Still Love/Like/Tolerate Nursing School!!!???

cherokeesummer · Nov 6, 2004

I do love nursing school and my classmates. I don't love having to work full time while doing it. I've done the full time worker full time student since i graduated high school (I only worked part time during high school). So, I'm wishing I could just concentrate on school, especially now with nursing school.

I am enjoying clinicals more because I am gaining more experience but there is always that nervousness!!!!

I have to say I am a dork and I love the theory poritions alot. I will probably eventually go in to teaching nursing, but for now want to gain the hands on experience. :):):):) :coollook:

wonderbee, BSN, RN · Nov 6, 2004

I think love/hate is the best way to describe it. I LOVED the first half of first semester. By midterm, I was ready for it to be over though. Passed with a high B. Over the summer, I was chomping at the bit to get going with second semester... the meat semester. Now that we're 3/4 of the way through, I'm ready for it to be over too. At this point, I've got a solid A.

Honestly, I just want it all to be over now. The social aspect of it is no longer the plus that I thought it was in first semester. Half of my social circle has dropped. There's some backbiting and some power trips. There is a student or two that I'd like to shake like a bad cold but I'm stuck with them till the end.

The drive that keeps me going now is the RN at the end of my name in about a year and the plans I've made beyond.

klone, MSN, RN · Nov 6, 2004

I still love it, but between Fundamentals and A&P - it's constant studying and worrying about doing well. I have a question for all of you that say you're getting great grades - what are you considering "great grades"? I have a high "B" in Nursing and wasn't sure how I ranked among my fellow students - but the Dir. of Nursing told me that nobody has an "A" and I should be very happy with how I'm doing. She said she'd be worried if a bunch of us were getting "A's", because she'd know the tests were way too easy.

My grade right now is 96. I do think the tests are not super hard - if you read the assigned text, you're good to go. Our instructors have stressed over and over that they don't want to flunk us, they want to teach us. With that in mind, they will give us bonus questions, and the last test they let us do the test a second time as a group, and if your group got an A, they gave you 2 extra points on your test. It was a win-win - because it gave us extra points, and we all LEARNED a lot more, discussing it as a group. That IS the ultimate goal, right?

However, I do think a lot of students don't understand that tests in the nursing program are different from other tests. There IS more than one right answer. I was able to figure that out pretty early on, so I've been doing well.

HappyNurse2005, RN · Nov 6, 2004

She explained something to me about the C=RN "thing". She said Nursing Schools have to have a certain percentage of their graduating classes pass the NCLEX to stay accredited - I think the BON has some say in this. Anyways, if I understood her right - she said Nursing Tests/Exams are purposely made to be very difficult and it's figured in somehow - that if you can pass with a "C", they are pretty confident that you can pass the NCLEX.

i think that is my school's plan. but i suppose it works, their nclex pass rate is 98-100% on the first try.

we have 1 person in our class with an A average. i have an 81. these are most certainly not easy questions/easy tests by anyone's stretch of the imagination.

i w/ish they were! i was a straight a student before nursing!

love, rose

maire, ASN, RN · Nov 6, 2004

Nursing School?

Love the "Nursing" part; hate the "School" part.

RainDreamer, BSN, RN · Nov 6, 2004

Nursing School?
Love the "Nursing" part; hate the "School" part.

Couldn't have said it better!!! :chuckle

Truly_Blessed · Nov 6, 2004

I wouldn't say that I love it completely. I love learning, and I love it when I can actually apply some of what I have learned...but we really haven't too much of a chance to do that yet. I am thinking once clinicals get here, I might actually be able to say I love it. I wish I could say I love my classmates....and most of the time I get along with everyone.....and there are a few I absulutely adore....it's the drama I am not lovin', or the backstabbing. Hate it. My jury is still out on nursing school, and I am thinking I won't be able to rate it as a whole, a good or bad experience until the middle of 2nd semester.

