HELP ME!! I dont know if Nursing is for me

en1024 · Oct 21, 2009

Anatomy and Physiology are tough classes, it takes alot of study time. Maybe you can take them in the summer then you can concentrate soley on just those classes.

bessiepig1 · Oct 21, 2009

the reality is most people cannot do a traditional nursing program while working and juggling kids(i know u didnt say that u have kids). You need a lot of time to devote to studying but if u work part time and have no kids then every other moment needs to be devoted to school. You can do it as long as you are dedicated and dont have too much on your plate. hope that helps

hiddencatRN, BSN, RN · Oct 21, 2009

I've taken quite a few Nursing pre-req classes but they've intimidated me quite a bit.. specifically Anatomy so I dropped the class. i feel like I can be a good nurse, but I cant get over the fact that this class is insane. i dont think its hard I just dont have all the time necessary to study for the material. Im a full time student and work part time to pay for my bills.. I dont live at home anymore. I dont know what to do! Im not sure if I should just suck it up and go for this Nursing thing or give up. im not a quitter but when I have it in my mind set Im going to fail, most likely i will.
Any advice??

In nursing school you'll have to make time to study for your classes. If you finish your prerequisites, will you be taking a full load of courses when you're doing your nursing classes? If so, slow down on your class schedule but get every non-nursing class out of the way before nursing school starts. Maybe that will help.

And you *cannot* approach things expecting to fail. As you say, when you expect to fail you usually do. You need to change your approach to learning because your outlook going in has such a huge impact on how you do.

Nursing school is going to be hard and time consuming. You can't get in the habit of dropping (quitting) classes because you find them difficult or don't have the time to study. Better to drop a class than to fail it, but much better to know your limits and only sign up for the classes you know you can manage.

I'd spend some time working this out before diving in to nursing school. I mean that in the kindest way possible- if you want to succeed in nursing school you need the proper attitude and discipline.

amymina · Oct 21, 2009

Hiddencat had alot of great advice. I took all my prerequites (A&P 1 and 2, Micro, Psych, etc) before starting my nursing classes because I have 3 children that were from the ages of 4 months to 7 years when I started. I don't have to work outside of the home because my husband takes care of the bills, but the kids are a full time job and finding time to study was a chore.

I just started actual nursing classes this year and it is insane.The prerequites are just the beginning, nursing school only gets more insane and time consuming from there. You will have to decide if you have the time to put into it, because it is going to demand it - that is for sure. If you want to do it, you could seek out a tutor for A&P, that may help. Everyone in nursing school has been through what you are going through now with having to take certain classes, and you may be able to get some support here as well. Don't go in saying you can't do it because then you are right...you can't.

missSAMMY · Oct 21, 2009

Thank you, a lot of what everyone said made a lot of sense. When I was in Anatomy, I didn't think the material was hard. I just felt like it was time consuming. So I think I will try to take it over the summer so I can solely concentrate on the class. Thanks [en1024]. I've already taken some of the pre requisite classes and I am interested in being a Nurse. I definitely think I can do it. In my college, we have to take the pre reqs before the actual nursing programs so I really don't have much to worry about with taking pre reqs and those classes together. Next semester I plan to take Organic Chem and Micro Medical Biology together. I think those are two classes I can manage side by side.

[amymina] I do not have kids but I suppose that would most definitely be very time consuming and you pulled it off, so I have no right to complain, right?

[hiddencat] You are absolutely right, I definitely need to change my attitude and get a little more optimistic. But thats easier said then done. I am horrible at not looking to the future and questioning a thousand "what if's?" So I need to work on this obviously.

My biggest scare right now is what if (see told you with the what if's!!) what if I get into the nursing program and work so hard then I just become so overwhelmed I end up failing out.. then I've wasted a lot of tuition money I've worked so hard to pay for! Ahhh, it's aggravating.

hiddencatRN, BSN, RN · Oct 21, 2009

[hiddencat] You are absolutely right, I definitely need to change my attitude and get a little more optimistic. But thats easier said then done. I am horrible at not looking to the future and questioning a thousand "what if's?" So I need to work on this obviously.

Yeah, it definitely is, and believe me I know. It's not something that will change over night. Have you considered seeing a counselor? Always assuming the worst is a sign of anxiety, and maybe someone to talk to would be helpful in training not to let your mind go to the negative side of things.

Also, affirmations were really helpful for me. Incredibly cheesy sounding, but seriously, repeating daily things like "I am a good student, I am doing well in school, I will continue to do well in school" made a big difference too. I had that stuff written in my notebooks so I could look at it before class if I needed to. And here's the thing- once you start seeing that you *are* successful, it becomes easier and easier to accept that you will continue to be successful.

missSAMMY · Oct 22, 2009

thank you! you were so much help!!

valdtess · Oct 22, 2009

In my school, if you withdraw from classes, you cannot be considered for the program, even if you take a class again and get an A+.

amymina · Oct 22, 2009

I do not have kids but I suppose that would most definitely be very time consuming and you pulled it off, so I have no right to complain, right?

Having kids is definitely hard, but it is also hard having to support yourself while going to nursing school. As HiddenDat said, you go in there with a good attitude and you are more likely to succeed. You also may find that something else that takes up your available time may have to give. In my case, it was a wonderfully clean house. I clean good on the breaks, but during school the family and I live with the essentials b/c that is all we have time for. You can do it, it will probably be rough, but you can get it done and I'm sure you would be a great nurse. Good luck!

tlc2u · Oct 22, 2009

If you are struggling with Anatomy and Physiology and Prereqs be prepared for nursing school being even more time consuming and so much new information to learn.

Many students in nursing school bought supplemental books to aid in their learning. Like Nursing Made Incredibly Easy or Reveiws and Rationales for nursing.

When I took Anatomy and Physiology in a Community college this was not taught by our nursing school instructors because this was part of our prereqs.

One of my instructors was a geneticist, he did not have a clue what a nurse needed to know about anatomy and physiology. Our other instructor had no clue either. He kept telling us that the most important things to know about the body was to know about the protein chains.

My advice if you have time before tackling A&P again try going to your local bookstore and look at the supplemental books they have for nursing anatomy and physiology. Like Anatomy and Physiology Made Incredibly Visual. or Made Incredibly Easy and get a basic understanding of A&P before you retake the class.

ARM05 · Oct 22, 2009

Be careful with those summer classes. At my old cc (where I took my prereqs) the regular semester was about 12 weeks, but summer school was only 5 weeks. It's more difficult to comver the same amount of info in A&P in less than half the time, so I would look into that before hand.

Best wishes!