Not impressed and depressed

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I am not happy and school hasn't even started yet. I am starting to feel like I have made a mistake in attending nursing school. I had nursing school orientation this month which was ok. There are many negative things I seriously want to say but have to refrain for fear of trolling instructors, students, and employees of my school and hospital. I know they visit here but I have no proof. I was hoping to come here to vent my troubles away, but even now, I can't even do that. I start school next month and at first I was all excited. Now, I'm dreading it. An instructor has rubbed me the wrong way. My classmates are less than friendly and clique-ish. All of my instructors seem to psycho-analyze our personalities, pre-judge us on first impressions or appearances, and believe all of us are suffering from low self-esteem and have no confidence whatsoever. Some of them can barely make eye contact with me like I am an eye sore to them. I feel I am treated as a child. I am clearly not one.

This is my first post. I honestly did not want it to be one like this. LOL

I am upset, hurt, and worried.

Welcome to nursing school. Its going to be a long two years.

Thanks for listening.

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All of this occurred at the orientation? All I can say is being in nursing school is not about being friends with all of your fellow nursing students, or being every instructors favorite student. It is about pursuing your passion of nursing. Being a nurse is a huge honor, and not one you should allow to go by the wayside because of a bad feeling you are getting from some people at one orientation. The fact that you are questioning your commitment already is a little bit concerning. I hope you stick with it and see all that nursing can offer. I'm 9 months from my pinning and can not wait to be an RN! Good luck!!

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Giving you skeptical face right now...

You got that all out of orientation?! I don't think many people are good in those situations. I would just hang back and not let it bother me. You are just there for an education - not to become best friends forever with everyone. Put a smile on your face too - sometimes its what YOU are putting out that people may react negatively about.

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When I went to orientation I felt the same way but I gave it time and it got better. My advice is if you really want this then don't let any of it get you down. When you get to clinical the nurses will sometimes treat you like you are completely useless, stupid, and in the way. It stings at first but nurses have to have a tough skin so take this as another lesson nursing school has to offer.

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Specializes in Oncology.

There are, literally, two people that I have kept in contact from nursing school beyond just "Facebook friends". I went to a college that had a large Greek presence and many of my classmates were involved in a sorority and knew each other prior to acceptance in the nursing program. It was extremely cliquey. At the end of the day, college is really not about friendship. I've seen a lot of posts on here about how they've made lifelong friends from nursing school and yadda yadda, but that was not my experience at all. I went to many required events for college alone. Sat alone, felt awkward, and found myself feeling like a loser because I wasn't surrounded by a group of friends. I got over it toward the end of my schooling and wish I had gotten over it a lot sooner.

Honestly? After getting out of school, I really couldn't care less. I have always made plenty of friends in workplace situations, and I am finding the same experience now. I like mature, funny, and hardworking people, and that's who I gravitate towards. I was in a long-term relationship, living on my own, working, and paying my own bills when I started school. Many of the girls I attended school with lived at home and cared more about going out to the bar on the weekends than I ever did. It didn't mean they were bad people, but it did mean that I couldn't relate to where they were in their lives.

Orientation is not the whole story, but I would be prepared to feel how you feel right now for quite awhile if you've noticed that your classmates are already breaking off into groups. See if you can find one or two people to lean on for support during your first semester. The biggest reason why I did not have those people until late in my program is because I had a falling out with the group of girls I did hang out with at first because of a group project. Be prepared for that to happen as well. It's not one of those things that you can predict and there are many points in nursing school for dramatic situations to occur.

It will be ok. Focus on yourself and your goals.

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Specializes in Forensic Psych.

....That is a LOT of information to gather from orientation. Either you had the longest orientation ever (like a week long summer camp), or you're at the absolute worst school ever, or you have some serious paranoia issues, or you put off the absolute worst vibe on the face of the planet. And I'm not saying any of that to be rude or flippant - that is just a ton of judgements already made in such a short period.

Have you put any thought into the reason things are so bad already? If you really and truly don't like the people or don't feel that they like you, I can see how that would be deflating for sure. As others have said, just remember that you're there to become a nurse, not rushing in a sorority. And as time goes on and you get to know each other, I'm sure you'll find a kindred spirit. Stress tends to bond people.

I felt very analyzed by my professor during our first class this summer. I think that's just how it works. Students come and go, so they try to size you up based on all of their experience. Don't take it personally. They are definitely not there to be your friends!

If I were you, I'd convince myself I was imagining things (even if I wasn't ;) ) and pep myself up to have a positive attitude on your first day of school! Putting off an air of isolation can become a self-fulfilling prophesy for sure. If you don't feel confident, fake it til you make it!

Good luck to ya!

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Specializes in ER.

Don't let that one experience shape your entire view of nursing school. Go into it with a good attitude and an open mind, and you might just be surprised at what you can make of it.

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Positive outlook = positive outcome.

Try it. It works. If you elect to be negative all the time, then you're right, it's going to be a LONG two years.

The choice is yours.

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Hang in there and give it a little time. I know how you feeland sometimes it can be overwhelming when you look around a room atorientation. Once you get into clinical groups and get to know people one onone, it’s not so bad. I found that the younger students are usually the onesthat aren’t friendly and too clique-ish for me so I just go the other way. Asfar as the professors, there are always going to be a few that rub you thewrong way. I remember doing the orientation for our Peds rotation and the instructors treated us like babies and basically tried to scare us to death. Justforget it and move on! Some professors to judge – but so what, as long as you’renot doing anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about. If they treat youchildish, just remember that you’re bigger and better than that. Stand up foryourself, but of course do it in a gracious way. Show them that you’reconfident and not scared to try something or learn something new.

Don’t worry about anything! It will get better. Just worryabout yourself and you will do great!

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Positive outlook = positive outcome.

Try it. It works. If you elect to be negative all the time, then you're right, it's going to be a LONG two years.

The choice is yours.

VERY TRUE!

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Honestly, if you are having this much of a negative reaction JUST from the orientation, I would say GET OUT NOW!!! The only reason I say this is because nursing is HARD. It's not for everyone and if you don't love the profession you won't make it. Why are you focusing on all of this stuff that doesn't matter? School is just that, school. You are there to learn and that's it. Who cares if you make friends or if you like your teachers? Once you are done with that class you move on & never have to see them again. Nursing takes a lot of mental fortitude and honestly, it doesn't sound like this might be the right career for you.

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Specializes in CMSRN.

I know it's hard when it feels that way. Please try to know that a few bad experiences or not so friendly instructors are not what's going to define your time in nursing school.

When I started last year I only had one friend who I knew was starting too and we didn't make it in to classes with the same schedule. I felt really out of place and like I didn't belong to a group. I can honestly remember calling a friend of mine the first day of school because I was sitting eating my lunch alone when some people from my class walked right by me and sat at a table next to me. I was almost in tears because I felt strange and out of place. To put this in context, I am 31 years old so I should be over this kind of thing right? Wrong, sometimes we just feel that way.

It only took a few days to start getting to know people, to have a study group, and to really start making friends. I now have close friends (am meeting one for lunch today) from my group and can't wait to start my second year next week, knowing I will get to see people I didn't have a chance to really see over the summer.

It's not easy starting a new situation but absolutely go with a positive attitude, open and ready for new experiences, and you very well may be surprised at what happens. Good luck!

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