Oh Help-discouraged!!

WDWpixieRN, RN · Sep 13, 2006

Yes, you can. I turned 50 last December and did micro the spring before that. I had avoided the sciences all my life and even sometimes now have a hard time believing I went this route.

I was also one of the last ones done, and perhaps didn't ALWAYS do thing perfectly. However, I also didn't feel the need to race out to get to my favorite TV show or the latest watering hole!! Sometimes sticking around allowed for some added help that others didn't get!!

The best thing I can tell you is just hang in there. I preferred that class to micro, but I gotta' tell you -- thank HEAVENS there is no required "Microscope" class or I would never have made it. My lab partner and I both agreed that we would NEVER be research nurses!! :)

I started my first semester of RN school on 8/21/06. You'll get there too.

Good luck with the personal stuff, too....always sucks to try to deal with it all at once, but get it over with before you start school as you'll really be dealing with a ton of emotions!!

Best wishes!!

stpauligirl · Sep 13, 2006

hello fellow pre-nursing students.
i just returned from microbiology and lab, and am so discouraged! i am the slowest lab worker ever, as well as the older in the group, and i feel so incompetent. today we did gram staining and nothing really showed up on my slides. and i forgot my lab notebook-something that gets graded and has all prior lab info in it, so that didn't help.
anyway-it's like being in a foreign country. being in this lab. the lecture is certainly difficult too, but am more comfortable there. a&p i is better, even. god i just worry i'll never get it. it's so foreign to me. i mean give me poli-sci or sociology or literature or psych anytime! ugh!
i am, however, determined to get into nursing program-i guess i just need a bit of mental support :wink2: going through a divorce too-down to my last $100 bucks and have a 13 year-old daughter (she's awesome, but the teen thing, you know)i do have a great attorney though...
anyway-oops bit of extra info there-but out it came. i can do this lab thing! sure i can!
right?:uhoh21:
thanks everyone, for reading

i felt the exact same way last semester when i had micro....lecture was tolerable but the lab was awful, there was never enough time during regular class time to get things done!!!! staining takes practice and you will get better at it the more you do it. do you have open lab time available at your school, we did and i went on my own to practice and re-do things that didn't come out. my class was tue, thurs and i spent many monday mornings in open lab getting coverd from head to toe with stains lol i also did a lot of open lab work for my unknown project since the biochemical tests can also be time consuming and the class lab time was always too short. people all over, stumbling around, it drove me nuts!!!! please don't get discouraged. i am 46 and trying to get into nursing school. btw i have a difficult 8 year old....kids sapp 50% of our energy.

divorce is stressful...been there done that too, things will get better in time. good luck {{{{hug}}}}

lisabeth · Sep 14, 2006

I was hoping you were here to help. I remember all of your frustrations in that class.

Good luck mermaid. I have to take that class next semester. :chair:

I felt the exact same way last semester when I had micro....lecture was tolerable but the lab was awful, there was never enough time during regular class time to get things done!!!! Staining takes practice and you will get better at it the more you do it. Do you have open lab time available at your school, we did and I went on my own to practice and re-do things that didn't come out. My class was Tue, Thurs and I spent many Monday mornings in open lab getting coverd from head to toe with stains LOL I also did a lot of open lab work for my unknown project since the biochemical tests can also be time consuming and the class lab time was always too short. People all over, stumbling around, it drove me NUTS!!!! Please don't get discouraged. I am 46 and trying to get into nursing school. BTW I have a difficult 8 year old....Kids sapp 50% of our energy.
Divorce is stressful...been there done that too, things will get better in time. Good luck {{{{HUG}}}}

narcissistic · Sep 14, 2006

hello fellow pre-nursing students.
i just returned from microbiology and lab, and am so discouraged! i am the slowest lab worker ever, as well as the older in the group, and i feel so incompetent. today we did gram staining and nothing really showed up on my slides. and i forgot my lab notebook-something that gets graded and has all prior lab info in it, so that didn't help.
anyway-it's like being in a foreign country. being in this lab. the lecture is certainly difficult too, but am more comfortable there. a&p i is better, even. god i just worry i'll never get it. it's so foreign to me. i mean give me poli-sci or sociology or literature or psych anytime! ugh!
i am, however, determined to get into nursing program-i guess i just need a bit of mental support :wink2: going through a divorce too-down to my last $100 bucks and have a 13 year-old daughter (she's awesome, but the teen thing, you know)i do have a great attorney though...
anyway-oops bit of extra info there-but out it came. i can do this lab thing! sure i can!
right?:uhoh21:
thanks everyone, for reading

the bolded sentences i can relate all too well but in my case, it's the chemistry class. i know how you feel about being the slowest worker in the, feeling incompetent, and feeling like a foreigner. you're proabaly in a better position than i am as i'm behind 5 chapters. still, i feel that i can still pull off a miracle. you can do it.

