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I am hoping someone, anyone, can give me some advice. I was supposed to be two weeks away from graduating from an ASN program but was devastated today to find out today that I have failed two of my courses and will not be graduating. I have had a lot of personal and financial issues this semester, but take full responsibility and understand that it is not an excuse not to be graduating in time. I still have two courses left in order to obtain an ASN, Complex Medical-Surgical Nursing clinical and lecture. Does anyone know if there is anyway possible for me to be able to challenge the nursing board in order to obtain an LPN or know of any schools that may help me continue my degree? I live in Indiana and would be willing to travel to surrounding states. The current school that I am enrolled in has no room for the spring semester and I would have to wait until next fall. I am so upset right now that I cannot even think straight. I have no idea what to do and I am so disappointed in myself. I really have a passion for this career field, but ended up letting personal things get in the way of my dreams. I feel so lost. I have a Veterinary Technician degree that I obtained in 2007 but was unable to secure a job and now this. Sometimes I wish I knew if I was actually pursuing the right path. I have always felt that things happen for a reason; however, this is just plain horrible. I would greatly appreciate any suggestions on what to do at this point. Thank you.

I am currently enrolled in an ASN program and with only 2 weeks left until I was supposed to graduate, I am devastated to find out that I ended up failing my Complex Med Surg class and there is no way for me to bring my grade up in time I'm trying to remain positive but it is so hard when I was that close. Does anyone know if it's possible for me to become an LPN now? I was only one course away from obtaining my Associate's and did not know if it was possible. I was planning on obtaining a Bachelor's, and I figure if I can become an LPN now, I'll do the LPN-BSN route. If anyone could please give me any insight I would greatly appreciate it. I am located in Indiana. Thank you.

Well, I know most of you are at the Indy campus, but I still wanted to share my progress at the Kokomo campus. :) We had our first quiz and skills check-off in our Fundamentals lab class on Tuesday the 12th, the day after learning our first skills. Luckily it was over handwashing, standard precautions, and range of motion exercises, so it wasn't entirely difficult. I passed my check-offs and received an A on my quiz. On Wednesday the 20th, we had our first test in our Fundamentals lecture class over 6 chapters. I got a B on that test, which I wasn't too happy with at first. I felt really confident after the test and thought that I would have received a better grade. However, I have been telling myself that at least it was a high B and that I still did well. It's crazy how going through pre-reqs affects your perception of a "B", lol. On Thursday the 21st, we had our first test in Pharmacology. I received an A on that test so I was estatic. Next week, we have another quiz and skills check-off in my Fundamentals lab class on Monday over transferring/repositiong/turning patients, restraints, and safety gait belts. On Thursday, we have our second Fundamentals test over 8 chapters (there is so much reading in this class!). Our next Pharmacology test will not be until the following week. I have learned so much already from my instructors. I still cannot believe I have only been in school for two weeks. It feels like it's been a lot longer with all the information I have learned! I am so thankful for this site, because I feel it truly prepared me for the workload in school. I do not feel as overwhelmed as some of my classmates since I came in expecting to do a lot of hard work. I have a study/reading schedule set which has also helped me to stay organized. I have been averaging about 8 hours a day of studying and reading during the week. Luckily I only work weekends, so that gives me ample time during the week for school obligations. As long as I stay focused I feel I will do well. I ordered some extra study guides that should be delivered sometime next week, so that will give me extra practice and provide more ways for me to fully understand the material. I hope everyone else is doing well. The hard work we all put into our pre-reqs was definitely worth it!

I just survived my first week of my first semester of nursing school. Even though I have only been a nursing student for a week, I absolutely love it so far after meeting all of my instructors. This forum really prepared me for the amount of work that I would be required to do, so I have not have as many overwhelming feelings as my classmates. Not only do I have my class schedule and test dates on paper, but I also have my study schedule on paper such as what class I'm studying for and what topics I will study each day at home. However, I pretty much study every class every day, but it keeps me on track at least, lol. You definitely have to be careful reading certain experiences about instructors on here. I went in terrified on my first day wondering what my instructor was going to be like. I soon was relieved when I met all of them. All of them are extremely helpful and encouraging. I truly feel as though they are there for us when we need them and want us to succeed. On our orientation day they told us, "You will get out of this program what you put into it". I also feel that if someone is not putting their 200% into the program, they will be straight forward and honest and perhaps give them a "reality check". Each program is different, and although it is great to be prepared and know how some programs are run and what some instructors may be like, I feel it is important to go into it with an open mind. Understanding and accepting all of the time I will need to put into nursing school is really going to help me. I know I have only been a nursing student for a week, but I am going into this knowing that I will be responsible for human lives and I want to make sure that I have the best education in order to care and advocate for them. Good luck to you and remember it will be worth it in the end.

