shame in getting help for anxiety.

We all have our strengths and weaknesses and nursing can often amplify BOTH. I think you should speak to your advisor and maybe a doc to help you navigate this.

Best of luck!

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Specializes in ICU.

I've never heard of the distraction technique. My thing is why are you doing so poorly in math? You need to understand dosage calculations when giving medications. If you mess up, you could kill someone. All of our tests have 10% math and we can't miss them. They are very strict on our math. You need to know how to convert meds and how to multiply and divide. It isn't hard, but it is important. We also get 3 tries on our check offs. There are critical indicators that if you miss, you automatically fail. A RN program or BSN program are not going to be easier. You need to be confident in what you are doing. Especially in the real world. I gave my first IM injection on someone last week. I had to go in looking completely confident for the patient. Was I nervous inside? Absolutely. But you can't show that to the patient or they will be scared and the whole procedure gets messed up. If you are that anxious, you need to see your physician about getting it under control.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

PPs are right on target - great advice. I am also a bit concerned about OP's difficulty with Med Math. Most BSN programs require college algebra.

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RN programs in my area are now requiring two courses in algebra when it used to be only one. Believe this would pose a substantial obstacle unless OP were able to get substantial help.

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Specializes in Neuro, Telemetry.

So sorry you didn't pass. But, before you hop to another program look at what YOU did wrong. Not just the anxiety, but what could you have done better overall. Start with math remediation. You are lucky you weren't required to get 100% as many programs, including mine, require 100% on all math tests. Also, I hear a lot if "the instructor" this. As in you are placing blame. In practice there will be tons of distractions. You need to work through them. My checkoff instructors always chat a little during skills checks to see how we perform. This is something you need to work through without blaming. The instructors weren't using a "distraction techniques." They were testin your ability to perform with distractions. You are aloud to politely tell them you are tryin to concentrate and would appreciate if they save comments for the end. This lets them know you are trying to focus and that you would stick up for yourself in real practice. Take some time to self reflect, and when you are rady, then give it another go. GL

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Specializes in PACU.
BUT have been told by a couple nurses and nurse students that the program for RN's is better in the sense that its not so fast paced.and nurses have outright told my bf the BSN program is very easy..?!

These people are probably talking about an RN-to-BSN or ADN-to-BSN program, meaning they have already completed nursing school and been licensed and are pursuing the nursing theory/research/etc portion of the degree and not the clinical portion. That's the only context I can think of that would make it seem "easy."

I will always tell someone that if they fail, to try again. I've seen mainly people go on to be successful after taking time to step back, figure out what the problem was, and find get the solution so it doesn't happen again.

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I appreciate the advice,yes I do need to work on my nervous issue but no I dont just blame the professor.I take accountability for my mistakes but yes the teacher will ask me questions pertaining to what im doing,not idle chatting,asking about cath care ti males or issues males might have where theyd need cath care or whatever, so I cant tell the teacher,"do you mind,im trying to concentrate?". When Id stop to answer him,hed immed call me out on my arm touching the "sterile" paper im sposed to set down touching my sleeve etc One teacher would interrupt me BEFORE I even started the task,each time I tried to make a move. Again,I do take blame but I also know the teachers are trying to weed out students and be a competitive school. I dont understand the confusion of me failing math..1st time in level 1 I did get a 67 or 68,2nd time in level 1 I was passing,75 or 76. In LVN just need to test out on the Hesi or Teas test,in RN(Assoc)same thing for BSN think we have to take reg college math and stats..

When I told nurses I was in LVN theyd immed reply,get your BSN,its easier and more jobs avail for RN's with BS,not easier in RN-BSN or lvn-BSN prgrm's.Guess it all depends on what school and what state.?Also been told because the LVN is so fast paced,better to do RN(assoc)..

Its been suggested to me to also maybe work a bit as a CNA and maybe and gain some confidence and see if this is what I want to pursue...

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