Should I continue nursing school?

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If anyone can help me, I would sooo appreciate it. I'm almost done with my first semester of nursing school. So far, getting a B in the class. Have three more semesters to go to get an ADN. I sometimes dread going to clinicals and hate to admit sometimes the lecture material is not interesting or just difficult for me to grasp. My memory is not all that great too, so I feel whatever I learn is lost after the test. I feel I have to relearn things over and over and it just frustrates the heck out of me.

My classmates all talk about how they love this and that about clinicals, and I feel like a fraud because I don't feel all excited like they do. Does this mean I shouldn't be a nurse. I hear stories about students just finishing up the program because they've invested so much time in it and Hate being a nurse afterwards. My fear is that I may feel the same. I have invested the last three years doing all the pre-reqs and getting into a nursing program to quit now. I feel like a failure and lost about what I should do.

Does anyone feel like me?

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Specializes in Neuroscience.

There are many threads on allnurses where students have talked about hating clinical. I think it varies for different students, and it is not indicative of how you'll be as a nurse.

1. Do you want to continue this educational path?

2. Do you still want to be a nurse?

3. What exactly do you hate about clinical?

The first semester clinical is a little bit of a shock, because you're suddenly thrown in there. Our professors asked us what was the most amazing thing to you about your first semester clinical experience. My answer: The fact that you people trusted me to go into a room with a patient. I had no idea what I was doing. That's okay! It's a learning experience. Answer those questions, and you'll know what you should do. Best of luck!

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Your post resonates with me because I had those inklings while in school for my first profession back in the day. I kept thinking I will like it better when I get to ---. Or when I find my niche, ect. ect. The more time I spent the more I knew I wasn't going to change majors. I thought briefly about nursing school, but the competition scared me. So I plugged along. got a masters degree to practice as a Speech Pathologist and never developed a love for it. I worked for a couple of years and then started my family at which time I laid my career aside. Now that my babies are big and can afford for me to have some time away, I am so so so excited about taking this nursing path. I feel like it is something I am supposed to do.

I know it is disappointing and scary to make a change. Just wanted you to know that when my heart was not In my profession it was hard for me to truly enjoy it.

Hope you find your path!

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I HATED clinicals. I was full of anxiety. I was scared to perform skills such as wound care and IV care. I shyed away from it as much as I could. Terrible mistake, because I graduated without doing much, so now I'm doing skills for the first time in the workplace where I don't have an instructor guiding me. My classmates all seemed to like clinicals. I was, however book smart, so I enjoyed lecture. But nursing school is so intensive. You learn the pathophysiology of the cardiac system in 2 days, then the neuromuscular system the next day....it's brain overload, and it's normal to forget and have to study it again...and again....and again. This is absolutely normal for a nursing student.

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Thank you for the replies. I spoke to one of the nursing counselors at school and she said to try another semester and if I still feel undecided, then nursing may not be for me. I wished it was just clear cut. One student already quit. He definitely knew that patient care was not for him during his clinicals and is moving on to other things. I feel I have to make a decision NOW because soon my savings will be gone and I will need to work regardless if I'm going to school or not. Sorry and thank you for letting me vent here.

Other people I spoke to just keep saying "everything will be okay." I learned that is not therapeutic communication. ;)

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