May 2011 graduates..nervous for last semester?

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I'm very nervous for my final semester of nursing. We have 12 credits of nursing alone! Plus I have signed up for a 144 hour preceptorship in CCU. I'm very excited, but equally nervous. What are your schedules looking like for your final semester? How are you guys preparing? I'm trying to enjoy our short holiday break. But the anticipation of the upcoming semester is making me excited/anxious/nervous/and ecstatic to be done! Lol

We have two quarters left of my 3 year BS program, and it's predominantly a 500 - 600 hour (20 weeks, at 25 - 30 hours a week) preceptorship. I'm totally stoked that I was placed in the ICU :-)

We also have an exit exam (I think our school uses ATI), so lots of studying as well. :-)

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Oh heck yeah. Extremely nervous. So afraid I won't pass and afraid of what happens after graduation also!

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Specializes in Anesthesia, CCU, ICU.
:yeah:Congrats on being in your last semester! I am also very nervous too. I begin my precetorship in the next couple of weeks and we have to do 133 hours. What I have been doing to brush up on my skills is taking a EKG class, ACLS and reviewing all my critical care nursing notes along with going over lab values. Hope this all help and again Congrats!! We can all see light at the end of the tunnel and the end is coming near.:jester:

Thanks! Congrats to you too! I completed ACLS last summer. It helped me soo much, especially last semester throughout all of our many cardiac tests. Are you doing the EKG class online or through your school? Lol, it's funny you say "light at the end of the tunnel" because that's always the comparison I use. But you're right, the light is definitely getting brighter!

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Specializes in Telemetry, OB, NICU.

I am also graduating in May 2011 and am nervous at times. Yes, I learned so much, but I feel like I don't know anything, for some reason. lol. I will have to look up a lot of stuff on the floor. And can I handle the patient load by myself?! stuff like that makes me nervous. But at the same time, I can't wait to be a graduate nurse!

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Specializes in MICU - CCRN, IR, Vascular Surgery.

3rd semester was probably the most difficult in our program, 4th is supposed to be very very busy, but not difficult. I'm not really nervous about the classwork, more about getting a job after graduation! I work at the hospital we do clinicals at so I'm working my butt off every shift to make a good impression on as many people as I can and to get my name out there as much as possible.

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Specializes in Critical Care (ICU/CVICU).

CONGRATS EVERYONE! I'm excited to get started working as an RN in all honesty! (Although, I'm really nervous as well). Sorry for my ignorance, but what are you all's preceptorships?? Our school doesn't do that. Do you choose where you want to go? Fill me in. In my BSN program we will be taking 3 classes, Emergent Care, International Nursing and Seinor seminar (basically a HESI/NCLEX tutoring class.) And I will take an online music class and retake leadership and management for an A.

I already told my family that for 2 days after graduation, I will be in hibernation mode lol. Lock myself up in a nice hotel and reintroduce myself to a foreign concept of sleep!

Have you all started thinking of plans to celebrate your upcoming graduations? My parents are divorced and both will be throwing me big bashes!! So excited! And I will definately travel RIGHT after NCLEX!

CONGRATS AGAIN FELLOW FUTURE GRADS! WE ARE ALMOST THERE!

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CONGRATS EVERYONE! I'm excited to get started working as an RN in all honesty! (Although, I'm really nervous as well). Sorry for my ignorance, but what are you all's preceptorships?? Our school doesn't do that. Do you choose where you want to go? Fill me in. In my BSN program we will be taking 3 classes, Emergent Care, International Nursing and Seinor seminar (basically a HESI/NCLEX tutoring class.) And I will take an online music class and retake leadership and management for an A.

I already told my family that for 2 days after graduation, I will be in hibernation mode lol. Lock myself up in a nice hotel and reintroduce myself to a foreign concept of sleep!

Have you all started thinking of plans to celebrate your upcoming graduations? My parents are divorced and both will be throwing me big bashes!! So excited! And I will definately travel RIGHT after NCLEX!

CONGRATS AGAIN FELLOW FUTURE GRADS! WE ARE ALMOST THERE!

In my program, our preceptorship is the last two terms of our program (so, 25 - 30 hours a week from Jan 3 until June). We work one-on-one with an assigned RN.

