Scared to start nursing school

allnurses Guide · Oct 10, 2014

It isn't that nursing school is so "bad", it's just a different paradigm, a way of thinking, and answering questions. The toughest thing for me was wrapping my mind around a different method of studying and applying what I had learned. It isn't enough to learn it, you have to apply and use it.

People don't need to vent about good experiences, so you hear lots of complaints and problems; no one needs to ask how to cope with good stuff and positive experiences. There are threads about how well things have gone, how much a clinical day was enjoyed, a great teacher; they tend to be short because there isn't much advice or sympathy needed.

akulahawkRN, ADN, RN, EMT-P · Oct 10, 2014

Don't be scared to start nursing school... be FRIGHTENED! MUAHAHAHA!

Actually, I'm kidding. Or am I? In my own experience, nursing school is one of the toughest things you'll ever do in your educational career. It's not that the material itself is all that difficult, it's that they shove it all at you in such a short amount of time. Many people in nursing school are really taking their first steps into the healthcare world. Those of us that already have some experience in that will have a little less of a culture shock because we've already been around it a bit.

Part of the difficulty is that you're learning a different way of thinking and looking at the body. Part of it is learning the language. Part of it is just the fear of the unknown. Nursing school is very much a process, not just learning information and then taking that extra step and applying what you have learned to the clinical situation.

It's normal to be a little scared, to feel some trepidation. Completely normal. Just don't let it get to be so much that it controls you and makes you not want to get out of bed in the morning. You're going to be spending a lot of time with some people you've never met and they're going to largely become your nursing school family. At times, like any family, it will be dysfunctional. Hopefully they'll be mostly supportive of each other as the semesters progress toward graduation. Allow yourself to go along with the process as your school has a feel for how to best prepare their students for entry into the field and taking/passing the NCLEX. Once you start classes, I suggest you start doing some NCLEX questions. At first it'll seem almost like you're trying to decipher what you're being asked, but eventually you'll start seeing what they're asking you to do and you'll start doing it. Your first exams will likely be somewhat like the style you got while in your prerequisite courses because much of the fundamental stuff is just memorization of certain facts, figures, and the like. You'll need to know that stuff because everything you learn will depend upon prior learning.

It's a process. If you have had some prior education in the medical field, it's probably been in the style of the medical model. It's OK to put that way of thinking on the shelf for a while. It can help you later, but first to become a nurse, you must drink deep the kool-aid of nursing theory and really learn the way that nursing wants you to look at the body.

Part of that is learning to do nursing diagnoses and to do nursing care plans. (I really despise doing care plans... but I'm good at them because they're great learning tools.) It's really tempting to try to "reverse engineer" a medical diagnosis and formulate nursing diagnoses from that. While it's possible to do that, you shouldn't really try to do it. There are too many medical diagnoses and overlapping signs and symptoms that you just can't really make a simple conversion chart to go between the two.

If you're going to use a medical source, look at the H&P because the patient assessment is in there. An assessment is an assessment regardless of who does it. The data is essentially the same. Nursing and Medical staff will look at that information and come up with their own respective diagnoses. You'll need to know some of the medical side of things because you'll be eventually responsible for implementing parts of the medical care plan.

But a LOT of that is stuff you'll learn as you go along. The process that is nursing school will introduce you to those concepts and it won't bash you over the head with everything all at once. It takes time to learn the stuff and you'll truly be able to get there in time. Allow yourself to go with the flow of the process. At times it'll even feel a bit disjointed. That's OK because you're being introduced to various concepts and they plan to bring it all together at some point and when they do, it'll start making sense and those darned NCLEX questions will look less like incomprehensible questions and more like something you know how to answer, even if you don't necessarily know the answer.

You're in for the ride of your life. It'll be quite unlike anything you've done and likely unlike anything you'll ever do in the future. It'll probably be everything you've ever heard about... and more. And in the end, it's not about you doing better or worse than your classmates... it'll be about YOU learning to become a nurse and learning the very foundation that you'll need to become the kind of nurse you want to be.

Go in with a very open mind. Some of my classmates really wanted to be a pediatric nurse or an ICU nurse... and found that they really LOVE being a psych nurse or they really love being a Med/Surg nurse when they thought they'd hate that. I found each area that I rotated through to be fascinating, but one thing I do know now is that while I could see myself in any of those roles, I'm not that attracted to OR nursing or psych. I'm not foreclosing those areas of nursing for the future of my own career, they're just not, for lack of a better way to describe it... me.

Between now and the start of classes, have fun, do stuff with friends and family and make sure that they know you care about them because you'll have less free time and what free time you do have, you'll have to juggle that with all your other responsibilities. It's only 2 years...

Kristen1922 · Oct 10, 2014

Hi there. I'm in my first semester right now and just made it through my first week of finals to start clinicals. Just a few words on my experience.. READ READ READ! Honestly that is all I'm doing right now. I quit my job 6 weeks into the program because I wanted to (and have to) FOCUS! It is not crazy hard information to learn but there is a ton of it. My first day of classes I was so scared and overwhelmed by what they said would be done in the following 8 weeks before clinicals started. Focus on what and why, organize yourself, and use every source available as additional help! Pharm is hard so I bought an additional book to back up what I'm reading in my textbook in lighter words. Get ready to eat, sleep, breath nursing! (I just had a couple of crazy dreams too!) Even though I haven't seen my friends in 6 weeks, I left school yesterday after my finals feeling so proud of myself! It will all be worth it! Good luck!!

rookmin1976 · Oct 10, 2014

Senior Nursing student here, almost finished it's hard work and dedication. You want something badly, work for it and earn it. Don't expect it to be easy.

dannygurl84 · Oct 10, 2014

Thank you all very much for ya'll comments and I will take this all in consideration.

