Any positive thoughts on nursing school?

Cilantrophobe · May 8, 2009

Are you someone who just got into school for nursing??? Congratulations if you did!! and if you did not...do not keep trying...

do not keep trying? I hope you didn't mean that...

shann106 · May 9, 2009

It is by far the hardest thing you will ever do, it will push you to your breaking point more than once, but think of it like Survivor. The people on Survivor do not have many positive things to say about the way they have to live but when they get the prize in the end, it was worth it.

I actually think of the opening scene to the first Greys Anatomy were the cheif tells them "The years you spend here will be the best and worst of your life, look around you, say hello to your competition, 1/4 of you will switch to an easier major, 1/4 of you will crack under the pressure, this is your starting line, HOW YOU PLAY THE GAME IS UP TO YOU"

I have a hard time believing that instructors are out to get students, instructors are tough,they have to be, and when they see students with potential that are not doing everything they should be they push them. Your classmates can quickly become your enemies, or at least the comptetion. I wish nursing school was not like that but it is. You will quickly learn who you can trust and who you can't.

It will be a positive decision for you and your children in the end, the journey will be hard, but that makes the reward that much sweeter.

jreneex2 · May 9, 2009

Originally Posted by jreneex2

Are you someone who just got into school for nursing??? Congratulations if you did!! and if you did not...do not keep trying...

OOPS!!! OMG, of course I mean KEEP TRYING, Thank you for pointing my typo out! I myself am in the Keep trying mode..It was late when I typed that....Sorry...

denise0815 · May 9, 2009

I want to thank everyone for responding!!! The responses have been great and definitely lifted my spirits. I am in the process of completing my pre-req. and will take A&P I online this summer and Chem in the Fall and then I can officially apply to the nursing program. At that point I will only have the core classes left and will be taking one class a semester..(nurs 101,102 etc)..should be done in two years.

It is so nice the hear positive things about this profession we choose,it helps remind you why you chose it in the first place.

Thanks again for all the positive thoughts! Good luck to everyone!

Music in My Heart · May 9, 2009

Hi everyone,
Can someone please say something positive about nursing school......I am really starting to get freaked out because of all the negative comments.
I do not know how anyone gets through school let alone makes it as a nurse.
I am 38 and a single mother of two, this decision was supposed to be a positive one for myself and my kids but now I wonder if I am making a mistake. It is a career change for me so this is a decision I am not taking lightly, but I am starting to question my decision because there seems to be so much negativity among new nurses and experienced nurses, also students claiming instructors are out to get them??..?What is going on, is this really what it is like ?

My perspective:

1) While some of the instructors are quite lame in the role (meaning good nurses who aren't so hot as teachers), I haven't seen anything like they're "out to get people."

2) Several of my classmates are very decent people and we get on quite well.

3) With only a couple of extreme exceptions, the staff nurses have treated us very well and are usually pleased to have us on the floor because we make their lives a bit easier.

4) Several physicians have been quite pleasant to be around and have been happy to teach the peon nursing students.

5) Most of the patients have been very grateful for the care that I've provided to them.

My primary complaint is the dearth of new-grad jobs out there.

Multicollinearity, BSN, RN · May 9, 2009

My perspective:
1) While some of the instructors are quite lame in the role (meaning good nurses who aren't so hot as teachers), I haven't seen anything like they're "out to get people."
2) Several of my classmates are very decent people and we get on quite well.
3) With only a couple of extreme exceptions, the staff nurses have treated us very well and are usually pleased to have us on the floor because we make their lives a bit easier.
4) Several physicians have been quite pleasant to be around and have been happy to teach the peon nursing students.
5) Most of the patients have been very grateful for the care that I've provided to them.
My primary complaint is the dearth of new-grad jobs out there.

:yeahthat:

Me too.

cursedandblessed · May 10, 2009

best things about nursing school:

1. the twelve great instructors who make up for the one looney tunes.

