I hate nursing school !

pmabraham, BSN, RN · Feb 28, 2016

"Did anyone survive this ?"

Yes, that's why there are RN's . Yes, it is hard; good things rarely come easy.

Purple_roses · Feb 28, 2016

It seems that you're having a hard time with every single aspect of your schooling experience, indicating that it might be your perspective that needs changing, not everyone else around you.

I know what it feels like to fail a test after studying my ass off. After I failed the next test, I decided that it was time to change my study habits. Ask your teachers if you can review your tests with them, ask them for study advice, set up a meeting with a tutor, and/or ask to join a study group.

The nurses are acting like you're an inconvenience because you are one. We all are (I'm a second semester student too). One day we'll be nurses with 52-million things to do and then a bumbling student who didn't catch up on his or her reading constantly will ask us questions that they perhaps should know because they should have studied it. They are busy. Realize this, be polite, ask questions when necessary, and don't take any attitude they give you personally.

Your instructor wants you to come to clinical prepared. If you know your patient in on chlorpromazine, then you'd better know how to assess for EPS. See if your instructor gave you a list of clinical weekly outcomes and study that stuff the weekend before clinical.

Nursing school does suck. It just does. But we signed up for it, and nobody else is going to drag us across the finish line. That's on us.

windsurfer8, BSN, RN · Feb 29, 2016

Learning how to complete the mission no matter the situation is a huge part of being a nurse. Things get chaotic and you don't always have "direction" however you are expected to complete the task at hand.

You study 6 hours a day and you fail? Then study 12 hours a day. Are not getting enough "guidance" What does that even mean? Ask for more guidance then. You are sick of crying every Sunday? Then don't cry every Sunday. Unless you are being forced to go to nursing school you have the freedom to quit today. School isn't all about numbers..it is about developing work ethic. It is about learning to solve problems when things are not "perfect". Possibly a job in a factory would be better? Something with very basic easy to follow directions and little problem solving required. Totally up to you. If you plan to be a nurse the chaos you are experiencing now is just chump change compared to the real deal. Good luck.

apillarofsalt · Feb 29, 2016

It is hard, but you have to make a decision to get through it. Are you allowed to be angry/frustrated/upset? Of course. But you can be all those things and get through it.

What you can't do if you want to make it through is fail. If you're studying 6 hours a day and having trouble, you aren't studying the right way for that class. That isn't a criticism of your intelligence--I think most people struggle at first to figure out the best way to study for nursing exams.

My best advice is to find a studying partner. I was towards the top of my class, but I only made good grades if I had someone to tutor. Teaching it to someone else reinforced it for me and forced me to become an "expert" on the material.

But really, if you can improve your studying time, you should be able to make decent grades with only an hour or so of study time per day. My advice is to start there.

As for cliques, that kind of behaviour is obviously childish and annoying, but it doesn't end in nursing school and you'll have to deal with those types of people for your entire life. Try to see this as a lower stakes environment in which to practice dealing with difficult people. It's okay to be frustrated, but it serves you best to find a way to feel those feelings and then set it aside when it's time to work. If it starts to affect your performance in class or clinical, then it's becoming a problem you need to address in yourself or with faculty.

Good luck with everything!

nursmimi, BSN, RN · Feb 29, 2016

OP, you are in college. It is not the instructors that need to tell you how to study, nor do they have to let you know what you may see on a test. I can't say that I loved nursing school, but I certainly did not cry because I had to go. Maybe nursing is not for you? I just cannot see doing something that makes me that miserable. BTW what did you mean by "run around all day pretending to do things.."?

hstutz86 · Feb 29, 2016

I wish I was in nursing school RIGHT NOW.. instead of the pre-reqs. and requirements that keep changing.... :) there are plenty of people who WISH they were in your shoes right now :)

study!!!!

NotAllThoseWhoWander · Feb 29, 2016

1. Be sure this is what you really want to do.

2. It's not how much you study, but how. Reevaluate your study methods.

3. You don't have to be "the best" out of all your classmates. It's not a competition, but rather, a period of intense training to make sure you can be a safe graduate nurse. Sometimes the stress can come from focusing on other people's performance.

4. When you graduate, you are not expected to know everything... Are you focusing on the wrong things? You cannot possibly study everything in your textbook before the test. Nursing school does not make you a competent or experienced nurse. You will always be learning!

5. See a counselor if you need to! (Refer to my last post - I've had a rough month. We've all experienced dark times).

Hang in there!

jjmm RN,BSN · Mar 1, 2016

I hear you..nursing school is really really tough, you have to really want to be a nurse, otherwise you won't have the motivation to get through it. Believe me, we all had some of these things happen. As a student, you're going to feel in the way, and you're going to have instructors who expect you to just figure it out with minimal direction. It's all preparing you for the real world of nursing, especially if you plan on working in a hospital. The first year is tough, and you will learn more in that year than in the entire nursing program combined, and do it under an extraordinary amount of stress. But if you really want it, you will do it. It's very rewarding to finally pass the NCLEX and earn that license you worked so hard and so long for, and there will be moments when you finally "get it" and put things together in the real world. Patients that will compliment you and tell you how much you have helped them...not often, but it happens! And it does eventually end. As far as failing tests, try to figure out where you're going wrong. Is it trying to memorize information when you have to critically think and put the information you have learned into a different context and apply it? That can be hard to get used to. If you really don't think it's for you, do some soul searching and maybe talk to an advisor in the nursing department and figure out if nursing is what you really want. Good luck, it is possible.

kristimarieSC · Mar 1, 2016

The first few replies are SO accurate!! I'm at the end of my program and I've been through the toughest of times, but its all your perspective. You're making yourself the victim, and you need to realize that you must take control of your own destiny. Your failure is not ANYONE else's fault. As far as failing tests with hours of study time, I can relate!! You have the change your study habits. Honestly I change my study style EVERY semester! It's challenging, but I hold on to what works and trade out what doesn't. I've learned a lot about myself. Wallowing will never get you through. You need to acknowledge your feelings for a minute, then change you attitude and move on, or soon you won't have the choice of whether to continue on or not, as it will have been made for you by the program. I also very much like the previous pre-nursing response. When I get frustrated and negative, I try to think back to how I felt trying to get into the program. I would have done anything for acceptance into nursing school. My pre-school self would be so disappointing in my thought process. That quickly whips me into shape! I hope you find your inner light and motivation, and kick nursing school's butt! You have the potential to excel, the only obstacle is yourself :)

cearbhallain · Nov 5, 2016

We must be going to the same school! I think that nursing school is purposely hellish in order to adjust you to working in a hellish landscape. But as in working, your greatest strength will come by working with others. That also will help you to get through school. Your classmates are key to this process. Get through school and try to find something besides nursing home and hospital work, where you actually enjoy being at work. However, though life seems rather dark right now, please hang in there. The best to you! :unsure:

Chronicallychanging · Jul 7, 2017

Are we in the same class? As a 55 year old non traditional student I have struggled every step of the way, I finally started getting B's instead of C's ,two classes ago. I decided to take the LPN class over the summer since there was not anything else to take for mt RN, Now I'm struggling with a one credit class, I am so over this.....then my husband has a liver transplant and my teenagers could care less as what I am trying to do. Furthermore, I haven't met a kind student yet that offers any help, I have two classes to go to get my RN and I am wondering if I can do it I am just so tired of it all,