So what made you want to be a Nurse?

[guest723]

Hi everyone!

I am a Pre Nursing student. I am currently doing very well in all my classes so far (Anatomy, Chemistry, Psychology, etc) but now I am having doubts. Before this semester started I absolutely loved medicine. I would always love to study things about immunology, certain pathologies/malignancies, how to treat them, etc. and I just loved it. I thought I wanted to be a Doctor and go to medical school, and I always loved going to the Hospital. If I went to Medical School, I would love to have been a Medical Scientist.

Now this semester has got me into the dumps! I've had practically 2 exams and 2 quizzes almost every week since the middle of the first month of the semester (not kidding). I just had 2 exams last week and this week I have 2 exams and 2 quizzes again. On top of that I have to not only study for these exams and do well, I also have to complete a project and finish a bunch of homework assignments. It's just been really stressful and I'm not even in the program yet. My school is known for being one of the hardest programs around here but I am starting to lose touch with why I began to do this in the first place. I used to love to study all of this material, but now because I just keep having exams all the time, it's like I need to result in rote memorization than learning and retaining material. I want to learn and love what I'm learning, but now because it's more of "read 100 pages for our next week's exam" and there is little to no time to absorb it, I'm beginning to hate every second of it. I don't want to quit what I love, but I'm starting to hate what I used to like.

I am not here to complain or anything, I guess I'm just looking for a reality check. I have A's so far but I've been so burned out that I am wondering if it's all worth it.

How did all of you push through? Yesterday was my only day where I actually took a day off from studying because this semester has been super hectic. I've lost most of my energy but I know I need to keep going.

I am just looking for advice from those who have continued to do well and those who finished it all.

Thank you very much guys!

[NurseGirl525, ASN, RN]

School is prepping you for the difficult job of becoming a nurse. Pre-Nursing is building the foundation for nursing school. It's important to understand how the body works healthy to understand when something goes wrong. Anatomy and Physiology along with Chemistry are important.

Nursing school is difficult became sevof the sheer amount of information you need to absorb. It's no longer memorizing info. It's learning how to apply it. But, nursing school doesn't teach you how to be a nurse. It teaches you how to pass NCLEX.

You learn to be a nurse on the job. The skills part. But you need to be able to recall disease processes and what can happen to your patients. Being a nurse is a constant learning process. Constant.

I love to learn. I love to sit and think things out. I love the puzzles that are presented with my patients and what can I do to help fix it. I'm inspired when a patient or their family thanks me. When they tell me I have their loved one great care.

That's why I'm a nurse.