krcs

It really depends on your goals. I'm getting my ADN right now. If I want to specialize down the road I'll of course have to get my BSN but really I just want to get the ADN and test the waters out(and take a break from school) before deciding about a BSN.

You asked why people dropped and for the most part we answered. By the nature of the action you're inquiring about of course the answers are going to be down and dirty. Someone feeling the need or having to abandon their dream isn't going to be a fun and chipper topic. Forgive me but what are we supposed to say? People dropped out because of kittens? I haven't been on this website long but when you need a cheerleader there are plenty(I've already had to make a post for a spirit boost!) but I'm still not sure what you expected here.

Every hospital has different equipment so it's hard to prepare students for everything. What I have been doing is when I'm paired with a nurse that you can tell is open to teaching, I ask as many questions as time permits. But yeah I think this is normal. At least it's been the experience for me so far lol

I agree with others. Anticipating the stress of nursing school is one thing and living it is another. Your entire life will change once you enter nursing school. I am about 6 weeks in and went through a mini mourning period of the life I left behind before nursing because you begin to live nursing and miss a calmer life. I think many people begin to question if it's all worth it. A lot of people in my class have expressed how they missed their kids and how they aren't sure if they can handle the stress, or if it was all worth it. So far in my class there has been a test(whether it be a theory exam or a mastery check off) every week. That is on top of clinicals where we have about 6 pieces of homework due each week from that along with new labs each week. Some of us(myself included) hold down a job on top of nursing school which makes personal time almost non-existent. It does things to your sanity if you're either always at work or always at school or when you are at home you're doing school work. That has been my biggest struggle. I actually had to make the decision to cut out some of my reading just so I can make time for me. I know this will effect my grade but if I want to be happy I have to do certain things. This of course is not to scare you or discourage you but to help you understand why some people drop out. My most rewarding days in the program so far are the days I'm at clincal. That's why I'm not willing to hang it up personally. It's the other stuff that will wear you down.

Yes I'm a chiropractic assistant and I love it. Unfortunately the room for growth in my role is minimal so it was either pursue chiropractic or take a different route. I decided nursing for various reasons and these are my own personal reasons so take them with a grain of salt. Student loans was way up there. The debt from chiropractic school matches an MD. $100,000+. You fight a lot in the chiropractic world too. Insurance reimbursement rates are abysmally low so you need to be a medium to high volume practice just to make a decent living. Public perception is also another thing that makes the profession difficult. Last but not least, as much as I know the benefits of getting adjustments and I get them regularly to maintain myself, they still freak me out a little so I don't know how comfortable I'd be performing them. I chose nursing because I have had to deal with a lot of them and I saw how a nurse can really shape someone's day and make a difference. I love healthcare and it just seemed like a good fit for what I wanted to do which is have a hands on experience in making a person better. I feel like I can maintain holistic philosophies. You just have to remember at the end of the day people are going to do what they feel is the best for them and I'm going to do things that I feel are best for me. Btw my boss's wife is an RN too. The two worlds can definitely mesh as long as you respectfully let others decide what they feel is best for them.

I currently work for a chiropractor and I'm a first year nursing student. I do have conflicts with some of the traditional methods of healing but the main thing that we have to remember is that there are many opinions out there and we can't tell people what is right for them. For example if I'm in pain I look for the root cause such as misalignment and work from there while many others take the pain medicine route. Thing is that we can't tell people the way that they should heal their body. It's a personal choice, all we can do is do no harm. I don't vehemently disagree with any medical practice because for the most part there is evidence behind what they are doing even if I do believe there are better ways sometimes, so I don't think my conflicts will run deep. Just remember as a provider of health care it is our job to facilitate the well being of others. You can do that as a nurse or a chiropractor. You have to just decide for yourself which one fits best for you and will help you achieve long term happiness.