kellyo, LPN · Nov 6, 2004

Hello there. This is my first post. I'm in the first semester of an ADN program and Monday will start week 4 of clinicals (2x/week). The first day of class, I felt like I FINALLY was in the place where I was meant to be, BUT... my first few clinical days almost sent me in the other direction. The lack of confidence and the feeling of being so overwhelmed was making me second guess my dream to be a nurse. :crying2: I opened the chart on my 2nd week and saw a list of 29 meds. I wanted to drop right then. Something finally clicked in (having a responsive patient helps) and this week's clinicals confirmed my place. I AM MEANT TO BE HERE!:rotfl: I've met some amazing people--classmates, instructors and patients alike. I absolutely hate staying up until 1 am doing careplans (but I'm told this gets better), and I'll never get over the anxiety of math tests. They say 2nd semester is the toughest in our program (5 semesters), and if we get through it, it's a smooth ride from there. :nurse:

shape0fmyheart · Nov 6, 2004

In reading everyone's posts on here... I sometimes feel as though I am not getting the experience that I SHOULD be getting from nursing school. I am in my 3rd semester and I can't even really decide on how I truly feel about nursing school. It's "ok" I guess. Grade-wise, this semester is my best, so my confidence has had a real boost. Clinical confidence I still have to fight for, which really brings my self esteem down and makes me wonder STILL, if I am in the right place. Half the time I feel like I'll never really KNOW until I graduate and get a job. So my goal right now is just to graduate and go from there. But overall, I feel like I'm being ripped off when it comes to having this GREAT and life changing (?) experience by being in nursing school. I have not clicked with any classmates on a personal level, and I honestly don't even like more than half of them. I love learning new things and I find the human body to be most interesting, but I am WAY better at the book work than the hands on, and that's simply due to my social anxiety. I feel that my social anxiety will truly kill me and my dreams of becoming a nurse... *sigh* :rolleyes:

wonderbee, BSN, RN · Nov 6, 2004

In reading everyone's posts on here... I sometimes feel as though I am not getting the experience that I SHOULD be getting from nursing school. I am in my 3rd semester and I can't even really decide on how I truly feel about nursing school. It's "ok" I guess. Grade-wise, this semester is my best, so my confidence has had a real boost. Clinical confidence I still have to fight for, which really brings my self esteem down and makes me wonder STILL, if I am in the right place. Half the time I feel like I'll never really KNOW until I graduate and get a job. So my goal right now is just to graduate and go from there. But overall, I feel like I'm being ripped off when it comes to having this GREAT and life changing (?) experience by being in nursing school. I have not clicked with any classmates on a personal level, and I honestly don't even like more than half of them. I love learning new things and I find the human body to be most interesting, but I am WAY better at the book work than the hands on, and that's simply due to my social anxiety. I feel that my social anxiety will truly kill me and my dreams of becoming a nurse... *sigh*

Leah, I know what you're feeling. A professor explained it to me in this way; when we get checked off, we have demonstrated bare minimum competency at that particular moment. We are certainly not proficient.

You are right where you are supposed to be. You have demonstrated the ability to safely learn with consistent practice. It's not unusual at my school to find a fourth semester student who hasn't yet inserted a foley in a real live patient. Go figure. I think most of the nurses here will tell us that the real education began AFTER nursing school during their orientation. Nevertheless, it is unnerving.

OBRNinTN · Nov 6, 2004

I graduate in May 2006, God willing! As for nursing school...I do not love it... and I do not hate it. It's just "different"..but I'm getting into the groove.

I enjoy clinicals...it's my lecture that has been, um, interesting!

Only 4 1/2 more weeks.

Then, it's med-surg!!:uhoh21:

NurseFirst · Nov 7, 2004

i think that is my school's plan. but i suppose it works, their nclex pass rate is 98-100% on the first try.
we have 1 person in our class with an A average. i have an 81. these are most certainly not easy questions/easy tests by anyone's stretch of the imagination.
i w/ish they were! i was a straight a student before nursing!
love, rose

Thank God the tests at my school are not that bad (but, I am a good student). I would hate to be stressed out for every test like that. Test taking is a skill. If you need to, you can go take Kaplan and they will teach you what you need to know about test-taking AND about the NCLEX.

I don't like my clinical group much this term, but I liked the clinical group I was in last term quite a bit. I didn't realize how much until this term!

NurseFirst