When I first started the RN program, my friends and I felt very confident. After all, only 30 people out of 300 were chosen, and we were among those few. Now, 5 months later, we are all stressed to the max, and feel our self esteem challenged every day, even though we are making the grades and passing the classes, and watching some of our fellow students being left behind. I will graduate in December of this year, and wonder if others felt this way too during nursing school? Could you tell me when your self esteem and confidence returns? I feel confident that I can make decisions as a nurse, or I wouldn't be here, but at the same time, my self esteem is a challenge to keep up. Also, can someone please share their experience as a graduate nurse on their first job? Did school prepare you for it? Or was that when the learning began?
i broke out in psoriasis on the palms of my hands my first semester of nsg school (i hear it is exacerbated by stress). for a year and a half i went to countless dermatologists to cure it but all that seemed to help was-this is gross but i was desperate-scratching my palms with a fork:imbar
almost immediatly following graduation it cleared up. i had never even heard of it before nsg school and have not had a problem with it since (usually once you have it, it does not totally go away) i still have really deep wrinkles all over my palms, i call them my battle wounds.
my last semester i suffered a miscarrage at 16 weeks one morning before i left for school. it counted as an unexcused absence because the only excused absence is a death in the family. no kidding.
Specializes in Cardiothoracic Transplant Telemetry.
I graduate in December as well, and this is a subject that I and my classmates discuss often. We always feel that we are one step behind, and one of us, no matter how well that we are doing ever feels as if a passing grade is in the bag. And the guilt!!! I have one classmate that was horrified when her toddler turned to her other child at the end of our first semester and said, "ssshhh, mommy's busy". All that we can do is hang on to our sanity, get as much rest as we can, and getting through it. In the past several weeks I have run into several people that I met during my prerequisites. I find myself being discouraging to them if they struggled during the prerequisites, and being VERY clear about the difficulty level otherwise. Hang in there, the way the semesters are flying by, December will seem like next week!!!
well, i'm on the bsn program, second semester of the 6 total semesters to complete it the bsn.
and i feel like i dont know what i am doing, i have classmates who are CNA's and they are so confident in their skills that i wish i was like them, their communication is awesome and they can make friends easily with the nurses just like that.
i'm in the internet talking on this messageboard, instead of studying and reading the required chapters the teacher has on the syllabus. and focusing on the next skills test, studying for med math, but no, i am slacking off.
after this, i think i'll watch south park on tv and jay leno, conan, because laughter is a stress fighter, it gets rid of stress.
and i hate care plans, thats probably the biggest stress factor, we gotta write care plans, a lot of them and other stuff everyweek during clinicals and turn it in during that day. sometimes i wish i was in the Associates program, i dont think they write careplans.
but dont worry about it, my self esteem is at its lowest its ever been in my life, so you're not alone. when i'm struggling, i think like this: my classmates are struggling with me.
I'm not sure why nursing school is so stressful: it's different than the other huge tasks we undertake, and I suspect that it is because we either 1) so value becoming nurses that we want it all to be perfect and it makes us nuts when it is not or B) not invested in it and get overwhelmed because we watch Jay Leno and Conan and South Park, rationalizing that we "need" to laugh more than we "need" to prepare for our life's work.
If you are the former type, let the little stuff go, stay out of politics, just put one foot in front of the other and find joy in the little things, and you'll be fine. The stress is intrinsic to the system: find a mantra to take your mind of the stressful stuff: I used to use "people with less going for them than we have, have succeeded at this, and so will we."
If you are the latter, you probably should consider a different major--nursing is not your life's work, and you are avoiding preparing for it. Watching TV is avoidance, not struggling. Struggling is reading, taking notes, and learning--loving the tasks of learning, not complaining about them on your way to the TV.
RNBamaStudent, you'll be fine. One foot in front of the other and don't forget to smell those roses! (I actually did that, on my way in to class EVERY morning that there was a single bloom.)
Thanks for all the great advice! Guess I was a little hard on sjoe, just thought it went both ways. Again, thank you all! I am feeling better now, I am determined to do this, and I am willing to work harder than ever before! I had to "talk" myself back into believing in myself again. When I got mad at sjoe, I realized that I had been allowing every negative person, negative comment, or mistake to wear me down to the point where I had little self esteem left. I decided that I would learn to deal with these uncomfortable situations, and use them to make myself stronger! I enjoy reading entries by the nurses on here, and am glad to have met you all!
I work with new grads and was one myself at one time. I believe that towards the end of nursing school it hits you that there is a LOT TO KNOW and someone is expecting you to know most of it. It is common to stress out at this point. Most new grads are unsure of their skills (though most do fine, they just need practice). Gradually you will gain confidence. It is important to have a good preceptor or mentor during the first year of practice. Latch on to someone if your hospital does not have a program that assigns seasoned nurses to new grads. Welcome to nursing and hold your head high! You have already accomplished a lot.
i also graduated in december. took the nclex january 30th '04 and passed. i started my first nursing job in the E.D. and i am VERY happy. nursing school is now just a memory. the drama i went through in nursing school was worth the opportunities that i have availbale to me now. i know some nurses are very negative about nursing, but it is truly something that you have to want to do or it won't work for you. i work in chicago and most hospital here pay well, which makes it even better. i am rooting for all nurses
hang in there rn-bamastudent. nursing school is a bit overwhelming for many reasons so don't ever feel that you are alone. the trick is to find a good group of friends and stick together through the rough times.
without violating any "honor code" the school might have, you will need to find a way to share resources effectively with your study buddies. this will help keep the stress level manageable.
two of my favorite nursing school diagnoses deal with powerlessness and effective coping. don't let the adversity get you down. you are more than capable of succeeding in this endeavor.
Oh my gosh, 
loriLPN
26 Posts
i broke out in psoriasis on the palms of my hands my first semester of nsg school (i hear it is exacerbated by stress). for a year and a half i went to countless dermatologists to cure it but all that seemed to help was-this is gross but i was desperate-scratching my palms with a fork:imbar
almost immediatly following graduation it cleared up. i had never even heard of it before nsg school and have not had a problem with it since (usually once you have it, it does not totally go away) i still have really deep wrinkles all over my palms, i call them my battle wounds.
my last semester i suffered a miscarrage at 16 weeks one morning before i left for school. it counted as an unexcused absence because the only excused absence is a death in the family. no kidding.
even after all that, it was worth it.