Thinking of withdrawing

NotMyProblem MSN, ASN, BSN, MSN, LPN, RN · Oct 30, 2021

Many, many, many, MANY years ago, our LPN instructor would ask us to share what new things we learned in clinicals. When we did, she would purposely belittled us for not already knowing the stuff. We toughed it out, though, because we each knew what our individual end goals were.

To be successful, you cannot give others power over your progress. Buckle in and brace yourself for a rocky road. My bridge from LPN to RN was easier because I had 24 years of experience in the trenches versus your four. Hopefully, you’ll make the decision to remain and soldier on because if you survived nursing school once, you can survive it again. Nursing programs are competitive. So if you’re in the program, don’t give up the seat; make them TAKE it from you.

But if you do decide to withdraw, continue studying for CLEP exams. You can do this at your leisure, continue to sharpen your study skills, and be ready for the next attempt at nursing school. Those general education courses will come in handy for bachelor program credits for when you return.

Good luck to you, whatever you decide..

summertx · Nov 11, 2021

On 10/29/2021 at 8:02 PM, dreamer0x said:

Hello all im here to vent. I’m a lpn. I’ve been an lpn for 4 years now. I’m in my first semester of RN school and all I can say is I wish I never applied. I started off strong passed 3 out of the 7 exams so far the 4th exam I’m still waiting on the grade but I don’t think I did too well. Also I failed my first attempt on my evaluation Bc of my nerves so I’m scheduled to retake that next week. I cried. Now I have no motivation anymore. Some of the instructors are not so nice and make me feel like I’m dumb. This really affects my mental health like I’ve never felt so depressed in my life. When I was in lpn I never felt like this. So now I’m considering withdrawing to save myself from all the stress and anxiety from this program. My sleep pattern is off, my diet is poor, I’ve. been forgetful of things, I’m just really unhappy in life. Has anyone ever felt like this?

How did you do on your second eval? Don't give up, you worked this hard, obviously you want to be an RN, no other school is going to be easier. There are some nursing instructors who WANT to make your life miserable. That is in all programs.

JKL33 · Nov 11, 2021

On 10/29/2021 at 9:02 PM, dreamer0x said:

So now I’m considering withdrawing to save myself from all the stress and anxiety from this program.

Instead, consider ways to get a handle on the stress and anxiety. I do not mean that in any flippant or condescending way whatsoever, I promise. It's just that it's such a devastating reason to let go of a goal or dream, when in fact it's very possible that you can learn to categorize and manage the stress.

On 10/29/2021 at 9:02 PM, dreamer0x said:

Now I have no motivation anymore. Some of the instructors are not so nice and make me feel like I’m dumb. This really affects my mental health like I’ve never felt so depressed in my life.

As an example to go along with my above comment: You can learn ways of thinking and seeing things that lead to a much different conclusion than your first natural reaction to harsh instructors. You are a learner, that is your station in life right now. A small goal to work toward (ASAP) would be to refuse to let others make you feel lesser for being a learner. I do not defend rude or inappropriate people...on the other hand there is some truth to the idea that we kind of have to cooperate at least a little (possibly unintentionally or subconsciously) in order for people to "make" us feel a certain way.

What I am saying is that you can do this. But you do need a different frame of mind. You need to tell yourself that everything is going to be okay. You need to stop self-deprecation in its tracks--that means stopping yourself from unwarranted negative self-talk ["I feel so dumb," "she made me feel dumb," etc., etc.]. You are not dumb and you can do this. Don't give one silly or rude person any of your emotional energy. Work hard to get what you need to get out of nursing school (for yourself and your future patients) and FORGET fretting over random people (instructors, etc) who are unhappy in their own life and take it out on everyone around them.

You could undergo some therapy to learn more about this and also learn ways to recognize anxiety and deal with it in a healthy manner. Things like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can help.

Good luck ?