After that long post, I forgot to add something. This forum has really prepared me for what to expect in my first week of nursing school. I knew I would have a lot of material to study and chapters to read, so I was not shocked at all like some of my classmates were. I do not think I will make that many lasting friendships with my classmates since I did not seem to click with anyone, and everyone is already forming their "groups". I suppose it is still early though. However, I am grateful for this forum, because I can still connect with other students and nurses and still express myself to those who understand. Thank you so much to everyone on this forum. :)

My first week of nursing school was absolutely AMAZING! I have learned so much more than I ever expected in the past four days. Monday was the very first day of class for me. I had a Fundamentals of Nursing lab class 8:00am-10:50am. Due to my fear of being late and having an hour commute to school, I left my home at 6:00am to head out for my first day. I was able to sleep somewhat that night. I would wake up every now and then, but was able to fall back asleep. I got up at 5:30am and since I had laid out my clothes for the day and packed my backpack the day before, I did not have to do any preparation in the morning. I was so nervous on my way there and felt like I was having a panic attack. I got there super early and waited in the parking lot until I saw other students enter the building. I went into the building and found the classroom for my lab class. I did my pre-reqs at a different campus so I did not know anyone at my new campus. Everyone else seemed like they knew each other. I made small talk with a few of my classmates, but pretty much just paid attention to my instructor. My lab instructor seems very encouraging and it completely eased my fears of nursing instructors. We learned about hand washing, standard precautions, and range of motion movements. On Tuesday we were quized over the material (I received a 100%!) and were checked off on our handwashing and range of motion skills. I passed both! We also watched a very informative video on vitals and that was it for the day. On Wednesday I had my first Fundamentals of Nursing class which was a lecture. I have never, ever wanted to be a nurse more in my life than I do right now after hearing another great instructor teach our class. I also had this class on Thursday as well. We learned about the history of nursing, nursing roles, the different nursing organizations, nurse practice acts, the nursing process, professional values, ethical decision making, being an active advocate for our future patients, effective communication, the different types of laws, the importance of being aware of cultural differences and respecting those differences...so many topics, but I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. I realize that this is why I want to be a nurse! I have so much passion and drive now, I want to learn as much as I can to be a competent and knowledgeable nurse. Today after Fundamentals we had our first Pharmacology class. That's when the nerves came back, lol. It really is a lot of information, but I understand the importance of everything and why we need to know all of this information. Our future patients are relying on us to be knowledgeable in every aspect and provide them with the best care and education that they deserve. I am so happy with my choice in campus and am very happy to have the instructors that I have. They all seem so willing to help us. We just have to make sure we continue to show them our desire in return. I have had so much studying to do this week already, but I wanted to take a break and share my first week with everyone. I doubt I will have much time in the future. I know there will be challenges that will come my way, but as long as I keep focused I truly believe that I will be able to overcome them. I have worked so hard just to get to the point where I am today. I am determined to learn everything that I possibly can. I truly want to be the best advocate that I can be for my future patients.

I really appreciate everyone's advice. I will take everything into consideration and truly appreciate the input that I have received here. Even though I don't drink them that often, I do not want to start an unhealthy habit. I have been saying for awhile now that I need to start exercising and change my diet. Now is the time to actually do it. I really need to get rid of all of these drinks now...

LOL, and that is exactly what I'll be doing with coffee, too! I currently work at a group home for those with developmental disabilities while in an ASN program, and during that 20 hour shift I get paid to sleep for 4 hours. I usually only get about 2 hours of sleep though due to clients getting up during the night. I really am looking forward to doing three 12 hour shifts upon graduation, lol.

Thanks for the advice. I only drink 1/2 a bottle at a time, but I forgot that I already have a high level of B12 in my body naturally. That reason alone is probably why I have experienced an occasional palpation.

