Anyway, I was told today after Microbiology lab " That I'm sorry you don't have what it takes to become a nurse. It's just not your thing.". I had trouble with the microscope today and a few other days, so based off of that, she assessed that I couldn't pass clinical. Being in her position and her being a doctor, I felt so bad, and I had to refrain from crying on the spot. Keep in my mind I'm a guy. I told her that I would worker harder and hopefully by the end of the semster she would change her opinion of me.
Has anybody ever had someone tell you that you can't do something? If so, how did you handle it?
I tried to turn it into a positive, but having a real hard time doing so. My school has a low passage rate for the nursing program like 30 percent or something low like that. I don't want to tell my wife or my family what was said to me today, so I rather ask you for some advice.
I mean she could of worded it so differently like "if you keep on this path, you won't be a nurse.", but she actually said "You don't have what it takes.". I mean when she see's me she see's a failure.
Like others in this thread, I had someone tell me I didnt have what it takes to be a nurse. When I started college, I went to a local university and the nursing advisor told me (along with several other girls) that since we weren't doing so well in our Biology class(our teacher was HORRIBLE @ teaching!) we should just change our major and forget about nursing. A lot of the girls cried, and some did change their major. But I didn't give up. I left that school after a semester, and I worked on my pre-reqs at a community college. A year later, I got my CNA certification & worked while finishing up on my pre-reqs. I started nursing school at the beginning of this month! And things are going okay so far :) So if nursing is what you want to do, keep at it & don't let this idiot professor keep you from achieving your goals. Good luck!!!
Specializes in LTC, CPR instructor, First aid instructor..
Hey Bud,
I RARELY reply to things on this site, even though I read every issue. But I HAD to reply to you. I'm also a guy, a minority in a mostly "women's working world"......and I hate to see you even THINK about casting your dreams aside, bkz of a comment from an instructor.
I'll share with you that I'm a really "good student".....graduated summa cum laude with my first BS 30 yrs ago, straight A's in my Master's degree in business. Let me say this: nursing school ISN'T easy, but you CAN do it!! When I took Micro as a pre-req 3 yrs ago, I was "freakin' afraid" to light the bunsen burner......and could usually not make much out in a microscope. I thought I was "headed down the path to failure", especially when it seemed to come easy to so many people. And ya know what???..........it DOES come easy to SOME people, but for most, it requires real work.
Don't give up.....don't be down on yourself. Do whatever it takes to feel comfortable.....and know this: you CANNOT learn when you are "anxious".....so if that's a problem, see your MD or NP and see if an anti-anxiety Rx is for you. I have a chronic anxiety problem, and used to take Klonopin once in a while......well, and I'm NOT ashamed to say it.....in nursing school, I had to UP my dosage, with the help/guidance of a great medical practitioner. Plz consider that, if you need to.....and do all the things "you learned in Kindergarden": get enough rest, eat right, get some exercise, play once in a while.....and GET A SUPPORTIVE GROUP of friends. VERY FEW "do" nursing school alone.
Here I am, now at age 54, a BSN-prepared RN for almost 3 yrs now.....making half of what I did as an executive, but VERY happy......and with NO WORRIES about the poor job market out there overall. Once you get some experience, you can change jobs with relative ease.
Plz don't "hang too much" on that micro teacher, saying "you don't have/might not have what it takes".
I wish you the best of luck and you're on the RIGHT road, by reaching out to other nurses and asking for advice/support/help. Most nurses are women, and THANK GOD, because 98% of them are VERY SUPPORTIVE of new nurses, and "guys" in nursing in particular.
I think all of us have a class we struggle in when we are in school. For me, that was micro and A&P. And I am a nurse, and proud of it! I am also choosing to go beyond, and get my BSN, and my MSN, because, someday, I would like to be a CNM. I love babies, and feel that is my calling, if you will. Don't let anyone ever tell you that you can't do something. If you feel she is being harsh, go to the dean, or your academic advisor, and say something. Chances are, you are not the only one she has said this to. If you believe you can't do something, then you won't. This should light your fire and drive you to prove to YOURSELF that you CAN! Much luck to you!!
PS: I also have not touched a microscope since micro......
Dude! Pardon my language...but the only mircroscope you will be using daily in your nursing career is your eyes. They are your microscope and you use them to assess your patients, not bacteria. What a load of crap. Going to finish my first year of nursing in May and I hope you do what you want to with your life. We are a special breed to even envision ourselves being nurses and loving it when most would turn their backs and say not for me.. Keep with it. The rewards are great!
