Feeling Discouraged

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Hello. I'm new to this forum, and a friend of mine recommended that I check this site out. I'm currently taking my pre reqs and I plan on applying to my program of choice this fall. I know that in my heart I want to be a nurse. But i seem to have a problem with staying focused when it comes to completing my work and studying for my exams. Trust me I know that this is not a good habit for someone who aspires to be a nurse. I'm not exactly sure what it is that distracts me, or why sometimes I just lose faith in myself. I'm in microbiology right now, and i feel so behind. I feel like everyone in my class knows what's going on but me. and my instructor is no help. If anything she makes me feel like I don't have what it takes to become a nurse. I know I need to get it together. I just need some encouragement and advice.

I felt the same way as you did. Everyone else seemed always ahead of me especially in Mirco, and it was because I wouldn't put enough time into my work. Nowadays its really hard to concentrate and get something done with the advances in technology and such. Like TV, the internet, social media, friends. Its a lot to ignore when you have to get work and studying done, but you have to do it. Manage your time and reward yourself. Tell yourself and commit to it. If I study for this many hours and really concentrate, I can watch the walking dead tonight. Or if i finish my class work for today, I will spend an hour on Facebook. Erasing unwanted apps from your smart phone also helps. I know its tough, but just think of the rewards that come with it. Write yourself motivational quotes and stick them in the restroom, bedroom, or wherever you will see them the most. You can do it!

Omg im so glad someone understands how im feeling. But you are absolutely right, I need to put more time into my work. Lately i've just been thinking about excited i'm going to be when I get that exceptance letter/email...that has been my constant motivation. And I'm definitely gonna try the motivational quotes thing. Thank you so much ! I CAN and WILL do this !!!!

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So I just took the test and I found out that I'm a Kinesthetic/Visual learner. Thanks so much for the recommendation.

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OP, I have had and am having similar problems. I think I figured it out. I am a lazy perfectionist. I feel like if I can't do something perfectly, there's no point in doing it at all and I avoid it. This led to some really poor grades the first time I went to school. I went a couple terms skipping class a lot, not studying, etc. I dropped out for a while.

When I came back I found a rule that worked out well for me. Every day, I would go to the library and check out a laptop. I could rent a laptop for 3 hours. During that time, I had to work on school stuff, and when the time was up and I needed to turn the laptop back in, I could go home and do whatever I wanted. 3 hours is a long time so sometimes I had to split that up, but I made sure to put in those 3 hours a day and that helped me stay caught up. I went from about a 1.9 GPA at my worst to a 3.7 that term. I find "I'm going to pick what needs to be done the most for a couple hours" works a lot better for me than "I have to read this whole chapter and do x and y".

Now I'm back to school again for nursing this time and I'm struggling this semester. Last semester, I put the time in and got straight As. Now I'm in a really extra tough A&P course, and I've been avoiding it. I really need to stop. When I get in this headspace I tend to spend a lot of time on internet forums and the like rather than studying. Going to the library still helps- even though I have access to a computer and could go on facebook and stuff, I feel sort of self conscious about it and it keeps me in line for the most part.

Hope that helps.

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OP, excellent advice above. Like some have said, most don't leave class with 100% knowledge. It truly is up to you to go home and fill in the gaps. I probably leave with 60% of what I need to know, and from there, I come home and search for understanding. In my Anatomy class, there appear to be many smarties, however come test time, many of them don't do so well. At the end of the day, it boils down to studying. You can't, I repeat, you can not put off studying for the sciences, and instead must chip at it every single day. Get a calendar and mark down your test dates, and begin studying bit by bit several WEEKS before your test. The 1 or 2 days prior to the test should simply be review of what you've been studying for the weeks leading up to the test. There is no way to cram for these classes.

As far as distractions, study for small increments at a time, take a break, and then go back to studying. I typically study for a 3 or 4 hour block, however during that block of time, I take breaks every 45 minutes or so. I am married with kids, so typically I use that time to pick up the house, or mentally escape by watching a bit of TV. I had to take a sabbatical from facebook, because it was taking away from what I needed to do.

