I start nursing school tomorrow and I am scared!

Krystal_loves_babies · Jan 5, 2006

Thanks for all your replies, I am starting nursing school on Monday. I am very excited, but I'm also a little nervous because our first lecture is 4 1/2 hours long, YIKES! I don't know if I'll be able to stay awake that long, and we have two of those a week. Also, we have to have three chapters read by our first lecture, to be ready for our first of many daily quizzes. I'm not that worried though. Thanks again you guys for easing the fears of all of us who are starting soon, you are truly a blessing!

NaomieRN · Jan 5, 2006

If this is something you worked one and half year, why be terrified?

You should be excited after you hard work and did well. Just relax, take a deep breath and you will do fine.

I wish you the best of luck........

God Bless You

MMARN, BSN, RN · Jan 5, 2006

Thank you all so much, I really appreciate it :)
Well, I survived and actually liked it a lot. We had an introduction class instead of lab today and I was happy to see a teacher whom I had a year ago, a wonderful lady :) We watched a few videos, got to look at the schedule. Everyone seemed very nice, some people from my previous classes. It was a very nice experience :)
All of you going through this soon, don't worry, it really is OK and you feel fine once it starts.
Thanks again :kiss

Girl, I'm glad you had a good day. I wonder if that's what I'm goind to do on my first day? Hmm. Oh, well. I hope you keep having days like the one you had and that you enjoy what you're doing. God bless you and good luck. BTW, I LOVED THAT QUOTE from Maya Angelou. It was great!!!

JenNJFLCA · Jan 5, 2006

You'll be surprised with how much you remember when you do your clinicals

gwt · Jan 6, 2006

Hi,

I begin my junior year in a week. We just finished up with a 2 week clinical after fundamentals, assessment and patho. Just a 2 day break for Christmas and now a week off. (sigh...) Just remember to get sleep (I've been doing about 4-5 hours a night for over a year and it's not fun,) eat regularly and get help with anything early on. Do all the readings and watch all the videos as soon as possible. Our syllabi for the first 3 weeks contains no less than 50 chapters of reading, lots of writing and 1 day of clinical per week. Don't be afraid to make yourself known to the professors. Many enjoy giving advice as long as they know you are covering all the material. Sit right up front in the lecture hall and show your interest. Remember, they have the power to grant you that extra point or two that can mean the difference between advancing or failing. In our med-surg cource, they have 9 grading areas to weed out those they don't think will be safe practitioners. Much of the communication and theory is common sense or just plain bullshit. Just tell them what they want to hear and free up your mind for the demanding and critical thinking stuff. Hope this helps! I am lucky to have a 3 day a week schedule for the first time in over a year. Yeah!!!

G

Redeemed98 · Jan 7, 2006

Remember, that when someone is telling you how mean or hard something is, you are getting subjective information. It doesn't mean it is true for you. You may not perceive the same situation that way at all! Having an overall positive attitude and open mind about being a student and learning will get you through what people tell you was the worst they had every endured. Like any trainer, your instructors are going to put you through your paces. You will always be advancing into harder and harder areas of study. Sometimes you'll be asked to stand on your head (metaphorically, that is). As a student, can you honestly say that that is unexpected? The greater majority of instructors really are there to help and encourage you. It is the negative minded people who close their minds to that, fail to see the purpose of what their assignments are teaching them and come away bad-mouthing their instructors and courses that impose fear and anxiety on you newbies. These people are inciting your emotions in order to feed their own egos. Don't fall for it. When you hear these kinds of negative people spouting out their venom take it with a grain of salt before making any judgments. It is very difficult to learn with that kind of attitude. And, as Redeemed98 found out, the stories she had heard turned out to be wrong, but they sure did manage to make her first days of nursing school which should have been exciting and happy, very anxious-ridden.

That is sooo true. I have a a handful of people that I've talked to about the coming semesters that are just what you described; but only one person that I trust to tell me the truth. I listen to the others, and trust one, but it's my own individual experience, and I'm going to have to walk it myself. Your insight is greatly appreciated, and I will try to keep it all in mind. :)

watchthis22 · Jan 8, 2006

brooke0428

registered user

join date: dec 2005

posts: 6 re: i start nursing school tomorrow and i am scared!

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this is such a great thread!! i don't start until the 17th but i have orientation on the 9th and i'm even nervous about that!!! pretty silly i know! i've worked so hard to get to this point and now that i've finally made it i'm scared to death! i mean i am beyond thrilled but at the same time i'm really nervous. especially about clinicals.. i can't wait to work with patients but at the same time it's the thing i'm the most afraid of. i don't want to hurt anyone and i know shots, ivs, catheters, etc don't feel good. i just want to be successful and i know i will be but i think the unknown about what's to come is what makes me nervous! oh well it's good to see i'm not the only one feeling this way! good luck to all of you!!! -----------------------------------------------------------------------

just a word of advise before you go to your orientation...that is the most overwhelming thing you have ever seen!!! i actually saw people leave in tears the first day of nursing school...but by the end of the first semester we had only lost 8 people, most of them dropped either before the semester started, or early in the semester due to outside conflicts. but, just know that after you get your mind wrapped around all of the things that are expected of you and start doing it, you won't falter. it may not seem doable that first day, but trust me it is. everything just seems to start falling in place and you don't even stress about it anymore, it's just something you do. and remember...if it was easy, everybody would do it!

good luck to all that are beginning first semester!

genhen · Jan 9, 2006

I'm getting ready to start my second semester on 1/17. My first semester was the hardest and also one of the most rewarding things I have done in my life. Most definitely, it was the hardest semester of school. I remember the class during the first week. All the students were very serious and scared. I remember our first skills lab. Our instructor was explaining proper hand washing technique. She said that we would have demonstate hand washing to an instructor. She said that if we failed the demonstration, we would fail nursing. There was dead silence. Then, the instructor burst our laughing and said that she was kidding. All the students wanted to kill her.

Most new students are kinda of tense in the beginning. But.....things changed and here is what I did.

I found a study group and began to hang out with them. We studied hard but I also found it a good way to "vent" or talk about stuff. Study group, I believe, is crucial.

Immerse yourself in nursing school. I used to procrastinate and really not apply myself fully in my prereqs. I had to change. I studied and then studied so more. By being very prepared, it reduced the amount of stress. The amount of stuff to study can be overwhelming. I focused on what was in front of me. Think and do nursing all the time, make it your life. I'm lucky because my wife is an RN. We talk about nursing stuff all the time. If you have someone like that, talk to them.

Support group is a big help. I have a wife that supports me. I take care of the kids alot but she is an RN already and brings home the money. On top of that she does what is necessary to allow me the time to study. Plus, we have next door neighbors who help in emergencies. We have two kids. They will take care of them if we need them. Having a good support team around you helps alot.

One of the things that was hard for me in the beginning was the test questions. Prereq classes were knowledge based. Like, "How many chambers of the heart are there?" In nursing, now it changes to critical thinking. There might be four answers. Which answer is the "most correct?" This was tough. I failed two quizzes. I've never failed a test in my life and can't remember the last time I got a C. I also gave up that I had to have an A in nursing. Stressing out on getting an A was a waste of time and energy. This doesn't mean that I didn't try my hardest, I did. I did my best and outcome was OK for me. Try your best and let the chips fall where the may.

My study group members are my friends. I use them to reduce my stress by talking to them all the time. How often in life do you get to spend this amount of time with other people in a group? I can't stress enough about making friends in school and hanging out with them.

Apply yourself totally and you will be fine. Use this forum to vent just like you have. Do not keep stuff inside. Let it out.

Peace

Genhen