I don't like nursing school :( will I hate nursing?

OCRN3 · Jan 12, 2013

What do you hate about clinicals? Clinical will be like when you get a job in the hospital except you are on your own as far as how you do things and in what sequence. If you hate clinicals I think you have a hard road ahead, to get I to research or teaching you usually need some floor experience.

Sent from my iPhone using allnurses.com

ERloverRN · Jan 12, 2013

I don't think clinical a are like the real world at all. I hated clinicals. I thought the nurses were mean and I was scared of the patients. That was four years ago. I love my job, I feel like I am at home at work.

Nursing school is not always the best predictor of what type of nurse you will be. Stick with it it does get better.

kool-aide, RN · Jan 12, 2013

Everyone hates nursing school--it sucks! Lol

In my experience, NS isn't anything like working independently as a CNA which I do now.

chrisrn24 · Jan 12, 2013

I dreaded clinical too. To me it was that I didn't truly belong there yet. Once you get into nursing and feel you belong at a workplace it will be different.

nurseywifeymommy1 · Jan 12, 2013

I hated nursing school in general! My average is/was 3.5. I thought the teachers were lazy, women ****** and way too much stress. My relief was at clinicals. The patients were nice and loved the extra attention and I felt like I was making a difference for the good in someone's life. I truly like being a nurse. Not saying I don't hv days that I want to turn around and go home back to bed. Maybe you should consider something else in the medical field- like research ??

Lucidity · Jan 12, 2013

"What do you hate about clinicals? Clinical will be like when you get a job in the hospital except you are on your own as far as how you do things and in what sequence."

It sounds bad but I don't like dealing with the patients. I'm scared of working with them. :/

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Jan 12, 2013

"What do you hate about clinicals? Clinical will be like when you get a job in the hospital except you are on your own as far as how you do things and in what sequence."
It sounds bad but I don't like dealing with the patients. I'm scared of working with them. :/

((HUGS)) as you gain confidence and knowledge you will feel better about being around the patients. If you never end up being comfortable ....there are areas of nursing that you don't have ot have "patient contact" when you are through. You could go be a Drug rep, Clinical specialist for medical companies.....research.

What scares you?

ThePrincessBride, MSN, RN, NP · Jan 12, 2013

I hate most of my fellow nursing students and especially the clinical instructors (the evil witches), but I do think "Real" Nursing is far different from nursing school.

garykent · Jan 12, 2013

The nice thing about nursing is that there are many options available to us. Hating nursing school or clinicals doesn't mean you will hate being a nurse, but you may need to find a position that suits you. Be patient, be flexible.

rngolfer53 · Jan 13, 2013

It sounds bad but I don't like dealing with the patients. I'm scared of working with them. :/

You're not the only one....even among your classmates. :yes: It can be very scary dealing with sick, vulnerable people. One can feel like any slight misstep can cause serious harm.....which it usually does NOT.

Is there an instructor you feel comfortable with? If so, mention your feelings to him/her. Generations of nursing students have had similar feelings at one time or another.

Ask for a little extra attention from your clinical instructors. They can and should reinforce the things you do well, point out ways to improve, and offer suggestions to become more confident.

As several posters pointed out above, nursing is a broad field and bedside is only one part of it, albeit a big part.

Best of luck to you and hang in there.

PeepnBiscuitsRN · Jan 13, 2013

What kinds of patients have you dealt with so far? I recall disliking most of my LPN schooling because we were in nursing homes- and I did not want to work in a nursing home...no way, no how, no sir! Didn't like dealing with confused elderly people because by instinct I felt like I had to talk to them like they were toddlers, and I knew that was demeaning and insulting, and the whole atmosphere was depressing and stressful between the patients, the staff nurses and family members.

But then the last two weeks of the program had me in the hospital setting for OB and for a med-surg integrated practicum. WOW, did I do a 180. It was still stressful, because like you, I have a hard time talking to people even just socially. However, I can tell you that once I started working as an LPN (in peds, because that's where I really wanted to work) I loosened up, and when I went back for my RN, it was...well, it was sort of like starting over a bit because clinical was intimidating, and the staff nurses were intimidating, but again I loosened up by the end. It's like using a muscle that you're not used to using, it takes some work, it's not comfortable but once you're loosened up it gets easier.

All through nursing school- both LPN and RN I always heard, over and over: "clinical is NOTHING like the real world. It is just a sample!" And that's so right, never show up on day one of orientation in a clinical mindset- you'll be bowled over. What I'm really trying to say is that it does get better. You have some good choices depending on where you are and what the nursing market is like where you live. Phone triage, school nursing, health insurance nurse person...give it a chance.