secquoria, CNA · Oct 13, 2014

Thank you for this.

secquoria, CNA · Oct 13, 2014

Don't be scared to start nursing school... be FRIGHTENED! MUAHAHAHA!
Actually, I'm kidding. Or am I? In my own experience, nursing school is one of the toughest things you'll ever do in your educational career. It's not that the material itself is all that difficult, it's that they shove it all at you in such a short amount of time. Many people in nursing school are really taking their first steps into the healthcare world. Those of us that already have some experience in that will have a little less of a culture shock because we've already been around it a bit.
Part of the difficulty is that you're learning a different way of thinking and looking at the body. Part of it is learning the language. Part of it is just the fear of the unknown. Nursing school is very much a process, not just learning information and then taking that extra step and applying what you have learned to the clinical situation.
It's normal to be a little scared, to feel some trepidation. Completely normal. Just don't let it get to be so much that it controls you and makes you not want to get out of bed in the morning. You're going to be spending a lot of time with some people you've never met and they're going to largely become your nursing school family. At times, like any family, it will be dysfunctional. Hopefully they'll be mostly supportive of each other as the semesters progress toward graduation. Allow yourself to go along with the process as your school has a feel for how to best prepare their students for entry into the field and taking/passing the NCLEX. Once you start classes, I suggest you start doing some NCLEX questions. At first it'll seem almost like you're trying to decipher what you're being asked, but eventually you'll start seeing what they're asking you to do and you'll start doing it. Your first exams will likely be somewhat like the style you got while in your prerequisite courses because much of the fundamental stuff is just memorization of certain facts, figures, and the like. You'll need to know that stuff because everything you learn will depend upon prior learning.
It's a process. If you have had some prior education in the medical field, it's probably been in the style of the medical model. It's OK to put that way of thinking on the shelf for a while. It can help you later, but first to become a nurse, you must drink deep the kool-aid of nursing theory and really learn the way that nursing wants you to look at the body.
Part of that is learning to do nursing diagnoses and to do nursing care plans. (I really despise doing care plans... but I'm good at them because they're great learning tools.) It's really tempting to try to "reverse engineer" a medical diagnosis and formulate nursing diagnoses from that. While it's possible to do that, you shouldn't really try to do it. There are too many medical diagnoses and overlapping signs and symptoms that you just can't really make a simple conversion chart to go between the two.
If you're going to use a medical source, look at the H&P because the patient assessment is in there. An assessment is an assessment regardless of who does it. The data is essentially the same. Nursing and Medical staff will look at that information and come up with their own respective diagnoses. You'll need to know some of the medical side of things because you'll be eventually responsible for implementing parts of the medical care plan.
But a LOT of that is stuff you'll learn as you go along. The process that is nursing school will introduce you to those concepts and it won't bash you over the head with everything all at once. It takes time to learn the stuff and you'll truly be able to get there in time. Allow yourself to go with the flow of the process. At times it'll even feel a bit disjointed. That's OK because you're being introduced to various concepts and they plan to bring it all together at some point and when they do, it'll start making sense and those darned NCLEX questions will look less like incomprehensible questions and more like something you know how to answer, even if you don't necessarily know the answer.
You're in for the ride of your life. It'll be quite unlike anything you've done and likely unlike anything you'll ever do in the future. It'll probably be everything you've ever heard about... and more. And in the end, it's not about you doing better or worse than your classmates... it'll be about YOU learning to become a nurse and learning the very foundation that you'll need to become the kind of nurse you want to be.
Go in with a very open mind. Some of my classmates really wanted to be a pediatric nurse or an ICU nurse... and found that they really LOVE being a psych nurse or they really love being a Med/Surg nurse when they thought they'd hate that. I found each area that I rotated through to be fascinating, but one thing I do know now is that while I could see myself in any of those roles, I'm not that attracted to OR nursing or psych. I'm not foreclosing those areas of nursing for the future of my own career, they're just not, for lack of a better way to describe it... me.
Between now and the start of classes, have fun, do stuff with friends and family and make sure that they know you care about them because you'll have less free time and what free time you do have, you'll have to juggle that with all your other responsibilities. It's only 2 years...

Thank you for this.

kate180489 · Oct 13, 2014

Hello. i got accepted into nursing too for the spring semester. I'm a little scary, i'm sure its going to be hard and A LOT of studying. I hope i will have some time to work... but thanks guys for all of your comments :)

dannygurl84 · Oct 13, 2014

Congratulations kate 180489

Jen_Loves_Nursing · Oct 13, 2014

Your desire and passion for nursing should out weight your hesitation!!! It will be hard, but so intriguing!!

LoriT1219 · Oct 13, 2014

Dannygurl, I too am starting nursing school in the spring! I've been reading A LOT of articles here on how terrible nursing school will be. Like some of the other members have said, I am sure it is difficult but not impossible.

I too, like LabRat3 am 30 and starting a brand new career but am so excited to do so. It has been a dream of mine for so long and to see it in the works is amazing!!! Best of luck to you dear and let's def stay in touch! Spring is right around the corner :0)

dannygurl84 · Oct 15, 2014

Dannygurl, I too am starting nursing school in the spring! I've been reading A LOT of articles here on how terrible nursing school will be. Like some of the other members have said, I am sure it is difficult but not impossible.
I too, like LabRat3 am 30 and starting a brand new career but am so excited to do so. It has been a dream of mine for so long and to see it in the works is amazing!!! Best of luck to you dear and let's def stay in touch! Spring is right around the corner :0)

That's why I'm scared because of all the bads things on here but I'm over that it was just a feeling I had. I am 30 also but this is my first career. Thank you and best of luck to u too. We surely can keep in touch. ?