Possible school burnout

al3x117, RN, EMT-B · Nov 15, 2017

This happens to the best of us. Every nursing student has been in your shoes of feeling like giving up or scared about what actual nursing is like. Truthfully I will tell you that I have also been in this situation especially writing care plans really early in the morning. I remember last year I asked myself if it was worth it to be a nurse. I literally felt like giving up and throwing up the towel. The number one thing that kept me going was my friends that were grindin with me in nursing school. Your friends and colleagues are your most powerful weapon. Going to nursing school hell and back my friend. These people will fight for you. In the end every student in nursing school has been in your shoes. I remember another time in clinical an RT got ticked at me because my patient was in fluid overload and was "drowning" in their own fluid. They had tachypnea (rapid breathing) and crackles in their lungs. The RT asked me what else causes a patients to show s/s of respiratory distress. At the time I didn't have pathophysiology class so I simply stated pulmonary edema and I am not sure what else. He stated, "C'mon PE buddy (pulmonary embolism) I hope you learned something." Then he walked out. Literally after that clinical I was pretty heated and embarrassed cause I couldn't answer a simple question. That was another time I wanted to give up. It was pretty disheartening as a first year nursing student (our school shoves us right into clinical to get our feet wet) but I will tell you that those experiences will shape you and make you into a damn good nurse. Those are teaching points that we all struggle with. Keep trucking on my friend. Never quit. Nursing is the best damn thing that has ever happened to me. I love advocating for my patients and I have had one psych patients (I am currently in my mental health rotation right now as a junior in nursing school) tell me thank you for advocating for me when nobody else would listen. That is why I love nursing. It is the little things that we do for our patients that they will remember. They don't give a crap about the procedures or staying in the hospital. It is our job as nurses to deliver humane healthcare in times of inhumane situations (family disputes, hurt people, etc). Gotta be that lifeline that others can count on. You are the tip of the spear as a nurse because everyone is relying on you to relay info and advocate for the patients in their time of need. This is the best job and I am proud to be a nursing student. You can do this!! Never quit! Peace.

NurseDisneyPrincess · Nov 15, 2017

One thing that might make you feel better is that nursing school is nothing like actual nursing. You're learning and observing, and in clinical you kinda get your feet wet, but it's still no comparison to actual being a nurse on the job. Of course, you're always learning, even long after nursing school is over. But it's not the same as being in a classroom or in clinical every day.

Here's a story for you: My best friend is an attorney. She hated law school and had to work hard and bust her butt to pass the bar. She loved the idea of working in law, but there were times where the studying really got to her. By the end of her third year she was telling me, "I've spent three years of my life studying law, researching law, writing about law, but now I'm so sick of it I don't even know if I want to be a lawyer." She passed the bar and got her first job as a law clerk. She's now a pretty great attorney. She hated law school, but she will be the first one to tell you that she loves practicing law. Her job turned out to be everything she thought it would be.

Nursing school can be draining. You have a lot of information coming at you and that can lead to brain overload. Brain overload=Burnout.

If you really want to be a nurse (and I think you do) then keep at it. School is just there to get you prepared. Actual nursing is a lot different. You haven't gotten to the meat yet, but you will. Good luck!