Scared of starting nursing school...

[missmollie, ADN, BSN, RN]

I keep seeing threads of people who are worried about the upcoming classes. Worried about what's coming in that first semester.

Is there anyone out there who believes they can do it, has no regards for the mass hysteria, and is ready for anything?

Who here is excited at tackling whatever they throw at us?!

This gal. Right here.

I know it's like nothing you've ever experienced. NOTHING. But if you've never had a child, I have some horrific stories to tell you. Long needles, using a rocking chair for comfort, water breaking...fairly terrifying stories. Yet I lived. (and so did my child, which totally gives me MOM POINTS...*cheer*)

I was a literature major. I have a BS in literature. You've no idea of sleep deprivation unless you've had to write five 25-page papers for your finals in the 5 classes you were taking, procrastinating and doing every paper in one seven day week. It was honestly worse than the first month of being a new mom. I am not kidding.

And kidney stones. Don't get me started on those. It's like the finals week of literature classes and labor...COMBINED. Oh...em...gee...

So. Anyone else ready for whatever is thrown at them? Or anyone scared to death by the sensationalism that comes from the "more experienced than you" student?

I am slightly petrified. But eager. It's a conundrum.

Those who have gone through it. Give us your real stories. The stories of success. The stories where you knew you were meant to be a nurse. We don't want war stories. We want the truth from those nursing students who had the same fears as us.

Give us the nitty gritty. We are you, one year earlier. What great things have happened. What things would you change. What are you proud of? I want to hear those stories.

[Ashes172, BSN, RN]

Oooo... Good question! I want to know too! I already have a BA in Chem/Bio, MA in Curriculum and Instruction, and a little kiddo if my own, but nursing school is intimidating. Changing careers is intimidating. Lots of unknowns. I'd love some happy stories :)

[akulahawkRN, ADN, RN, EMT-P]

The worst part about starting Nursing School is the anticipation of starting. Yes, it's very different than anything you'll have ever done up to this point. No, you're not likely going to be thrown to the wolves without some preparation first. It's going to be a bit like trying to sip from a fire hose. There's a lot of volume of information that's going to be thrown at you, but the difficulty (at first) isn't going to be that bad. Seriously. Questions will become more and more application level and less and less rote memorization. They want to test your ability to know what to do with something... taking all the rote memory stuff into account.

Getting through Nursing School is very possible. Do your reading, ahead of time if possible, and be in class. From my own background, I've learned little that was truly new to me, but what was more important was putting it all together in a different way and getting a bit more into the why something occurs (the pathophys) and then you really pretty much know intuitively what needs to be done.

[ShesAcuteNurse, ADN, LPN]

All of the excitement and determination did not prepare me for nursing school. It is truly unlike anything else you have done before and I am not easily stressed or flustered but that changed quickly. I have one more semester to go and I will tell you that, for me, the classroom work has been less stressful than labs and clinicals. The only thing that I would change would be to spend more time learning about my assigned patients, which is what I plan to do during my next/last semester. During clinicals, learning as much about your assigned patients diseases, history, and medications will benefit you greatly. Also, try to watch or even assist in as many procedures as you're allowed. I am proud of the fact that I have made it this far and that I have absorbed more than what I thought I could in such a short time period. The time will fly by really fast. I still can't believe I have only one more semester to go. Most of all, I am proud that I could be a part of the healthcare system that we all have needed and will continue to need as long as we live. You will love nursing school and you will hate it. Being watched by your clinical instructors as you are learning is nerve racking but successfully completing the skill is even more rewarding.

[ready4nu]

Don't be scared and don't listen to everyone who tells you how hard it will be. I think a lot of people psych themselves out before they even begin...all those things they heard "someone told me nobody passes this exam!" "I heard this is the worst exam ever!" ...they prepare themselves for failure because the heard it is impossible to do well. Just go with it, you can do it. You made it into your program, right? It can be extremely frustrating to answer a question and have it marked wrong even though technically...they were all correct :) Read before class, after class, do your practice questions. It's really not as bad as people say it is.

Good luck!