Most challenging moments in Nursing school

excellynnt · Dec 29, 2012

There is a ton of good advice here! I too find that some of the most difficult situations come from dealing with professors or nurses who are 'teaching' me during clinicals.

Most of the prof's are great, they have our best interests in mind and support us through appropriately challenging work. But every once in awhile, you get one who is just wrong. WRONG. It might be something easy to see is wrong, like they might insist that 115 is a normal Na level, or it might be something a little harder to prove like they might tell you there is no such thing as gender bias in nursing.

In clinicals this happens too. It might be something like observing a nurse do something that you know is wrong and scary, like pushing Dilaudid (or something worse) quickly, or it might be something with less immediate consequences, like going into an isolation room without proper gear on.

So, here's the thing, we are nurses (or soon to be) and we are assertive. Some times it is so HARD to pick my battles instead of fighting every single one! With the prof's you have to learn to play the game "Guess what my professor is thinking!" and with the practicing nurses you have to learn when to keep your mouth shut, when to stay with a patient even if the nurse is urging you to move on to the next one (if you just watched Lopressor administered in 30 seconds, DO NOT leave that patient for awhile!), and to tell your clinical instructor about unsafe practices and let him/her take it up with the nurse or facility. (It feels like tattling, which makes it difficult, but your instructor will be much better equipped to pick the battles worth fighting and to actually fight them.) Just make sure you are doing what is right and safe, don't 'correct' practicing nurses, especially in front of their patients, and report others' unsafe practices to your clinical instructor.

Batya · Dec 29, 2012

I start January 7th :) an just want to hear first hand some challenges or difficulties experienced in Nursing school from those who are currently in to those who've graduated.. Ready, set, GO! Lol

Couple of things: First....My first colostomy! :dead: Find some good smelly stuff, like an essential oil, to put under your nose or on your chest before you go in.

Scheduling my last semester was definitely my most challenging. I was able to be with a preceptor for clinical for med-surg that I had to schedule 110 hours with, and we had a preceptor for leadership class we had to fit 40 hours in within a month, as well as 4 classes, projects, journals, and papers. During the month of October my calendar literally had 2 days that I didn't have to be somewhere for school. When I made it through that month....I sighed a big sigh of relief, and then cried (a happy cry) because I had made it.

It's going to probably be the hardest thing you've ever done in your life, but as long as you stay strong and keep focused, you'll make it!

NP Sam · Dec 29, 2012

Foleys! Now I do a couple a week at work. Still have trouble with that stylet in the 6 Fr. though.

Onco_NT · Dec 30, 2012

For me the hardest part of nursing school was sacrificing family time. I'm set to graduate May 2012 and I can't count how many family gatherings I have missed. I'm lucky my son still recognizes me:). Yes the check offs are tough and so are the exams but I love nursing and at the end of the day I would do it again.Good luck![/quote']
Goodluck to you as well! Thanks!! :)

Onco_NT · Dec 30, 2012

Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. So, its hard to boil it down for you. However, nursing school will definitely be a challenge. I found my hardest obstacles were time management and keeping up with all the reading, not to mention retaining the information I was reading.
Having a plan before you get in too deep is essential for success. I'm giving you the top 10 tips that I learned. You may already know about these, but just in case:
1) Prepare your friends and family for the fact that you will not be available a majority of the time. Don't be afraid to say "no" to people. (This can be especially hard if you are married or have children.)
2) When studying, take a 5-10 minute break every hour or so.
3) Schedule some personal time to unwind. (A soak in the tub, playing card games with the family, vegging out watching your favorite TV show, whatever relaxes you.)
4) Try to find time to excercise, even if it is just taking a walk around the classroom building on breaks.
5) Get plenty of sleep.
6) Get organized. Have a place to store all of your books, paperwork, study aides, etc.
7) Get all your supplies, scrubs, materials ready the night before you'll need them.
8) Keep an up-to-date calendar: test dates, project due dates, clinicals, etc. You're going to have a lot to keep on top of.
9) Try to figure out your "style" of learning. (Visual, auditory, hands-on, or combination) Your school should have a learning resource office that can help you with this. Otherwise, you can find some resources online.
10) Don't procrastinate! Doing a little each day is better then trying to do a lot at the last minute.
Good luck in your new adventure. You can do it!!

