nursing327

One day I actually sat down with my clinical instructor and explained all my worries to her. I would go into clinical being so excited and end up having really bad anxiety to the point of almost passing out and thinking about how I was already failing AH played into it. I literally sat down and cried and just explained to her how I was afraid of all this happening (and it did LOL). She was super encouraging and told me to finish out the semester to see where I stand and if I still don’t feel like nursing is for me then to explore my options. We even brainstormed together different things I could do. My parents are constantly telling me that if I end up making it through I’ll be able to work in doctor’s office’s and such, but my instructor said usually new grads get the hospital jobs until they get some years under their belt. Overall I was worried about disappointing them. I honestly don’t think my school would hold my scholarships. I was told if I’m not taking classes for the semester then I have to withdrawal. I’m just going to have to call them today and explain what’s going on to see if we can get some answers. I really wanna do teaching instead of nursing now, but I don’t want to disappoint my parents. They want me to get a good paying job. “No one loves their job,” is what they tell me and they also don’t think I’m emotionally strong enough to deal with parents in teaching. During high school, I shadowed a teacher first a semester and absolutely loved it. They think teaching isn’t a wise choice even though that’s what my younger sister is going for. I also go to a private college and options are super limited for majors unless I transfer somewhere else.

The main reason is that I’ll use the grace period up on my student loans and I want to avoid that. The second reason is I need to bring my GPA up because this class knocked it from a 3.16 to 2.95. The only class I’ll be taking come Spring will be the failed class and it’s only 8 credit hours. 12 or more are required for full time so I pretty much have to declare a minor from what I was told today. My school is also offering me $6,000 a year in Scholarships and if I fall below part time I’ll lose it. My Pell grant will cover up to 6 years, but that will still leave me paying even more in student loans without my HOPE Scholarshipthen capping out my institutional one in the end. I never went to become a CNA because my program, unlike others, didn’t require it. As much as I hate it, I was planning on using student loans for that last semester of school. I work part-time in retail and pay on them whenever I can. I have sat down to focus on why I didn’t pass and of course in part it’s my fault, but I just did not understand anything with how my professor taught. I felt like I taught myself this semester. I struggled in this professor’s class last semester and didn’t do well until another professor took over (went from 70s to 90s). Everything going fully online pretty much took away any chance I had. Our tests were even open note (except for the final) and I still failed them. It’s not like I didn’t study. I studied AND used my notes and still made bad. I’ve debated on whether I should continue pursuing nursing just because I can’t get the basic classes down and it worries me. It’s like I can’t think critically. I don’t cram, I study everyday, do the PrepU’s, picmonics...I just can’t get it. I tried to reach out to my professors in that class and communication is horrible. I watched Registered Nurse RN videos all week leading up to my final and maxed out my levels on PrepU and still made a 70 on the final. In the beginning of the semester I think my heart kind of got taken out of pursuing nursing because of all the anxiety I have with it - that’s hurting me too. I’ve been questioning my choice. I have the option to choose something I’m passionate about but I want to be able to be financially stable and easily be able to attain and retain a job upon graduation. I just don’t really know what to do. I feel like I’m stuck and I have 5 different people at my college telling me different things. sorry for the length of the post

So I just finished my 2nd semester of nursing school, next year would’ve been my senior year, but I unfortunately failed Adult Health with a 71 (needed a 75). I was already struggling in class and everything transitioning online made it worse. For my school they let you come back into the program if you fail 1 class, but it won’t be until the Spring that I can take the class again. In the meantime, I have to take classes, but cannot take just random classes. My two options are to double major doing something like interdisciplinary studies (that’s what nursing majors normally choose if they fail a class) or pick up a minor. I need to get my GPA up in the fall, so I’m wary to take difficult classes, but I also want to minor or double major to have something to fall back on in case nursing doesn’t work out for me. I’m trying to be wise about what I choose, because I don’t want to waste my financial aid. My institutional aid covers 4 years and I’m already at 3 years. Do y’all have any suggestions on a good field I could pursue and be able to easily get a job with a Bachelor’s or have any suggestions on how minors can lead to other things?

I talked with my mom and we’re trying to find different positions I could go into being an RN with a BSN. Everyone did pretty bad on the first test in Adult Health and they did a review in class for it. Usually if you make 75 or below they recommend you set an appointment to review. I don’t think they use old NCLEX questions, but that they try to make the questions as much like the NCLEX as possible. I definitely overthink things but I’ve gotten better about it. I just have HORRIBLE test taking skills and it hurts my grades. The questions aren’t straightforward (pick the best answer) and that gets me too.

Thank you so much for the advice. I had clinical today and got super anxious over nothing before I went in. I was standing listening to report when all the anxiety and stress caught up to me and I felt like I was gonna pass out. I texted my clinical instructor and told her I wasn’t feeling well and asked if we could talk. I told her EVERYTHING and feel so much better about everything. She gave me better insight on what I should do but that I still need to make my own choice. The most sensible thing would be for me to get through this semester and see if I still have the same feelings about nursing (like you said ?) and go from there. That would keep me from jeopardizing my financial aid and from being left with what ifs in the future. My mom could sense something was up when I got home tonight and I told her everything. I think she agrees with my plan and can finally see where I’m coming from. My main thing now is just tackling my anxiety. Turns out my older sister is having the exact same issue about almost passing out from anxiety too. The doctors put her on meds for it, and while that’s not something I really wanna do, I may end up having to until I can get through this. Thank y’all again and for reading all my lengthy posts. Much appreciation!!

