I messed up, terribly. I failed out of my CA CC nursing program and I'm devastated.

[windsurfer8, BSN, RN]

If your mental state is so compromised that you couldn't make it though nursing school what makes you think you could provide good care to patients?  You can perceive it how you want, but it probably saved you from a career that wouldn't work.  The stress of direct patient care is 10X's nursing school.  Look for a career that is a better fit for your anxiety levels.  It isn't a bad thing, but if you screw up in real nursing you are going to get fired and can be sued.  No one in court is going to care if you were tired or stressed.  I would take it as a learning experience and find a good fit. 

[banbhat]

Message me anytime. I am in that same boat. Failed out...TWICE. ADHD, divorce, coparenting, sister committed suicide, and a full-time job. I had no business trying to hold on. And as I turn 48 today I still have to keep going. My dream hasn't died, it just got a year older. I get to see two cohorts become nurses. Starting in January, I get to start all over and do 4 semesters. 

I'm not going to be dismissive and say "if I can do it so can you". Everyone is different. What I will say is if you get back up you will be one of the most headstrong, grizzled, combat-ready nurses you know. You'll hold that license and cherish that you fought like hell to get it. I say this because I feel like I will too. When I originally started school I was already non-traditional at age 45.

 

So c'mon let's go be some bad-*** nurses! 

You in?

[brandy1017, ASN, RN]

banbhat said:

Message me anytime. I am in that same boat. Failed out...TWICE. ADHD, divorce, coparenting, sister committed suicide, and a full-time job. I had no business trying to hold on. And as I turn 48 today I still have to keep going. My dream hasn't died, it just got a year older. I get to see two cohorts become nurses. Starting in January, I get to start all over and do 4 semesters. 

I'm not going to be dismissive and say "if I can do it so can you". Everyone is different. What I will say is if you get back up you will be one of the most headstrong, grizzled, combat-ready nurses you know. You'll hold that license and cherish that you fought like hell to get it. I say this because I feel like I will too. When I originally started school I was already non-traditional at age 45.

 

So c'mon let's go be some bad-*** nurses! 

You in?

I'm sorry for your loss, may she rest in peace.  I just want to encourage you and the OP to consider other related medical degrees.  It doesn't have to be nothing but nursing.  There are other satisfying and well paying options out there like ultrasound tech or radiology tech that pay well and have better quality of life and working conditions than nursing.  So many people only see nursing as their dream, but the working conditions have worsened over the years due to rise of corporate healthcare and even more so since covid. 

I was a nurse for almost thirty years and if I had to do it again I would not, and I wouldn't recommend it now!  I took early retirement due to the terrible conditions and am living on a tiny pension and my savings.  I've lived with chronic back pain when I stand for even 5 minutes for years and now when I walk so I finally went to the Dr and to no one's surprise my L-spine is shot, mod-severe DJD L3-L5 and severe disc narrowing L5-S1 from all the back-breaking moving of patients over the years without lift equipment till the end of my career.  

One of the reasons I didn't look for another job was I couldn't stand and office, clinic or outpatient you do lots of standing.  I was always thankful that as soon as I sat down the pain went away, but since I wasn't an ortho nurse I didn't know this was a sign of lumbar stenosis.  I was prescribed meloxicam but told if I needed to take it daily then I need my kidney's checked every 3 months as it can obviously cause kidney damage as it's stronger than advil.  Oh and PT of course. 

I'm just thankful that I was fortunate that I wasn't in constant pain like many of my coworkers who needed epidurals and came to work slathered in Bengay.  My pain still goes away as soon as I sit down.   But now that I'm retired not being able to stand and walk without pain is limiting and interfering with enjoying simple things like traveling and taking a walk by the lake.  Hopefully the PT will work.  I recently spoke to a coworker who had similar issues and ended up needing spinal surgery for her lumbar stenosis and now is able to enjoy her life and be active and even take a hike!  I'm happy for her, but I hope I won't need surgery to do that.

