Honest Advice Needed

Clivia · Mar 1, 2013

First of all: try not to be harsh on yourself. Being firm, as in, you have to do your homework, is needed, but being harsh, as in I should have done better, more, you name it, is demoralizing. Try you best and after turning in projects or finishing tests, try to get a feel of accomplishment, no matter what you grade will be. You cannot change things after the fact, in stead, refocus you energy on the projects and work to come. You are doing great and you will find ways to reach you goal, or you your goals may change down the road and either way is good. Good luck!

Stephalump · Mar 1, 2013

Nursing school is reading/lectures on steroids. There is a hands-on component,0f course, but it's dwarfed by the knowledge based side of things. You'll have hours and hours of reading, plus projects, homework, clinical days, clinical paperwork, etc. I'm not really sure how to compare it to pre-reqs, except it's a lot more work and a different style of learning. If you struggle with the memorization aspect of prereqs, then nursing school might give you a nice break. It's less about memorization and more about understanding.

I can't tell you if you're in over your head or not. I can tell you the vast majority of what we learn in school IS science and basic algebra, so all your hard work in your prereqs will definitely pay off later.

Anyway. It sounds like you're feeling burnt out. It happens to the best of us. Take a break and look at all you've accomplished! A's and B's are no easy feat!

margerator · Mar 2, 2013

I am a second degree seeker too, and although I don't have kids, I have started to become insecure about whether or not I will be accepted. I think it is normal! As long as you are doing the best you can, you should try to not worry. Try to remember why you wanted to pursue it. School's hard, but only temporary!

If you don't do nursing, where do you see yourself in the next 5 years or so?

learningmom · Mar 2, 2013

Nursing school is reading/lectures on steroids.

hahaha that is so true!

Here's mine...Nursing school is like an educational bootcamp!

Listen feeling overwhelmed means you are pushing your limits. You can come out of it 2 ways. Now you know you are becoming tougher and can handle similar situations...hence you will become better and better at what you do as a nursing student/nurse.

Or you want to cut down on the load and aim for something else altogether.

Either ways nursing

tigerlogic · Mar 2, 2013

Nursing school is academically intense. It's like building a house of cards with different subjects at different card house levels all at once. Also, nursing school is expensive and personally, I wonder if paying for anything but a top 10 or top 20 school is worth the investment. If you did well in your first degree and have had real responsibility in job since then, youll probably be fine after you get in. If you have trouble with details and connecting how the different parts of A&P fit together, nursing school will be rough. But, in the end, only you know if it's worth it and if there's a will there's often a way.

dkmamato3 · Mar 2, 2013

I am a second degree seeker too and not yet in nursing school. I have applied and currently waiting for acceptance to my program of choice. Do I worry about getting accepted? Sure - I think everyone does once that application is sent off.

I have kids too and can relate to the studying whenever they are not around. I have tried to not let my school work compromise my time with them as I do my pre-reqs because I know that once I start nursing school, it will impact them. Days will be longer and there will be many many more things to do.

Only you know if this is what you truly want to do and whether it will be worth it to you. While I really enjoyed my first career ... something was missing for me and life events let me to my decision to pursue nursing. With my pre-reqs, I do feel a little overwhelmed but it is an exciting kind of being overwhelmed ... I feel like I have learned so much in a short period of time, but know that I am just scratching the surface at this point. I find my self wanting more knowledge on sections we cover in A&P but there is just do not have enough time to fit in more reading right now.

I volunteer in a local ED. There is not many things that I can do, but it gives me a lot of time to shadow the nurses and opportunities to ask questions when there is down time. I look forward to going in there every week and it is exciting to see how the concepts from A&P is coming into context. Maybe try and see if you can find a place to volunteer or to shadow some nurses for some time - observing them in action may help to solidify your decision to go to school.

For what it is worth, I think your struggles with second-guessing is normal. Nursing school is a big investment, not only financially but emotionally as well .. and dealing with the "mommy-guilt" of taking time away from your children probably plays a factor too. I kind of look at it as a happy mommy is a better mommy. I know in the core of my heart that I want to pursue this and I believe that it will teach my children that striving for something they really want, even if it is hard, it worth it.

SleeepyRN · Mar 3, 2013

I am a second degree pre-nursing student. I have 3-5 prerequisite courses left (depending on the schools I want to apply to) before I can start applying for nursing programs. I am currently taking A&P I as well as statistics. I am feeling frustrated, confused, and I am second guessing my decision to pursue Nursing.
I am sure that many of you can relate, I spend all of my time studying. I study from the moment my kids go to school until they come home and then again after they are in bed. For all of the studying I do, my grades are A's and B's. (more B's) These are not easy A's and B's and I am very hard on myself when my work is less than perfect (that's just who I am). I am worried about getting into nursing school, I am afraid that I can't do it, I am afraid that if I get in I won't be able to do the nursing program. I spent yesterday in a funk....re-evaluating my decisions and looking at looking inward to find things that I might enjoy doing. Has anyone else been in this same, if not similar, position? What did you do to get over the hump? How is nursing school different? Is it more hands on learning vs. reading text/listening to lectures? I know that Nursing school is going to be a lot of work and I know it is going to be hard. I am not a strong science and/or math person and I am wondering if I getting in over my head. HELP!

In nursing school, you have class component and clinical component simultaneously. While you are in clinical, at the hospital, yes, you are doing hands on stuff. HOWEVER, there is TONS of studying for clinical that is separate from your lectures. Work such ad patho work sheets where you describe your patients' conditions. You have to write what the normal physiology is, and then the pathophysiology of their diagnoses. This requires tons of reading text. You have to do all of this at the same time you are taking your lecture classes, which is TONS of reading. You learn briefly hands on clinical skills in school, but you dont really get much practice in clinicals. You learn that on the job. Example: I started 2 IVs throughout all of nursing school. But it isn't til you graduate and work that you REALLY get hands on experience. Nursing school is mostly about lectures and connecting the dots between what you're learning and why you're doing what you're doing in clinical

SleeepyRN · Mar 3, 2013

Nursing school is academically intense. It's like building a house of cards with different subjects at different card house levels all at once. Also, nursing school is expensive and personally, I wonder if paying for anything but a top 10 or top 20 school is worth the investment. If you did well in your first degree and have had real responsibility in job since then, youll probably be fine after you get in. If you have trouble with details and connecting how the different parts of A&P fit together, nursing school will be rough. But, in the end, only you know if it's worth it and if there's a will there's often a way.

DITTO, DITTO, DITTO. If A&P is really difficult for you, get help NOW. You HAVE to know it to understand the disease processes you learn throughout nursing school.