Extreme anxiety-starting second semester

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Last semester i hardly got any experience i didn't have to give any bed baths. I gave oral meds twice. all i did were assessments. This semester looking at the syllabus i will be doing alot more. Many other students in my class gave injections, iv meds, bed baths, wound care, and many other patients. i confronted my instructor last semester asking for more complex patients and still continued to get easy patients. I am afraid that my instructor will expect me to know alot more than i do. In addition last semester i had major anxiety the night before clinicals and got only a few hours of sleep. I went to my doctor and told her about my anxiety and she told me to push throught. Help what can i do to survive second semester with major anxiety and hardley any experience.

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I also suffer from great anxiety and I am an LPN going into my last semester. My doctor was more understanding and gave me some meds to help me "push through". What helps me sometimes is just understanding that I am going to do the best I can. That is all anyone can ask of you. I always do my best. If you don't know..ask. If it is something like a bed bath, just jump in and do it. Be confident. Ask the patient to help if they can. Sometimes they can do it themselves and prefer to. You may just have to get water. If you need help with turning, try asking a fellow student. In our group, usually there is one student with a light load. I have been blessed with many wonderful patients but I realize it is because I treat them with respect and kindness. Patients know you are a student and many times want to help. If a clinical teacher gets on your case, learn from what they are saying. One teacher pushed me so hard I got mad and said (to myself) " I am going to show her what I am made of...I am going to kick @@@ today." Take it one day at a time and always do your best. If you are a spiritual person, read some scriptures. I read "Streams in the Desert" nearly everyday and it really helps keep things in perspective. Colleen

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Specializes in Pediatrics, OB/GYN, ER, Geriatrics.

I also am going into second semester and just as anxious...

My instructor emailed us and told us to go to her website and pull the powerpoints off for the first day of class...to no avail there are no powerpoints in the file... I have emailed her three times to let her know and still no answer...why in heaven's name would she tell us to read ahead of time and to be prepared for a test on the first day when we do not know what to study for?

Talk about frustrated and anxious....class starts this week and I am in straight panic mode....

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Specializes in PCA.

Did you test off on the skills in lab?

I didn't get to do many skills in the clinical setting the first semester either. My professors for the second semester were very understanding and were more than willing to help me do things like first dressing changes, and injections and what not. They understand that you may have not have been able to do everything that first semester.

I had major anxiety issues my first semester too, as well as my second however it lessened. It helps me most to just be super prepared, look up everything about the paitents diagnosis, treatments, meds, anything my teacher may ask me. My instructors second semester were with us through all procedures and meds, walking us through everything so its pretty hard to screw things up too majorly you know.

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no there was no test out done in lab. i wish there was!

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You're not alone. I started second semester last week and am freaking out nervous. Already this semester seems harder than last. There's a seemingly crazy amount of assignments to get done already and we start clinicals at the beginning of February, which I'm just plain petrified about. Clinicals were hard for me last semester and I cried almost every day that I had to go! I'm not worried about bed baths anymore but am concerned because the patients I had were completely bedbound. What will I do with a patient that can get up and/or needs assistance getting up? So afraid they will fall because of something I did wrong! I guess all we can do is go out there and be as prepared as possible and just attack it as much as possible. Don't let it beat us down.

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