I'm in my second semester of nursing school and so far we have not had clinical in the OR. I've been on med surg, post-op, wound care, and rehab.. You may get a clinical instructor who will pull students to go see new things, like things in the OR. A lot of times my clinical instructor will pull whoever she can find for opportunities like getting to see surgeries. I have one friend that cannot stand blood and my instructor has made it a point to pull her the next time an opportunity arises to get her over her phobia. It all depends on your instructor. The doctors and nurses in the OR are amazing with student nurses though. The ones at our hospital told us if we're feeling sick or whoozy to sit in a chair or don't say anything and just walk out. Better to leave then drop to the floor and bust your head. I totally understand the needles/IV's. I can't stand needles myself and we learned to give shots by practicing on each other and ourselves the first week of "boot camp". Not to sound rude, but you'll get over it. You'll realize it's not the needle that hurts as much as it is what's in the syringe. Eventually you won't think twice about the needle. You will probably have to take out IV's during clinical though. Most of what I do in clinical is giving meds, doing assessments, giving shots, and taking out IVs. They should prep you in lab for actually performing these tasks before clinical comes around so you're ready. Honestly, you'll get to where you're so in the moment when doing these things that it eventually won't bother you. Once you do it once, it'll be like it's nothing. I was right in your shoes in August. I almost made myself throw up at the thought of doing anything with needles or IVs. Your instructors are there to help you and encourage you, not put you down. If it wasn't for their encouragement I could've never stuck myself with a needle. Don't let it discourage you!! Good luck!

This may sound stupid but clinical made me realize nursing isn't what I thought it was going to be. I feel like all nursing is is giving meds and doing assessments. I'm fine going out of my comfort zone and can do assessments great and have no problems giving shots and meds. I did my first catheter the first day of clinical. It's just made me realize nurses are overworked and under appreciated. I feel like I can't remember anything from classes (specifically Pharm) and it's adding stress onto my plate with a bunch of "What-ifs?" I think more than anything clinical and my community health class has made me realize I enjoy the policy aspect of nursing and not necessarily the hands-on approach of nursing (if that makes sense?). I don't know what it is about Adult Health that is making me struggle. I made an 84 on my recent Pharm II test and a 90 on my Community and Public Health test, and yet, I made a 62 on my Adult Health test. I do all the readings, all the online assignments for practice... I almost didn't pass a class the same professor taught last semester and only passed because he had to leave and our Dean took over. I come out of that class just feeling defeated. I took Healthcare classes in high school and challenging classes throughout college and have struggled, but never this much. I just feel like no matter how much I study, read, and practice that I can't succeed in his class. I know the information, I just can't apply it and that's literally all that nursing is. I can push through and see where I am by the end of the semester. I really want to talk to my parents about the whole situation, but I'm worried. They've been so supportive but they're also very insistent on me doring nursing. They don't wanna even hear of the idea of me possibly changing into something different this far in because we've invested so much money and work into this. They want me to stay where I am and finish it out. I just keep thinking that I have the option to find something that I'll love and be passionate about and nursing school has made me realize the health care field isn't something I'm as passionate about as I thought. I don't want to waste my or anyone else's time or money. I just don't even know where to begin if I do decide to change.

It costs me out of pocket for this school, so usually I work all throughout the summer. I doubt I would have time for a shadowing. Usually the summer consists of work and doing things around the house.

Hi all, so I’m in nursing school and I’m currently in my second semester. All my classes are going great except for Adult Health I - I’m failing. We only have 3 tests plus the final and I’m not sure if I can pass this semester. I’m horrible with remembering anything and I’m scared for the ATIs this semester. We also have 12 hour clinical this semester that I was super excited about, but now I’m realizing how rough it is on nurses. I’ve always thought I wanted to do nursing but starting last semester I began to have doubts. Seeing how Adult Health is going and how I’m not enjoying clinical, I’m beginning to feel stuck. I’ve invested so much hard work and money into my school and now I’m afraid I won’t make it and don’t think it’s for me. I don’t know what to do. If I don’t pass this class, then I’ll be held back until spring of next year. I’ll also cap out on my federal financial aid if I fail and have to minor or change majors to avoid sitting out a year. I already have student loans and I’m afraid if I do change majors that I won’t be guaranteed a job and won’t be able to pay back the loans. I’ve considered Political Science or Education but I’m worried about job security. I want something that I’m passionate about and will love, but after clinicals I don’t see myself in nursing. My parents are amazing and supportive but don’t want me to change majors because they think I will regret it and that I can’t make up my mind. Sure I can get a job in somewhere other than a hospital, but like I said earlier, I just don’t see myself in nursing. What should I do? Because quite frankly I’m so worried right now.

I'm a first year nursing student and my class has been trying to figure out how ATI works. We had our first ATI exam yesterday and our grades are blocked until all finals are done. On our ATI accounts, it's showing a percentage of our probability of passing the NCLEX even though our ATI exam grade is blocked. How does the ATI system, ATI Pulse, and the probability calculator work? We were told the probability tells you how you did on the exam even though the grade is blocked, but when we asked upperclassmen and faculty no one was sure. Also, any tips on how to prepare for ATI exams is greatly appreciated. Before yesterday I felt prepared and after the test we all felt as though we did terrible!