OMG, is it only the second day of nursing school????

augurey · Sep 25, 2014

I'm currently in the middle of my 4th week.

The first week was the absolute worst. I sobbed like a 3 year old after my first night (the next day). The first week was very overwhelming as the workload really hit, and I (at least) went into panic mode thinking "what the heck did I get myself into...?"

Four weeks in, it's very routine. Still a ton of work, but it feels different now. I've adjusted to having a minimum of 2 tests each week (3 this week! Would have been 4 if one hadn't been rescheduled for next week). It does not feel like it's only been 4 weeks. It feels much longer. My days and weeks go by so quickly.

ETA: Pretty much the entire class is still trying to figure out time management. We all fell into the same trap of worrying more about 2 of the classes than 1 of the classes.

2 of the classes have a lot of home work / class work / etc. The third class is just class and study (grade is completely dependent on tests). So, we had our first test tonight which pretty much made everyone realize that we need to prioritize and manage our time much differently.

RunBabyRN · Sep 25, 2014

My first few weeks showed me how much nursing school is in overdrive when compared to "normal" classes. I was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of work and reading and with how much we were expected to know as nurses. I sat in awe as I thought about all of the nurses I knew and how much I had, frankly, underestimated them. You really don't know how much nurses are expected to know until you're really looking at nursing curriculum. Just imagine where you'll be after 2-3 years of this!! It's pretty exciting, really! :)

I remember posting a status on Facebook about how much respect I had for nurses having had a taste of nursing school and just how much nurses are expected to know.

SeattleJess · Sep 25, 2014

I'm currently in the middle of my 4th week.
The first week was the absolute worst. I sobbed like a 3 year old after my first night (the next day). The first week was very overwhelming as the workload really hit, and I (at least) went into panic mode thinking "what the heck did I get myself into...?"
Four weeks in, it's very routine. Still a ton of work, but it feels different now. I've adjusted to having a minimum of 2 tests each week (3 this week! Would have been 4 if one hadn't been rescheduled for next week). It does not feel like it's only been 4 weeks. It feels much longer. My days and weeks go by so quickly.
ETA: Pretty much the entire class is still trying to figure out time management. We all fell into the same trap of worrying more about 2 of the classes than 1 of the classes.
2 of the classes have a lot of home work / class work / etc. The third class is just class and study (grade is completely dependent on tests). So, we had our first test tonight which pretty much made everyone realize that we need to prioritize and manage our time much differently.

Thank you, augurey. You're a voice of hope from the future... hopefully, my future.

I just sent an email resigning from a new job because it's clear that if I show up for the hours scheduled for me to orient during the week for my weekend position I will probably never catch up. It's not worth crippling my nursing career right out of the gate for a CNA promotion. But I feel so awful about accepting a plum job that I really, really wanted and then resigning after one day of orientation. While my manager is on vacation. I have never, ever in my life done anything like that. (Chance to stop being overly responsible? I live in an "at will" employment state, after all...) Lord, I pray I haven't burned a bridge!

Okay, back to studying for tomorrow's test on seven chapters of Fundamentals. Just little stuff like evidence-based practice, nursing history and theory, structure of the healthcare system, theories and practice of caring and two other subject. And that's only part of what we've covered in three days. Arggghhhh!

SeattleJess · Sep 25, 2014

My first few weeks showed me how much nursing school is in overdrive when compared to "normal" classes. I was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of work and reading and with how much we were expected to know as nurses. I sat in awe as I thought about all of the nurses I knew and how much I had, frankly, underestimated them. You really don't know how much nurses are expected to know until you're really looking at nursing curriculum. Just imagine where you'll be after 2-3 years of this!! It's pretty exciting, really! :)
I remember posting a status on Facebook about how much respect I had for nurses having had a taste of nursing school and just how much nurses are expected to know.

Yes to the awe thing!

And I admit, I had one sickening moment when I just KNEW I'd made a horrible, horrible, horrible mistake. Now I'm thinking I'll just need to stick it out for a few more weeks before I decide.

And this is just BOOK LARNIN' to date. What happens when the motor skills kick in? Aye yi yi.....

mrshoffy26, BSN, RN · Sep 25, 2014

I honestly think they try to weed out the "weaklings" in the beginning of school. Your class size will change tremendously by next semester. Hang in there, you will get into the groove of things and develop your own way of balancing it all. Once you get past theory and get into the clinical setting it will all seem worth it. Hang in there!

LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN · Sep 25, 2014

I tackled both my PN and pre-licensure BSN programs by focusing on the pages that we were required to read, and some of the "recommended reading" texts (have great additional info and strategies to understand the required readings), and answer the objectives of the chapter and focus on the tables and examples. I also had NCLEX-review books (the Success Series) and answered questions to prepare for the exams. :yes:

meeep, BSN, RN · Sep 25, 2014

I'm currently in the middle of my 4th week.
The first week was the absolute worst. I sobbed like a 3 year old after my first night (the next day). The first week was very overwhelming as the workload really hit, and I (at least) went into panic mode thinking "what the heck did I get myself into...?"
Four weeks in, it's very routine. Still a ton of work, but it feels different now. I've adjusted to having a minimum of 2 tests each week (3 this week! Would have been 4 if one hadn't been rescheduled for next week). It does not feel like it's only been 4 weeks. It feels much longer. My days and weeks go by so quickly.
ETA: Pretty much the entire class is still trying to figure out time management. We all fell into the same trap of worrying more about 2 of the classes than 1 of the classes.
2 of the classes have a lot of home work / class work / etc. The third class is just class and study (grade is completely dependent on tests). So, we had our first test tonight which pretty much made everyone realize that we need to prioritize and manage our time much differently.

I am in pretty much the same position. The first week was awful and made me question everything, and even though it seems like the workload has gotten worse, the culture shock has worn off and I'm able to handle it a bit more. My class was the same way. We were all so focused on patho pharm and fundamentals /health assessment, thinking community health was an easy A fluff class and we all got our butts handed to us on the exam, figuratively speaking. Between validations, papers, clinical assignments, and multiple exams a week it's still very overwhelming, but it's not as stress inducing as the first few weeks were. Hang in there, it does get better!

SeattleJess · Sep 26, 2014

I tackled both my PN and pre-licensure BSN programs by focusing on the pages that we were required to read, and some of the "recommended reading" texts (have great additional info and strategies to understand the required readings), and answer the objectives of the chapter and focus on the tables and examples. I also had NCLEX-review books (the Success Series) and answered questions to prepare for the exams.

LadyFree28, thanks for the clarity! I'll go with your plan. I also am going to start using Google calendar a and color code classes and assignments on it. I hope I'll be able how to get it onto my Android phone... but if not, I will ask the amazing hive mind of AllNurses.

Thanks again. I was sniffling in the parking lot after the last class today when everyone I asked about study groups said, "Nope. I have one and it's all filled up." Weird combination of "nobody will play with me" and "I need to be in a study group to survive!" I reminded myself that being in a bad study group could be worse than not being in one because it could be a time waste.

I am going to indulge in sleep this weekend and hopefully not be so emotional because I won't be so dog-tired.

phoenoryker · Sep 26, 2014

I'm kind of surprised you are on the "do not play with list". Naturally, I don't know you, but your posts are insightful, you have a tremendous background.... If I am not mistaken, you even mentioned you do yoga to center yourself during long lectures. So, you are either extremely attractive, or you smell bad, both would equally explain your isolation.

RunBabyRN · Sep 26, 2014

I'm kind of surprised you are on the "do not play with list". Naturally, I don't know you, but your posts are insightful, you have a tremendous background.... If I am not mistaken, you even mentioned you do yoga to center yourself during long lectures. So, you are either extremely attractive, or you smell bad, both would equally explain your isolation.

I was on the "do not play" list, also, but I think part of it is BECAUSE of my background (first responder, hospital corpsman, lactation specialist and phlebotomist) and that I am older than many of my classmates were (I was 32 when I started).

SeattleJess, the few times I was with a study group in the beginning (I did finally find people I connected with), it was 75% gossip and catching up on social stuff, and maybe 25% material, and even then, a lot of it was covering stuff that I didn't need covered. Don't stress too much. It's early yet, and I know that I got close to people as time went on, and now that we've graduated, we're very close. :)

SopranoKris, MSN, RN, NP · Sep 26, 2014

Breathe! You'll get through this

In our program, the first 6 weeks feels very overwhelming. I think they do this on purpose. It helps the faculty & the students to see up-front who can hack the rigors of the program. That way, neither side is wasting their time.

I remember thinking to myself "oh my Lord, what did I just get myself in to?" my first week of nursing school. You just have to keep yourself organized and stay on top of things. Don't get behind in your work or you really WILL start to struggle. The classmates who didn't make it were the ones who put off work & study until the last minute or couldn't make the transition from rote memorization to critical thinking. Everything in Fundamentals builds on itself, so you need to understand concepts thoroughly from the beginning.

The good news is that once you can get through the trying part, it really does get better. Your physical assessments go from being a 45 minute process to 5 to 10 minutes. You can do vitals in a snap. Your clinical paperwork no longer takes 8 hours to complete because you've learned to "think like a nurse". Best of all, nursing diagnosis will FINALLY make sense :)

Take it one day at a time. You'll start to see the light at the end of the tunnel. (I see mine off in the distance...will be done in May!)