jennifer7010

Thanks soo much for the motivation, I was really starting to doubt myself but I feel so much better!

I am currently a junior in med-surg and I have loved nursing up to this point. Yes all of my previous nursing classes have been demanding, but I feel I am at my breaking point. This new semester has clinicals twice a week, a test every other week, group projects, presentation, papers, online tasks, lab, and the list seems to go one forever! I am starting to hate my clinical because I have no interest on the floor I am on, I am constantly studing massive amounts of information for hours on end to do average on tests, and I am starting to have doubts if this is what I want to do for the rest of my life. I know I just sound like I am whining, but I used to love going to clinical. I loved the energy and the high I felt being in the hospital and helping the patients. A 12 hour shift was no problem for me because I absolutely loved what I was doing. I would talk with my classmates about this, but we are all pretty much in the same boat, so I just want to know. Does anyone else feel this way? Or have they ever felt this way?

I am currently in nursing school right now and have been talking with an air force recruiter about joining when I finish next year. My husband is currently in the military too but he is in the army. I grew up an air force brat and have seen the army side (from a wife's view) and I think the air force would be a better fit for me. My question is if anyone knows how difficult it is to be stationed together? Or if someone is currenly dual military in different branches, how much more difficult is it being in different branches? Also, do air force nurses work on army posts?

I just wanted to see if anyone had any odd or funny stories about the way they were taught in nursing school. For example, while learing about the importance of the proper way to use a bed pan and different bed pans, the instructor had all the student sit on a bed pan during the whole lecture! Her reasoning: so we would know how uncomfortable it felt and to remember to not leave your patient on it. We only sat on them for 30 min, but my butt was definately sore!

Thanks for all the information! It has really been very helpful.

Oh I hate that! They quit calling them "study guids" and now changed them to "test maps" at my school. I have had them in all of my nursing classes so far and it is basically just the bold topics in the text book. Did your teacher give out any test hints while lecturing? That could help point you in the right direction. Good luck!

I think you should just be honest with your instructors and let them know you have a panic disorder. They might be able to give you advice about students in the past that have had this and how they made it through nursing school. I'm in mental health right now and my instructor is always telling us about students that were in the program in the past with certain conditions. Good luck!

Congrats!!!!! I bet it feels soo good to finally see the light at the end of the tunnel!

1) Read ahead, just the chapter you will be going over, so you will have an idea of what the teacher will be going over and you will already have info on it. 2) NCLEX books help alot, but they are pretty expensive. My school library has multiple NCLEX books, so I just use those instead of buying them. 3) I use a color system in my notes, like one color for notes taken in class, one for notes I got out of the book, and a bright color when she gives out a test hint. 4) Study groups can help too, but they are only effective if people come prepared, have some knowledge about what is going on, and is not there to chit chat. 5) I like to make mind maps if there is alot of info. For example, in pharm you learn side effects, uses, dose range, mechanism of action, ect. So I will put the drug name in the middle and branch off of that. I always have "side effects" on a certain part of the page and same with the other categories. That way I always know where to look and I can picture it in my mind on test day. Plus I use the white boards on campus and re-do the map on the board and compare it to the one I made on the piece of paper. That way I can see what I am not retaining. 6) I try to take a least one day a week off where I do NOTHING related to nursing or nursing school. That way I can re-focus and catch up on everything I have neglected (laundry, dishes, food shopping....). Good luck!

Thank you so much for all the info, it really helps! I just had a couple of questions... 1) You said earlier they did yell at you, did they do this only in the beginning or was it the whole time? 2) Did you have to do any field problems? 3) Is it catty like nursing school? 4) How were the classes? Hard? Boring? Interesting? 5) Did you have much time to study for tests? 6) What would you say was the hardest part? Thanks!

I just enrolled in med-surg and I am scared to death! We have been told (from people before us) that it is the hardest semester in the nursing program. So I was just wondering if there were any students that have taken med surg? We were told we would have between 3-5 patients and I thought I was going to lose my mind when I was given 3 patients for fundamentals! So any advice would be great! Thanks!!

Don't get too discouraged, A&P is a very difficult class. I actually failed part one and part two, but I am so stubborn I just kept trying. Thankfully the failed classes didn't transfer and I was still able to get on the nursing waitlist. Fast forward a few years to now, where I am about to start my second semester of my junior year in nursing school. In nursing school the tests are nothing like the A&P tests. In my view, the questions deal with real life situations. They are more geared to patient care and not towards the kreb cycle!

Maybe ask the patient when they normally bathe. Maybe he is the type that likes to do his hygiene at night and that is his routine. So doing the bed bath may have been more of an inconvience than help in his mind. Who knows. However, yes there are going to be CNAs to help us but how do you expect to ask a CNA that will be working with you to do something you have no experience with? We are all taught the basics in the beginning of nursing school and these basics (bed bath, making a bed, feeding, transfers, ect) are what the CNAs are taught in school.

Long enough to get a second degree! I'm not kidding, after I had all my pre-reqs done I waited 3 years. But I had to take a class each semester to stay "active" on the waitlist so I just decided to get a degree while I waited. Hopefully you won't have to wait too long. It can be pretty fustrating.

Congrats on getting in! As far as supplies goes, it kind of varies. I don't want to tell you any specific book because you will be buying a ton of them and if your college requires a PDA like mine, you will probably have to download programs too. So you pretty much have all your learing resourses on you. If anything, I would make sure you get a good pair of shoes for clinical. You are on your feet constantly so it pays to pay a little more. Plus I bought the stalkings (can't remember what they are called but you will see them in uniform stores) to help with circulation since I am on my feet all day. They seem to help, but get pretty hot in the summer time. Good luck!