second semester of program and I know nothing.... is it too late?

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I am in my second semester of nursing and I don't know how I got this far... I'd only study then night before the exams in every class I've ever taken and always mananged to pass but I know I didn't retain. Now I'm med Surg and all of this came back to me and now I have no idea what I am doing.,, I don't even know my "learning style" and didn't retain anything... am i completely screwed at this point? I don't even think I have a grasp of anatomy and physiology yet managed to scrape by every time for every class... is it too late to continue?

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Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.

It's not too late to CHANGE.

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Specializes in mental health / psychiatic nursing.

Change your study habits and you can get back on track. Nursing school is an area where it is helpful to study a little bit every day rather than cram before the exam. If you are studying a little bit at a time, and occasionally going back over prior material to link it to the new information you are learning it is much, much easier to retain all of the knowledge you will need.

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I'm in the program already and I feel I need to relearn basically everything... I don't think I even understand a healthy body that's how behind I am and how much I procrastinated. It is possible you think to learn all this within a month or couple months? Again I'd just pass but didn't retain...

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Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.
I'm in the program already and I feel I need to relearn basically everything... I don't think I even understand a healthy body that's how behind I am and how much I procrastinated. It is possible you think to learn all this within a month or couple months? Again I'd just pass but didn't retain...

How long is your program? How much time do you have left? There are numerous tests online to figure out your learning style - you can find those via Google. Or better yet, go to your school's counselors and ask.

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I am in bsn. First two years are prereqs and last two are the program (4 semesters) I am in the second semester of the program and do not know a thing... for example we were going over renal in med Surg and I barely remember what the kidneys do... that's how behind...

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How long is your program? How much time do you have left? There are numerous tests online to figure out your learning style - you can find those via Google. Or better yet, go to your school's counselors and ask.

I am in bsn. First two years are prereqs and last two are the program (4 semesters) I am in the second semester of the program and do not know a thing... for example we were going over renal in med Surg and I barely remember what the kidneys do... that's how behind... let alone the medications or patho... I just got by and don't even know how and it took me this long to realize the amount of knowledge I am lacking.... I dropped med Surg because I am not ready...

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If you dropped a class because you felt you were not ready and continue to lament about what you think you don't know, you will never grab the bull by the horns and make the necessary changes. Start paying attention in class would be an excellent start. Keep in mind that you need to review each system when you encounter it even if you are already an "expert" as evidenced by your previous test scores. Yesterday is gone. Start putting more effort into your school work today and you will see changes as long as you don't dwell on unachievable "perfection".

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If you dropped a class because you felt you were not ready and continue to lament about what you think you don't know, you will never grab the bull by the horns and make the necessary changes. Start paying attention in class would be an excellent start. Keep in mind that you need to review each system when you encounter it even if you are already an "expert" as evidenced by your previous test scores. Yesterday is gone. Start putting more effort into your school work today and you will see changes as long as you don't dwell on unachievable "perfection".

At this point would I make a terrible nurse for not doing what I had to the first half of my schooling (if I can even get to pass my classes/learn a lot more material)?

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Specializes in Medsurg/Tele.

I feel like I am behind or at least hardly retained anything from commons (1st semester) and complex (2nd semester). It wasn't until Advanced (4th semester) and having to make patho maps where things started to make sense. x.x It's never too late to get back on track. Although, now I'm playing catch-up or rather, refreshing on old content.

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If you made it past fundamentals, then I think you know more than you think you do. Nursing school isnt about leaving you all the time in the world to sit and study your notes, its about how you feel about safety an prioritizing with a very base knowledge while being rushed to finish a project, and how to use kaplan style desions to narrow down your answers to test questions. If I was a hospital recruiter, I'd tell the students that I couldn't care less if they made straight a's, I want to hear about how they are always on time and have good attendance and can work as a team player. Nursing school is a program, if your passing your passing.

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