Excited about starting nursing school this spring

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I was wondering if anyone else out there will be starting nursing school this spring. At first I was really nervous about it but now I'm excited and ready to get my career started. I am an older student (30), not too old. I would love to know how yall r feeling about starting nursing school.

I'm 33 also, starting in January. I'm so nervous. Our program has a really high drop out rate, so I'm just striving not to be a statistic. I've been sitting in an accounting office for the past 10 years, so this is a big career change for me. I'll still be working part time though.

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Specializes in Clinic Supervisor PCP, Administrative RN/LTC.

I'll be 38 in Dec and I start my program in Jan as well. I'm nervous also. Primarily because my program just implemented a non-traditional approach and I'm not sure I will be successful. We will be using eBooks and there will be no lectures. We will have access to power points and in class we will be doing "activities" but no traditional lectures. This got me a lil nervous LOL. I also will be working 36-40 hours in addition to going to school full time. I keep hearing how hard of a journey this will be and I get that...I just hope I can make it all work.

Future RN

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Specializes in N/A.

Hi I start a full time ADN program in January. I was super excited and gung ho but now I'm a ball of nerves. I am like a lot of you-34 and this is a career change for me. I've worked in healthcare for a long time in administrative roles, so healthcare has always been my field but I've not been very successful thus far so I am nervous. I am a STRONG patient advocate and very outspoken, which can rub people the wrong way. I absolutely love to help people-it is my passion. I am nervous that I won't make the grades or that this is a dumb decision. I'm scared because I have moved away from everyone that I love-the people who keep me happy and grounded to do this. I'm super excited because I know that nursing is an excellent field to be in. I was just so sure of myself for so long and now I'm accepted and I'm like...uh OK...here we go! I'm sure we are all going to do well but I feel all of your pain and excitement and nervousness and giddiness for sure :nailbiting:.

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Hello everyone,

I will start a new ADN program next week on the 8th. I'm super excited about this program. I did not do well in a previous program I was enrolled in back in January 2014. This is my second career as well. Good luck to everyone.

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
original?v=mpbl-1&px=-1 Good Luck!
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I'm 33 also, starting in January. I'm so nervous. Our program has a really high drop out rate, so I'm just striving not to be a statistic. I've been sitting in an accounting office for the past 10 years, so this is a big career change for me. I'll still be working part time though.

Mrs Future RN,

I, as well have been an accountant for 8+ years. I'm 34, and I will be starting my RN program in January. I'm so glad I'm not the only one making such a big career change...:) good luck to you!

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I also am starting (again) this January. I took a couple years off for a surgery, life & career changes etc. & time does fly! I'll be starting my second clinincal (Med-Surg) at a different nursing school. Good luck to us all!! :up: Let's not forget to keep in contact with one another :)

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Hello all! I too am an older student, 45 years old starting a Second career. I start school on Monday, Dec. 8th and am besides myself with excitement. I believe this is going to be a wonderful journey and am excited for our future.

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Congratulations, everyone!! I'm about to finished my first semester. It has been the most emotional experience I have had in a very long time (mom, two kids, almost 30, and my husband is military and deploys frequently. Stress and I are close friends). I'm in a BSN program; so I can only attest to that first semester. I think an ADN would be a little more stressful because they don't have that buffer semester.

My advice to you:

1. Stay positive: There is a good chance people in your program will stress, complain, and be negative. Do not let this bring you down. Feeding off of other's energy is so easy and it can really mess you up. Stick with positive, uplifting people.

2. Prepare yourself for any and/or all insecurities to pop out: I had insecurities come out that I hadn't felt in almost 10 years. Remind yourself that you are smart. You wouldn't have been accepted into a program if you weren't.

3. Study! Do not procrastinate: you will feel overwhelmed. That is normal. If you have something to do, just do it. I learned that lesson first hand and will now have to put a lot of work in to make sure I get a B in one of my classes.

4. Prepare for the unknown: nursing school is seriously an entirely different world. This is something I knew, but couldnt understand until now. It's sort of like learning about living through the Great Depression during history class. However, you cannot truly know what that felt like unless you were an adult in the 1930's.

5. Teamwork: I cannot say this enough. Being an independent person, I had such a hard time asking for help and felt horrible when I did. If this is you, get over it. You will need those classmates and they will need you.

6. Become a sponge: you will be given so much information, daily. Accept that you will not remember everything. They are teaching you to think critically. You need to decide which information is most important as a nurse.