mermaid36 · Sep 14, 2006

you all are the best ever!!! thank you so much. every response i got gave me more encouragement and determination to see this through. i will ask about open lab time-very good idea. it's so nice to know i'm not alone in this!! and that there are others of you out there embarking on a new path at an "older" adult age. :icon_hug:hugs to all!

stpauligirl · Sep 14, 2006

you all are the best ever!!! thank you so much. every response i got gave me more encouragement and determination to see this through. i will ask about open lab time-very good idea. it's so nice to know i'm not alone in this!! and that there are others of you out there embarking on a new path at an "older" adult age. :icon_hug:hugs to all!

and to make it worse...there were some very rude students in my class. my lab partners were worthless, too.

who cares if you are the last one done...as long as you get it right, that's all that matters. i am always the last one done but i usually end up with a higher grade. hang in there and do your best.

stpauligirl · Sep 14, 2006

I was hoping you were here to help. I remember all of your frustrations in that class.
Good luck mermaid. I have to take that class next semester. :chair:

You patiently listened to my whining all semester :wink2:

Remember "crabby"? Haven't seen her since...You know she got her butt handed to her in that class. I am so glad Idon't have to put up with any of those people...it's much better in my current class...people are nicer but I had to set one straight already who is just trying to take advantage of me about assignments. I said, no and told him he needs to work those things out himself or he won't learn anything if he just copies my stuff :rolleyes:

DaughterofRuth · Sep 14, 2006

I came here today to cry about my experience in Micro lab last night but your post beat me to it! I can totally commiserate with what you're going through! At 39 I'm 20 years older than most students in my class and have the least experience in the sciences - 4 students even have degrees in either other sciences or engineering so I feel totally outclassed. So far I've been holding my own in lab but last night working with the Gram-Stains was a total nightmare. Like you, I couldn't get the stains to stick and nothing was showing on my slides. Followed the directions completely and patiently, through 4 rounds of slides, and still nothing. Even though earlier in class I found out I got an A on our first quiz, after lab I left there feeling totally defeated and stupid

I guess the point of my post is not to lose hope. Even though going back to that lab is the LAST thing I want to do, I'm gonna do it and so can you. We can both do this.

Slogging along ...

stpauligirl · Sep 15, 2006

I came here today to cry about my experience in Micro lab last night but your post beat me to it! I can totally commiserate with what you're going through! At 39 I'm 20 years older than most students in my class and have the least experience in the sciences - 4 students even have degrees in either other sciences or engineering so I feel totally outclassed. So far I've been holding my own in lab but last night working with the Gram-Stains was a total nightmare. Like you, I couldn't get the stains to stick and nothing was showing on my slides. Followed the directions completely and patiently, through 4 rounds of slides, and still nothing. Even though earlier in class I found out I got an A on our first quiz, after lab I left there feeling totally defeated and stupid
I guess the point of my post is not to lose hope. Even though going back to that lab is the LAST thing I want to do, I'm gonna do it and so can you. We can both do this.
Slogging along ...

Congrats on your A, that's AWESOME!!!!! Keep up the good work, you will get a hang on staining. I had the same problem in the beginning but as time went on I started to shake those Gram stains out of my sleeve.....I A'ced my unknown in the end. Hang in and keep your head up :wink2:

lisabeth · Sep 15, 2006

You patiently listened to my whining all semester :wink2:
Remember "crabby"? Haven't seen her since...You know she got her butt handed to her in that class. I am so glad Idon't have to put up with any of those people...it's much better in my current class...people are nicer but I had to set one straight already who is just trying to take advantage of me about assignments. I said, no and told him he needs to work those things out himself or he won't learn anything if he just copies my stuff

:lol2: Crabby and her friends. I remember them.

lisabeth · Sep 15, 2006

I dont look forward to micro at all. Does anyone have anything good to say about it? :uhoh21:

I came here today to cry about my experience in Micro lab last night but your post beat me to it! I can totally commiserate with what you're going through! At 39 I'm 20 years older than most students in my class and have the least experience in the sciences - 4 students even have degrees in either other sciences or engineering so I feel totally outclassed. So far I've been holding my own in lab but last night working with the Gram-Stains was a total nightmare. Like you, I couldn't get the stains to stick and nothing was showing on my slides. Followed the directions completely and patiently, through 4 rounds of slides, and still nothing. Even though earlier in class I found out I got an A on our first quiz, after lab I left there feeling totally defeated and stupid
I guess the point of my post is not to lose hope. Even though going back to that lab is the LAST thing I want to do, I'm gonna do it and so can you. We can both do this.
Slogging along ...