mommajoz

I completely understand! My instructors have been great but I heard that "book smart = terrible nurse" from my mother-in-law!! I was pleased about my good grades and she told me "employers don't want to smart students because they can't think outside the box." So after that I decided that there will ALWAYS be someone that can't handle it when good things happen for other people. I refuse to let someone else's bad vibes keep me from my goals. Nursing school is temporary. Don't let those miserable people get to you. CONGRATS on your good grades!

That is EXACTLY what I have to remind myself when that "momma guilt" creeps up. I know it will be worth it in the end.

www.allheart.com has no-see-through white pants- I've never worn them though so I have no idea what they feel like on. I purchased my white pants at a local scrub store. I picked the Peaches brand because they have back pockets that do a great job of hiding my rear and some pretty handy cargo pockets on the side. Good luck on your search!

i'll help ya out. :-) 1) what advice would you give to someone who has yet to be accepted into a nursing program? if they are still working on pre-reqs i would say to keep their grades up, form excellent study habits, and make sure they take a vacation before the program starts because they will need those happy memories while they are slaving away. 2) is there any advice that you were given that you choose to ignore or actually followed? what was this advice and why did or didn’t you follow it? the only feedback i ever got was "nursing school is hard" and "run while you still can". no good advice really. i didn't listen because i want to be an rn so why would i let someone else's bad vibes ruin me? 3) in what ways has nursing school affected your life socially? for the most part, nursing school has replaced my social life. it is a struggle to find time for my family and friends but i make sure i do make time- nursing school is temporary and these relationships are not. i make sure to cuddle with my husband at night, read my son a story every night, and go to dollar beer night with my friends every once in a blue moon. 4) if you had to do it over, what would you change? i am only 1 year into my program but i wouldn't change anything. i gave up my privacy and moved in with my mother in law so i wouldn't have to work- and while that can be very trying i'm glad i can devote my time to my program. 5) what are your favorite aspects of being in nursing school and what are you least favorite? i love the science involved in nursing so that is my favorite. my least favorite is 4 hour lectures... 6) if you have a family (hubby/wife, and kids) how has this affected them/you? my husband misses me but understands (he is currently in a phd program so he has very little time as well.) my son misses me but is much more supportive since i have promised him a puppy once i graduate. go figure 7) how do you balance nursing school and your family? schedule schedule schedule. mornings i study, afternoon is class time, evening is family time. i clean house on wednesday and date night is friday. everything has a designated day and time. 8) how did you become interested in going into nursing school? i was in the surgical tech program and loved shadowing the nurses in the or and pacu- much more than i enjoyed being a surgical tech! 9) what type of ancillary products did you purchase to help keep organized? what did you buy that turned out to be useless? i have bought a new planner every year- don't ever use it. i have terrible handwriting so i can't ever read what i scribbled anyways. i bought a laptop and it is practically attached to my hip. i have all of my assignments, and my master calendar on there. 10) (this one may be a sensitive question) how are you managing to pay for your school? scholarship, loans? student loans. living with mil. budgeting very very very carefully. 11) is nursing school costing more/less than you initially projected? it is costing about what i thought it would. education can be expensive- i knew that going in so none of it has been shocking thus far. and really, the amount i have spent on this degree compared to what my husband has spent is a drop in the financial bucket. 12) what can you not live without, that is helping you get through? my friends and family really and truly. my study group/ support group. hobbies and "me time" always. as far as supplies i love my laptop, wireless printer, and the "incredibly easy" book series. hope that helps! good luck

A few years ago we recieved a call that my husband's aunt had died, when in fact she was alive and well! It is now something that we all share a giggle about. There were no feelings of ill-will toward the nurse that made the mistake, only relief. As others have said- you are only human. Take care

I just came across a care plan book that I absolutely love: Swearingen's Manual of Medical-Surgical Nursing: A Care Planning Resource 7th Edition ISBN: 978032307254-0 It's $40 on amazon.com I really enjoy it because it contains every aspect for our care plans from the patho, to the NANDA, to the intervetions. Good Luck!

