nsm1639

Do you know of any second degree students/career changers who quit or failed nursing school and did not go back? Where are they now? Did they pursue a different healthcare profession? Did they leave the healthcare field completely? I think you have much more flexibility to quit and look for a different major/career if you're still in college, but it's a different story for someone like me with a liberal arts degree with no other job experience. I feel like I should look for a different profession within the healthcare field as I spent so much time and money on science prereqs, but at the same time, I'm kind of fed up with dealing with patients in general. Any stories?

Other than being late, not showing up, and not completing assignments, what are some ways that a student can fail clinicals? I've read so many horror stories about instructors failing their students for the smallest mistakes. What does it actually mean to fail a clinical? Is it going to be reflected on their transcript? Also, what happens AFTERWARDS? Do they continue attending clinicals for the rest of the semester even though they know they'll get an unsatisfactory grade, or do they sit out for the rest of that semester and "repeat" the clinicals next semester?

I have been accepted into an ABSN program at a very prestigious university that is known for having very rigorous undergraduate classes. Its nursing program is also very highly ranked. While I'm humbled and excited, I'm terrified at the same time. My first degree was in a non-science field, and my school was definitely not as prestigious as the school that I've been accepted to for my ABSN. Now, I know that nursing programs are going to be hard no matter which school you go to, but I'm wondering if the material that is covered in the nursing classes at these prestigious schools differs in depth and detail to the that in nursing classes taught at other schools. I know that we are being taught the same "kinds" of classes at every nursing school, but I think it's safe to say that the material covered in classes for a biology degree at Stanford, per se, is much more challenging than that at a small local college. However, I heard that exam questions at any nursing school are pretty similar because they try to make them as close as possible to the NCLEX-style questions . Maybe the prestigious schools give out assignments that are more difficult and grade them harder? I'm not sure. If there's any of you who obtained your BSN at a very prestigious school, can you share your experience?

I'm about to start a 15-month accelerated BSN program in the summer. The curriculum is 4 semesters long, with each semester consisting of 14-17 units. The semester schedule for the ABSN program at this institution actually looks identical to the schedule for their traditional BSN, with the only difference being that the ABSN program utilizes the summer breaks (as opposed to the traditional BSN getting their summers off). By no means was I a straight-A student in my previous undergrad degree, not even in my prerequisite courses. (I earned B's and even a C in one of them) I do NOT consider myself a particularly "fast" learner. English is my second language so I tend to be on the slower side when it comes to reading. The thing that worries me the most is about getting through the program is sleep. Ideally, I need 8 hours of sleep to function, 7 being minimum. I start falling apart when I get less than 7 hours of sleep. But from what I've read on this website, it seems like like getting 7-8 hours of sleep on a regular basis is almost impossible in nursing school, let alone an accelerated program. What do you think? Did anybody survive an ABSN program without losing their sanity from the lack of sleep?

Hello, I'm a second degree student and I eventually want to be an FNP. I have been accepted into a pricey accelerated bsn program but having second thoughts. I already know that the academic side of it will be grueling, but what I am actually more concerned about are the labs and clinicals. I've always had a problem with my motor skills for as long as I can remember. I'm also very uncoordinated. I looked it up and I think I may have dyspraxia or something. I'm clumsy and very slow with any task that uses my body, like tying shoelaces or cutting a slice of cake without making a mess. Some tasks are flat-out impossible for me even you give me all day to do it. I also have a weak grasp and struggle with things like opening a bottle of wine with a wine-opener. I basically feel like a kid when it comes to these. (And many times, kids are better at it than I am!) I'm not sure if it has anything to do with the fact that I have very small hands. I just confirmed last week that they're smaller than the hands of my 10-year-old niece. Due to this, I always avoided jobs that required me to use my motor skills. I cannot imagine myself wrapping up sandwiches under a time constraint, let alone making them. My past jobs include typing in front of a desk in an office or tutoring kids. But I'm not going to be able to avoid a certain task just because I'm not comfortable with it once I'm in nursing school, right? I just had my TB test done a few weeks ago and as I saw the medical assistant effortlessly injecting the needle into my arm, I couldn't help but think to myself "How am I going to become a nurse or even a nurse practitioner, when I struggle with a simple task that even a medical assistant can do so easily?" I know they say that it takes practice, but I think this is just a completely different problem for me. I also feel like I have poor judgment skills and lack common sense a lot of the times. I heard of a student that failed a clinical because the nurse told her to go get a syringe for insulin injection and she accidentally grabbed one for a regular subcutaneous injection. (I guess she didn't know the difference at that time) When she came back, the nurse looked at it, and failed her on the spot without a warning! Maybe the nurse just happened to be the wicked witch from the west, but anywho, that sounds like a VERY possible scenario to me... Like I said, my goal is to work as an FNP at a primary care clinic where I see patients 1 on 1, so I probably wouldn't have to be as "quick" as staff RN in a hospital, but I don't know if I would be able to pass nursing school let alone work as an RN before becoming an NP. What should I do? Should I look into a different career?

I've seen a quite a few people here who went straight to NP school after obtaining their BSN and was wondering if they could share their experience. Did you apply while you were in your BSN program? Were your professors willing to write LOR's when you told them you want to go straight to NP school without any RN experience? If you don't mind me asking, which programs did you apply to/attend? (I'm asking this because I'm having trouble finding an NP program that does not require any RN experience.) Did you need a superb GPA/volunteer experience to compensate for your lack of RN experience? Thanks!