Feeling discouraged about nursing school

Published

Hi all,

Any tips on how to overcome feeling discouraged about nursing school? I have just started my 2nd semester in nursing school, which is all med-surg. However, I feel so overwhelmed and I do not feel my skills are not as good as they should be, especially in comparison to my classmates. I just get too nervous and which is what really messes me up. Has anyone else ever felt this way or is this just me?

Any tip helps :)

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Remember you are learning so be kind to yourself. Some people have an easier time than others. Does your school have a lab you can practice skills? Can you get a classmate to work at it with you or an instructor to watch you to provide feedback? It was mandatory to do at least 5 hours in lab/ semester in our first year on our own time, and we often went just to keep up skills.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ICU + 25 years as Nursing Faculty.

This is a great time to understand what can be your greatest asset or weakness.

It is neither your smarts nor your skills. Your most powerful tool is your emotional intelligence. It is the ability to use your emotions to help you rather than undermine you.

How you talk to yourself about this first experience is important. "I do not feel my skills are as good as they should be" is reasonable. But if you let that morph into "I'll never get this" or "I am not as good as the other students"... it can become disabling. Be a realist about what happened and why... and craft a positive attitude and self-talk.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

read, watch youtube videos, read more. no one is born a good nursing student. if the average student from you school studies about 2 hours a day, you should study 4.

dont be scared to try new things at clinical even if you fail. start an IV, do enteral feedings, suction, etc. apply what you learn in class in clinical and things will make sense

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Critical Care and ED.
read, watch youtube videos, read more. no one is born a good nursing student. if the average student from you school studies about 2 hours a day, you should study 4.

dont be scared to try new things at clinical even if you fail. start an IV, do enteral feedings, suction, etc. apply what you learn in class in clinical and things will make sense

YouTube is an excellent idea. There are some truly fantastic tutorial videos on there. I use it constantly.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Oncology.

Does your school utilize ATI?? If so, I HIGHLY suggest that you read your med-surg ATI book along with your class med-surg book. ATI cuts out all of the "fluff" and tells you what you need to know, helping you get to that "ah-ha"moment. It is important that you read both books because there's info in your class book that may not be in the ATI book and there may be info in the ATI book that isn't in you class book. Good Luck!!!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in as above.

you are learning a new skill! If you dont know ASK! Dont rely on your smartphone..that isthe easy way out. Asking involves talking to a human!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

It will take time for you to be confident in yourself and your abilities. Even after nursing school, as a new graduate, you may feel overwhelmed, but give yourself time. As Triddin said, be kind to yourself.

If your heart is racing when you're at clinical and performing a skill, take a second to take a deep breath. Verbally walk through the steps and take your time. By verbalizing the procedures, at least your instructor will know what you are planning to do and can intervene if necessary.

I also get nervous at times. Last semester we had lab, and whenever I practiced, my heart would race, and I would always fumble through my gloves. I eventually got better before I had to perform those skills in front of my instructor. Then it came time to set up a secondary IV at clinical. I've set up pumps before at my job as an LPN, but having my instructor stare at my every move made me nervous. This will always happen to me, but I try to focus on breathing to help calm my nerves.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in MICU, Burn ICU.

Comparison is the thief of joy! Don't compare yourself with your classmates - everyone learns differently at their own pace ... plus some students may already have a medical background.

In terms of skills, not everything can be learned in lab. I suggest you speak to your clinical instructor 1:1 and let him/her know about your nervousness. In order to break those nerves (though they'll creep back up from time to time) is by performing more and more tasks/skills with your instructor and or nurse. So let them know so you can work on certain skills you struggle with the most so they can help you with it.

The more you do it, the more confident you will be.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

All I can really suggest is you expose yourself as much as you can to the given skills needed to master. Also, doing some research about the particular skill can help clear of some reasons as to why things are done "this" way and not "that" way, just might help you remember your steps better.

Also, as the others have said, do not compare, its so not worth the anxiety you create for yourself, I know easier said than done, i'ts almost like a reflex, but everyone has different backgrounds, schedules, ways of studying, ect. Practice being in competition with yourself (honestly, that mindset is what kept me excited about clinical). I think you'll be fine. You got into nursing school right? And you are certainly not alone in any trepidation. Good Luck to you!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion