Katarina

I am a first year, second semester BN student in Australia. I am studying a full course load & working ~30 hours per week in an unrelated field. Everything is overwhelming & I need some advice / help please. The content is easy, but technology is a real challenge. I’m 28y.o. and this is a career change for me. I’ve been a truck driver since I was 17. No matter how I try, my PowerPoint presentations are BLAND. In 2 weeks I have a presentation worth 40% of my final grade for one unit & it is terrifying, there is help for nearly everything on campus, except for people who are tech impaired. Adding to my tech stress is a feeling of isolation, at my uni the nursing course is largely made up of foreign students, who are simply studying nursing as a quick way to get residency, they clearly have no interest in actually looking after people & they separate into ethnic groups & refuse, even for group tasks, to associate with anyone outside of their group. I also feel the content has been dumbed down to help non native english speakers, which is frustrating, put simply, I’m far from the smartest person out there but as a native english speaker it is very easy to absorb content. It feels a lot like the university doesn’t care about anything but collecting profits from cramming in as many students as possible, we have 40 students in most of our labs & tutorials, so everyone is just a number. All up the experience, coupled with the mindless busywork added to the fact that I’m working nearly full time at the same time is stressful & tiring. I can’t sleep very well, the stress has brought my PTSD back to the point where I wake up screaming & coated in sweat multiple times a night. I’ve dropped that much weight that people around me are getting concerned and asking if I’m sick. I’ve also become a moody, joyless grouch, tightly wound, ready to fly off the handle all the time, which just isn’t like me. I’m too determined to quit, but I can’t go on as is for another 2+ years, something (likely my mental well being) will give & I need some coping advice to preempt that. Any advice or ideas would be appreciated, thank you.