Petrified I will fail out!

Tweety, BSN, RN · May 7, 2012

I know your addressing students, but I once was a student. LOL

If you're the type of person that gives it all you've got (and my guess is you probably have a 4.0 GPA) then that's all you need to do and let the results be what they may.

August is four months away, you you intend on ruining your summer with being "absolutely terrified"? Some anxiety is normal, so you're not alone. I was extremely apprehensive going into the nursing program. Some schools loose a lot of people, but the fact is that the overwhelming majority of us make it through and you will too.

ThePrincessBride, MSN, RN, NP · May 7, 2012

I still feel this way and I probably will flunk out.

Nolli · May 7, 2012

Sounds like a case of the "what ifs?" I have them too and the best advice I received was to make plans as if I was going to pass everything and take it one day at a time. This meant I still had to do long term planning. I go about my day doing homework and normal chores as I normally would barring specific problems or exceptions in my normal routine that need to be addressed.

I give the same advice to you. Just take it day by day while still addressing long term goals and writing tasks/deadlines on the calender. You can't control everything in life, just give it your all and take charge of what you can control. If something unexpected comes up or you feel nervous then ask your professor for advice or be proactive before you get a grade you can't improve/live with. Nursing school is tough stuff so strive for the best grade possible, but don't forget to live outside of the classroom too. I do better on tests when I have some form of stress relief(friends,movies etc), am fed(cheese-poofs are not a real food group as much as I love them), sleep(adequate for testing situations at the min), and spread out study sessions.

Good Luck

-Nolli

tammy_zeidan09 · May 7, 2012

I know your addressing students, but I once was a student. LOLIf you're the type of person that gives it all you've got (and my guess is you probably have a 4.0 GPA) then that's all you need to do and let the results be what they may. August is four months away, you you intend on ruining your summer with being "absolutely terrified"? Some anxiety is normal, so you're not alone. I was extremely apprehensive going into the nursing program. Some schools loose a lot of people, but the fact is that the overwhelming majority of us make it through and you will too.

Thanks for your reply. You're right I should be happy this summer that I even got inbut idk it's just so important for me. I'm positive you can relate. I worry more for the exams. I don't do well with trick questions. I hear there's a lot of those on-the-job program where three or four answers will be correct and you have to choose the best.

jocy_anne · May 7, 2012

I'm starting Nursing school in September, am a crazy perfectionist, and currently have about a 115 in my Gen Chem II class, and guess what? I'm scared to death that I'm going to fail out of Nursing school! For now, I'm just trying to take one day at a time. I have my Chem final tonight, and then start an 8-week Microbiology class on May 21st. Even though I am panicking deep down about the Nursing classes I'll start in September, I'm doing my best to shove those fears aside and focus on everything else leading up to that point. I'm hoping my discipline, study habits, and passion for the field will help me at least a little when I get to the Nursing classes!

FitMommyRN · May 7, 2012

I had myself nearly convinced that it would be impossible and I'd fail out in my first semester. I made it through with an A. While I managed to calm myself a little, it still crept back in RIGHT before the faculty said "you may start" for each exam. And, silly me, I'd be convinced THIS was the one I'd fail, and I never got below a 92.

The super rad part about nursing school is you USE the information forever. It's not learning a chapter, regurgitating it for the exam, and then RE-learning it for the comprehensive final. You're learning stuff that leads to more indepth stuff and you're using it all in clinicals. You get it in lecture. You get it again in skills lab. You use your knowledge on a living, breathing patient in clinical. You never forget it.

That first exam may leave you in a near state of panic. I was practically vibrating with terror waiting for the exams to be passed out. All we hear is "OMG IT'S SO HAAAAAAAAARD!!!!" but it's not necessarily the INFORMATION that's hard; it's the time constraints. The knowledge is almost easy but when you've got an exam, med sheets, care plans, assessment forms and a skill check off all within 3 days, you're gonna want to puke. Then the next thing you know, you have miraculously found an entire DAY where you don't have to study or do paperwork and you spend it any damn way you please and at the end of the day you're relaxed and can think again about how grateful you are to even be in a program.

Nursing school is SO FREAKING AWESOME. Patients welcome you into some of the darkest times of their lives, as an uninformed and terrified student, and let you attempt to take care of them. You'll fall asleep with your books on your chest. You'll sit in the floor, surrounded by a sea of textbooks, power points, supplimental reading, a laptop, a smart phone, 3 half empty cups of cold coffee, and an open jar of peanut butter with a spoon in it, and the next day in clinical you'll maybe help relieve somebody's pain and you'll want to take a victory lap, high fiving everybody you see.

Don't worry, friend. It's busy, it's rugged, you'll possibly cry, you may self medicate here and there, you'll forget to put on deodorant/feed the dog/pay a bill/everybody's birthdays/put on pants before leaving the house but by GOD you'll somehow be able to spit out the normal ranges of lab tests like some creepy nurse robot.

You can do this.