I DESPISE my white scrubs- whose bright idea was that?? Anyways- absolutely 100% nude underwear. And since I must wear these dreaded white scrubs for another 1 1/2 years I recommend the white pants from Peaches previously mentioned. They are cargo pant style, have a zippered pocket that I use for my school ID and debit card, and they have pockets on the back. I found having back pockets makes any underwear less noticeable. Good luck and I feel your pain! :heartbeat

I was initially VERY upset by your post. I am 27. At 22 uterine cancer left me infertile. I took offense to the word "interesting". Infertility is not interesting it is truly tragic. I am going to try and approach this from a place of education rather than anger... Infertility is a pain that NEVER leaves. I HATE hearing people say "at least youre alive", "at least you have a stepson", "it will be better in time", "lots of women are infertile." When I hear these things I KNOW the person I am speaking to does not have any concept of a true loss. If you want to comfort someone who is infertile and struggling with that pain just simply listen. Hug them if they allow it. Cry with them if you feel the need. Don't say those feel-good phrases, JUST LISTEN. It helped me so much when I finally heard that what I was feeling wasnt a transient feeling and that it is OK to hurt. Its OK to feel. Good Luck

I know this has been posted sooooo many times before but I just had to echo it again... What I would tell my dear, dear classmates: 1) S.H.U.T. U.P!!!!!!!!!!!! 2) If it hurts your self-esteem so badly to find out that someone else made a better score on the test than you STOP ASKING 3) No I do not want to gossip with you about my classmates, the teacher, the program, the nurses, the hospital. I would like a job someday and that behavior ain't going to cut it. Ahhhhhh. Sooooo therapeutic :-)

I just took my first med-surg test so I can sympathize with you!!! It was a toughie. I don't think it's a matter of studying HARDER (read: longer) it's a matter of studying SMARTER. You can't just read the information or even memorize the information- you have to read to understand why the pieces are coming together the way they are. I know it sounds simple and I'm sure you've heard it a hundred times before but it really does work if you stop and ask yourself WHY is the body reacting this way. I did not read the textbook for my test. I read the Saunders NCELX review about the topic areas, got an "Incredibly Easy" book, and studied the power points. It worked fantastic for me- maybe additional resources will work for you too. Side note- I go to study group every Saturday with two gal pals of mine. Teaching each other goes a long way to success. GOOD LUCK!!!

Thanks for the article! I could not agree with you more about the NCLEX books being like cliff notes for nursing... they are a true life-saver.

I'm in my second semester of school and I had the WEIRDEST dream the other night after studying for waaaaaay too long. I had a dream I was working in the med-surg unit at the hospital in town. All of my patients were LITERALLY on index cards in a file!! There head and torso were on these big cards and as I flipped through the cards they would tell me what they needed. SO WEIRD!!!! LOL...

Life is too short to be unhappy. Go with what you really want and if nursing isn't it then give yourself permission to be okay with that. I never used my first degree. I have a small amount of guilt that I spent the time completing it instead of dropping out like I wanted to but I definitely DO NOT regret going into a different career. Good luck! :hug:

I'm in a similar situation. My entire final year of nursing school will have to be paid on my dime because I have maxed out my allowable financial aid credits. I found out an estimate of what my last year will cost and I am making arrangements to cover the cost myself. I am padding my savings account whenever I can, making the best use of loans and grants I am getting now, and borrowing money from family. Eevem though it may be difficult I am also planning on working as a student nurse at the end of next semester. It IS possible to do it- it just means we will be eating more hamburger helper. :-) Good luck!! It will be worth it in the end.

I completely agree with 2ndyearstudent. You have asked for advice many times on this board on essentially the same topic- you are afraid of failing nursing school because of a percieved "slowness". I think that if you go to your school and get the help you need you will find that these concerns won't be such an issue when you reach college. Remember- we can give you advice on the board over and over but YOU have to take the first step towards fixing the problems.