HELP! Nursing student who can't pass classes and is on the verge of dropping out!

kp1987 · Nov 8, 2013

Which one of these careers do you see self doing for the next 50 years? Can't see yourself as a nurse 20,30,40 years from now then you should probably go another route. Nursing is about the patient so if working with patients and dealing with their poop isn't for you and you'd rather just talk all day then social work may be up your alley.

Food for thought.

JesusKeepMe · Nov 8, 2013

Well, first off, as a psych nurse, I get offended when folks say psych isn't real nursing, blah blah blah. You haven't walked in the shoes of a psych nurse. You have only been a student. Having clinics on the unit vs being the psych nurse, way different.

Now, if you're really wanting to pursue another career, go for it now instead of prolonging your dream. Plus you say you're having issues passing classes, well, it may be a sign. Go after what you want most, if being a nurse isn't it, that's fine. Just pursue your passion.

mrsboots87 · Nov 8, 2013

I mean no offense by this, but why are they even letting you continue the program after failing 4 core classes. Most schools have a 1-2 time fail and repeat policy. It is absurd that they will keep taking your money. It does you a disservice to let you continue on when you keep failing. However, since they don't seem to care if it take 5 years to do 2 years of courses, its is up to you and where your heart is. If nursing is what you want, you need to work with your instructors and the students services and tutors to see why you keep failing. Maybe its how you study, or you don't study long enough, or you don't grasp the material and need a tutor to assist. If your heart is not in it, and then take a break to research social work or even other careers because why continue to pay for courses that you are ust failing anyway. Its a huge waste of your time and money.

krisiepoo · Nov 8, 2013

So a month ago I would have thought it completely nuts that you were going through nursing, but then I did my mental health rotation and met 2 nurses who disliked (they used the word Hated, seems strong to me) the medical aspect of nursing. They LOVED the mental health aspect of nursing. They graduated and are now nurses on mental health units.

My step mom called me because a county in my area is hiring RN SPMI case manager, background in disabilities for 1 year is the only requirement - starts at $75k. so there are nursing jobs out there that aren't strictly med related.

However, how safe of any kind of nurse would you be, you still need the knowledge and it really sounds like you're struggling. To add as well, a SW degree is HARD as well. You still need to pass boards, LSW is rarely enough these days so figure you're going to be spending another 4+ years in school if you go that route. Not trying to dissuade you from anything, but I've been there

knraymo · Nov 8, 2013

Thanks everyone.

I did not repeat the same course more than once. I have only repeated 1 nursing courses. The other three were health science courses, physiology, health assessment and pharmacology. This current class that I am on the verge of dropping is a nursing theory course also. I am in a bachelors program so including pre-reqs it is a 4 yr. degree and nursing school is 3 out of the 4 years.

My intention of saying psych nursing was not "regular" was not saying it was not real nursing. Remember that so far has been the only area of nursing that I have really enjoyed and succeeded in thus far. I am on the verge of making an A in the theory course. I say it is does not involve as much "nursing" because it is more of a calm environment heard less toward the medical portion and more to word infra and inter personal relationships and coping skills and working more on some aspects of daily living that the patient may lack.

Once again thanks for your interest in my problems. I'm doing some serious soul searching to find out what is really meant for me.

OCNRN63, RN · Nov 9, 2013

So a month ago I would have thought it completely nuts that you were going through nursing, but then I did my mental health rotation and met 2 nurses who disliked (they used the word Hated, seems strong to me) the medical aspect of nursing. They LOVED the mental health aspect of nursing. They graduated and are now nurses on mental health units.
My step mom called me because a county in my area is hiring RN SPMI case manager, background in disabilities for 1 year is the only requirement - starts at $75k. so there are nursing jobs out there that aren't strictly med related.
However, how safe of any kind of nurse would you be, you still need the knowledge and it really sounds like you're struggling. To add as well, a SW degree is HARD as well. You still need to pass boards, LSW is rarely enough these days so figure you're going to be spending another 4+ years in school if you go that route. Not trying to dissuade you from anything, but I've been there

I worked on a psych unit for 4 years (just an avg. community hospital unit). During that time, I had a patient who had a stroke; one who had a gi bleed (fatal); one who developed neuroleptic malignant syndrome from one of his meds; one who had seizures; a diabetic with a BG over 1000...and I'm not even counting the stuff that happened due to suicide attempts. You must know your stuff, and not just the psych. These patients are still human beings, with all of the same frailties we all have. If you go into it counting on not having to deal with medical issues, you're going to be disappointed.

I would never describe it as calm; not in any aspect. If you are struggling this much with your classes, perhaps you should think about whether or not it's really where you should be. Psych isn't a place to hide out because you can't deal with patient care. It's a challenging specialty, and you need to be prepared for anything and everything to happen.