-cheers!

tammy_zeidan09 · May 8, 2012

I had myself nearly convinced that it would be impossible and I'd fail out in my first semester. I made it through with an A. While I managed to calm myself a little, it still crept back in RIGHT before the faculty said "you may start" for each exam. And, silly me, I'd be convinced THIS was the one I'd fail, and I never got below a 92.
The super rad part about nursing school is you USE the information forever. It's not learning a chapter, regurgitating it for the exam, and then RE-learning it for the comprehensive final. You're learning stuff that leads to more indepth stuff and you're using it all in clinicals. You get it in lecture. You get it again in skills lab. You use your knowledge on a living, breathing patient in clinical. You never forget it.
That first exam may leave you in a near state of panic. I was practically vibrating with terror waiting for the exams to be passed out. All we hear is "OMG IT'S SO HAAAAAAAAARD!!!!" but it's not necessarily the INFORMATION that's hard; it's the time constraints. The knowledge is almost easy but when you've got an exam, med sheets, care plans, assessment forms and a skill check off all within 3 days, you're gonna want to puke. Then the next thing you know, you have miraculously found an entire DAY where you don't have to study or do paperwork and you spend it any damn way you please and at the end of the day you're relaxed and can think again about how grateful you are to even be in a program.
Nursing school is SO FREAKING AWESOME. Patients welcome you into some of the darkest times of their lives, as an uninformed and terrified student, and let you attempt to take care of them. You'll fall asleep with your books on your chest. You'll sit in the floor, surrounded by a sea of textbooks, power points, supplimental reading, a laptop, a smart phone, 3 half empty cups of cold coffee, and an open jar of peanut butter with a spoon in it, and the next day in clinical you'll maybe help relieve somebody's pain and you'll want to take a victory lap, high fiving everybody you see.
Don't worry, friend. It's busy, it's rugged, you'll possibly cry, you may self medicate here and there, you'll forget to put on deodorant/feed the dog/pay a bill/everybody's birthdays/put on pants before leaving the house but by GOD you'll somehow be able to spit out the normal ranges of lab tests like some creepy nurse robot.
You can do this.
-cheers!

This is by far the best response I have ever gotten....probably in my life!

Thaanks for the motivation and giggles

Scarlettz, BSN, RN · May 8, 2012

I actually wasn't very stressed out about failing out. Please don't let you believe that nursing school is cake. It's certainly not. I just took it semester by semester and day by day. Module by module. I came in the program realizing that this was a learning experience. If I did my best, kept up with the readings, did my objectives, and tried my hardest, then failing would be unlikely.

The only semester that gave me a scare was second semester. The material that we learned that semester was rough! Or, maybe I just didn't find my studying groove at that point for more intricate subject material. Though, I think what gave me the most trouble was from having a nightmare clinical instructor. I spent so much time and energy on trying to know my clinical stuff well, that I sort of overlooked the lecture. I ended up needing a 75 on my final to pass the class. I received a 77. Phew! Close call.

I definitely smartened up after that scare. The best thing I did was request off days before my test. I work part-time so I needed to make sure that I had 3-5 open days to study hard.

sweetjess321 · May 8, 2012

Hey tammy, YOU ARE NOT ALONE!! Trust me, I am in the same boat and for several reasons. I start in August at Phoenix College and I'm petrified as well. I'm 29 and have been working full time at my job for 7 years. I have been working on getting to nursing school basically since I graduated high school in 2001! Arg! Many obstacles have fallen in my way and I'm finally starting in August! Yay. However, I'm stressed as all get out because of financial reasons. My job will see if they can work with my school schedule but it's not promising. I live alone and rent is about $650 plus I have bills and student loans I'm paying on. If I don't make at least $1700/month while in school I don't know what I'm going to do. I am getting financial aid but don't know how much I've been given yet and probably won't know until this summer. It's frustrating...no clue how I'm goign to do it, because if I have to find a different job, there's no way I can pay my bills earning less than $15/hr. I make $17.50 an hour right now and I still live paycheck to paycheck. Advice? Also, which school will you be in? Best of luck girl!!

FitMommyRN · May 8, 2012

sweetjess321: Depending on your loans, you'll probably be able to do an in school deferment. You can choose to continue to pay interest, or nothing at all.

TPLPRN, BSN · May 8, 2012

I had myself nearly convinced that it would be impossible and I'd fail out in my first semester. I made it through with an A. While I managed to calm myself a little, it still crept back in RIGHT before the faculty said "you may start" for each exam. And, silly me, I'd be convinced THIS was the one I'd fail, and I never got below a 92.
The super rad part about nursing school is you USE the information forever. It's not learning a chapter, regurgitating it for the exam, and then RE-learning it for the comprehensive final. You're learning stuff that leads to more indepth stuff and you're using it all in clinicals. You get it in lecture. You get it again in skills lab. You use your knowledge on a living, breathing patient in clinical. You never forget it.
That first exam may leave you in a near state of panic. I was practically vibrating with terror waiting for the exams to be passed out. All we hear is "OMG IT'S SO HAAAAAAAAARD!!!!" but it's not necessarily the INFORMATION that's hard; it's the time constraints. The knowledge is almost easy but when you've got an exam, med sheets, care plans, assessment forms and a skill check off all within 3 days, you're gonna want to puke. Then the next thing you know, you have miraculously found an entire DAY where you don't have to study or do paperwork and you spend it any damn way you please and at the end of the day you're relaxed and can think again about how grateful you are to even be in a program.
Nursing school is SO FREAKING AWESOME. Patients welcome you into some of the darkest times of their lives, as an uninformed and terrified student, and let you attempt to take care of them. You'll fall asleep with your books on your chest. You'll sit in the floor, surrounded by a sea of textbooks, power points, supplimental reading, a laptop, a smart phone, 3 half empty cups of cold coffee, and an open jar of peanut butter with a spoon in it, and the next day in clinical you'll maybe help relieve somebody's pain and you'll want to take a victory lap, high fiving everybody you see.
Don't worry, friend. It's busy, it's rugged, you'll possibly cry, you may self medicate here and there, you'll forget to put on deodorant/feed the dog/pay a bill/everybody's birthdays/put on pants before leaving the house but by GOD you'll somehow be able to spit out the normal ranges of lab tests like some creepy nurse robot.
You can do this.
-cheers!

SO true. I agree 100% with everything you said. Best advice ever. Good luck!!!