I just finished my last day of nursing school. Turned in my last assignment at exactly noon. It still hasn't sunk in yet. For the last 4 hours I have sat on my couch not really knowing what to do with myself. I then decided to reach out to all the students who may be starting a program this fall. I remember being in those shoes, and all the questions I had. All the fear. All the excitement. So basically, Ill sum up my nursing school experience as best as I can.
1.) You WILL survive. I did. I'm one of those people who have what you call, "anxiety," and boy did I let that get to me right before my program started. I was incredibly scared. I had heard all these stories on this site about how hard nursing school is, how I would have no life, etc. You WILL survive. I did. (And honestly, it can be frustrating at times, but it really isn't that bad...)
2.) That leads me to number 2. Nursing school IS hard. BUT, its only hard because of the amount of work, not the material itself. Learn time management. Like yesterday. Dont let yourself fall behind, but DO give yourself breaks. You DONT have to have a 4.0. You just need to pass. You will learn this by your last quarter when it takes all you have to finish your last assignments and you find yourself figuring the percentage you need just to pass the darn class...
3.) You CAN work. I worked an average of 15 hours a week and maintained a 3.8 average. And I don't want to brag, but my program has a notorious reputation of being one of the more "challenging" in the area.
4.) Your house WILL be messy. But you probably wont have time to notice...
5) You will PROBABLY gain weight. (So dont go out and buy a bunch of new clothes two weeks before your program starts like I did. lol.)
6.) You're gonna cry at some point.
7.) At the same time, you're gonna have some of the most amazing smiles and laughs of your life..
8.) The friends you will make in the program will truly be the only ones who get what you are going through. Because of this, you will make some of the best friends of your life.
9.) You will have moments where you go.."wow, I actually feel like I get this nursing thing!"...Then 5 minutes later you feel lost again. Totally normal.
10.) Some teachers will scare the ***** out of you. While others will inspire you. Just do your thing. If they say jump...you say, "how high?"
Again, you WILL survive. I could keep going on and on. But that probably sums up most of it. I honestly feel like school just started yesterday and I have no idea how I got here right now because it went by SOOOOOOO fast. You got this. If you have any questions, please let me know. I'm hear to lend an ear. Besides, I have no idea what I am going to do with myself over these next few weeks besides study for my boards. This is just weird....in a very very very good way. :) Get ready to embark on the most REWARDING quest of your life. Its all worth it for this moment.
Congrats on your completion of your nursing journey. Im starting my Lpn program next week on the 16th & im nervous! This isnt my 1st attempt for nursing i failed out of RN school(74.78) in the spring of 2011 so im grateful the chance & oppurtunity to pursue my dream again even though its the lpn route. Anyway, how did you deal with the feeling of failing? That fear is constantly in the back of my mind. I know i can do this & make it but i still think about the past failure:(. How did you study for exams? How many hours a day of study did you do? Did you use flash cards? Did you do study group? I tried that before but my group always came unprepared & i was the one that had myself together. I study better alone because i like to talk to myself outloud or more like reteach myself what im learning. Any other help is greatly appreciated!
Thank you SO much. This is exactly what I needed as I find my anxiety level rising the closer I get to August 20th. Best wishes for success on your boards.
Panicking here....12 days and counting before the day I have waited so long for to scare the crap right out of me. Your post has lifted my spirits enough that I can, yes I CAN, leave the house with confidence today. Does anyone else have those moments of feeling victorious after big deadlines, only to feel so small again waiting for the next big day? For example, I signed up for prerequisites to be so nervous to start college after 10 years of being out of school period. I blazed through those classes with no problem and lost gallons of sweat preparing for the TEAS exam. Next comes the CNA class we were required to complete and become licensed before we're accepted into our nursing program -again, that ended up being no big deal. Taking the CNA licensure exam, more sweat but now that it's done I'm laughing about my anxiety. I applied for NS, sweated tremendously while waiting to get accepted -which I did. That excitement still comes and goes by the moment, as I prepare for the dreaded first day of class and then clinical. Not to mention all those finals we had to conquer -A & P, Microbiology; etc. Don't you think that I would know how to get rid of the anxieties already? Jeesh!!!
I am entering my second year of Nursing school. I graduate in May (if I can SURVIVE!) I really don't think it is that bad. I think the material is okay. Critical Thinking is where I've always had problems! But really I think it is more the amount of paperwork, and busywork and then the massive reading lists we get. I made it through my first two semesters, now I'm going to make it through my last two.
This is was so incredibly amazing. I start school in less than two week and you touched on most of the things that I worry about. I keep telling myself "you aren't going to kill anyone, you aren't going to kill anyone". Irrational I know, but it is something I worry about.
Compared to all the negative posts about nursing school this one made me feel so much better. I know this is going to be a tough journey but I am prepared to do all the work, and reading all the things that can go wrong gets so disheartening. I start in a week and don't feel like there's anything else I can do to get prepared but am still trying to find SOMETHING lol. Thanks for the post!
Thank you. I start the first week of September and I know I can do this but it just seems so foreign right now. I am wondering if I will have to cut back on work hours ( I currently work full time) and how I can find time for everything.
Mrsladysoul83
258 Posts
Congrats on your completion of your nursing journey. Im starting my Lpn program next week on the 16th & im nervous! This isnt my 1st attempt for nursing i failed out of RN school(74.78) in the spring of 2011 so im grateful the chance & oppurtunity to pursue my dream again even though its the lpn route. Anyway, how did you deal with the feeling of failing? That fear is constantly in the back of my mind. I know i can do this & make it but i still think about the past failure:(. How did you study for exams? How many hours a day of study did you do? Did you use flash cards? Did you do study group? I tried that before but my group always came unprepared & i was the one that had myself together. I study better alone because i like to talk to myself outloud or more like reteach myself what im learning. Any other help is greatly appreciated!