Need Advice- stressing!

[beachbum3]

Hi all,

I need some advice and apologize in advance if this is a long post.

I've wanted to be nurse since I was 19. I started nursing school 7 years ago and didn't continue because I had my youngest child. I went through my divorce a little over a year later, and then because I had to support 3 kids on my own and had no family and friends here (we'd moved to Illinois to be closer to his family, and he had isolated me from my family and made it such hell on me if I made friends that I just didn't bother anymore.. yes, it was a very bad situation) but couldn't move out of state because of our joint parenting agreement, and so I thought for a long time that I may not be able to become a nurse at least until they were teenagers or maybe not ever. I still took a class here and there to finish up my prereqs, when I could, just in case.

Fast forward 5 years, and I've been with my SO for 3.5 years and between him and my family's help (they've helped financially), and some student loans, I've gone back and am graduating in May. I've wanted this so much for so long... now I'm almost there. And suddenly there is this:

I feel like I don't even want to be a nurse anymore. I mean, I love learning about all of it, and at the end of clinicals I'm in a great mood, but I always dread going. Every week I dread going to clinicals. Its gotten less and less as I've gotten more comfortable, but I still never "look forward" to going. I don't know if its because its med/surg which I really don't enjoy much or have alot of interest in (though I started off hating it in the beginning, and now I feel like I could work there- I wouldn't love it, but it would be ok) or because I still am learning and not comfortable, or if its because its just stressful being with an instructor, feeling like you are bothering the nurses and patients, or what. Maybe I'll feel better when its my job, and I"m making money and am somewhat more independent... I don't know. My SO says he thinks its completely normal and that its because I've done nothing but eat, sleep and breathe nursing for 2 years. I'm just basically feeling like "What if I've gone through all of this and then hate it?" I kind of feel like maybe its just because I'm close to the end and now its getting real and I'm just nervous about the whole thing. Is this normal? Did anyone else experience anything like this as they got near the end of school?

[ShayRN]

Hi

I LOVE Nursing & will hate to give it up & eventually retire!!! Even tho I grumble & complain--I LOVE every minute of patient care!!

I'm so HAPPY that this is the path I chose!!

That is the best testimonial to nursing I have seen in a long time. Thank you!

[husker_rn, RN]

Sounds like you are realizing that soon you will be out of the nest and soaring on your own; it's a scary thought and I bet 99% of us had those same feelings at the end. I was a mess the last semester !! Just remember that school and a job will be much different in some ways. Our cover nurses always told us that we could relax and have fun after graduation.....and I found that to be true. Hang in there, have faith in yourself and your knowledge. And we welcome you as a fellow nurse.

[sistasoul]

Hello all,

I too am graduating in May and feel the exact same way. I am afraid and stressed out. I have already broken down in front of my clinical instructor twice. I am tired of the paperwork, the 12 page papers, the reading and the presentations. I am unmotivated and barely passed the first test. I am so glad to hear others are feeling the same way as me and this is normal.

I am glad I found this site. Lots of encouragement here.

May 08 is coming!!!!

[Calgon-take.me.away]

How I remember those days dreading the next class or clinical. Afraid to make a mistake and be hung out to dry. Nursing school was the most terrifying experience I will ever had. But, fast forward to today.

I have been a nurse for 14 years. I specialize in the area of long term care and geriatric nursing. This, I have found out, that it is my calling. I too, have tried many different aspects of nursing. That is the one thing about being a nurse. There are so many differant roads that you can take, until you find your niche.

While I was in nursing school, I worked full time, raised two small children, with little to no help from my then husband. How I remember standing in line at the grocery store with my flash cards in hand, trying to remember the cranial nerves while my kids were filling up the cart with Kit Kat bars.

Your anxiety and nervousness are quite normal and are to be expected. Take a few minutes a day to relax. Even if it is to destress 5 minutes in the car before you go in by listening to some good music in the car. Take a walk, learn yoga, find some "ME" time to destress and wind down.

You can and will do this. Becoming a nurse is a calling, a job that is not just a job. You will get your heart broken more than once. You'll get mad at the "system" and vow to change it. You'll have patients that try your patience and patience that will steal your heart. God bless all the new graduates, good luck on the NCLEX.

[withasmilelpn]

I think just having this site helps alot when you find out you aren't alone. I remember being just in your place, thinking I was an imposter, a nurse impersonator if you will, in no way ready for the responsibilities of being a nurse. I was in short, terrified of graduating! That was 11 years ago and I survived and you can too. Truthfully, it is not necessarily a bad thing to enter into nursing with an awareness of your (huge) responsibility to your patients. A little fear can be beneficial, making you become a careful, good nurse.

Keep the faith and give yourself a break!