[DreamingCRNA]

Yeah, this must be hard. But everything everyone has said is very true. Don't be discouraged and try again.

[Jurse, LPN]

banbhat said:

Message me anytime. I am in that same boat. Failed out...TWICE. ADHD, divorce, coparenting, sister committed suicide, and a full-time job. 

 

Sorry to hear this. It looks to me like we were in a similar boat. My ex-husband pulled a divorce on me.  Our kid was struggling to cope with her broken home. My sister's niece attempted suicide, and she did it again that sent her to ICU--She cut her femoral artery.  Our father was very ill and passed away around my graduation. Both of my father and niece were in the hospital. I showed my ex-husband nothing can stop me unless  I was laying on the bed of ER.  I dropped and picked up the kid at school and worked full-time too.  

[Jurse, LPN]

qshifts said:

Sorry to hear this. It looks to me like we were in a similar boat. My ex-husband pulled a divorce on me.  Our kid was struggling to cope with her broken home. My sister's niece attempted suicide, and she did it again that sent her to ICU--She cut her femoral artery.  Our father was very ill and passed away around my graduation. Both of my father and niece were in the hospital. I showed my ex-husband nothing can stop me unless  I was laying on the bed of ER.  I dropped and picked up the kid at school and worked full-time too.  

Correction, her daughter, my niece. 

[Ync]

I want to tell you that things happen for some reason, see the positivity out of the bad moment . You might not see it now, because of all the feeling. Just look forward. Your life don't end here. I wish you all the best. There are a lot of opportunities out there. I know how you are feeling. I was in your shoes before. Just look forward. 💞💞

[Conqueror Slothful]

You did not fail the program because of ADHD or any other diagnosis. I know this because you got into the program in the first place and in order to do so you had to have been a really good student. So then, now that we know you are a good student, we can discredit the claim that ADHD and whatever else caused you to fail. You also lasted 5 semesters in your program, further reinforcing the idea that you are a good student. So then, be honest and quickly identify what the real problem was, fix it, and try again. What else are you going to spend your time doing thats more worthwhile? 

[londonflo]

Conqueror Slothful said:

I know this because you got into the program in the first place and in order to do so you had to have been a really good student. So then, now that we know you are a good student, we can discredit the claim that ADHD and whatever else caused you to fail. You also lasted 5 semesters in your program, further reinforcing the idea that you are a good student. So then, be honest and quickly identify what the real problem was, fix it, and try again. What else are you going to spend your time doing thats more worthwhile? 

The last semester combines all that you have learned previously and expects that you can handle new situations using the knowledge learned to that point. If a student was a good student with great grades for the previous semesters, we would not expect ANY to fail. No, it is a combination of new complex situations, pulling information from the past and combining it with new situations/information and that makes the semester so difficult. Please know that most nursing schools do lose a couple of students in their last semester as the information to be learned and employed becomes incrementally difficult. I wish you the best as you work through this situation. 

[Conqueror Slothful]

londonflo said:

The last semester combines all that you have learned previously and expects that you can handle new situations using the knowledge learned to that point. If a student was a good student with great grades for the previous semesters, we would not expect ANY to fail. No, it is a combination of new complex situations, pulling information from the past and combining it with new situations/information and that makes the semester so difficult. Please know that most nursing schools do lose a couple of students in their last semester as the information to be learned and employed becomes incrementally difficult. I wish you the best as you work through this situation. 

OK negative nancy. My 4th semester was more difficult than my 5th semester. I think youre speaking for yourself. 

[londonflo]

Conqueror Slothful said:

My 4th semester was more difficult than my 5th semester. 

I am speaking from the viewpoint of  usual curriculum development  to the OP.   . Name calling is never necessary in a professional discipline. Frankly I do not care about your 4th, 5th, 6th, semesters. I am speaking to the OP and others that echoed the experience. 

Your comments are hurtful to the OP. 

[nurSINGH]

Everyone has a unique journey. Try not to be discouraged. Failure happens in life. It is how you respond is what makes the difference.