Encouragement and advice needed

Nursing Students General Students

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Hello all

I'm new to this site and very happy that I came across it! I am or was a freshman RN student. I'm 28 and have realy worked hard to get into nursing school,as i'm sure all of you have. During the summer, I moved in an apartment with one of my friends and I currently work a full-time job to take care of myself. My instructors sent me letters telling me that I should not work or only part-time while in school. Of course I understood, but I thought I could hold on long enough to qualify to work as a tech. Time has passed and I have failed my first half of the semester and I'm not allowed to go back untill next year. I was also told that I only could fail a class one more time and I could'nt come back to the college for nursing. I cried for days over this and still feel sad. I was doing realy great in clinicals. I enjoyed every minute and worked hard. The only thing that hurt me was my test scores I just could'nt get above 75%, I don't understand why, but life is a learning process. These kinds of test are very new to me and they are hard! If any of you have any suggestions for me or encouraging words I would realy appreciate it. I'm going back, but I am soooo scared of failing again. Walking down that isle to get a degree is all I can think of. I realy want to be a nurse.

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Hello all

I'm new to this site and very happy that I came across it! I am or was a freshman RN student. I'm 28 and have realy worked hard to get into nursing school,as i'm sure all of you have. During the summer, I moved in an apartment with one of my friends and I currently work a full-time job to take care of myself. My instructors sent me letters telling me that I should not work or only part-time while in school. Of course I understood, but I thought I could hold on long enough to qualify to work as a tech. Time has passed and I have failed my first half of the semester and I'm not allowed to go back untill next year. I was also told that I only could fail a class one more time and I could'nt come back to the college for nursing. I cried for days over this and still feel sad. I was doing realy great in clinicals. I enjoyed every minute and worked hard. The only thing that hurt me was my test scores I just could'nt get above 75%, I don't understand why, but life is a learning process. These kinds of test are very new to me and they are hard! If any of you have any suggestions for me or encouraging words I would realy appreciate it. I'm going back, but I am soooo scared of failing again. Walking down that isle to get a degree is all I can think of. I realy want to be a nurse.

I think my psych instructor said it best...

"It is better to succeed slowly than to fail quickly."

It may take an extra year, but now you know what you're in for. If I were you I would take this next year and save up as much money as you possibly (and reasonably) can so that you do not have to work so much when you start again next year. Devote that extra time to studying. Good Luck! I'm sure you'll do well. You seem to really want it!

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Keep those books and study up on anything you can this year and be a little bit ahead next year! That way the "shock" from that "hit the ground running" may not be so bad!

Don't get yourself down on it--think of this as a great learning experience as your whole career will be exactly that. Now that you know you have some test-taking problems you can figure out what exactly was keeping you from that 75%+--and find a way to aid that!

Good luck to you!

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Specializes in Wound Care, LTC, Sub-Acute, Vents.
hello all

i'm new to this site and very happy that i came across it! i am or was a freshman rn student. i'm 28 and have realy worked hard to get into nursing school,as i'm sure all of you have. during the summer, i moved in an apartment with one of my friends and i currently work a full-time job to take care of myself. my instructors sent me letters telling me that i should not work or only part-time while in school. of course i understood, but i thought i could hold on long enough to qualify to work as a tech. time has passed and i have failed my first half of the semester and i'm not allowed to go back untill next year. i was also told that i only could fail a class one more time and i could'nt come back to the college for nursing. i cried for days over this and still feel sad. i was doing realy great in clinicals. i enjoyed every minute and worked hard. the only thing that hurt me was my test scores i just could'nt get above 75%, i don't understand why, but life is a learning process. these kinds of test are very new to me and they are hard! if any of you have any suggestions for me or encouraging words i would realy appreciate it. i'm going back, but i am soooo scared of failing again. walking down that isle to get a degree is all i can think of. i realy want to be a nurse.

hello my namesake angel, don't be scared about coming back into the program. yes they kick you out if you fail the second time. but don't let this "failing" hold you back. infact, you will do better than the other freshman students because you arleady have an idea what your program entails and asks of you. i was also in your situation. i am supposed to be an lpn now just like my batchmates but life goes on and you just have to do better next time. well, i am now a senior in my lpn program and will be graduating in a few months. don't think you are stupid for failing because sometimes things just happens. atleast you will come back and it proves determination. some of my classmates who failed in the first semester never came back so i am proud of myself for doing so and now i am so happy. i am always smiling everytime i think of me being a senior and will be a nurse soon enough. and you know what? it is so funny how i am doing so well in classes now compared to my first semester. also you may want to be friends to those who you know will help you and vice versa. i have my buddies calling me when i am absent and late. i also do study groups with them. nursing school is tough but hang in there and everything will work out. things happen for a reason. i would have not been able to see my dying grandmother who took care me when i was younger back home(philippines) if i had not failed that psychiatric nursing. well, good luck angel.

angel

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Sorry to hear about your situation. When I was a freshman in nursing school I also had a difficult time with the exams in my first nursing class. No matter how hard I studied, I was getting low C's and high D's. I just could not identify the correct answers whereas my friends seemed to have a breeze at it. I ended up getting an academic warning and had to see the learning support person at my school which was such a blessing. I learned test-taking strategies that enabled me to never go below a B on a nursing exam again.

