Not sure if I can do this....

[httamli]

To make an incredibly long story short, over Christmas, my parents offered to pay for me to go back to school for my ADN, and offered to help care for my 2 small children. I alredy have my BS in elementary education, but after working in it for 11 years, don't even want to think of continuing ever again. My husband is a police officer-very long, unpredictable shifts, not a lot of money. We had just gotten used to me being at home, and living on one income, barely squeaking by. I have always loved medicine, and was pre-med for the first 2 years in college, then switched to elementary ed. Knowing I will have to return to full time work one day (probably sooner rather than later) I decided to jump on my parents' offer. I signed up in Jan. for my first class-A&PI on line. I have spent over 40 hours a week studying for this ONE class, to make a C on my first exam. (I have to have an A for NS). My husband doesn't really like me going to school, and working again, but admits that we will need 2 incomes in the near future. He has also just transfered departments and started working nights. My dad has decided my husband needs to help more, sleep less and so tries to watch the kids less than I expected. My husband isn't helping, the house is not getting taken care of, I'm not having much luck with one class, and I'm hearing how bad nursing school is. If my life is getting this messy a month into one pre-req class, what will it be like with NS? I've still got 5 pre-reqs to finish by the end of this fall, and am already feeling defeated. I would love to be a nurse, have been told I'll be an excellent nurse, but am so doubting this right now....anyone else go through this or have advice?

[aintreallynotreally]

My situation at home is very complicated like yours but I tell myself I need this in the long run. Hang in there.

[mangopeach]

Perhaps a family meeting might be in order to get everyone on the same page?

Now for school. Just breathe, I know its disappointing to not do well on your first exam, but you have time to recover. What do you think went wrong? Are there things you are struggling with in particular? You are putting in a lot of hours studying, but how are you studying?

Not doing well on your first exam does not mean you can't do this. You might just need to retool your study habits so that you can study more effectively.

You are going to have to block out the naysayers that are telling you how bad nursing school is. Do not think of it as bad or hard, think of it as challenging and your plan is to meet those challenges and knock them down one by one. Secondly, we are not all the same and just because someone finds nursing school to be "bad", doesn't mean you will too. It is possible for something to be challenging, yet you still enjoy that challenge and find it rewarding. A&P is indeed challenging. Even though, I am doing well in A&P every time we come to a new chapter it seems daunting but I take them apart slowly but surely to learn the concepts and knock down chapter after chapter.

You can do this, but if you keep negative thoughts around and tell yourself you can't, then those negative thoughts sometimes have a way of firmly planting themselves in our psyche and we start believing it which will only lead to negative results.

I have a pre nursing class and one of the things our teacher said, is on this journey you are going to find a bunch of naysayers. There will be people grumbling and telling you its too hard or you won't be able to make it. But on the flipside of that, there are people that are succeeding. So who do you want to take your advice from? I prefer to listen to those people that are succeeding and find out what they are doing, what can I learn from them rather than listen to the grumblers.