Fear of failing? reason to not enter nursing program?

In_progress · Mar 9, 2015

Hi,

When I first entered nursing school it was my greatest fear to fail, and being thought of as "dumb". To this day I still have fleeting thoughts of failing and what others would think of me if I failed. What helps me is to remember why I am doing it and that every one fails at some point in their life. It is what they do when faced with failure that defines them (giving up or persevering)

Life is unpredictable, your worried about failing....but what happens if you enter nursing and do AMAZING? there are many options that is entirely possible but only one options gives you a chance.

Best of luck with your decision.

Infofreak411 · Mar 9, 2015

Most likely because of your stated fear of failure, your first post on this thread that asked if you should or should not attempt nursing school because of said fear, and then this post of yours:
You have just asked an anonymous group of people whether you should or should not make a life-altering change; we cannot possibly know if this is the correct path for you. You have, at this point, spent enough time posting on this forum to know much about how nursing school is, what to expect, etc, so you should have a decent idea of what you might need to do. Since no one here knows you personally....we cannot tell you what to do, that's really a very personal choice.
Being overly fixated on failure is really just creating a self-fulfilling prophecy: if you believe you will probably fail, you will most LIKELY fail. If you believe you will probably succeed....you will LIKELY succeed. Outlook affects outcome, no doubt.
Your last post does say something important about your chances, though: Nursing school (and ultimately, passing the NCLEX) does not require brilliance by any stretch, but it DOES require you to use critical thinking skills. You CANNOT pass school or the licensing exam by "spitting back" facts and figures. You must be able to demonstrate the ability to APPLY the knowledge learned. Rote memorization will NOT allow you to pass school, nor the NCLEX. This is one of the fundamentals that must be understood before embarking on any nursing program. You must be able to analyze the situation, and USING the facts/figures you've memorized, make a determination as to what to do. The ability to spout facts and figures like a computer is only of limited use; whether you know how to translate that into a course of action will determine your success in school.
As for the expectation that anyone passing nursing school courses be a "borderline genius", hooboy I have to laugh; I WISH that all nurses were so very brilliant (including myself!). That said, there is enough evidence on this forum alone that there are plenty of "less than brilliant" nurses Sometimes I even think "how did this person get a license?!" but there you have it :)
Take a look at programs in your area, see what is required to successfully get into one, and complete one. Then take a look at yourself and decide if you have what it takes. Then proceed from there. :)
Good luck!

Thank you for putting things into perspective. And as far as using critical thinking in addition to memorization. THAT I am OK with as well, in addition to analyze situations and use proper judgement (if anything I over analyze). Its "artsy" type stuff that I have no interest in that made some classes difficult. Like having to read poetry a story and follow a useless plot and then having to write about how that connected to my life and things of that nature... It just seemed irrelevant to me.

f1j1nurse · Mar 9, 2015

I really would love to be a nurse but I feel I am not smart enough to be a nurse or pass the courses so I am holding myself back.
As you might have read from my previous post, I am a single person and so I cannot just quit work to go to school so that worries me all the more.
I am afraid I won't make it in the program and if I don't make it it means I am dumb and it will make me a failure, I will have the failure on my transcript, and people will frown upon my inability to succeed.
Should I let the fear of failure stop me or should I try it? Is being afraid I will fail in itself a sign I should not apply?

Rule number 1: Never doubt yourself or your ability to do things. How will you succeed in anything if you give up before you even try?

Ask yourself do you want to live the rest of your life living in fear and doubt of trying something or do you want to look back and say hey I gave it my best shot and have no regrets?

Good luck, you can do this but you have to believe in yourself first:)

That Guy, BSN, RN, EMT-B · Mar 9, 2015

Would be a pretty boring life if I never did anything I was afraid of.

imintrouble, BSN, RN · Mar 9, 2015

It's been 2 decades since I last sat in a classroom, but I was an older student even then. The fine points are fuzzy, but I remember a psych instructor told me there are different motivators for older students.

Hope for success is prime for young people. Fear of failure galvanizes us oldies. I argued that they are the same, but I concede they're not. Fear of failure definitely made me work harder than some of my younger counterparts.

