I just joined this site and find it extremely helpful but have never posted a thread yet. So I thought I would give it a try. I'm hoping some of you can give me some advice/encouragement right now because my self confidence is at an all time low. To make a long story short, I'm 25, and graduated from college with a communications degree at 22. Between that time, and lots of odd jobs later, I knew my passion was for nursing. I worked full time, and would take all the pre reqs necessary so I could get accepted earlier. Luckily, I still live with my parents, who are very supportive so when I got accepted to a diploma program this February, I was ecstatic!!! My dreams were coming true!!! Or so I thought....
During the first 8 weeks of nursing school (Basic 1) I thought I was a smart enough individual to pass the class, because I put the studying in. (Every day for at least 3 hours) We have 2 grades; a clinical grade which is pass/fail, and a theory grade which is all tests. Now, I'm not a good test taker, but I can do good on them if I really apply myself. And I really applied myself.
For 8 weeks, I spent my days at the library, worked out to my teachers lectures on voice recorder, and stayed in on weekends with a study group from school. THe first 3 tests I BOMBED. I put my heart, soul, dedication and everything I had into it. When I asked my other classmates, some of them said they looked at it the night before and told me they passed the test. This happened throughout the whole 8 weeks. I came to class everyday, front row, and there would be ppl who would never come to class until test day, and get a good grade. I would look around at everyone else, and felt like a complete idiot because I'm doing everything possible, and I know all the material during test review, but the tests are ridiculous.
From day 1, they said their preparing us to "think like nurses" which means they are giving us the hardest my teachers what I should do differently they just said it all comes down to "critical thinking" and some people are getting it, and some people aren't. I don't think it's fair that they stress "critical thinking" on these tests, when they don't even teach it, they let us do poorly on tests and encourage us to do better next time.
So basically, I got a 74% in the class and they did not pass me. They said clinically I'm a star, but I have to retake Basic 1 come June. HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT. Now i'm starting to doubt myself and think "Can I really do this>? Am I ever going to critically think because I really don't know how much more I can study" Plus they keep scaring us and saying how much harder its going to get. I'm sad that I have been so excited about nursing school starting, and no matter how hard I tried, I just could not pass the tests. I feel like I'm at a breaking point, and am just praying to the Nursing Gods things will get better when I retake it in June. So my question is......
IS NURSING SCHOOL REALLY THIS BAD/STRESSFUL?? DO YOU FEEL LIKE QUITTING? OR HELPLESS??
Don't worry about the NCLEX practice questions being too complex; some will be & some won't. The important thing is to read through the rationales. You will learn from each question, even if it's something you haven't covered yet. Learning why an answer is right & why an answer is wrong is way better than just "knowing".
A lot of questions go back to ABC's (airway, breathing, circulation) & Maslow. Get those down and you can often figure out what the priority nursing action is, even if it's something you haven't covered yet. Sounds basic, but a lot of times students forget those (and over think).
The Reviews & Rationales books are quite good; I wish I'd discovered them earlier. And they are relatively inexpensive, particularly if you buy used. Hang in there, you'll find what works for you (it may take a lot of hard work, but you sound very determined...that's half the battle). Nursing school is such a different way to think & that can be very stressful until it starts to flow (ha! And just when you think you've got it, you'll have days when it just won't click. Don't let that worry you). :)
Since it seems everyone has steered you towards NCLEX question books, I just wanted to add: stop comparing yourself to the other students in your program. It won't help you and will only make you feel worse. And you don't even know if the people you are talking to are being completely honest--I've found that nursing students can be incredibly competitive! This didn't happen in nursing school, but in my Anatomy pre-req I'll never forget how my professor conducted the tests where we had to go around naming parts of the dissected cats that had pins pointing to the body parts. She sternly warned us that anyone caught moving the pins and sabotaging the other students would fail the course. It goes to show that some people are only looking out for themselves.
i cant not begin to emphasize how much your post reflects EXACTLY how i feel right now *hug*
i have so much heart and drive to do this- only it obviously isnt enough....i am JUST like you....never had an issue with pre-req's, learn fairly quick and bust my tail to study....its not enough
we need a 75 to pass out lecture course....my text grades were consistantly 70, 72, 74.....only 1 time did i hit 78....at the end we took the HESI where i scored a 99.99%!!!.....now HOW could i possibly not be able to pass their test- yet get that on a stanardized test that gears tward the NCLEX? and of course it doesnt count until the fall semester (had it- i would have JUST passed)
to top off this semester.....i started to slack on the last 2 pharm tests so i could study harder on the lecture....failed the class by 1 point......im beyond broken and devistated....ive never worked this hard to FAIL something
i will most definitely go back in Aug and give it my all again to see where it gets me....i'll be thinkin about you ass well....good luck :)
Wow it's hard to believe I wrote that post 4 yeArs ago!!! To make a long story short- I ended up failing another class by an instructor who didn't like me, She told me I would be better in social work than nursing. It was at that time the issue was reAlly the school, not me. I took a year off and went to a school that let me start where I left off at the old one, within. That year before graduation I .add dean's list, started working as. Nurse assistant and eventually took my boards and passed my first try!!!! I was tearing up reading that old post because I remember how helpless I felt, but in my case, it was the horrible teachers I needed to get away from to truly learn and believe I could do it. Now, I work on a cardiothoracic surgical floor and love it. It's nothing like the horrible experience I had to go through in school. I guess what I'm trying to say is never ever give up, I love being a nurse an hope my story can help some of you during your schooling days!!
trailnurse
8 Posts
Don't worry about the NCLEX practice questions being too complex; some will be & some won't. The important thing is to read through the rationales. You will learn from each question, even if it's something you haven't covered yet. Learning why an answer is right & why an answer is wrong is way better than just "knowing".
A lot of questions go back to ABC's (airway, breathing, circulation) & Maslow. Get those down and you can often figure out what the priority nursing action is, even if it's something you haven't covered yet. Sounds basic, but a lot of times students forget those (and over think).
The Reviews & Rationales books are quite good; I wish I'd discovered them earlier. And they are relatively inexpensive, particularly if you buy used. Hang in there, you'll find what works for you (it may take a lot of hard work, but you sound very determined...that's half the battle). Nursing school is such a different way to think & that can be very stressful until it starts to flow (ha! And just when you think you've got it, you'll have days when it just won't click. Don't let that worry you). :)