Ever feel like you are not smart enough to be a nurse.

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I do, I am currently in my last semester at an local community college and will be transferring to an 4 year university. I have done all my pre-reqs required for nursing school and it wasnt easy, i suffer since I could remember from a learning disability and school has always been tough for me, i tried every everything you can imagine to learn how to retain information. But i always fall short. I can study for hours and can barely pass an exam. Now that i am so close to signing up for a nursing program all that goes through my mind is 1) Can I even get into the program. 2) if i do get it(which would be a miracle) can I keep up and not fail out. I know the nursing program is hard and with my learning disability can I even go through it. I am just depressed that I wont be what i truly want to be in life because I can't prove myself(on an exam) that I will be a great nurse. The things that I do know is that I know stuff but when it comes to test I can never show it. It is just very confusing and Im not sure if i would sign up for the nursing program anymore. Has anyone else felt like me, are you guys nurses now and what did you do to get by?

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A learning disability does not mean you're stupid. It means you have a special consideration or challenge. Stop being so harsh on yourself and start talking to counselors and people in the department. You can do this, but you have to want it and do more work than anyone else.

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Specializes in Short Term/Skilled.

Actually, you may be surprised. NS is more about understanding the material and knowing how and when to apply it than memorization.

I had a harder time with my pre-reqs than I did in nursing school. I found out during the program that I'm an analytical thinker, and that ended up serving me.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

Moved to our Student forums.

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Specializes in Critical care.

You'll never know until you try- would you rather regret trying and possibly failing or not trying and always wondering "what if"?

Also, your username violates the TOS- as you are not already a nurse you cannot have it in your username.

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If you don't mind me asking, what is the nature of your learning disability? I understand if you do not wish to share. But I will say that depending on the nature of it, there may be special programs that can tailor the material to your disability or there may be others on here that went through nursing school with the same condition that can give some tips on how they got through nursing school. Never underestimate the power of neuroplasticity.

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Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

Lets stay on topic please. Thanks.

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First let me say I wish you the Best while in Nursing Classes. I myself found out in Nursing most of my problems came from trying to memorize rather than actually visualize procedures and processes. I also had a classmate that gave me the best tip as she watched me change my answers on test repeatedly. She said pick answers that could be correct then choose one. I found this help me on the NCLEX. I passed with 75 questions, by taking the time to read each question and answer carefully. Yes, it took me almost the allotted time for each test and the NCLEX but I passed. Reach out to the school requesting help or extra time if needed. Everyone at one time or the other needs help. Once again, reach out to the school about being tested for a learning disability and ask for any help needed. Good luck.

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Specializes in CRITICAL CARE.

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us as long as we have the courage to follow our dreams".

So don't discredit yourself until you've actually tried. You got through your pre-requisites already didn't you? Have the courage to follow through and the universe somehow aligns itself to the path you've set in motion.

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I think we have all been there. I know I certainly questioned myself. Sometimes we are our biggest critics. I know that's what stopped me from being a nurse for almost 10 years. I convinced myself that I couldn't do it. You made it through your pre recs so obviously you must be doing something right :) Have faith in yourself.

I don't know if you've tried study tools such as books that summarize the things you need to know. & there are also a number of websites such as straightanursing.com that helped me out tremendously when I was in school. YouTube Mike Linares. He has some videos for free but to really get anything good you have to pay for his membership. He's great!

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Please don't give up on yourself! I was diagnosed with add/adhd around 11 and also have struggled with math since being formally introduced in early elementary school. At 28 and after many rejections, I was finally accepted into nursing school and let me tell you, the years of struggling to gain admissions was so worth it! I had some poor grades when I first started college and it took a b.s in biology with a 3.5 to offset those.

Study tricks that have helped me include:notecards/online note cards, mini-white board, typing up notes, writing notes, talking about material, watching videos, and practice questions. If you do not know your learning style, take the VARK or something similar online to really tailor your studying to your learning style. Also, looking into the disability services center at your school, if you have a diagnosed condition, you can utilize accommodations such as a private study room during tests. Get ahead at every chance. Don't let anyone tell you that you are not capable of becoming a nurse (and thriving as one), including yourself. Good luck!

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do not give up. you will succeed if you believe in yourself.

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