7. That brings me to this. Remember, you are no longer in biology courses: nursing textbooks love physiology. While it is wonderful (and even helpful) to understand what happens to the nephrons during kidney failure, it's not as important as knowing what a nurse needs to do while a pt goes into kidney failure. Knowing the physiology is excellent and if you can go that deeply while learning how to be a nurse, go for it! However, the first semester, don't let yourself get caught up in the physiology of everything.

8: Physiology do's: know the heart and lungs. This will be SO helpful in understanding why nurses do what when X signs and symptoms occur.

9. Remember the opportunity you have: there are so many students across the country who desparately want to be a nurse. Tons of these students cannot go to nursing school for whatever reason.

10. Exercise: they will tell you this and you will (most likely) agree but then not do it. Exercising will help you to release so much stress and anxiety, plus give you much needed energy. You will think you don't have time. I promise if you give yourself that time to take care of your health, you'll be able to focus so much better.

11. Lastly, have fun! This is an experience you will never get again. You will never be that completely clueless, brand new nursing student. Do not forget to enjoy the ride!

Below are some study tips I learned along the way. I do not have a primary learning style. Meaning, I am not solely a visual or auditory learned. So, I had to put together a process to aid in making things click.

1. Tools: determine what tools work best for you. I like colored pens, a 3 hole punch, printer paper, high lighters, and mechanical pencils.

2. Audio recorder: I suggest buying one that will allow you to transfer audio files to your computer. This will be VERY helpful during finals. Before this semester, I never listened to any recorded lectures. This semester, I fell in love with the concept. Being a mom and wife, it saved me so much time. I would play the lectures while cleaning the house or doing anything that didn't really require complete concentration. The lecture would play in the background while I got ready in the morning, etc.

3. Let the lecture notes guide you. If your instructor gives you an outline, print it and take notes on that. I very rarely read the entire chapters. I go to the book for further clarification, which happens frequently.

4. Pre-reading: don't waste your time reading all the chapters before lecture. You will never remember it nor gain understanding (unless, this is your learning style and it's been proven to work for you. Then, by all means, continue). Our lectures can contain about 5 chapters. Personally, I don't have that kind of time in my life. DO look at the chapter! It's a good idea (meaning just do it and don't procrastinate) to skim chapters. By this I mean read the title, read all the headings, tables and pictures, and become familiar will all the bold words. Don't try to understand yet. That is what lecture is for. Doing this form of pre-reading will get your brain ready to absorb the words coming from your instructor's mouth.

5. Note taking: pick a colored highlighter that stands out to you. Use only this color to highlight über important stuff, like when the teacher says "you'll probably see this again" or "I'm making sure you understand this for a reason" ie test questions. Remember you don't need to write everything down (this is what your recorder is for). You want to really hear what the teacher is saying.

6. After lecture solo studying: rewrite your notes! This will vary on what works for you. My brain gets bored easily (thank you ADHD); so I have to keep it fun, entertaining, and interactive. I like to use white printer paper and colored pens. I make fun headings (this gives the brain a break to stop absorbing for a minute). Write things from your notes and that section of your book, re-write tables, draw pictures. This is where you focus on understanding.

7. Group studying: this is so helpful but dangerous. Keep it study related! I have several different students I will study with, but never all of us all together. You also want to ask that people already look over everything before the group meets. This is when you understand the jist. We just take out a section and go down the notes taking turns talking, explaining, and asking questions.

8. Test day: about an hour before the test, stop studying. There is no way you will learn anything new at this point and you will just stress yourself out. Get up and walk around, stretch, relax your mind. Unless, of course, life happened (didn't have a chance to study) and you're trying to memorize meds or lab values. Then, by all means, cram away.

9. Taking the test: take a deep breath. If you don't know a question, skip it. Do not let anxiety get the best of you. There's been times I've had to just put my pencil down, close my eyes, take a deep breath while telling myself "get a grip, Sunny. You know this. If it's something you don't know, you're smart enough to figure it out."

Sorry, I wasn't originally planning a novel. That's all the information I wish I had fully understood before starting. This list is not inclusive. There's tons more but I need to write my careplans.

Good luck to everyone and congratualtions!!! Remember, you are incredible and you're about to have the time of your life!!

-Sunny

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Starting in January 2015 and I am 52 yrs old working full time...

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Hello everyone! I'm 32 and I start in January also. This is my third time back in college, I'd been finishing up my pre-reqs for there past year and a half. Nervous and excited are the overwhelming emotions. I mostly want to know my class and clinical schedule ASAP so I can make arrangements for my kids. I have an 11 year old and a 9 year old, both with after school activities. So I'm wondering how everything is going to work together. I know once I get going I'll make it work, but I'm not fond of uncertainty in plans.

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Congrats to everyone starting nursing school this spring! Good luck! :up:

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