Stressed pre-nursing undergrad

[student789]

Hello everyone,

I was wanting to take Lifespan Development with my Anatomy lecture/lab, but had to drop Lifespan Development because there would be a midterm and final, other quizzes, and class assignments. For anatomy lab, there is a midterm and a final. It would have been an overwhelming amount of work for me to study for these two classes even though lifespan tends to be an easy class. Do you think this was a logical choice? Would any of you have made the same choice under these circumstances? I feel regretful. It is just coupled with anatomy, it would have been overwhelming.

I decided that I wanted to be a nurse a little late-after my first year in college. I am a sophomore and had completed chem 1/2, math, statistics, psychology 1, english 1/2. I have anatomy lecture and lab 1/2, micro, and now lifespan to go. I feel like I am behind. I plan to take lifespan over the summer. How long did it take some of you to complete your prerequisites? I need words of encouragement! I feel overwhelmed, stressed, just want to cry all the time. I have no confidence in my own abilities! I don't know what I am capable of! I just don't want to risk taking courses more than once. I need words of advise, also. Not sure if I should take micro over the summer? Feel like it would be too much? Thank you for the help!!!!!!

[dorkypanda]

Most people are stressed out whether it be students or not. Don't let it get to you. Remember to take small breaks every now and then.

It does seem reasonable that it would take more than one year to complete prereqs since there are some required courses before the actual prereq it self. It's best to spread out the more challenging courses if you can since you want the best grade possible.

[zzbxdo]

If you're a full time student taking lifespan and a/p is easily doable. I usually pair 2 tougher classes and one chill class each quarter and it went fine. Took a quarter of a/p over summer as well. You're gonna take it eventually might as well spread the courses evenly overtime instead of potentially stacking all your classes at once trying to finish by a specific period.

Maybe you just need to prioritize where to study and learn to cope with stress in a way that works for you. It took me 2 years to do all my prerequisites, 3 in total as my first year was I was doing premed

[LittleMeDreamsBig]

Take a deep breath. My opinion is, if it felt too much for you then you made the right and logical choice for you. I will have been in school for 2 1/2 years when I enter nursing school. I am okay with that, I know I can only handle so much each semester and it is not a sprint. Just take what you can handle each semester and try not to add more stress on by worrying about how long it is taking everybody else. I believe that you are doing a good job not taking on more than you can chew this semester, you will be fine! Focus on your A&P this semester, if you can get a good handle on studying for that class I think you will feel a lot more confident in possibly taking on more next semester.

[NurseGirl525, ASN, RN]

Don't most classes have a midterm, final, and other assignments? My honest opinion is you are in for a rude awakening in nursing school. You have several classes at once paired with clinicals. I got my assignments for my mental health nursing clinical yesterday and there were a lot of assignments. I still have med/surg II and pharm on friday with another clinical. You need to be really organized and you will be fine.

[tbird88]

Good luck to you. I can understand feeling stressed out. I have Psychology and Biology and I feel some stress with my classes. I think you will do just fine. It will take me a year to do all my prerequisites and I think that is an average time frame to complete time. I can hear your concerns and fear in your writing that you will not do well in your classes but trust yourself, study hard and stay organized and you will be okay.

[student789]

It is just that the midterm and final for both classes falls at the same time and I really just wanted to take anatomy lecture/lab once.

[bostonnrshpfl]

I took about 2 years to complete my prerequisites, I already have a bachelor's and I will be starting an accelerated bsn program this summer. So- you are definitely not too late. I also think if you have taken all the classes you mentioned Developmental Psych will be a breeze for you. However, I do think you should expect to have an intense course load during nursing school (as others have mentioned). If you are determined and work hard you will be able to do it!

[kbrn2002, ADN, RN]

Once you enter the nursing program there is no way around it, it will probably be pretty intense. Take your time with the pre-reqs if that is what works for you. Get those and all the generals you can out of the way then when you are in the nursing program you will only have the nursing classes to focus on. I would also be cautious about taking a science heavy class over a shortened summer session. That is a lot of vital information to cram into a short amount of time, so unless you have no option but to take micro as a summer course I would save that for a semester with more time to cover the material.

[_firefly, BSN, RN, EMT-B]

Becoming a nurse is a marathon, not a sprint. Remember, admission is based on your grades, admission test score, and sometimes medical experiences (volunteering, nursing assistant, technician, etc) and letters of recommendation. There are no points assigned for finishing fast. Spread out the difficult courses and focus on getting good grades. Take your time and try to enjoy some of the journey.

[waiting4ivpush]

Okay. I'm not going to sugar coat it for you. And what I'm about to say, don't take it offensively because we care about you.

Stop being a little *****.

Take a breath, relax. You're causing stress for your own self. What firefly said, becoming a nurse is a marathon, not a sprint. It is better to achieve higher grades, than for you to take classes together and your grades suffer. Go at your own pace. Now go, be free my child.