We were asked what our top three choices were, but were informed that faculty would be making the choice. Most of the class is assigned to an RN on a Med-Surg unit...but there are a few spots in critical care and OB.

Congrats to you as well :-)

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Specializes in Anesthesia, CCU, ICU.

Trilldayz, I completely agree with the sleep idea. I would love to hibernate for a little bit...lol. I definitely will be partying after graduation and NCLEX. As far as traveling, my family and I are planning an Alaskan cruise. I know it's kinda random. But it's my trip of choice and that's what I want to do! Lol. My whole family thinks I'm crazy for not picking a tropical destination. Anyways, I just can't wait to relax. Every semester is so busy, I just want to be able to feel like I can breath again. I want my life to go back to normal. But unfortunately, with a steep learing curve to tackle once I'm hired to a unit, I don't see normalcy returning for a little bit. Maybe I was naive, but I never realized the extent of committment and dedication nursing entailed. :nurse:

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Specializes in PICU/Pedi.

Yes, very nervous! I just got hammered this last semester and at first I was hearing that this last semester will be easier than the last, but now am hearing that it's just as hard. In my experience, most of the rumors I heard about NS were exaggerated, but after last semester (which was every bit as bad as I heard), I am scared. At least it will be over after this, though. I'm so sick of school I don't even care anymore if I get my BSN.

My last semester (Level IV) is Management, Critical Care, and Community, plus clinicals for each. It only adds up to 10 or 11 hours, but I'm sure most of you know that 10 or 11 hours in NS is WAY different from 10 or 11 hours of regular college courses. As a matter of fact, I got a little upset with my bf's mother recently about this recently. We were all having dinner and she asked how many hours I will be taking in the spring. I told her 10 or 11 hours, and she said, "well, when I was in school, I always took 15 or 16." I replied that when I was a non-nursing major, I did the same thing (she went to school for her teaching degree). She didn't really say anything else, but her attitude was that I was being a baby about taking 11 hours. I explained that NS is different from other classes, that we have clinicals, and that even the faculty doesn't recommend that we take other courses with our nursing courses, but...you know how everyone thinks they know how hard NS is! lol

I am not really afraid of the NCLEX, but I am terrified about not getting a job, or getting a job and then not knowing what I am doing! I keep hearing about how little you actually know once you get out in the real world. I'm also scared that I will get out and HATE nursing. I have spent the last four years giving my life to school. I don't see my friends, hardly see my family, don't get enough time with my kids or bf, and don't do anything fun at all during school. I hate to think that I may have given up my life for all this time, only to hate the end result.

Can't wait for pinning and graduation, though. I helped with the last pinning ceremony we had, and it was awesome!

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Specializes in Critical Care (ICU/CVICU).

@ NS Superhero: a cruise sounds amazing! You can definately use that time to relax!

@ Nepenthe Sea: I completely agree with people trying to compare nursing credit hours to non nursing! one nursing credit hour equals 2 (even 3) non nursing credit hours! They have no idea. And I also agree with not feeling adequately prepared for work as an RN. And although all nurses say "everybody feels lost when new", I always wonder how much I really know in comparison to other students at this stage...it sucks.

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Specializes in Anesthesia, CCU, ICU.

Nepenthe Sea, I'm also nervous about not liking being a nurse when I graduate. I mean I'm really excited. I sleep, eat, & breath nursing. I'm just afraid it may not be what I expect. I'm scared out of my mind to be solely responsible for critically ill patients. I'm praying as time goes on and I learn more, my confidence will grow with my expanding knowledge base & skills. I think it's a normal feeling as graduation approaches to be nervous about nursing as a profession. For years it's been nursing in regards to school, now it will be nursing as our new careers. Scarey stuff.

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I'm pretty stressed about this semester! i'm taking 17 hours (critical care, public health, nutrition, leadership, and senior seminars) and we do a 160-hour preceptorship. we also have to do 4000 practice NCLEX questions on our own throughout the semester (and we have to make an 85 or higher on most of them for them to count). i'm actually behind on practice questions right now (ideally we're supposed to have 1500-2000 of them done over Christmas) & it feels so weird to be falling behind on my homework before the semester even starts! but it's all gonna be totally worth it in May!!!!! :) congrats everyone! we're about to be nurses! (and it scares me a little, too!)

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