Micro will either make you paranoid or it will make you realize there are bugs everywhere and you've made it this long with them and they didn't become more dangerous or prevelant over night. For me the latter happened.

witty_online_monker. You just described my experience to a T. I felt fairly incompetent. I didn't exactly have a Scrub's moment where I cried in the supply closet like Elliot but I definitely was in no rush to leave it after I found the cup I needed lol. Only difference was that my nurse was scarce. I barely spoke two words to him because he was so busy so I did most of my tasks on my own and did my best to stay out of his way. I know the same things you said. Rationally I am not going to be perfect but the perfectionist inside of me is screaming. I think it will get easier for us as we move ahead in clinicals. We'll learn the equipment and how things work and gain confidence as we learn. Hope your clinical went well today!

I know how you feel! I went through this. I got sick and pretty much had a breakdown(like we can afford to be sick with all that we have to do!). I had to drag my tail to class when I'd rather be under some covers nursing myself back to health. It's hard for sure. I would apologize to the professor and try to explain that you aren't feeling well and are under some stress. I don't know if the professor will be compassionate or not but at least you'll have tried. Hang in there! Just take it one day at a time :)

I'm glad this thread popped up because I sure needed it. I have the blues myself and I'm only a few weeks in. I'm so used to being a perfectionist and doing everything perfect all the time. It's hard to come to the realization that due to all the information and all the variables that you're just not going to be perfect. I've had it my way so long that it's causing some blues. I think another issue we nursing students have to cope with is the complete loss of a life. I actually feel like I'm somewhat in mourning of the life I used to have before nursing school. I mean there is occasionally time where we can relax but I don't know about you guys but even in my down time my brain thinks about nursing. I dream about nursing. I keep telling myself it's temporary. I hope I get better with coping with it as time goes by. Until then I just take it one week at a time.

In my class there is no negativity. I think it varies. I talked to a friend who is in the same school as me but has different professors and the class dynamic for her is so different from my experience with my class. There are no outcasts in our class. It's a small class(Less than 20) but we all sit down and chat with each other. The teachers involve themselves with us too. They are our teachers but they are friendly and open to any questions so there aren't negative comments about them at all. In my friend's class there are cliques and overall seems to have a lot more negativity than my class. In the end I think it has more to do with the people in your class than nursing school itself!

I'm definitely a perfectionist and I think this is why it bothered me so much. Most of my classmates seemed thrilled at their performance and suggested that it went off without a hitch. Maybe they fumbled too and just aren't beating themselves up about it like I am. I will try to drill into my head that this is my learning experience and not a test on how perfect I am. Good luck to you on not being too hard on yourself too. It's good to know I'm not alone!

A&P(Especially the P side) was hard for different reasons. Some things it was just hard to wrap your brain around in that class for me. Nursing school so far is cut and dry. You do this for this and that for that and this is the definition of this sort of material. But there is a lot of material crammed into a short time span and that's what makes it difficult. If I had more time I'd say nursing school isn't all that hard other than the nerves of clincals.

So far I've been doing fairly well in nursing school. Aced all the tests and felt pretty confident. But then clinical day came and I fell short. I wouldn't say it was a total bust. I performed the tasks I was told to do but it did not go off without a hitch. I started shaky and ended shaky. I fumbled a bit on taking vitals. I completely know how to do vitals but the equipment used in the hospital is not what we practiced with(we didn't use anything electronic in practice) and it threw me off enough that it didn't go smoothly. It was embarrassing to have to leave the patient's room to fix something I'd goofed up on the first day of all days. Worse than that was that even though I got it fixed I couldn't finish the last bit because it was time for us to meet with the instructor and we're not allowed to be on the floor after a certain time. Part of me says, it was the first day nerves and I shouldn't let it get to me. But the other part of me worries since the first day is supposed to be the easiest! Any encouragement, advice, info, tough love welcome

I started August 27th. I've been lurking around here but finally decided to sign up and post. So much work. Been through 3 weeks and have taken two written exams, two lab skill tests and had my first day of clinical. I agree with flipflopgenna. Take it one day at a time. I had delusions of being an overachiever and getting ahead in my course work. I look back on that and laugh! But one step at a time and I'll get it done. Class of 2014! Woo hoo!