2. watching a baby get born-it really does come from there!! followed by the huge gush of amniotic fluid all over my shoes. lol i was too totally amazed to care. (and i have no real interest in maternity nursing)

3. having my picture taken with the mom and baby, and knowing i'm going to be in some stranger's photo album for years to come.

4. the excitement of finally understanding what the heck a cabg is. everyone kept talking about them and i had no idea what they were talking about.

5. being told (by an instructor) that she could see me gaining confidence.

6. finding a friend in nursing school who i can have a total meltdown with who totally understands just what i'm talking about.

picurn10 · May 10, 2009

I LOVE nursing school! I spent so many years working on a different degree that I liked, but once I got into nursing school it was just like "ahhh...this is what I was meant to do!"

Of course it's hard, harder than any semester I had in undergrad. I am a single mom so it's been so tough to juggle at times, but soooooo worth it. I just know that our lives will be forever changed for the better for my short term sacrifices.

I think coming here and hearing all the horror stories really prepared me well. I'm so glad I knew that going it is was going to be a huge undertaking and that failing out was a real possibility. I went in with my eyes wide open and worked my butt off to find that I have some of the very top scores in class. The majority of my class has had times when they were on the verge of failing out, had to make x score in order to pass, or had to retake one of our big national tests. I've never even come close, but I think the big difference is that I went in knowing that nursing school had to be my sole focus. A lot of people in my class are really bitter because of the stress and lack of social life because they were taken off gaurd by it. Nothing for me has come as a shock or surprise: I expected the very worst, and it's been far, far better than I could have imagined!!!

It reminds me of this friend I had who had her first baby in 4hrs with zero pain meds. Years later she was still bitter and traumatized because she had never prepared herself for a natural birth, it was a total shock to her. On the other hand I had a 14hr labor with not so much as a tylenol and it was totally doable, hard but doable. I had prepared myself for the pain and hard work, so when it came I knew what to do. Some of my classmates are coming unglued now because of all these months of stress, and people failing out, etc...

Good luck! If this is the right path for you, it will be so rewarding. For so many years I couldn't wait to get that letter of acceptance for NS, so when my life was finally in a place for that to happen it was amazing!

That Guy, BSN, RN, EMT-B · May 10, 2009

Best thing about nursing school....

It ends eventually!

Seriously though it is hard, its taxing, but man it sure is a heck of a lot of fun!

deftonez188 · May 10, 2009

My positive thought: You really learn what you're made of

rnjls · May 11, 2009

I just finished my 1st semester of nursing school and I loved it! Yes, it was hard, but I feel like I finally am doing what I was supposed to be doing. At 55, it's nice to finally say that. For me, although there was a lot of theory to learn, the physicality of clinicals was the hardest, but having a patient take my hand at the end of the day and say "thank you", and "bless you" makes the back and hip pain seem nominal.

I think that one of the things that helped me was that I was lucky to make a core group of friends who I could call and vent to, and most important, who I could laugh with. We were able to find the humor in even the most mundane things.

Good luck in your prerequs and in getting into nursing school.

madnurse2b · May 11, 2009

I love all of the learning, all of the cliinicals, everything that I do, see, touch and feel. On the other hand this is HARD - I've worked in the medical field for years and nursing school is hard. It's emotional, crazy, stressful - and wonderful. I've met people in this program that I would stop a bullet for, I've "argued" with instructors and won, and lost (but really enjoyed women and men who are this smart and knowledgeable), I've had people who I think will be terrible nurses who I go to school with who skate by, and people who would be incredible nurses fail out. People told me before I started that this would be harder than anything I had done before - they were right, but every time I am in clinical it is more than worth it :specs: Now, I tell the people I had prereqs with the same thing - and now they are starting the program, or in their first semester - and they tell me I'm right, when they didn't believe me 6 months ago. I tell people if something can go wrong during nursing school it will, there are people who got pregnant (and didn't mean to), got divorced, lost jobs, had spouses lose jobs, you name it - but you get by, and you find joy in the people with you. I love the job, I love school, I love my life, and I am so fortunate for the opportunity to do this.

But that's just me