New student, severe anxiety...

excited1 · Sep 10, 2015

Hang in there! Nursing school is not the typical type of learning. My first semester was my hardest. Really it was a time management thing and "how to study for this stuff" thing. With every disease process, I learn the patho, s/s, interventions, goals, and expected outcomes, etc. You will find your way. If its what you want, you will find a way to finish.

It gets better one you find out how to study. As for a visual learner, you can make concept maps. Those help me sometimes. Start with the condition in the middle and then have a box for patho, a box for s/s, a box for risk factors, etc etc. Its a much faster way to look at the material rather than reading paragraphs. Makes it easier to recall the information on exams and clinical.

I just started my 3rd semester and each semester, I tweek my habits just a little bit depending on the professor. A strong foundation will keep you grounded.

Good luck to you!!!!!!!

Leonardsmom,LPN · Sep 10, 2015

Definitely agree with trying out the concept maps for those that are visual learners. I have started using them myself to see how well I have been retaining information and what I need to focus on. You might want to also try seeing what you could find in YouTube for animations of things that you are covering in class.

I started my nursing program three weeks ago, and feeling a bit overwhelmed at first I think is normal. However make sure you are making sometime for yourself. A good piece of advice that I received is to make sure that you schedule yourself some "me time". If it is watching a TV show, a date night, reading a non school book. It is too easy to get caught up in studying all the time and not taking some time out for yourself which will lead to burnout.

FolksBtrippin, BSN, RN · Sep 10, 2015

I just started too. Lots of people are very nervous. The young woman next to me in class yesterday was shaking her leg so much the whole table was vibrating.

It helps me to recognize the feelings as excitement rather than fear.

Nursing school is really exciting.

You are lucky that you are a visual learner because there are many resources available.You can watch videos on YouTube. Try drawing the processes you read about on a white board.

I have had personal problems the last couple of weeks that have been so difficult that I haven't had the emotional energy to be nervous about nursing school. I hope I survive.

krrbrr, ADN · Sep 10, 2015

hang in there!!!

My program hasn't even started yet and I already feel overwhelmed and extremely anxious as well. I've considered asking my Dr for anxiety meds as well, but am afraid it might mess with my performance once school starts. For now I'm trying to get as much exercise and healthy eating in as possible to help the time pass.

Thank you everyone who posted their advice as I'm sure I'll be coming back to this thread in a few weeks and reading through it myself! Good luck Cynthia, if you really want this you can do it girl!

HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD · Sep 10, 2015

Educator here - there is actually NO EVIDENCE that supports that your "learning style" makes a difference in your ability to learn. The only evidence-based factor that makes a difference is the learner's prior knowledge of the subject.

So - even though you 'prefer' learning in a particular way, this is not actually a limitation in your ability to learn. Learners' tolerance of lecture does increase over time. By the time you're in grad school, a three-hour lecture is a piece of cake. By the time they're in doctoral studies, it's not unusual for students to actually prefer lecture over other types of delivery methods - LOL.

Reflection is the key to understanding any type of new information. When you take the time to think about what you heard/read and how it fits in with all of the other 'stuff' you know about that subject, it pushes it into your long-term memory. Effective lecturers know this. That's why they break up the wall of sound periodically with a discussion or question & answer.

NurseGirl525, ASN, RN · Sep 10, 2015

Anxiety from just the lecture? Why? I think maybe your are misinterpreting what a visual learner is. If the instructor uses powerpoints, that constitutes visual learning. I agree with HouTx, it does not limit your ability to learn. If the professor does not use power points or any visual, it is up to you to take the notes and make them visual. So record the lecture, listen, then put it into your own visual aid, like a concept map as others have suggested. If you are having this much anxiety now, what are you going to do for tests and clinical?

Learn relaxation techniques and realize it's a class, that's it. You won't die from it, or physically harmed from it. It's not a deciding facotr in whether you live or die or the kind of person you are. Too many people try to define themselves through school or their job. I see it more on here than anything. If you end up becoming a nurse, a nurse is just a job, that's it. It's not who you are as a person. It's just say a different hat that you put on for so many hours every week. You do need to like all your hats though or what's the point of wearing them? Giving yourself severe anxiety over a hat, is not going to make you like that hat no matter how hard you try.