Maybe when your desire for a better future, outweighs your fear of failure, you'll be ready to take the risk.

blessedNhopeful · Mar 9, 2015

IDK what you may be going through but ((HUGS)):) I too had a fear of failure of applying after my son was born. I just got so discouraged from all of the horror stories, and I didn't even bother applying. 6 years later here I am, ready to take it all head on. In those 6 years I chased after other degrees on to hate life while going to school because I didn't love what I was doing and didn't have a passion for it. There was no interest or drive. Now I'm much older, mature, and prepared to try. I have lots of support from friends and family and I know that if I don't get accepted the first try I'm going to apply again and again. Never let fear stop you from doing something you truly want to do.No one can make you feel inferior but yourself and that's exactly what you're doing to yourself. Take chances, Make mistakes, get messy! (Ms. frizzle:yes:)

amb_ram25 · Mar 9, 2015

Hey There!

Don't ever be afraid of trying new things! If you really want to be a nurse and this is what you want, then you should follow your dreams. Don't ever put yourself down and say negative thoughts about yourself. Don't ever call yourself dumb or not smart enough! You sound like a very smart person to me for wanting to go into nursing. Nursing isn't easy and there's a lot of difficult tasks and you will see things or will have to do things that might be difficult on you emotionally, but being a nurse is rewarding and you're helping another person. helping one another is a good deed that anyone could do. I myself am a freshman in college and I'm taking my nursing prereqs before I apply for the nursing program. College can be very challenging but its all worth it in the end if its really what you want to do. I'm going to be honest with you, I struggle a bit but you just have to set yourself a schedule on when you study and if you form study groups or if you go to tutoring. Do not be afraid of your fears! as a matter of fact you never know the opportunity you might be missing if you don't face your fears. I always wanted to do a profession in the medical field and I decided to go into nursing since theres a lot of nurses in my family and I love caring for people. at first I was a bit iffy on deciding nursing because of all of the scary nursing stories I heard about when people are in nursing school, but I'm not letting that stop me from becoming a nurse. Don't ever doubt your abilities! I know you can do it!

RNjanet49 · Mar 9, 2015

Go into the LVN nursing program in one year you can be a nurse and work at the same time and then you can go into the RN bridge program and that's only eight months it's called going in the back door NEVER quit

Butterflyxx0621 · Mar 9, 2015

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something is more important than fear. The brave may not live forever, but the cautious do not live at all"

Farawyn · Mar 9, 2015

OP, this is one of my favorite quotes. Know it. Learn it. Live it:

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.

-Theodore Roosevelt

Ruby Vee, BSN · Mar 10, 2015

It has been my experience that the people who are the most convinced that they're really smart AREN'T, and that the people who most loudly proclaim what good nurses they are . . . aren't.

BecomingNursey · Mar 10, 2015

If you truly, 100% want to be a nurse...nothing will stand in your way. I am from a low income family in which my parents couldn't afford to put me through college and I also was homeschooled so I didn't have the opportunity to try and get a scholarship. I knew since I was a little girl that nursing was what I wanted.

So I studied for the GED and graduated from my homeschooling program with the GED. I did get some financial aid from the government but since I was 17, about to turn 18 and starting college I started working full time at the local grocery store. I took all of my pre-requisite classes before starting the ADN program. After finishing those I applied to the nursing program praying to God that all the hard work I had done would pay off and that I would be accepted. I got accepted!!!

That fall I started nursing school. I was so scared and excited. My first day as a student nurse!!! I went to my 3 nursing classes, got the syllabus for each one, got into my car and cried my eyes out. It was so overwhelming and scary to think that I had to work full time and complete all those assignments and all of those clinical hours/lab hours.

Then a year later my fiancÃ© and I got married and found out 4 weeks later that we were 4 weeks pregnant. Not only was I a newlywed and working full time but now I was pregnant and IN THE MIDDLE of nursing school.

Guess what. A year after that, after taking a semester off to have my baby, I walked across that stage and received my diploma and got PINNED as an RN.

It was a hard, long journey filled with trials and tribulations but I am a stronger person because of that and I think because I did have to fight for it so hard it makes me a better nurse. If I didn't truly want to be a nurse I would have quit that first day in the parking lot when I got to my car and cried. But I wanted it. I got it. And I freaking love my career :)

My advice? Go for it. You can do whatever you set your mind to :)

I'm not telling you it's going to be easy, I'm telling you it's going to be worth it.

Author: Art Williams