ashleym91

It took me about 3-4 semesters to complete my prereqs. The classes are difficult but they are very interesting so it makes it a little bit easier. A lot of people either have difficulty comprehending the material or memorizing I had more of a problem memorizing bc it can be overwhelming at times with work and other things going on in life. When it comes to your sciences its always a great idea to look over the material before your lecture so you can really make the most of your lecture and understand everything. Utilize any questions in the chapters. Ask your professor for help. Try to do study groups. Most schools offer free tutoring. I agree with chiquitap that working as a CNA would be an amazing idea. A lot of hospitals where I live actually pay for their CNA's nursing school and guarantee them a job as an RN when they graduate if they sign a contract for 2 years. I will graduate RN school in one year. The biggest regret I have is not gaining medical experience prior to school. The reasons are 1) I felt awkward during clinical 2) There was soooo much that other people in my class who were CNAs knew that i didnt know 3) it may help you get a job as an RN when your done with school

Okay I was JW! I was going to say wait a second... i thought you needed to take SSRIs for several weeks in order to have an effect. Do you have any side effects from lexipro?? I am interested in an antidepressant and I want a med with minimal side effects

I have ADHD and depression and thought I have not been diagnosed with bipolar disorder I am almost certain that I have it. My father has bipolar disorder with schizophrenic characteristics. I am only on meds for the ADHD not for the depression but I plan on taking antidepressants soon. So many people Dr's, nurses, teachers, nursing students etc have mental illnesses. It is a lot more common than people think. I think it is important to be aware of your own mental health and seek treatment. What exactly do you feel guilty about though?

did you say you take lexipro as needed as well or were you just referring to seroquel?

I read your post and I read everyones' comments. It seems like everyone is being very supportive and giving you good advice. I read a few times that people are telling you to lose weight and take care of your anxiety and depression before you go to school. Well I disagree. Even if you start school tomorrow you will not be an RN for a few years even if it is a two year program since there are pre reqs and stuff. Well yeah of course being in shape would be ideal for working twelve hour shifts.. but honestly you are not going to be working twelve hour shifts for a few years. I am enrolled in a nursing program and there are people who are over weight that are managing to lose weight. As far as your age goes.. most of the people in my classes are over the age of 40. My advice is this: 1. Fill out your FAFSA and you might receive financial aid, take out a loan if you qualify/want to. Speak with an advisor about the program and where to get started: classes,etc. 2. If you have ADHD go to your psychiatrist and explain to him/her you were diagnosed as a child and you are going back to college so you need a prescription. [People may think that is a crazy thing to say/do since amphetamines are abused but that is literally exactly what I did. I went to my Dr. and I was honest and straight forward and say listen I have ADHD I am going to school and I need medication. So now I am prescribed to adderal] Also if you are struggling with obesity you can lose that weight while you are taking your prerequisites. Adderal is a major appetite suppressant and you will lose a lot of weight just from taking it. I lost about 40 pounds. 3. Create a schedule for work, working out/exercise, dieting, and schoolwork. The more active you are the less depressed you will be. I have suffered with depression for years and I have gone to therapy, I was on antidepressants, mood stabilizers, I have tried everything. I think even though my depression is a chemical imbalance, the times where my confidence is increased and I feel really accomplished with school work, etc is when it goes away. So if you become more active then that may help with your depression. you mentioned that you were lazy at times and a lot of people mistaken depression for laziness but one of the symptoms for depression is literally losing motivation. * There are many people in my nursing program who failed out of it who were straight A students in highschool * There are many people in my nursing program who have perfect grades who barely passed highschool --------The people who do well are the people who want it & are determined and you seem like you have both-------- YOU HAVE MY SUPPORT AND YOU HAVE EVERYONES SUPPORT ON HERE AS WELL. THIS IS A WONDERFUL WEBSITE WITH GREAT STUDENTS AND NURSES AND THERE ARE TONS OF PEOPLE WHO ARE MORE THAN WILLING TO SHARE STUDY TIPS! Some of my study tips (these are things that work for my but everyone is different): #1. Stay 110% organized. Completely as organized as possible #2. Read/review the material before your professor goes over it in class, that way you can ask questions about things you don't understand, it helps tremendously to keep it in your mind, & your professor should like that too :) #3. While reading the chapters.. this is very time consuming but I take notes while reading the chapter. For example if i'm reading medical surgical nursing: musculoskelatal disorders I will go through the chapter and PARAPHRASE each paragraph so I will have A.Osteoporosis a)clinical manifestations (list them) b.) DX testing c.) Treatment. * A lot of people i go to school with make the huge mistake of studying the wrong way. . or studying in a way that is not good for them. It is all about trial and error. For me I like to take the book and (even though it takes hours) do notes because if you are paraphrasing you are comprehending it.. if you are writing it you are memorizing it. #4. Study every day. Yes everyday but no that does not necessarily mean ten hours a day.. what I mean is wake up ten minutes earlier and just read through your notes. Take out your notecards at a red light. If you can't fall asleep read. During commercials review. If you are looking at the material frequently rather than cramming it in your head the week before an exam than it stick in your long term memory. #5. DO NOT FALL BEHIND #6. Do any practice questions in the textbook #7. Show up to class, do your assignments, study, and take your exams= PASSING/Good grade Sincerely Ashley ps. Just remember that you are capable of going to nursing school. Yes you have some obstacles that you can work through: weight, financial situation, competitive program, history of not being a great student; but you CAN do this :) I have depression, ADHD, I was a horrible student, ex pot head, and now I get high grades in nursing school!

