Ayala

You have my deepest sympathies. I flunked out of clinical last week. I did very well in the lecture courses, but got nervous and fumbly while being observed. I'm so depressed I can't even begin to tell you. Plus I have troubles at home with a seriously depressed husband who, after thirty years of marriage, announced he wanted to divorce me. I've been struggling with getting into nursing school, overcoming obstacles, and bouncing back from defeats for two years now. My school has had enough of me. I'm not blaming them. But what do I do now? Maybe home health care would be an option. I have to get back on my feet before my self esteem sinks any lower. People flunk clinicals all the time. I agree with those who say to own up to your mistakes. But it's good to have a back-up plan too. I know there is something for me out there in the health field. I have to finish out this semester and think of a new plan. First thing is to get a volunteer job so I don't sit home in my jammies all day. Please keep me in your prayers. Ayala

Bravo! Well done! There is a special place in everyone's heart for people who bounce back from adversity. Thank you for sharing this wonderful story. There are so many of us who doubt and struggle. It's a noble and generous thing when someone comes back here and shares a happy ending. Go and be the great nurse I know you are!

Don't mess with Arkansans! One of my best (and toughest) nursing teachers is an Arkansan and a ardent Razorback fan.

ImThatGuy - I don't know you, but I love you. Are you a Razorback? My mom (85 years old and still working) is a school nurse. Some of the stories she tells me are amazing. It's a very tough job, especially with the population she deals with. I hope I'm even half as tough as she is. As a 60 year old nursing student, I have to be!

From what I've seen, there have been many changes in the CDP program since the original poster started this thread. The CDP program is very demanding, but most of my classmates made it through and seemed to be OK with the experience. (This is the Pleasantville campus I'm talking about.) I had to drop out of the CDP two-year program because of a head injury. I am now in the RN4 program. Pace is not for everyone, but I know lots of people who are hanging in there and are on track for being successful. I have mixed feelings about Pace. Maybe because I'm a lot older than my classmates, maybe because I am a scientist by training, maybe my personalty stinks. I don't know any nursing students who are deleriously happy at Pace, but I'm sure this is true of all nursing schools. Just do a lot of research before you apply to any nursing school. Make sure you talk to students and graduates. Remember that people are more motivated to post negative stuff on the internet than neutral or positive stuff. Like Aretha sings "Believe half of what you see, and none of what you hear." Best of luck!

I hate nursing school, but I love nursing. Good luck.

I'm rooting for you, praying for you, sending positive energy to you. Sometimes you need to see a little karmic hand waving at you. You are not alone. Wish there was an emoticon for this. But you know what I mean! Best of luck.

Crazed, I wish there was a "love" button, because your comment was the greatest.

Pete - You are a strong person. If you are into "affirmations" think of some and say them every day. Tape them to your bathroom mirror, put them on the fridge door, etc. I chant to myself "I am happy, I am healthy, I handle stress well." (In the car or when I'm running, not in public.) I got put on probation for failing the clinical part of fundamentals. (Open gloving - my nemesis.) But I fought like a tiger to get readmitted. I've had just about every bad thing that can happen to a person happen to me in my first year. I'm still in the game, and I never realized how strong I really am. Plus, this blog is a life-saver. And I'm not just referring to the pep talks posters here give (although such postings are blessings.) Some of the analytical and critical posters have helped me the most. It's a mind game, at least in my school. I refuse to let anyone get to me. What am I going to do if a patient is failing or I get flustered and stressed when I'm a nurse? Do I give up? Do I throw in the towel? Do I walk away? Heck no! Keep on keeping on and find your inner strengths. Don't compare yourself to others. (And some people walk around acting as if they don't have self doubts. Wrong! They all do.) You never know what things you can overcome. The fact that you came here and asked for help tells me you have it in you carry on. I look forward to your post when you graduate. You go, guy! Ayala PS: I just turned 60. If I can do it so can you, and never let anyone tell you otherwise. I'm rooting for you.

I really empathize with both of you. I'm female and married. One of the things I failed to anticipate is how hard my being in nursing school would be on my relationship with my husband. Being a nursing student is so demanding that I forget that my husband needs me too. I hope you work things out with your partner. You will both need one another. Speaking frankly, there is very little time to socialize when you're in nursing school. The other thing is that even when you work in groups, you are so focussed on gettting the project done that any chance of romance flies out the window. I guess I'm not the best person to give an opinion because I've been married a long time and have no romantic interest in other men. I guess it's different when you're young and single. And as for beautiful looking nursing students - ha ha ha! By the end of the first term we all looked pretty haggard. As sarah mentioned, it's an issue of trust. I don't mean to minimize your concerns, but television shows about the medical profession have no relation to reality. You don't have makeup artists and costume designers on hand to make you look good. And the lighting is terrible - even fresh faced 20 somethings wind up looking awful. Nobody I know has ever "hooked up" not even for a quickie. Good luck!

One more day - one day more. I would like to thank the people on this thread (and the people in this community) for helping me through a tough time. I am still in the game, mostly thanks to the support I find here. And I don't mean just the encouraging replies; I value the questions you ask me too. Especially the tough ones. We have some excellent diagnosticians here. Make a long story short, I hunkered down and made the cut for the next year. I don't know any of you personally, but from the bottom of my heart I thank you.

Not.done.yet - Thank you for sharing your wisdom. And I love the Maya Angelou quote.

Oh, I relate to the bad experiences! I had a serious head injury and had to take a LOA. Fortunately I managed to outlast the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune and return to the program. My sister is a corporate attorney (and a darned good one) and she told me how to handle things. I managed to avoid making enemies, but still win my case.

YAY!!! Congrats! Well done! All the rest of you NCLEXers are in my prayers.

At my school, people vie for the biggest collections of NCLEX study books. Also, people find links to review sites and pass them around. As far as the teachers are concerned, it's all fair game. But my school has an NCLEX fixation (no disrespect to NCLEX). They live and die by their NCLEX pass rate. They'll throw people out if they think the precious NCLEX pass rate might be threatened. Of course, their retention rate stinks so eventually the state will get on their ass for that. Just be real happy that you are almost finished. And congrats for making it! My pet peeve is that we have teachers who try to write NCLEX style questions without any training in how to write NCLEX questions. You wind up with some really strange answers to choose from, and then the teacher's rationale makes no sense. I wish I could think of an example of one of the home-grown NCLEX questions, but none comes to mind right now. I read the questions (oh, excuse me "the stem") and then looked at the answers. What is this? Haiku? A fortune cookie? Mad Libs? Sheesh.