Discouraged & pessimistic

[peanut25]

I'm in (what's designed to be) a 2 year ASN program. I finished my first semester (Fundamentals) without a problem. My second semester (Adult Med/Surg) was definitely more challenging but I understood the material and did great on the exams. In the last couple weeks of school, I made a huge mistake at clinical. The clinical instructor and course coordinator felt that since there wasn't enough time for me to redeem myself, I had to repeat the course. I withdrew from the course with only a week to go and now have to repeat it this fall.

I'm SO incredibly ashamed of myself. I know that I deserved to fail after the mistake I made and I know that nurses can't afford to say "I just wasn't thinking". I left the class with my tail between my legs and I've only told people very close to me. I've always been a great student academically so this is foreign territory. I don't know how to act when I go back and I'm so uncertain of my skills now.

Has anyone been in a situation where they needed to retake a nursing course because of failing clinical? I hear of people who aren't great in the course component all the time but I've never met anyone who failed clinical before. This makes me so sad and I think about it all the time. :zzzzz

[EleniRN]

Hi there

I'm so sorry to hear about your situation. I am not sure exactly what you did in clinicals, but, sadly it's true -nurses cannot say "I just wasn't thinking". My point in all of this is that one mistake caused them to make you withdrawl? Perhaps that is a little harsh.

Hopefully you will not give up on your dreams of being a nurse... it's a learning process...

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

we all make mistakes. all the time. we don't purposely go out and say, "let's see what mistake i can make today." it happens. and, sometimes we get very embarrassed about them. the embarrassment comes from ourselves, not from others. but, you don't quit life or your career all the time because of it. a man by the name of john powell said, "the only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing." so, it is from each mistake that we make that we learn a great deal more. i am an admirer of einstein (i wrote a paper about him in school). besides flunking at one point, he also has been attributed with making something like over 20 some errors in his theories! i don't think he would run and hide if he could come back and see where he had been mistaken. he would probably dig right in, pick up where the mistakes have been found and move forward to forge new theories with the new information. when the japanese mend broken objects, they aggrandize the damage by filling the cracks with gold. they believe that when something's suffered damage and has a history it becomes more beautiful. (barbara bloom)

alexander pope said, "a man should never be ashamed to own he has been in the wrong, which is but saying... that he is wiser today than he was yesterday. "

admit to the mistake. learn how not to do it again. move on. "pain is inevitable. suffering is optional."

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

You still are that great student-nurse you always were. You're only human and sometimes the best lessons are the hardest. You have definitely grown and learned from this.

What you have to do now is pick yourself up, forgive yourself, hold your head up eye and remind yourself what a good nurse you are going to be.

Hang in there. We've all made mistakes and it can be devastating...been there and done that. Best of luck to you.

[njadreamer]

we all make mistakes. all the time. we don't purposely go out and say, "let's see what mistake i can make today." it happens. and, sometimes we get very embarrassed about them. the embarrassment comes from ourselves, not from others. but, you don't quit life or your career all the time because of it. a man by the name of john powell said, "the only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing." so, it is from each mistake that we make that we learn a great deal more. i am an admirer of einstein (i wrote a paper about him in school). besides flunking at one point, he also has been attributed with making something like over 20 some errors in his theories! i don't think he would run and hide if he could come back and see where he had been mistaken. he would probably dig right in, pick up where the mistakes have been found and move forward to forge new theories with the new information. when the japanese mend broken objects, they aggrandize the damage by filling the cracks with gold. they believe that when something's suffered damage and has a history it becomes more beautiful. (barbara bloom)

alexander pope said, "a man should never be ashamed to own he has been in the wrong, which is but saying... that he is wiser today than he was yesterday. "

admit to the mistake. learn how not to do it again. move on. "pain is inevitable. suffering is optional."

i could'nt have it better. hold your head up high and learn from your mistakes !!