Thanks guys for taking time to read my post and responding. The class that I am registered for is called Nursing 176 and if I withdrawal I can register for the Fall so I won't need to take a year off. I guess I should talk to a counselor at school and see my choices. Maybe I will just tough it out since a semester is really only like three months. WORSE CASE SCENARIO I can withdrawal.

I am enrolled in an Associates RN program at Ocean County College in NJ. I just finished my first semester and I have three semesters left, I go back Jan. 23rd. Basically I am considering taking a semester off and just starting in the Fall semester (if my school allows it). A lot of people I have spoken to are totally against the idea but I figured I should ask nursing students rather than friends and family. On October 4th my grandmother died. On October 11th my grandfather died. My mom sent him to the Philippines a couple years ago and he passed away there so I never got to say goodbye to him or go to his funeral. I was incredibly close to my grandparents especially since my mother is verbally abusive and I have not seen my father in fifteen years. My boyfriend broke up with me (not a big deal but just adding to my bad luck). My home was destroyed by hurricane Sandy and two days later my engine in my car blew up. I am staying with a few different people until my family's home is re-done but I currently do not exactly have a stable place to live. Basically after all of these things that happened in just two months I have had a difficult time focusing on school work. The beginning of the semester I was a high B student and towards the end (after everything that happened) I became a C student. Though things are getting better I still feel like I may need to take a semester off to save up some money, go to therapy, find a stable place to live, and just get my life in order. I understand that tragic things happen while you are in school and it definitely could be worse (I thank God for my health) but at the same time this is a lot for me right now. Nursing school requires you to be 100% focused and if I am not able to do that that should I be in school right now? My options are: A.) Suck it up and start school on the 23rd. I am already registered. I am a decent student and will do fine as long as I try really hard. B.) Take a semester off and go back Fall 2014 instead of Spring 2014. Find a stable place to live. Go to therapy. Get my life back together. & in the mean time re-read all of my material and get a job in the hospital or nursing home. Please respond back if you have any good advice. Thank you for reading.

I use a 1 1/2 or 2 inch binder. That binder includes all of my power points, notes, calendar, and loose leaf paper. After I take an exam I remove all of my power points for that exam and put them in a HUGE binder at home. So I have two binders. one smaller one: I carry around every day, has all my notes and information for the upcoming exam Large one: I keep at home so I put information that I do not currently need. I like this method because you will probably have tons and tons of notes and power points but will only be using some of them to study for your next exam and for lecture. I like keeping my notes at home that I don't use everyday because they will remain neat and I also do not have to lug them around! Best of luck!!

Don't worry. You will pass your TEAS as long as you study and do the best you can. See where you are going wrong. Try doing the "practice test" in the back of the TEAS book study guide as if it were the actual test and see how you score on there (that's what I did). Depending upon how well you did you will now know what to study. For example I didn't do well on the chemistry section so I decided to brush up on chemistry. If you have a couple of months before you take it you should do well as long as you see where you went wrong & fix it! Try taking a TEAS test course. Best of luck though!

My fundamentals textbook has some information on Martha Rogers. Did you check your textbook? It is under the "nursing theory and research" chapter. It says that her theory is "The science of unitary human beings focuses on the betterment of human kind through new and innovative modalities. Maintaining an environment free of negative energy is important"

THIS IS AMAZING. This is exactly what I was looking for and I am so very thankful for you writing this and I am so very grateful that I came across this before my 2nd exam. PHEW. I am a nursing I student and Just took my first exam. I will be definitely living by this for the rest of my student nursing life!

I'm going through the same exact situation. I started classes a couple weeks ago and so far I had my first exam, had clinical once, and have a lab practicum coming up. I was so extremely stressed out before my first exam because it was all new information and my exam was on 12 chapters! I felt exactly how you felt and I felt like even though I was managing my time correctly I wasn't taking advantage of my time because during the time I was studying I wasn't retaining enough information because I was focused on NOT being able to memorize everything. After my first exam I felt completely relieved but before I knew it I had my first clinical day to be worried about, than my first lab practicum coming up to worry about, than on top of all of that a RESEARCH PAPER coming up and my topic is due in two weeks!... and once all of those are over my 2nd exam is going to sneak up! It's okay girl stick in there! I feel your stress and pain. Are you working? I think it is normal to have doubts and I think it is normal to be stressed. If you weren't overwhelmed than that would be that you do not care about nursing school. I think you need to just relax and do a little bit each day and stick to your time management. It will be okay!