I just need a little encouragement, today...

Liddle Noodnik · Jan 24, 2008

Here's the thing..... today, I just feel so overwhelmed by the whole process.

(((((((((( Mom2Chaos )))))))))) I guess it is because you are looking at the whole Mount Everest - thinking how far and how steep and how cold and how many have died ... well, you know what I mean.

Just take it "one class at a time" - like clearing the forest ya gotta knock down one tree at a time, then the next - you can't see that there is a clearing just ahead until you clear one more tree, then one more... and then, what a view.

Full of analogies today lol

I am looking at maybe going to school for something else and I am just about paralyzed by all the "what if's" and the time and effort. But when I give in to THAT I get depressed. Just take it a step at a time. 44 is not old (please tell me it's not lol)

I remember when I was working on a unit and heard about a doc who was in his 60's just starting medical school. He was asked, "Won't you be too old when you finish?" And he answered, "How old will I be if I don't?"

Take care :)

Mom2Chaos · Jan 24, 2008

Thanks...... I love your analogies! I know that I can do this... I guess sometimes, as you said, you just have to remember to focus on "the tree in front of you".

Thanks, again, and good luck in your pursuits.....

jelly221,RN, MSN · Jan 24, 2008

You'll get there! I feel overwhelmed at times too, because I just got married and am working FT. I'm mostly afraid that by the time I get my RN my husband and I will want to have kids and then I won't be able to get my CNOR, RNFA, and NP like I plan to.

Just think about how wonderful it's gonna be at the end of the road when you're an RN and you get to wear scrubs and take care of your pts!

PreRN Katie · Jan 24, 2008

I know it's overwhelming. I'm taking my prereqs now too and sometimes it feels like I'll never be done. Plus all the other stuff you have to do for NS admission like writing essays, taking NETs or HESIs or whatever other oddly named test they happen to require, and every single program wants something different. It's scary but it's doable, so please don't give up! My thoughts and positive energy are with you! Just visualize attaining your goal and it will suddenly seem easier. Good luck!!!:balloons:

9livesRN, BSN, RN · Jan 24, 2008

well, one day it will all pay off, it is not easy to all of us, i have to work ft, got married... billls, mortgage, car payments... plus perform my best at class!

all i know that one day I will be a RN in Hawaii!!!

step by step, dont rush, but dont slack!

B2728 · Jan 24, 2008

My sentiments exactly! I just started taking the pre-reqs in the hopes to gain acceptance to an accelerated 2nd degree program. For one, it seems like beyond A&P and Microbiology, every school has a different list of pre-reqs! So trying to cast a wide net is quite difficult. But putting all of your eggs in one basket is very risky.

So my plan is to gather the pre-reqs for my first choice over the next year and then apply, and if I don't get in - keep taking the other pre-reqs going down the list for my second and third choices. Hopefully someday I will get in!

Then it's another year of full time study (and more student loan debt). I just wish I would have started down this path in the first place!

I'm so excited to move on to nursing - and I love everything I'm learning in my pre-req courses - but it just seems so far away sometimes - especially when I'm sitting in my cube just trying to make it through another day at the office.

:icon_roll

mekamimi75 · Jan 24, 2008

Don't Give up!! I feel just like you at times. I am 32 year old going to a cc and it seems like it's taking me forever.Next week i will be starting Physio class so we'll see how that goes. Then in the mean time i just want to go to a vocational school here in california for RN but is so many tests you have to take such as the teastest. Are u familiar about that? I am starting to get impatient i know that my husband is also starting to get impatient with me as well. He is depending on me to be his ticket out the military. Well i hope that i encouraged you! You can do all things through CHRIST who give you strengten.