Super helpful!! Thank youu!! :)

Onco_NT · Dec 30, 2012

My toughest moments have been the times I haven't been able to be there for my kids the way I used to be. I missed my oldest's Veteran's Day concert earlier this year and it was the first special event I've had to skip. I also missed Muffins with Mom this year and my daughter was devastated. I feel like I can just power through all the NS challenges and succeed if I try hard enough, but there's nothing I can do about the chaos my family feels without a stay at home mom. We're surviving, though.
On a similar vein, I've also had to wrap my head around struggling in an educational area for the first time. I cannot study my way to being an awesome nurse. I'm not the most observant of people and I've always been a little socially awkward. I can usually cover it in social situations, but nursing isn't a social situation. I feel very...I don't know. Exposed? I'm really having to dig deep and books can only get me so far!

Yeah I know what you mean.. As a tech, it's helped me improve my social skills with the patient a lot.. thanks for the tip! :)

Onco_NT · Dec 30, 2012

Not knowing the answer and feeling like I let my clinical instructor down!
I am a complete know it all, and I now do not. I also have someone teaching me who really wants me to retain every word she says and I just can't. I have never experienced this before and it was hard to come to grips with.

Thanks for the heads up! :) This is what I'm really trying to prepare for because I like knowing everything an am hearing I will not lol so now I'll be prepared!

butterfly134 · Dec 31, 2012

I'm still in nursing school but the hardest part so far was working with a nurse on clinicals who was in a really bad mood and criticised unconstructively for the 12 hours we worked together, by 6pm I was in the bathroom crying. Don't mean to scare you, I've worked alongside some fantastic nurses who are lovely and willing to teach you. Clinicals can be emotionally draining when you see stuff that you aren't prepared for, on my maternity rotation, I witnessed an instrumental birth.......lets just say I needed to get some air because I was a virgin never mind ever seeing a baby being born instrumentally ( and there was an appesiotomy as far as I can remember). My point being that some situations can be extremely overwhelming and emotional. However, nursing can be really fun too :) :) and although I know at some stage I will probably feel faint again, or somebody will upset me, I know that nursing is something I want to do because it is rewarding and there are more happy moments than sad times :) :)

lpnstudent2013 · Dec 31, 2012

Nursing school will put you through an emotional roller coaster. Here are the things I have learned. (some of them will sound very similar to other posters)

1) Very few people ever get past high school... (mentally speaking) Be prepared for lots of girl drama and cattiness and STAY OUT OF IT!

2) I went into clinical (and really everything in nursing school) with the attitude that I would come out of it feeling confident knowing everything I need to know in nursing. Boy, that was a HUGE adjustment for me when I realized we are not supposed to know it all. School just teaches us the basics, enough to go out into the field, but we will learn most everything out there DOING it day in and day out. There is no way we can learn everything in school. Some days in clinical you will have nurses that don't want you there and don't let you do anything and you will feel like curling up in a ball and crying your eyes out, but then one day you'll get a nurse who loves to teach and you learn so much that you leave that clinical day feeling empowered and reminded why you are becoming a nurse, because you LOVE it!

3) It is okay to not get all A's. Some of the best nurses barely pass their exams in school, while some A students have no common sense. So, try not to pressure yourself for A's and feel like a failure if you don't get them. That's easy to say, but like some other posters have said, hard to do. I struggle a lot with this one. Trying to maintain a 4.0 in nursing school is a lot of added pressure.

4) ASK QUESTIONS!!! You are in school to LEARN so don't be afraid to ask someone if you don't know. How else will you learn? And this could also mean the difference between life and death for a patient.

I have learned all of this the hard way and I have only been in school for 6 months! :woot: But I still know that it is the only thing I want to do and I will do whatever it takes to get there. It'll be the most rewarding and yet terrifying thing you'll ever do.

newgrad111 · Dec 14, 2013

I am about to graduate in less than a week and they just posted final grades. In addition to what other posts say, I would definitely say one of the hardest things is to realize that sometimes your "best" does not necessarily mean an A. I had very tough clinical instructors, which can happen because you don't always have a full background of your clinical instructors. Although I am soon graduating, I am crying my eyes out because I did not get the As I wanted (although I was just decimals away from them). You'll need to constantly remind you how much you want this and get up when you get down. Like others have said, it'll be a roller coaster all throughout but there won't be a greater satisfaction than walking out of that clinical site knowing you've learned something knew and most importantly, you've made a difference in a patient's life :) Best of luck and enjoy it, because it goes by quicker than you think.