If there is a learning support center at your school I would highly recommend going. Otherwise, there are a lot of test-taking books out there that could help you. Also, NCLEX review books such as Saunders Comprehensive Review may be helpful. I've found the best way to get used to answering nursing questions and develop a strategy for answering them, is to look over practice questions. NCLEX review books also typically have a test-taking strategy section in them as well.

Also, as your instructors have noted, it seems that you may be working too much. Have you considered switching jobs, cutting back on your hours or taking out more student loans? I know it is hard to survive as a student, but on the bright side, its only 2-4 years of near poverty and the payoff is so worth it!

Good luck with everything. Don't lose hope yet.

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Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.

hi, angel79, and welcome to allnurses! :welcome:

there are helpful weblinks on studying and taking tests in nursing school on this thread which you should check out:

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I realy want to thank all of you for the encouragement, I needed that. It seems sooooo hard sometimes because it's like my family and friends don't understand why I took this so hard. I'm blessed to have found this web site because now I don't feel so alone in the world. Sometimes it's hard to believe that there are others out there who know what i'm going through. Nursing is like no other occupation I can think of and It is alot of hard work and dedication. Thank you for your advice.

Thanks

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Random question I've been curious about for posters on this thread - why do you say "freshman" or "senior" in RN/LPN school? People use those terms all the time on this site in regards to nursing programs, and they don't make sense for any program I'm familiar with - with BSN programs in my area, you don't apply until you finish your sophomore year. I'm in an ABSN program in semester 2/5, so none of us refer to ourselves as "juniors" - we've already graduated once. I've never attended a CC - if you go for 2 years, are you considered a freshman and then a senior? I'm honestly curious, and don't want to offend anyone. OP: I agree with the other posters - work the rest of this year, save up some more money, and cut back on your hours when you reenter NS. Can you look into taking out some loans or ask the financial aid office to reconsider your status and take part-time work into account so your award will be larger?

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Random question I've been curious about for posters on this thread - why do you say "freshman" or "senior" in RN/LPN school? People use those terms all the time on this site in regards to nursing programs, and they don't make sense for any program I'm familiar with - with BSN programs in my area, you don't apply until you finish your sophomore year. I'm in an ABSN program in semester 2/5, so none of us refer to ourselves as "juniors" - we've already graduated once. I've never attended a CC - if you go for 2 years, are you considered a freshman and then a senior? I'm honestly curious, and don't want to offend anyone. OP: I agree with the other posters - work the rest of this year, save up some more money, and cut back on your hours when you reenter NS. Can you look into taking out some loans or ask the financial aid office to reconsider your status and take part-time work into account so your award will be larger?

I am in a BSN and I say senior now that I am in my final year and graduating in spring even though prior to that I was a senior long before due to my number of units.

Angel, I have a ton of people now in my class who failed and came into my cohort. It can be a bit humbling, but you are already ahead of the game. Take care and don't work full time! I imagine that makes studying enough difficult.

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Specializes in Travel Nursing, ICU, tele, etc.

Hello angel,

I worked full-time while I was in nursing school because I had no choice. But what I did was work overnights at a Group Home for Develpmentally Disabled Adults which was perfect for studying. There was not that much to do there at nights. Also, we had tube feeders and medically fragile residents so we all were certified to administer medications and trained in CPR and first aid. It was actually a very good preparation for nursing school. I would highly recommend it.

Good luck to you and keep on keeping on!!!

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Random question I've been curious about for posters on this thread - why do you say "freshman" or "senior" in RN/LPN school? People use those terms all the time on this site in regards to nursing programs, and they don't make sense for any program I'm familiar with - with BSN programs in my area, you don't apply until you finish your sophomore year. I'm in an ABSN program in semester 2/5, so none of us refer to ourselves as "juniors" - we've already graduated once. I've never attended a CC - if you go for 2 years, are you considered a freshman and then a senior? I'm honestly curious, and don't want to offend anyone. OP: I agree with the other posters - work the rest of this year, save up some more money, and cut back on your hours when you reenter NS. Can you look into taking out some loans or ask the financial aid office to reconsider your status and take part-time work into account so your award will be larger?

I use the term freshman because I entered a 4-year BSN program straight out of high school. Consequently, I started my nursing courses during my first year, or freshman year. I guess I am one of the few in nursing school that actually progressed through freshman-senior levels. I was part of one of the last cohorts in my school to follow this track. We were called "true freshmen" In 2004 my school discontinued that program and made it so that only sophomore transfers could be accepted into the nursing program. I apologize for my terminology. I forget that I was part of a rare and now nearly extinct form of nursing school.

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Thanks!

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