I am 44 years old and going to cc for pre-req's. I started out taking pre-reg's for an RT program, but have since decided that I would really rather go into nursing (at the time, getting into the RN program just seemed to overwhelming). So, (2) pre-req's that I took for RT are not required for RN. I've finished A&P I and received an "A" and am now in A&P II (which I really enjoy, and expect I will also do very well in) and I am taking Gen. Psychology, which I think I will do okay in.
Here's the thing..... today, I just feel so overwhelmed by the whole process. I look at the (8) other pre-req's that I must complete before even applying to NS, the NET and ... oh yeah... I still haven't taken the "College Placement Test/Accuplacer" to see if I need remedial classes. As much as it is really in my heart to become an RN, I can't help but ask myself if I am doing the right thing, or am I taking resources (time and money) away from my family for something that seems like it will NEVER come to fruition!?!?
Has anyone else started on this path "later in life"? Did you go throught these feelings of self-doubt and impatience? For a while I felt good and thought "I'll get there, slowly but surely", but lately it seems that the "top of the mountain" is moving farther away!
Thanks for listening and I welcome any encouraging advice!

twstdlkephillyz · Jan 24, 2008

Hey,

I'm 24 and I just switched majors to the nursing program from computer engineering, I was more than half way towards my bachelors. Although the nursing program is difficult, at least moreso than the CET program I was in, I think it's well worth the extra effort. At times I too get discouraged, but I keep a positive attitude and just take it one semester at a time. Every class I take is one class less towards graduation. Good luck with your prerequisites.

Hotflashn · Jan 25, 2008

Hang in there and just keep living your life in the meantime. I am 45 and starting a second career and sometimes wonder why, when what I really want to do (very closely related) is my old job. There are times when I feel like it is crazy to start again, to rack up more education debt when I have my kids' education debt already on my back and more to come. But then I know that I will be an excellent nurse, that I have everything I need to do that work ... at least within my being. I know that I will make a difference and I can help ease suffering. And sometimes it just feels good to be challenged! Go for it. Find out what you are made of.

Obviously, you have been called to this work or you wouldn't feel it in your heart. Being overwhelmed is normal and natural. Not just for the educational requirements, but for the importance of the job. It IS a heavy load. It will demand from you. It will take from you and from your family and from your life - all of it. The academics are just the start. But at the same time, it is in all likelihood, that it is also your gift and a purpose and you have something important and meaningful to offer. In that way, it is like your calling and your duty. You will find your strength in THAT.

I can't speak for you, but my 40s have been a great time and a time when it isn't all about me, or all about my babies, or the way my a$$ looks in my jeans, but about what I have to offer the world, to bring purpose and meaning and fulfillment to my life through enriching and aiding others. And that makes all of this worth it, even when it is hard, and competitive and challenging and a HUGE sacrifice and looks nothing like my intent.

It isn't just the destination, it is the journey. Who you become and what you learn about you is as important as any of the rest. I have come to the conclusion that nursing is not what you do, but who you are. Changing your identity to BECOME is big. If you didn't question it or this path, then that would be more worrisome than blindly accepting without thought. Dig in!!

PreRN Katie · Jan 25, 2008

Obviously, you have been called to this work or you wouldn't feel it in your heart. Being overwhelmed is normal and natural. Not just for the educational requirements, but for the importance of the job. It IS a heavy load. It will demand from you. It will take from you and from your family and from your life - all of it. The academics are just the start. But at the same time, it is in all likelihood, that it is also your gift and a purpose and you have something important and meaningful to offer. In that way, it is like your calling and your duty. You will find your strength in THAT...It isn't just the destination, it is the journey. Who you become and what you learn about you is as important as any of the rest. I have come to the conclusion that nursing is not what you do, but who you are. Changing your identity it BECOME is big. If you didn't question it or this path, then that would be more worrisome that blindly accepting without thought. Dig in!!

WOW!!! I just wanted to say that you are awesome! This is why I love this field, everyone looks out for each other and is so encouraging and supportive! This sure made my day and I'm sure it will help the OP immensely.

Serlait · Jan 26, 2008

Hotflashn, thank you for your wonderful thoughts. As a 50 year old, I sometimes panic when I look at the future. Am finishing my last pre-req this Spring, waiting anxiously for March when CC sends out acceptance letters. But also, having moments of real fear that the letter won't come, and I'll be wait listed, or worst, not accepted at all. Guess you have to keep it all in perspective. Only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time.

Was encouraged also by the 60 year old in med school. At least he figured out what he wanted to do when he grew up in time.