Sumomo

First, I think you should go back and see your doctor and get back on the meds. Depression is something you cannot personally control, like any other disease. You don't choose to feel depressed. And who's even going to know you're on meds at all? I think more people take them than you'd think! Plus your doc can provide you with more counseling and advice than I ever could be able to. Second, I was exactly like you in high school and most of college for my non-nursing degree. I could never figure out where my puzzle piece fit in with everyone else's, you know what I mean? I know that feeling where you have to pair up and you don't know where to look next, so you just end up doing it yourself. Classes where you have permanent lab groups will be easier, then you can get to know more people over a long period of time. I know how it feels to be the outlier in a room full of established groups of friends. However I can promise you that there are others who feel the same way you do. If you're sitting by yourself, why not just sit somewhere else? If people give you weird looks for trying to join their group...well, that's pretty obnoxious on their part. Some people are just solid jerks. What social faux pas did you commit by trying to do the assigned work? Exactly. Try somebody else's group. Close the physical distance you put between yourself and others. Third, you need to do what I did and build some social skills. Social skills are skills like any others--drawing, cooking, studying, woodcutting....they take practice and years to build up. Unfortunately for shy people like us, they seem to be harder to improve. Steep learning curve, but that's OK. Have you considered volunteering or a part time job? You'd be surprised how much easier it becomes to talk to others when your job puts you in front of them. I think when you start talking to others, it will alleviate your depression. Every person has a need to talk and bond with others, even the most introverted or shy person. Everyone has struggles in college. Even the most confident looking people. Maybe they're not struggling socially, but maybe academically or personally. Going to college is a huge life change, which is tough for many. After years of feeling like a sore thumb on everyone's hand, I became more confident in myself and can even start up conversations on my own now. It might have to do with age--the older I got, the more self assured I was. Regardless, it was a long journey but I am happier than I've ever been. You can get through this, I know it.

I am a very shy person who keeps to herself most of the time. But when I started volunteering at the front desk of a clinic, I became more easygoing in social situations. I really surprised myself. So nursing may be a bit of a challenge for people like you and me, but with experience it gets a lot easier to "come out of your shell." It's like lifting weights--your muscles are weak at first but the more you do it, the heavier you can lift, right?

OP, you really have to examine your reasons for being in nursing school. Are you sure you want to be in the program, emotionally? Clearly you can handle the academic material if you get high grades on the tests, but it seems like you're almost sabotaging your efforts in other "little" ways like tardiness and going against the dress code (assuming they talked to you about what to wear--in the program I'm accepted to, they made it abundantly clear.) Forgive me if I'm off-base with what I wrote. It's just that if you can do the academic work, why should things like immunizations and being late hold you back from success?

OP, I suggest you read this viewpoint on why people discourage others from joining their profession (it isn't particular to nursing, I found it on a biology website but the principles are still the same.) It has helped me stay positive. I have gotten discouragement from nurses--not every nurse that I have met--about being a nurse. But in every line of work from farming to architecture, there will be people who live and breathe their job and others who rag on it at every opportunity. It sounds like YOU are sure of your path, but you want the thumbs-up of others and that is stopping you from achieving your goals. Your husband is unsupportive, but will he still be in a few years when you have a great new job that you love along with the paycheck it brings? You have the fire to be a nurse, and I don't think you'll be satisfied until you have "RN" after your name and practicing, so you should go for it! On the practical side, if it's been a while since you took science classes, you may have to retake them for a nursing program. Or not. So get cracking and live your dream!

Mnemonics. For everything. I also like to know the root words of anatomical/physiological structures. Sometimes they make the word easier to remember. If you commit to A&P, you will get an A. It just takes practice. :)

How is A&P taught differently for nursing and pre-professional majors? I didn't know there was a distinction.

I have been considering perioperative nursing for quite some time now. I would like to become a RNFA someday...but once I start nursing school, who knows! I may also go to law school in the future, but that's a long time away.