I called my doctor's office this afternoon and left a message with his nurse concerning those 5 hour energy drink shots that you can find anywhere and everywhere. I am not a coffee drinker at all and have been resorting to energy drink shots for a source of caffiene. His nurse just called me back with my doctor's response and he absolutely hates them, saying that they can sometimes cause heart palpations if taken frequently as well as extreme headaches when you don't drink them. I just experience heart palpations yesterday and blamed them on my nerves, and now that I think back, it wasn't the first time I have experienced it. So, for those needing some form of caffiene to function throughout the day, what do you drink? I guess I could force myself to try coffee again. And I guess I should have researched more on those drinks, but they really did help during long difficult days. Especially since I work a 20 hour shift on Saturdays and 12 hour shift on Sundays due to school. However, my health is more important to me.

I am also a night owl and understand how you feel. I have a weekend job so that means I have Monday-Friday off from work. My body naturally wants to stay up until 4am and sleep in until 1pm. I have always been that way, even since birth. My mother told me I used to sleep 9-10 hours, mostly sleeping in, as an infant. Nothing medically is wrong with me, it's just the way I am. I cannot continue my current sleep pattern since the new semester has started. I would advise not taking a nap at all. If I stayed up too late and had to get up early, I often have to fight to stay awake during the day. If I take a nap during that day I become more rested and tend to stay up even later. Often times when I say I am going to lie down and take a short nap, that short nap turns into hours and then I hardly get any sleep at all if I need to be somewhere early the next day again. I would suggest fighting the urge to take a nap during the day. Try to move around a lot during the day, even at home. You will soon feel the urge of wanting to go to bed early for once. I think doing some extra studying in bed is a great suggestion that others have made and I am also going to try that. Try to keep this schedule throughout school. I have to get up at 5:30am (way too early for any human, lol) to get to my 8am class on time due to my long commute. On the days I do not go to class I am going to force myself to be up by at least 8am so that I don't feel the need to sleep in. Good luck and I hope things work out for you. :)

Like I said, I'm sure we will be practicing on mannequins before we do anything with our classmates. It's not something that I "have to get over" as I don't have an extreme phobia about it. I'm sure many people would get a little nervous knowing it would be someone's first time doing a blood draw or injection on them. Heck, I get nervous when experienced nurses draw my blood after experiencing my vein collapsing. :) I'm just overall nervous, anxious, and excited about the first day of classes. I actually can't wait to start studying. I wish we would have been given a syllabus early so that I could have been studying this week, lol. I'm sure I will have plenty once classes begin though!

I'm sure we will at least be able to practice on a mannequin before we "stick" one another, so I will try and not let it get to me. I don't want to pass out in class while my classmate is drawing my blood! lol At least I know my left vein is better than my right (it is easily visible through the skin and is nice sized), so I will be sure to let my partner know. I was finally able to purchase my books today and picked up my lab bag for med surg. We have a ton of catheter kits, wound changing kits, an enema kit, etc., and even though I am feeling overwhelmed just looking at my supplies, I just have to remember to go in with confidence when learning skills. We are jumping right in on Monday morning in Fundamentals lab. I can't believe that after my long and grueling wait for my acceptance letter, the first day of classes is only four days away!

Wow, didn't realize that this wasn't a standard for most schools. Now I am really not looking forward to it. Hopefully my school at least has a limit on the number of attempts...

I start nursing school on the 11th (yay!) and have been reading about how everyone is excited, anxious, and nervous about what is to come. I, too, feel the same way and am looking forward to the first day. I read through some of the posts from the thread discussing fear of needles and blood. I just have to ask, is anyone else nervous about having classmates draw your own blood and giving you injections? During orientation in November, we had to sign a form stating that we would allow our classmates to draw blood/give injections on us. I've had experience performing these procedures on dogs and cats, and even though I know humans are different, I don't have a problem with the thought of me learning and performing the procedures on my classmates. However, I am nervous as heck thinking about my future classmates practicing on me. I have experienced my vein collapsing which almost made me pass out, but that was also partly due to the fact that I was dehydrated and the nurse was having a difficult time with my vein due to that. Is there anyone else, besides me, who has a fear of this? lol I hope I don't get a partner with a shaky hand. We all have to learn somehow, though. :)