Anyway, you CAN do this! Nobody around you is smarter than you are and like I said above, looks are deceiving. Don't worry about them, anyway, make a decision for yourself and commit. You will slowly begin to see the fruits of your labor, and when you do, you will have cracked the code, or as I like to say, found the recipe to successful test taking. Remember, the one's that are doing well in class are the one's that have found the recipe for themselves! GOOD LUCK!

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.
So I just took the test and I found out that I'm a Kinesthetic/Visual learner. Thanks so much for the recommendation.

Now that you know your learning/study style, I hope you have been given tips on how to learn, study, and excel on tests.

I found as a Kinesthetic learner is to look for action words in the questions, during testing for example.

Using the ability to visualize and action words will really help when it comes to the tests in nursing school; glad you found out now! ;)

Find your tools and apply them to studying and taking exams.

Best wishes.

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I took that test as well, and apparently I'm a Read & Write/Visual type. Thinking about it now, that's pretty accurate actually. Thanks for that!

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I found a beautiful quote on tumblr! Do not give up :-)

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Specializes in Prior military RN/current ICU RN..

First off stop blaming your instructor. YOU are accountable. I have been a nurse since 2006 and I have had bosses who are good and some that are bad. Guess what..you still have to survive and you still have to do your job. If you quit because you don't like your instructor then forget nursing.. you will quit as a nurse as well. You may as well go pick another major because nursing is a hard world. It is totally 100% up to you to decide what you want to do. You either do or do not. That is it. Easy...hard...doesn't matter. You want the big time you have to put in the work.

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Specializes in critical care.
First off stop blaming your instructor. YOU are accountable. I have been a nurse since 2006 and I have had bosses who are good and some that are bad. Guess what..you still have to survive and you still have to do your job. If you quit because you don't like your instructor then forget nursing.. you will quit as a nurse as well. You may as well go pick another major because nursing is a hard world. It is totally 100% up to you to decide what you want to do. You either do or do not. That is it. Easy...hard...doesn't matter. You want the big time you have to put in the work.

Am I missing some posts on this thread?

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Specializes in Psychiatry.
Am I missing some posts on this thread?

No, assuming they were referring to the one sentence where she said her instructor was unhelpful. Someone is obviously in a bad mood.

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First off stop blaming your instructor. YOU are accountable. I have been a nurse since 2006 and I have had bosses who are good and some that are bad. Guess what..you still have to survive and you still have to do your job. If you quit because you don't like your instructor then forget nursing.. you will quit as a nurse as well. You may as well go pick another major because nursing is a hard world. It is totally 100% up to you to decide what you want to do. You either do or do not. That is it. Easy...hard...doesn't matter. You want the big time you have to put in the work.

Ok.....First of all, before you take it upon yourself to comment on something your CLEARLY having a hard time understanding, RE-READ MY POST, AND GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT. I never blamed my professor for anything. If she makes me feel some type of way, then that's just what it is, but UNDERSTAND that I'm not going to let that stop me from getting an A in this class. Secondly, for someone who has been a nurse for some time now, and knows how hard it is to get into a nursing program, and knows how stressful it can be at times, you should be the LAST person trying to to discourage me. I respect that your trying to give me advice, or tough love, but you OBVIOUSLY took what I wrote the wrong way. Quit? That word isn't even in my vocabulary nor did I say I was going to quit because of my professor. News flash, I've picked my major, and it's going to stay the same. But you're right about one thing, it is absolutely 100% up to me to decide what I want to do, and NURSING is what I'm going to do.

Have a nice day!

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Specializes in critical care.
No assuming they were referring to the one sentence where she said her instructor was unhelpful. Someone is obviously in a bad mood.[/quote']

I wonder if maybe they thought they were responding on a different thread????

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