Here's the deal, I'm a first semester nursing student who is afraid of falling on his face. I've busted my butt for a year getting in, everybody I work with at the hospital is rooting for me. My family is rooting for me. I've visualized myself being a nurse for the last two years, so it seems that there is alot on the line for me. After going through the Orientations, I've realized that there is a chance that I could fall on my face. For instance, we have three opportunities to pass our Drug Calculation Exam, and Math has always been my weakness. Also, we have three chances to pass the check offs in lab, and they are Injections, Catheterizaton, dressing changes, and several more. We did adminstration of topical meds today and I learned that there is a mountain of details in just giving PO meds.
Ironically, I'm not worried about the Lecture exams, I feel confident that my reading and studying will pull me through, plus I've never really suffered test anxiety. But the dosage calculations has me scared of failing. Anybody have any tips? I really want to succeed at this....
i think almost if not everyone is feeling exactly the way you are feeling. we have come so far, and have heard so many "horror" stories of how hard ns really is. so you are not alone in this. i am starting fall09 and am nervous and fearful already. i agree with the other poster who said that a little fear is a good this. this keeps us on our toes but definately not to paralyze us. be your own best friend, encouager and cheer leader and you will start to feel more confident. listen and know that you are just as intelligent as all the other students, or you would not have made it this far......hang in there..you can do this.:redbeathe
I completely understand how you are feeling and I feel the exact same way! I have always considered my self to be a confident, self assured person who can do anything I put my mind to, and after my first day, I thought, "What was I THINKING?? I CAN'T DO THIS!!!!"
But if thousands and thousands of other people graduaet as nurses every year, then why not me??? I keep telling myself to just focus on this week. The harder stuff will not be as hard as it looks now, because every week builds upon the next. And I know this can come across as ugly on a nursing website, but I'm sure many of you know someone that you think, "How in the WORLD did she make it through nursing school and become an RN? That girl is CLUELESS!!!!" So I tell myself in my head, if she can, then I KNOW I can!
I felt just like you at the beginning of first semester. I made an A in skills, an A in clinical, A in dosage, and a C in lecture. In reality the skills lab is very stressful, but you will be fine. Those lecture tests are a monster. The people who didn't pass first semester did so because of those lecture tests, not skills lab. Its a whole new way of testing that is very difficult. I am going into semester 2, and still trying to figure it out.
:yeahthat:
I am pretty sure this is how it went for us with Foundations and MS1. Most of the people that didn't make it had problems with exams - not lab/clinical.
Lab and clinical were very stressful (and fun!) for me, but the lecture tests were far more difficult. Plus, our clinical performance is pass/fail - a great clinical will not help us if we tank in lecture.
Just plan on working hard, be prepared to change the way you take tests, and you will be fine. And, don't be too hard on yourself if the first exam is a bomb - there is a learning curve:).
I agree with the others that the only way to overcome this kind of fear is to take it one step, one lab, one test at a time. Find a way to keep yourself from sweating over what's up far ahead of you. Just concentrate on the next thing you need to do right now, on learning and passing that. Your confidence and competence will grow as you gain more experience and pass the milestones one at a time.
I could have written your post when I was first starting out. Now that I am close to graduation I can assure you that one day giving injections, performing catheterizations, and doing dosage calculations will not be a big deal at all. They will seem like second nature to you. You will actually look forward to managing more complicated patients and having the opportunity to learn and practice more advanced nursing skills.
Re the math: I found that the more I dealt with meds in a real world setting, the more the calculations made sense and the easier it has become. They are basically the same type of questions over and over. Learn a method for now that works for you (like dimensional analysis or one of the others) and also always check your answers to see if they seem reasonable. Try to remember the generalities - for instance that kgs are heavier than lbs so the pt better weigh less in kgs than he does in lbs (that type of thing).
You can do this: If you made it through A&P, microbiology, and chemistry, no dumb math problem is going to stand in the way of your goals!
Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.
did you feel the same way when you went in to take your written test to get your first driver's license? and then take your first driving test to get your driver's license? do you remember the anxiety you felt back then about those tests and how you agonized over them? did the world end? did you survive? are you driving today? how did you get through it?
seasoned hopeful
166 Posts
i think almost if not everyone is feeling exactly the way you are feeling. we have come so far, and have heard so many "horror" stories of how hard ns really is. so you are not alone in this. i am starting fall09 and am nervous and fearful already. i agree with the other poster who said that a little fear is a good this. this keeps us on our toes but definately not to paralyze us. be your own best friend, encouager and cheer leader and you will start to feel more confident. listen and know that you are just as intelligent as all the other students, or you would not have made it this far......hang in there..you can do this.:redbeathe