Sit back, relax, and enjoy the lectures. You are there to learn, that's it, learn. You may find that you really like just sitting there and soaking up the lecture. I record mine so I can see if I missed anything later on. Then I tweak my notes.

futurenaijaRN, BSN, RN · Sep 11, 2015

I started nursing school in May, and I am in my second semester now. I'm almost like you in terms of getting As'. When I took Patho, it was a monster, it almost made me to drop my other classes (in my school, you need a B- to pass any NRSG classes) . I struggled with Patho, I had a great professor, I met with her almost everyday, I emailed her any time any day, and she responds even if it was 1am. My school finally gave us a PASS tutor for Patho, which was helpful as well. Finally, I conquered the almighty Patho with hard work and prayers. After Patho, I think other nursing courses I have taken so far were pretty easy. I'm in med-surg, pharm, and peds and the all seem pretty ok. My advise to know is that let your professor know you are struggling, and she or he will be more than willing to help you. Ask question in class if you don't understand it cos once you let it to pass by, you might not remember the question again. Last but not least, pray. Hang in there, you will be fine. If I can kick patho's butt, anyone can. Oh we used prepU, that might help you as well. Check quizlet as well.....goodluck dear

futurenurse16 · Sep 11, 2015

I was in your shoes just last year. All throughout my pre-req classes I was so excited to get started. However, I felt different once I started. I remember two weeks into the semester I wanted to quit because I was nervous about failing and whether I would actually like it and do well. I couldn't sleep or eat because I didn't want to disappoint anyone since I had already gone through 2 years of college. I decided to give it the semester and then I'd make my decision. When I went to my first clinical, I knew nursing was exactly where I was supposed to be. :) I'll be graduating in May with my BSN!

I felt anxiety when learning all the material too. With textbooks, don't read everything word for word, because you won't retain anything. What I do is go over my notes over and over skim the textbook if needed. Just study a little bit everyday. Electrolytes are tricky to get the hang of. Believe me, I still struggle with them a little, but I promise it will click one day.

With your anxiety, I would suggest maybe getting some anti-anxiety meds. That may help you with your symptoms!

I hope my answer helps!

Knot Naturally · Sep 11, 2015

To help me study patho I found you tube videos.... videos by Michael Linares was really helpful. Just hang in there, you can do it.

canigraduate · Sep 11, 2015

First, you need to practice some kind of stress relief. You've got yourself seriously wigged out, which means it doesn't matter what learning style you use, 'cause nothing's going to stick.

Take up yoga, do some kind of exercise, meditate, pray, take self-defense courses, whatever. (By the way, exercise works longer and better for stress relief than pills, and it's cheaper. If it's true anxiety, you need to talk to your doc.)

The reason you aren't learning is because you're freaked out.

It doesn't matter how the information is presented to you, it's what you do with it. I am an audio/kinesthetic learner, so I recorded lectures and made lots of drawings, charts, and models.

I don't think I cracked a book past Fundamentals.

Since you know you're a visual learner, you have somewhere to start. There are a lot of things you can do to help you learn the info from patho. Draw diagrams of the systems and processes. Make compare and contrast charts. Somebody's already mentioned concept mapping, so try that. Take notes and reorganize them using different colors. The valedictorian in my class was a visual learner and he used color coded note cards and highlighted the crap out of his books.

Go on YouTube for videos. Most textbooks come with online resources that have videos and other visual aids, so use those.

You can do this. You just have to stop talking yourself out of it.

emc87 · Sep 12, 2015

Hey, I'm sorry you're having a tough start to the year. It sounds like your anxiety is really impacting how you feel, which likely makes focusing on your schoolwork/lectures difficult! It can feel like a lot of pressure to "learn everything" so you can care for patients, but you'll learn as you go along and the pieces will start to fit together with time.

I had a similar experience when I started school last fall, and I found therapy to be helpful for my anxiety. There are also a number of different meds that could help. You know yourself best - if you feel like you could benefit from some extra support, I'd definitely recommend checking out your school's counseling center. That's what they're there for. :) Also, keep in mind that you're very likely not the only one who is having trouble with the transition into your program (even if it seems like everyone else has it all together!). Figuring that out helped me to feel less alone. If you're comfortable, reaching out to classmates about how you're feeling might be helpful.

Good luck with everything!