Calling all nurses...did you ever wonder if you could do it? - page 3

:confused: I just was curious on how many nurses felt in doubt in whether they could get through nursing school, before they entered and during nursing school, and after too I guess. How did you get... Read More

  1. by Kayzee
    Nov 22, '02
    Occupation: RN Joined: Jun '02; Posts: 415; Likes: 1
    I went back to school at a later age. i think it made a big difference. I enjoyed school, and did not have doubts about passing. I studied my butt off though!
  2. by Teshiee
    Nov 22, '02
    Joined: Nov '01; Posts: 765; Likes: 14
    At first I doubted it. But when you work around nurses who are not with it. I knew I could do it. I am not putting down the profession it is very interesting but it truly amazes how some of the nurses I have encountered got through.
  3. by hapeewendy
    Nov 22, '02
    Joined: Dec '01; Posts: 2,865; Likes: 15
    from someone who was never "meant" to be a nurse I can safely say that my ability to be able to succeed at this nursing deal came into question quite frequently. All through highschool I was into English, writing , wanted to be a journalist. Got accepted into a journalism program with early admissions and a partial scholarship, was all set to go! at least thats what was supposed to happen.
    last minute something snapped in my head (I prefer to use the term something CLICKED in my head but thats all interpretation anyway right? hah) anyway I dropped the journalism thing and my mom , everloving as she is , said "you better take something! come on get your act together girl!" so I just kind of randomly suggested nursing ..
    you could hear the laughs and giggles all around , family was probably placing bets behind my back as to just when I would quit, and none of my friends could wrap their heads around my going into nursing.
    Nursing school was HARD! I was not used to having to study so hard in my then 19 years of life , and the clinicals were just brutal! when you are not confident to begin with how are you supposed to convince these poor patients that you have some small notion of what youre doing? the answer is , you dont , embrace it for the learning experience it is, which I didnt do at the time , but surely would in retrospect.
    eventually I settled into my little routine and started to appreciate what I was doing and the impact it would later have on people...
    I sit here now sometimes and wonder how the heck I got where I am , this was never in the cards for me , but I'm sure glad some divine intervention happened somewhere because in all honesty ,as much b*tching and complaining as I may do , there is nothing else I would rather be doing...
    I try to remember that when all heck is breaking lose, I may lose perspective for awhile but every now and again it comes sneaking back - which is what keeps us all in the profession. People may try to minimize the work we do, but once you've been down the path and gone through the trying times you need to go through to get there , well lets just say , no one can minimize that!!!
  4. by GPatty
    Nov 22, '02
    Joined: Aug '01; Posts: 3,725; Likes: 458
    No~ I never really doubted that I would make it through nursing school, but now that I've graduated, I'm doubting if I'm doing the right thing. My facility has me working alone from about 10p to 5 a most nights. I have been a nurse for a bit over a month, and I am responsible for 60 people by myself?
    Been in a tizzy over this one lately.....
  5. by 2banurse
    Nov 22, '02
    Occupation: Full time student Joined: Nov '02; Posts: 758; Likes: 2
    I would like to thank everyone for sharing their own experiences, and of course, I'm always looking for more!!!
  6. by mattsmom81
    Nov 22, '02
    Joined: Jan '02; Posts: 5,673; Likes: 159
    I gritted my teeth several times and stayed in school out of sheer mule-headedness...LOL!

    I had an ill tempered instructor that liked to play head games with students...and she called me in her office one day...very serious and foreboding... and said to me "Do you ENJOY what you're doing?"

    At first I was pizzed but then I caught myself...said "Well, I don't enjoy ALL of it, do YOU?" She was speechless for once and I didn't get such a hot grade but it was worth it.

    Do it for yourself. We all wondered if we could make it...nursing school is very tough. Hang in there!!
  7. by dosamigos76
    Aug 4, '03
    Occupation: Patient Care Manager-Hospice Specialty: 7 year(s) of experience in Hospice ; Joined: May '03; Posts: 394; Likes: 40
    I thought this was such an awesome thread that it deserved to "come back to life."
    Cheryl
  8. by Marie_LPN, RN
    Aug 4, '03
    Occupation: Operating Room Nurse Specialty: 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER ; From: US ; Joined: Jun '03; Posts: 17,036; Likes: 1,006
    One clinical I had was bedbathing a lady who had some sort of chemical imbalance. Screamed "she's trying to kill me" over and over, and i know people could hear this outside. I talked to her, asked questions, explained everything i was going to do, etc. but she still kept screaming. I stood there like "What have i gotten myself into?". My report nurse walked in there after i was done to redo this lady's IV, and she started screaming "this nurse is trying to kill me". Felt a little relieved knowing it wasn't just me.
  9. by redshiloh
    Aug 4, '03
    Joined: Mar '03; Posts: 352; Likes: 41
    I remember in LVN school, when they were teaching us how to catheterize
    (using a model), a young girl pipes up all panic stricken, " You mean we're going to have to do that to a real person?!!"
    Consequently, she dropped out of the program.

    Incidentally, I only graduated my BSN program because of the kindness of the other students.
  10. by Marie_LPN, RN
    Aug 4, '03
    Occupation: Operating Room Nurse Specialty: 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER ; From: US ; Joined: Jun '03; Posts: 17,036; Likes: 1,006
    Originally posted by redshiloh
    I remember in LVN school, when they were teaching us how to catheterize
    (using a model), a young girl pipes up all panic stricken, " You mean we're going to have to do that to a real person?!!"
    I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer sometimes, but dang.
  11. by VivaLasViejas
    Aug 4, '03
    Occupation: RN and blogger extraordinaire Specialty: 20 year(s) of experience in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych ; From: OR, US ; Joined: Sep '02; Posts: 26,949; Likes: 44,635
    I *still* wonder about it, every day......

    Seriously, if you ever think you've "made it", that's the time to quit! Sadly, I know some nurses like that, who think they've got this whole nursing thing wired and they know everything there is to know. Me, I've only been an RN for six years, but I'll NEVER stop learning, even if I work until I'm 80.
  12. by SirJohnny
    Aug 4, '03
    Occupation: Registered Nurse Specialty: 8 year(s) of experience in LTC & Private Duty Pediatrics ; From: US ; Joined: Jan '03; Posts: 399; Likes: 127
    2banurse:

    - I am the opposite end of the nursing school game --- just getting started.

    - Have A&P 101 Finals tonight (8/4).

    - Nervous, you betcha...

    - But I am determined more than ever to somehow pull this nursing school thing off. Actually am looking forward to clinicals.

    - What keeps me going? I keep dreaming about getting out of the cubicle that I sit in 10 hours a day. I keep dreaming about doing the travel-nurse thing...and being able to walk away from a job after 13 weeks.

    ----

    - Is it all roses? No -- I understand that. But, I am so freagin determined to do something else with my life that I could scream. Never did I feel this strong about wanting to enter the computer field as I do the nursing field.

    - For me, it's going to be a quality of life issue. If I can handle the 12+ hour days of nursing -- then I hope I can enjoy my days off. More importantly, I hope I can enjoy my days off and live where I want to and fish where I want to.

    - Certainly can't do that with the current state of the IT field. And I am one of the lucky ones - at least I am employed.

    --------

    - Well it's 2:10PM. Final is at 5PM. Gotta go hit the books.

    - Thanks for letting me ramble.

    John Coxey
    (jcpoxey001@yahoo.com)
  13. by iliel
    Aug 4, '03
    Occupation: student, stay at home girlfriend. Joined: Jun '03; Posts: 1,308; Likes: 2
    John, good luck with your A&P final!
    I have doubts, but I think it's just normal.

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