I'm terrified

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I have been officially accepted into my school's fall nursing program. My last prereq is this summer (microbiology) and I'm getting the jitters. I am terrified I'll fail. I'm terrified of what I don't know is to come. I know they say that I will have no life and I've seen a good friend go through it and she graduated. I have two children (7 & 2) and I'm 26 years old. My husband helps me with the kids but he doesn't understand the stress and commitment that comes with school. I don't want to be a disappointment and I want to get my degree so my children can have a higher quality of life. Am I being irrational? Any tips/tricks to survive my first semester? Thanks!

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Specializes in Prior military RN/current ICU RN..

If you fail nursing school life goes on. I would fear not trying more than trying. You actually have the hard part out of the way. Getting accepted. Now..it is 100% in your hands whether you complete requirements to earn the right to take the NCLEX. No one here can say if you are irrational as we are not you. As far as your spouse be clear and proffesional and firm when you need time to study. And you will more than likely need a lot of time for studying.

There is no trick to nurisng school other than to study hard and don't fall prey to fear. I had a few bad test scores in nursing school and it motivated me more. Good luck with whatever you do.

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I'm feeling the same as you, I found out I got accepted 2weeks ago. I'm more relaxed and less worried now. I've been getting everything mapped out(childcare,servicing my car, planning to cut my hours at work and change shifts). Also reading up on things to come. It's helped some, I still have this nervous feeling in the back of my head but it's to be expected. Just try not to think about it and enjoy this time we have left until school starts. I pray that you succeed in everything you do.

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Similar boat. But I'll be honest I'm far more excited than nervous. I'm 27 and have 2 girls 4 and 18 months, and I also work part time. I don't stress about failing out, well because I can't really afford it. I think it's key with kids to stay super super organized. Have your kids on a schedule as well and assign them chores. Assign your husband chores so it doesnt seem like you are asking for help every week. I live by my crockpot, I either prep all my meals ahead so I can cook quickly when I get home or throw it in the crockpot before I leave.

Additionally I have no family nearby and my husband works nights most days so for half of the week I may ad well be a single mom. But I don't plan on failing nursing school and I plan on making time for my family and me.

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I live by my crockpot. I'm excited but I'm afraid l get in there and make a fool of myself. I want to do so well and I'm afraid to fail. My husband can be clueless unless I break it down for him. I will have to plan my meals out every week and start a chore chart. Sigh there is so much to do and so little time to do it.

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Every time I feel like this I either read stories about the exciting things that can happen in nursing or I look up stethoscopes. I do not fully understand why, but choosing a stethoscope color completely takes my mind off of fear. Ha.

But you know how hard you worked during your pre reqs? Remember telling yourself that you WOULD be one of the students who made it into the program? Well here you are. Keep telling yourself things like that. "I WILL focus on one semester at a time instead of looking at the mountain of nursing school as a whole. I WILL pass my first semester with a solid understanding of what I need to know thus far."

You got this.

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Specializes in ICU.

What are you exactly terrified of? Failing? I think most people are afraid of failing in life to an extent. Being a nurse or nursing student does not define who you are as a person. People put way too much pressure on themselves with this and that is a big reason why they fail. You are training for a job. Keep that in perspective.

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What are you exactly terrified of? Failing? I think most people are afraid of failing in life to an extent. Being a nurse or nursing student does not define who you are as a person. People put way too much pressure on themselves with this and that is a big reason why they fail. You are training for a job. Keep that in perspective.

Wow. Truly helpful perspective.

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Congratulations on getting in! The best thing you can do for yourself at this point is get organized with family life and work. To prepare for school, I would just brush up on A&P. Go over the body systems- you know cardiac, GI, and all of that jazz. If you have time. Me I was one who started reading the nursing books before hand. Don't do that. It's a waste of time becuase you don't know what you're going to be starting on until they tell you, so review A&P and most of all RELAX! It's hard to do, but do it before nursing school takes over you life!

Go to class, study the material, you'll do fine. It's not as all-consuming as people say. You will have less of a life, but still a life in school and you'll have a great time to boot. I just finished. I have two kids 9 and 5 and I made it through more than fine. I even found time to participate in extracurricular activities on campus and my support system is not outstanding, but it was enough so fret not, get ready, and just do it. Welcome to the wonderful world of nursing! I wish you all the best!

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Specializes in Psychiatry, Community, Nurse Manager, hospice.

I am in the same boat. I don't know if this will help you or not, but for me the anxiety is very close to the feeling of excitement. when I start to get a little anxiety about nursing school I check to see if there is something I need to do to prepare. do I need to contact the school about something? Do I need more information? Did I finish all my forms? If all those things are done, I just decide to register the feelings I'm having as excitement for all the wonderful opportunities I'm going to have and all the amazing things I'm going to learn.

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I found that buying office supplies helps calm me down. Idk, I went to Walmart last night and just got things that I thought I would need. It definitely took the edge off of what I was feeling. I studied hard for two years to get to this point. I can't afford to fail with my husband being the only one working. I've set milestones for myself. If I can make it to fall break, I will be more than halfway through the semester. Then I will set my goal to Thanksgiving break and then Christmas break. I think this will help me a lot.

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What are you exactly terrified of? Failing? I think most people are afraid of failing in life to an extent. Being a nurse or nursing student does not define who you are as a person. People put way too much pressure on themselves with this and that is a big reason why they fail. You are training for a job. Keep that in perspective.

Yes, I am so afraid that I will fail. I want to be a good influence and someone my children look up to. Failing in front my children is a fear of mine.

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