LittleCa

Hey girl, I'm so sorry. It sounds like you are struggling a lot. Nursing is a hard job on your mental health as it is. I want to preface by saying I am not a nurse. I'm six months from graduating nursing school and I've worked in demanding health care jobs for 5 years (dialysis tech for 3, ICU/medsurg/tele tech for 2). I've also struggled with anxiety that I got somewhat under control now. Here is what I would do if I were you. Focus on yourself. You are sick and you need to get better. Make that your priority number one. Like I said, nursing is already hard on your mental health as it is. It's just going to destroy you if you add that to your already existing anxiety and depression. I'm not saying you can't be a nurse. Not at all. But you need to get your mental health under control to the point you can function and not make it worse. Change your meds, CBT, talk therapy, meditation, whatever works for you. A combination of meds, CBT and meditation is what worked for me. I've stopped taking the meds now, and I'm still doing fine. Do I struggle? Yes. But I function. You are clearly struggling and there is help. Our society has gone into a "accept mental health" craze and people act like that's all you gotta do. You know how they say "depression is a disease, you wouldn't tell someone with a heart problem to just get over it or think positively" well you wouldn't tell them to just accept it and talk about it and not do anything to treat it either. You don't have to just sit with your anxiety. You can try to treat it too. And if you are already treating it and it's not getting any better, change what you are doing. I know it's hard because when you have depression you don't want to do anything, but believe me it can get better. Getting yourself to where you can function should be number one right now. In the meantime find an easy nursing job, part time even if need be. You can always build your skills slowly. It's not a competition. School nurse maybe? A doctor's office? PACU? Nursing home? Once you feel better and more confident move on to something a little more challenging, or don't. Sometimes we just need to accept our limitations and make the best out of it. I know it's hard to see your peers go into the traditional challenging nursing jobs like ICU, ER, MEDSURG, but it doesn't have to be that way for everyone. " That is not all nursing is. You are as much of a nurse as a school nurse or as an ER nurse. Don't let anyone make you feel worse if you are not following the traditional path. You are unique and so should be your trajectory. Understand your needs and move forward based on how you roll. And look you already made it through nursing school, girl, you can do this.

That is so true. Maybe do your staffing by acuity and not simply numbers. And far as school goes, they are just breeding that mentality.

It's a private for profit school. I'd be totally fine reusing supplies just to get a change to try. We got that kit with some of those supplies but never got a chance to use it except for the foley catheter one. And thank you for saying the schedule should not be a moving target. Some of our professors use the excuse of "nursing is chaos" so we should get used to things changing all the time. It drives me insane. Like I mentioned on another reply, we recently met with the dean of student's affairs and the course coordinator and they acted like they were surprised. They brag about doing this program for 30 years now and the traditional nursing program for 50. I legit wonder all the time if this is the first time they have ever done this, because that is what it looks like. I've been talking to my classmates to speak up on their course evaluations. I feel like I was the only one who did it for last term. Hopefully, with that and the meeting with the dean, things will get better. Thank you all for the replies and support. The reason I asked was because I thought we were being gaslighted, since they always say "that's how nursing is." I wanted to make sure that it's not. Thanks again!

No, that is not a thing. We had a meeting with the program coordination and the dean and they were all like, "oh really, we were unaware. You guys need to speak up." So yes, we are pissed off. And yes we are speaking up now. Hopefully, things get better next term.

I'm currently a third of the way done with an accelerated BSN and I'm very disappointed with how disorganized the program is. Mind you, this is a respected university rumored to be one of the best in the state, but geez are they lost. We never know what's going to happen until one week before it happens. Wrong deadlines, incomplete instructions, wrong exam times etc. The professors make fun of us saying that we are too uptight wanting to know everything that is going to happen. I'm sorry, when you are in a 12 month accelerated program and sometimes have up to 15 assignments due in one week right before two exams, you need a little bit of time to plan and manage things. The whole thing has become an inside joke in my cohort. Let me paint you a picture. Don't even get me started on SIM and Skills lab. Do all of you get to try all the skills? Because in our skills lab you get put in groups and each member of the group gets to practice one skill and the rest watches. Like med administration, one persons tries IM, another tries oral, another tries SQ. On our skills day for IV placement we all only got to do part of the procedure because the instructor was trying to save supplies. The program costs $60k. The mannequins are falling apart, the beds don't work and on my first skills check off we had to go through three different BP cuffs cause they were all busted. Is that how it is in all programs? Last week we had our ATI retake right before one of our exams. Our calendar said 9am for ATI, 1130 for Pops exam. At 8pm the night before we get an e-mail from the Pops professor saying see you at 9am for the exam. Turns out she was wrong. Last clinical rotation we had a journal due 10pm on Friday. The professor e-mails us the morning of saying it's due by noon. Some people ended up missing the new last minute deadline and lost points on the assignment for being late. Is a little bit of consistency too much to ask? I know this is a long rant, but I honestly want to know, is this how most programs are or is it just mine?

Girl, I feel ya. I just got accepted to a ABSN at a private school that is going to cost me 54k and I'm already having nightmares about the debt. I know this is nothing compared to what you are going to pay for NYU. But, this is still a lot of money for me when I can go to my local CC for 10k. My rationale is, I can wait a few more years for my place at my local CC waitlist to come up, get an ADN in two years, and then bridge to a BSN online later. Or I can, go out of state to the ABSN this fall and be done by the end of next year. Time is of the essence for me and that's why I'm choosing to pay for it, instead of waiting. Anyways, here are my two cents for you. If that's your dream, do it. Just be aware of what you are doing. Do a deep dive into your reasons why. Is that how you want to spend your future money, or would you rather use it for vacation, a house, or a nice car? What are you doing it for? Is it for the experience of living in NY? You can become a travel nurse and work there after you graduate. Is it for the experience of going to NYU? Like some people said, you can get that with a master's later when your employer might help you pay for it. But again, if you search deep inside and realize you really want to do it and it's worth it. Do it. Loan repayment programs exist. Make it work. Best of luck!

Hi, I know this was a couple of weeks ago but I hope it can still be helpful. I've been a monitor tech/CNA/unit clerk at a cardiac ICU for almost two years now. The hardest part for me was learning what the supplies were. I was always asked to fetch stuff and half the time I didn't know what they were asking for. So I say get familiarized with the supply room and don't be afraid to ask for someone to show you where something is. I always volunteered to restock the carts because that helped me learn. What I do the most is bed baths, changing linens on an occupied bed and helping people to the bathroom. There is usually a lot of tubes and pumps around the patient so I always ask my nurse how she wants to do whatever we are doing so that we are a well reheorificed team. You might need to do compressions during a code. It's terrifying, the only way out is through, but you'll get used to it. It's good experience. Last but not least, ICUs can be a very sad place. There is such a thing as ICU humor for a reason. Talk to your team about it. My ICU crew is a close knit team. We talk a lot about the *** we see happening around us all the time. It makes you more grateful for how good you have it. And it definitely makes you want to be healthier (there is a reason why most ICU nurses are health nuts). It's been an amazing experience to me. And since the nurses know I want to be a nurse, they are always teaching me stuff. I try to be as helpful as I can always and they are super grateful for it. Give yourself time to learn. Don't be afraid to ask for help or look dumb. And give yourself time to recover when you need to. I hope this is as great of an experience for you as it has been for me.

In my state, any essential worker is required to wear a mask indoors. My husband works at a power plant in an office and has to wear them for his whole 10h shift ever since this whole thing started, even before the hospital I work at started requiring it. Question for the people who have been wearing N95 during their whole 12-hour shift: Are you required? We wear them in the rooms only, and I'll be honest, it's really hard to breathe especially if we are doing more physical work like bed baths and repositioning. Am I wearing them wrong?

I didn't get it. I had calculated to have about 80 points. I wanted to try again but I just found out you can only take the TEAS once. I'm pretty much tapped out. I speak Spanish, work in health care, first generation to go to college. The only place I had room to improve was on the TEAS. I guess there I'll have to try my luck on the 20% lottery next cycle.

Hi, In case you are still looking for options. Here is my 2 cents. I started as a CNA, in California making $10/h. After a year, I applied for a position with Davita where I was trained and received a CCHT (Certified Clinical Hemodialysis Tech) and started making $16/h. Three years later (and very little pay raise). I found an opportunity at a local hospital as an EKG tech, making over $20/h. Meanwhile, I've been working on my RN prereqs and I'm probably a year away from getting in the program (due to waitlist). Working in Dialysis gave me a lot of patient care experience and this new job at the hospital is giving me a lot of good connections, not to mention exposure. I definitely recommend moving on from the CNA to something a little more technical at a hospital while you work to become a nurse. In most places, it takes a while to get in the program, and trying out different things helps your skills set. I double as a CNA at the hospital and work with new grad RNs who never worked in healthcare before getting into nursing school. I'm not saying they've committed a mortal sin, but you sure can tell they have some catching up to do compared to the new grads who were CNA or LVNs before. To sum it up, if you can get into an LVN program do it. If you can't, the healthcare tech route is nearly as beneficial. We are certainly hired at hospitals and make a decent living. Best of luck!

I took it with Machado. He is really good but grades really hard.

Idk. Maybe if u get a really high score on the TEAS you might make it.

I know the feeling. Where I live there is only one nursing school in a 100mi. radius. They have a point base system and even though I scored in the range that made it in the past three years, I didn't make it. Not even close. What frustrates me is that the bar keeps getting raised higher and higher each year and I seem to just miss it. If I were you, yes, try to strengthen and try again. But also branch out. This year I'm considering relocating, for example. Keep it up. We'll get it some day.

Yes. At 12:10. It just says if someone drops I can get a spot. No number. But, I guess it's something.

Alternate.