Don't give that bitter old cow a second thought - she's not worth it. Her need to feel superior to someone else isn't worth your time or energy. If anything, study harder and use the intelligence you have and she lacks against her.
Never let anyone tell you that you can't be something you want to be. Even my parents told me I wasn't smart enough to be a nurse. Well, I graduate May 6th of this year. Guess I proved them wrong.
Rediculous! Don't believe in everything what your instructors say. Because of one, comment you are re-thinking your whole life and career? I certainly would not allow one person to have that much power over my decisions. After all, they are my decisions, not my instructors. LOL
Specializes in LTC, CPR instructor, First aid instructor..
Don't give that bitter old cow a second thought - she's not worth it. Her need to feel superior to someone else isn't worth your time or energy. If anything, study harder and use the intelligence you have and she lacks against her.
This must be the week for microbiology professors to rattle our cages. I too have been treated with disrespect from my microbiology professor. I've been scolded in front of the whole class on several occasions. Mind you I'm almost 50 years old! My professor claims that he can tell which of us will fail nursing school and I can't help but think that he is referring to me. Well guess what? He doesn't know me, has never seen the great job that I do at my job and doesn't know what great skills I have outside of the biology lab.
I am a firm believer that what doesn't kill us will just make us stronger. I know that I would never make a great lab technician but I WILL make s great nurse!
Do your best to study the material every day, make notes of everything that you don't understand and review those questions with your professor. Learning to study the material by passing the class with a decent grade is more of a predictor on how well you will do in nursing school than knowing how to use a microscope!
Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
This must be the week for microbiology professors to rattle our cages. I too have been treated with disrespect from my microbiology professor. I've been scolded in front of the whole class on several occasions. Mind you I'm almost 50 years old! My professor claims that he can tell which of us will fail nursing school and I can't help but think that he is referring to me. Well guess what? He doesn't know me, has never seen the great job that I do at my job and doesn't know what great skills I have outside of the biology lab.
I am a firm believer that what doesn't kill us will just make us stronger. I know that I would never make a great lab technician but I WILL make s great nurse!
Do your best to study the material every day, make notes of everything that you don't understand and review those questions with your professor. Learning to study the material by passing the class with a decent grade is more of a predictor on how well you will do in nursing school than knowing how to use a microscope!
Blessings to you!!
Maybe they were all at a conference where a mutant brain bacterium escaped the confines of it's Petri Dish? You just have to wish there was a sign around their neck . . .you know, just to alert people the instructor is a bit "tetched" in the head as we used to say. :uhoh21: But when we're on the receiving end it can really undermine confidence.
. . .I will tell you a funny story about myself. As a nursing student, I was extremely anxious during the first semester. We had to perform our physical assessment mastery on a "patient" who was a hired actor. I was so nervous that when I checked reflexes, I practically bludgeoned the "patient" with my reflex hammer. This made me more anxious, and I nearly started laughing. If you looked at only that piece of information, it would seem I was not only inept but unprofessional. Guess what? I graduated with a 4.0 from school and am now pursuing my doctorate. I've had and continue to have a great career in the ICU and as an educator. This taught me to NEVER judge someone on the basis of one incident, unless it is obviously unsafe (ex- practicing out of scope).
Thanks for sharing your story - :) I was a deadly serious student, too. Now with hindsight I can laugh at some of those things that caused me to be seized with nervous fits or stark terror. The actors they hire must have a very large file of such incidents but they dare not laugh. I read the blog of a med student recently - they were doing pelvics and one of the metal stirrups wasn't attached correctly - the thing fell off and hit the hard floor with a loud clang clang-clang as the mortified guy tried to keep it together. It's good to know our student evaluations are taken seriously, though.
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KimberlyRN89, BSN, RN
1,641 Posts
Like others in this thread, I had someone tell me I didnt have what it takes to be a nurse. When I started college, I went to a local university and the nursing advisor told me (along with several other girls) that since we weren't doing so well in our Biology class(our teacher was HORRIBLE @ teaching!) we should just change our major and forget about nursing. A lot of the girls cried, and some did change their major. But I didn't give up. I left that school after a semester, and I worked on my pre-reqs at a community college. A year later, I got my CNA certification & worked while finishing up on my pre-reqs. I started nursing school at the beginning of this month! And things are going okay so far :) So if nursing is what you want to do, keep at it & don't let this idiot professor keep you from achieving your goals. Good luck!!!
