squeakercarp

I'm so glad someone understands! I have been very confused about my feelings these last couple days. I always thought it would be such a relief after NCLEX. And it is, but I feel like my brain is trying to find another thing to be stressed about!

Everything I have worked so hard for has finally paid off! I graduated nursing school with my BSN, got an amazing job only a couple weeks after, and passed my NCLEX. But now that I passed the NCLEX, I have absolutely no idea what to do with myself when I'm not at work! I spent the last 5 years having to take nursing home with me (studying, clinicals, NCLEX prep) and now that I don't have studying in my life I honestly have no idea what to do! My brain is constantly spinning in circles thinking that I'm forgetting to study when I get home. Anybody else feel this way? Such hard habits to break after so many years!

It should be perfectly fine. Sad but true.... most of my cohort is on antidepressants. We are subjected to huge amounts of pressure and I don't see how anyone wouldn't have anxiety. I am on wellbutrin 150mg and it has just helped me be able to focus and sort out the situation if I have a problem. Instead of freaking out I now sit down and logically sort out my problems. Upon entry into the nursing program, my doctor told them about the medication on my physical exam paperwork and wrote down that I was very capable of being able to handle nursing school physically and emotionally. Unless you are a suicide risk they should not care about antidepressant or antianxiety.

sounds like she isn't very humbled by the fact that she is in nursing school. It took me three tries to get in, so I know for damn sure that it is a PRIVILEDGE for me to be here and I do 100% my own work and the very best possible work I can do. If by miracle she graduates, she will be a terrible nurse

I just got into my program with a 3.65! I got a couple C's in my prenursing and what really helped me was taking the class online through rio salado. retaking it will just further your understanding and help you bring your grade up because the material is familiar, and open book quizzes don't hurt either!

Depends on your school. My school doesn't require chemistry so our science portion was pure A&P. My math section was easy, PEMDAS work, fractions, decimals, some extremely basic dosage calculations. The reading section is alot like what you would see on an SAT. The writing was so weird. I would suggest studying the writing from an SAT book. my writing section was nothing like the kaplan study guide. Good Luck! Also know that its the same test every time for your school so make sure you really pay attention during the test. If you have to retake it again you may be able to remember what the questions were! On my last kaplan, I got an 80% on science because I memorized ten of the questions from the previous semester!

Sam, you have no idea how normal you actually are! Getting into nursing school is hard and very mentally trying. It took me 3 tries to get into the nursing school I am enrolled in (nau only takes 30 students out of 600 a semester). The first time I applied, I was very unprepared. I scored low on my entrance exam and I had more B's than needed. Each time I applied I had a stronger and stronger application. I replaced grades and knew the entrance exam material cover to cover by the time of my third try. That 1.5 years waiting to get in were probably the hardest of my life. My family became really worried about me because I had cut out social time completely and I cried every day from the pressure. I even had to go on an antidepressant/ antianxiety. All I can say is try your hardest to make your application strong, prove to them you are smart enough. And if you start showing symptoms of depression, please get help soon. I was very miserable for a long time because I didn't realize it in time. I actually have several nursing student classmates who had to go on medication because the pressure was so much. Moral of the story: It was hard but I kept on trying because I knew I was meant to be a nurse and didn't want to give up my dream. After my third try I finally got my acceptance letter! I was so happy I cried!

I am starting nursing school at NAU flagstaff this spring and I was wondering what books are actually necessary. I don't like to waste money on books I never open. I am taking NUR205 with lab, NUR214 with lab, NUR215, and NUR321. That is transition into nursing, intro to health assessment, pharmacology, and gerontology. If you could tell me what books you actually got use out of that would be great!

I got into Flagstaff! Anybody else? I am really excited to start classes.

I am commenting on this because I can almost exactly relate to your situation. Throughout high school I could pull pretty good grades by just paying attention, so I went into college with absolutely zero study habits. I originally wanted to become a doctor until I volunteered at my local hospital. I found that the doctors only spent about 15-30 seconds with each patient while nurses had a direct impact. Ever since I have had a passion for nursing. My depression started after the Nursing orientation at NAU my freshman year. It was led by the advisors and they told everyone in the room that you needed a 4.0 GPA and a high entrance exam score in order for them to just look at you. I now know that they were just trying to scare people away. This created not only depression but extreme perfectionism to get the grades I needed for nursing school. This also created test anxiety as every exam meant my grade and I needed to ace every exam. My school is highly competitive, mostly because they are one of the best in Arizona. NAU also likes to create "weed out" classes and have professors test us on graduate level concepts so that they challenge us and really question why we are doing this. A couple weeks ago I just received my rejection letter from my second time applying. I had an exceeding KAPLAN entrance exam score and a 3.52 GPA. The first time I got rejected, it broke my heart and I sacrificed way too much of myself to try to apply again. But this next time will be different. I am seeing a counselor about my extreme perfectionism and test anxiety. This summer I am replacing some of my B's with A's online and will hopefully raise my GPA to a 3.8. I am also hiring a tutor to help me with the writing and science portions of my Kaplan, as those were the ones I had the lower scores on. I am not letting it ruin me because my mom told me that "you are meant for nursing. kick it's ass this next time". It's not much but it inspired me to make changes in my life to help me achieve my dream. As long as you are not a felon on the run, there is always a chance to achieve your dream. When you have a job as a nurse, nobody is going to care if it took you 5 years to get an ADN or 8 for a BSN. Find some inspiration, then make a plan, and then do whatever it takes. I just wanted to tell you my story so you don't feel alone. Colleges expect a lot out of us because there are way too many nurses in the field right now that have a hard time drawing blood for God's sake. These high expectations are put on us for a reason, it forces us to challenge ourselves and become stronger nurses. Don't let anybody tell you you can't. I am taking my rejection as a sign that I wasn't ready yet and now I am going at it full throttle.

Is anyone else having some anxiety issues related to trying to get into nursing school? The nursing counselor's at my school put so much pressure on us to get A's in our classes that it has created some real anxiety for me. Last semester I cried for a solid day because I got an 87 as a final grade in anatomy 2 (our school doesn't take + and - grades so whether it's an 80 or an 89 still a B). This pressure has also given me test anxiety so I will know the material up until I have the exam in front of me and then I can't remember even the easiest stuff. anybody else going through this? and any advice?