Valerette

:icon_hug: I'm so sorry you're going through this. I've seen several students in my program go through similar experiences with instructors, and this is the advice they gave. They all said to go to the instructor right away and talk with her. Ask her to pinpoint areas she thinks you really need to work on, and then really work on those areas (I think the advice about having another student pretend to be your instructor is a great idea). Ask her for feedback frequently. You want to come across as someone who is working very hard at correcting whatever your instructor perceives the problem to be. I can't imagine what you're going through right now, but all the students I know who had similar experiences have told me that although it was horrible they feel it made them better nurses. Keep us updated on how things go for you :icon_hug:

You're right, I meant, in my experience, the majority of nurses have been helpful and friendly. And I'm not trying to discount the experience, or the right to vent, of people for whom that's not been the case, just trying to add a different perspective--sometimes people who have good experiences are less motivated to post. :) I've also noticed, however, that fellow students that I've shared clinical experiences with have complained about nurses that I thought were pleasant, so it's possible that people have different perceptions of what constitutes mean vs. helpful.

There have been several threads on here recently about how crochety and unfriendly nurses can be to newbies...I usually just lurk here but I have to get this off my chest. So far, nurses have been the kindest, most helpful people I've ever met! I admit I am still in nursing school, but 99.9% of the nurses I've encountered as a student and as an extern have gone out of their way to teach, make sure I feel comfortable and welcome, and in general have been wonderful. The few that are less friendly I think just want to do their own job and not mess with students, which is fine. I spend quite a bit of time here and read many threads about the vicious, young-eating nurses running around out there before I started clinicals, and I was very intimidated in my first few encounters with nurses, so I wanted to share my very pleasant experiences with other nursing students...if you are polite, don't waste the time of the nurse you're working with, and don't act like a know-it-all, nurses are WONDERFUL. So this is a big THANK YOU :thankya: :flowersfo :1luvu: to all the nurses out there that have been willing to take the time to make newbies feel welcome....you are in the MAJORITY and you are APPRECIATED!! Julie in my 4th of 6 semesters

I am in my ninth year of my copper IUD, and I love it. I know many people have reported painful cramps, but I never have any cramps, and I am just a bit heavier with my menstrual flow than I was before. It hurt momentarily when it was inserted, somewhat like mild contractions, but it was totally worth it and I would do it again.

Hi LPNin07, All the suggestions you've received so far have been great, especially using the NCLEX review books as study guides. Unlike other students, I didn't study from personal notes much, and I did well in med/surg and advanced med/surg. I think what helped me the most (besides NCLEX review books) was going over case studies in study groups and quizzing each other on the case study. It helped us anticipate what we might be asked, practice recalling info on the spot, and prioritizing our care. Making compare and contrast charts on similar disease processes also helped. Good luck! You can do it! :)

I think it's ironic that this man is upset that the nurse told ONE woman this information--information he clearly thinks no-one needs to know--and by writing to Dear Abby he's ensuring that THOUSANDS of people now know this information.

I'm happy to report that my state takes DV very seriously, although I had heard stories similar to what you have heard. After I ended my relationship with my abuser, he went on to abuse another woman. She called the police about his behavior but then he talked her into recanting her story and dropping charges. However, in my state the DA can press charges without the main victim's cooperation; I received a call from the DA asking me to testify against him. It was very hard to drag everything back to light again but I'm so glad I did it. He was convicted of kidnapping and assault with a deadly weapon, all against the new girlfriend, and received 30 years in prison. I can't describe what a relief it was to me to not have to worry anymore about his influence on my daughter. So my point is, the police in my state took this violence very seriously, more seriously then the victim was taking it. Hopefully if the police in your state aren't there yet, they'll get there. One piece of advice, though--if you get a restraining order against your abuser, honor it!! Report him if he contacts you!! I got a restraining order against my abuser and he wrote me two letters , both trying to sweet talk me into taking him back. I brought both letters to the police and he ended up spending some time in jail because of it. I realize in some cases this might seem too dangerous, but I feel it's too dangerous not to. The police took me much more seriously because of this and I think it helped me come across as a truthful witness when I testified against him later on.

When I was younger, I was in an abusive relationship. Before this episode in my life, I felt just like you do--why would someone ever put up with abuse? I stayed in it as long as I did because I was getting something out of it--I think part of me liked the ups and downs, especially the "honeymoon" period after a bad episode. Later on I was scared to leave, afraid that he would escalate his behavior and maybe hurt or kill me. I was also ashamed to ask for help from other people because of exactly what you're expressing--I didn't want to face their incredulity. I think what someone else said here is true, you do kind of get brainwashed into it. It's not like we were drifting along in a normal relationship and then all of sudden, wham, he punches me. It slowly got worse over time and it seemed easier to stay then to go. I did leave him when I got pregnant, though--I realized it's one thing to drift along in denial when it's just me but I had to face reality for my daughter. I still don't like to talk about this part of my life to people "face to face" because it's so hard to explain why I let it happen.

I found both www.whyquit.com and the american lung association's online quitting program helpful. I also carried an index card around with me that listed all the reasons I wanted to quit, and it helped to read it over frequently. Good luck to you, you can do it!

I think the BA in psych sounds great, but one thing to consider is financial aid. I don't know if you need it, but if you do, it might be much harder to get any once you have a bachelor's degree. If financial aid's not a concern, I would go for the psych degree since you're so close to completing it. Good luck on whatever you decide! :)

I also would like to be addressed by my last name, not my first, but I understand that many people feel it's impersonal or unsafe. It's too bad we're not able to offer each other the same courtesy we offer our patients--address each other by our last names until we're invited to do otherwise, or introduce ourselves the way we wish to be addressed. There's no reason we all have to be addressed one way or the other! Just my

Ok, that was hilarious :rotfl: :rotfl: I also had to check out what the center for nursing advocacy had to say about it because I couldn't figure out what there was to be offended about in the commercial. They do review the commercial here http://www.nursingadvocacy.org/news/2004sep/emerald_nuts.html but they couldn't find anything to be offended about either.

I have had to do about seven presentations so far, including the speech class that was a prerequisite. I felt the same way you do--my face would get all hot and my hands would tremble--I just want to tell you that it DOES get easier. I was the type of person that previously would not take a class if it had a speech component; I feel so comfortable now that I have actually gotten compliments on my ability to appear comfortable giving a presentation. Like others have suggested, practicing ahead of time really helps. For me, it also helped to realize that everyone else was just as scared as I was. Good luck, I know you can do it!

Our CNSA chapter runs a "breakthrough to nursing" program aimed at high school students. We visit local high schools and talk to the students about nursing and match interested students up with a nursing student mentor. The high school students can even spend a day shadowing a nursing student and go to classes with them (but not clinicals). Our program is aimed at increasing minority enrollment in our program, but I think it would also be great to increase the visibility of nursing in general to high school students. It's nice for them to see both male and female nursing students as well.

I've taken the GRE and I thought it was very similar to the SATs. If you've taken those they might give you an idea of the difficulty level--my scores on the SATs and GREs were similar. So I guess it depends on you--did you take the SATs? If you did, you should have an idea of how hard the GREs are. If you haven't, I would recommend finding books that give you sample tests to get an idea of it. I personally don't have many problems with this kind of test, but I think everyone is different. I hope that helps! :)