The "Talk"

[HisTreasure]

Hi-

So a lot of you have been following me through my first days of school. Thanks a lot guys for listening to me. :chuckle Today we didn't have nursing oriented classes. Our counselor came in to give us the "Talk". You know the one: Half of you won't be here in May...your school will be your life for the next ten months...support system is vital...people with small children beware...etc.

It was sort of distressing. After two exams my average is an A, and I feel confident in the material thus far, but I guess my paranoia has me feeling like the talk was directed at me. Not me alone, mind you, but me none the less. I have three small children. There is a three absence maximum before expulsion, which includes all emergencies that may arise. Even if ((((God forbid))))) I were in an accident and in the hospital for 5 days, I wouldn't be excused and would have to accept a medical withdrawal. That's not a good feeling. I need this so badly for myself but mostly for my family. We don't know what is going to happen tomorrow and life really throws some curve balls sometimes and I worry that I will miss out on my dream; not because of academics per se, but because of life in general. It scares me. Has anyone else ever felt this way or am I just super neurotic? :uhoh21: :uhoh21: :uhoh21:

[mariedoreen]

No, you're not the only one! I think I got a wake up call in May when I got sick with a bacterial sinus infection that antibiotics weren't clearing up. I'd been stressed the last few years of pre-reqs working hard to make top grades so I could even get into the program, my eating and health habits had gotten abysmal, and I think it all caught up with me. It took me 3 rounds of antibiotics and then another week of meds to counteract my allergic reaction to the last antibiotic before I was well again. It taught me a very important lesson, that I have to take the time to take care of myself (eat right, exercise, take my vitamins, de-stress) or I'm not going to be physically able to meet my goal. We're all experiencing the same fears and concerns and we all need to take a deep breath and continually remind ourselves to have faith and do what we can and to not allow ourselves to get worked up over that which we simply cannot control.

[mariedoreen]

No, you're not the only one! I think I got a wake up call in May when I got sick with a bacterial sinus infection that antibiotics weren't clearing up. I'd been stressed the last few years of pre-reqs working hard to make top grades so I could even get into the program, my eating and health habits had gotten abysmal, and I think it all caught up with me. It took me 3 rounds of antibiotics and then another week of meds to counteract my allergic reaction to the last antibiotic before I was well again. It taught me a very important lesson, that I have to take the time to take care of myself (eat right, exercise, take my vitamins, de-stress) or I'm not going to be physically able to meet my goal. We're all experiencing the same fears and concerns and we all need to take a deep breath and continually remind ourselves to have faith and do what we can and to not allow ourselves to get worked up over that which we simply cannot control.

[Brickman]

I remember the talk. Half of you won't make it, someone will get pregnant, and many will be on the verge of divorce by the time it's over. The scary thing is that it turned out to be dead on accurate. Instead of letting the talk discourage you, pay attention since they are giving you a realistic picture of the program. Once you know what to expect you can better plan for it.

[Brickman]

I remember the talk. Half of you won't make it, someone will get pregnant, and many will be on the verge of divorce by the time it's over. The scary thing is that it turned out to be dead on accurate. Instead of letting the talk discourage you, pay attention since they are giving you a realistic picture of the program. Once you know what to expect you can better plan for it.

[HyperRNRachel]

We were lucky, I guess, at our orientation...the director of the program didn't make any statements about any of us failing. I was a little worried that she would, and worried that she would mention people with kids, etc. but she didn't! What made me feel even better was that she had all of us (about 50) stand up and introduce ourselves and tell whether we were married or had kids (if we wanted to reveal that, of course). All but a handful have a hubby and kids, or just kids. One woman has 5 kids of her own and 5 stepkids! It was nice to know that we're all in the same boat, so we can support each other and understand what it's like to juggle all of the different responsibilities.

Four of the current students came to talk to us also, and most of the have families and all they said was that it's tough sometimes, but if you manage your time well and stay organized, it's not that bad! As well as you're doing so far, I wouldn't worry about failing out at all! Hang in there and give the rest of us hope! :) :)

That is how our orientation was. Not one person had anything negative to say, instead we were told about all the options available to us in case we needed assistance in any area. Our school has a remediation counselor who also offers assistance in any other area of stress and the student nurse organization helps by offering tutoring.

[HyperRNRachel]

We were lucky, I guess, at our orientation...the director of the program didn't make any statements about any of us failing. I was a little worried that she would, and worried that she would mention people with kids, etc. but she didn't! What made me feel even better was that she had all of us (about 50) stand up and introduce ourselves and tell whether we were married or had kids (if we wanted to reveal that, of course). All but a handful have a hubby and kids, or just kids. One woman has 5 kids of her own and 5 stepkids! It was nice to know that we're all in the same boat, so we can support each other and understand what it's like to juggle all of the different responsibilities.

Four of the current students came to talk to us also, and most of the have families and all they said was that it's tough sometimes, but if you manage your time well and stay organized, it's not that bad! As well as you're doing so far, I wouldn't worry about failing out at all! Hang in there and give the rest of us hope! :) :)

That is how our orientation was. Not one person had anything negative to say, instead we were told about all the options available to us in case we needed assistance in any area. Our school has a remediation counselor who also offers assistance in any other area of stress and the student nurse organization helps by offering tutoring.