Well I make it past pre-nursing? Fear...

DarkBluePhoenix · Aug 18, 2010

hi everyone!:)
i'm in my mid 20's and i just decided i wanted to become a nurse...again. when i was 18 years old, i was a nursing major but i felt like i wasn't smart enough so i decided to change my major to sociology. i love helping people and i enjoy the presence of nurses. now that i'm getting older, i don't feel like i have much time to waste... again. i do regret not sticking to nursing and i would be happier if i tried harder than feeling bad for myself. so this coming fall, i will be taking human anatomy & physiology 1 with lab and another class. i'm scared not being good enough but this time i want to give it a try. i am planning on being a cna while in school so that will help me with my fear. any advice? thanks :redbeathe

i am just like you, i wanted to be a nurse and have half my pre-reqs done but then i withdrew because of my job preventing me from attending nursing school.

now i quit that job and decided its time to pursue what i originally wanted to do.

i know how you feel, i am finishing my pre-reqs with anatomy this winter (i couldn't get into it in fall) and for fall i am doing a nursing assistant class.

don't be scared...if this is what you really really want to do then you'll do it.

don't worry bout not being good enough. ace your pre-reqs, apply to as many ns's as you can and hopefully you get into (which frankly is the hardest part these days) a ns, work hard and study and you'll be fine.

good luck

sh1901 · Aug 18, 2010

Good Luck with A&P...my best advice for A&P is that when you get that blank diagram of something that you need to learn (muscles, nerves, organs, etc.), don't fill it in until you've had a chance to make a bunch of copies of it so that you can keep doing it over & over until you could do it in your sleep. that will come in handy when you start your nursing classes...not having to think about where the appendix is frees up your mind to concentrate on the signs & symptoms of appendicits...hang in there - you can do it!

momtojosh · Aug 18, 2010

OBplease...i am taking A & P 1 online this fall.....how did they do the exams?

I started taking it for a summer session on campus but withdrew..not becasue i was failing(87 average) but all i was doing wasz studying and missing out on family stuff...ya see,my husband is running for a state office and i needed to help on his campaign...that was more important at the time...so anyway...online it is...i am a LPN now and alot of it i knew,but alot no so much hehe......

anyway.....how was the online class? lots of note taking? plenty of time to go over the module? nervous as heck here!!

OBplease · Aug 18, 2010

We had two quizzes a week (but that was summer- you would prob. just have one in Fall depending how long your semester is--16w?). The quizzes were timed (10 min.) done online, at home (or wherever). The major exams (there were four, plus a final- I didn't have to take the final though) were proctored, taken at my college. We had people from other schools taking this course because it was a course opened up to Virtual College of Texas, so some people were taking their tests at my college, some where taking it at their college. The proctored exams weren't timed. On the weeks we had lab exams also, we were usually given a two day window to do the exams. In that case, some people would do their lab test one day and lecture exam the next, or all tests on one day or the other. I've done it both ways, it just depending on what the test was over. When we had muscle and bone labs, I broke it up.

We had a CD ROM, with real cadaver disections. The pictures used on there were the same as the ones used for lab exams. We had a lot to learn but the exams weren't over every bone, muscle, etc. we learned. I would assume for your online course you would have a CD ROM also, otherwise not sure how you would do lab (maybe just out of the book or lab manual, don't know). Anyway, use it, use it, use it. Ours had a quiz function on it, so you could test yourself. Using the quiz function was the best way for me to learn it. Even if your course doesn't mandate one, I would highly recommend it. However, make sure you are learning to spell the parts too. On the CD, it was just click to identify. Which doesn't really get you used to spelling the words and in my course a mispelled body part was a wrong answer. After you get good at identifying on the CD, maybe use some blank diagrams and fill in the blanks a few times.

Make sure you read ahead of time and don't fall behind on that. If you haven't read, it's really hard to study and get your assignments done for the week and really understand what you are doing. Note taking as I was reading was what really sealed the information for me. I would read just a paragraph or two then take notes. I really noticed a difference in the last couple of chapters because I did not take notes.

Good luck with your class!

roxy922 · Aug 19, 2010

hi everyone!:)
i'm in my mid 20's and i just decided i wanted to become a nurse...again. when i was 18 years old, i was a nursing major but i felt like i wasn't smart enough so i decided to change my major to sociology. i love helping people and i enjoy the presence of nurses. now that i'm getting older, i don't feel like i have much time to waste... again. i do regret not sticking to nursing and i would be happier if i tried harder than feeling bad for myself. so this coming fall, i will be taking human anatomy & physiology 1 with lab and another class. i'm scared not being good enough but this time i want to give it a try. i am planning on being a cna while in school so that will help me with my fear. any advice? thanks :redbeathe

reading your post made me think of how i was back then. i also went into college as a nursing major, but decided to change it to sociology. i guess i was just looking for an easy way out since i didn't think that i was capable enough to pursue nursing. one of my co-workers brought up a really good point that made me realize nursing was for me. i wanted to graduate from college within the 4-year time frame & because of this, i chose sociology. i was making decisions with the wrong reasons. besides, what would i do with a ba in soc in this type of economy? my co-worker said that i should try out nursing & work hard at it even though i was scared to death! i heard about all of the horror stories with a&p & having to memorize 100+ muscles, lots of memorization, labs, having to get a's in all your classes, etc., but then i told myself that at least i'll be going into it with a challenge. no easy way out. i finally decided that nursing was going to be my major while i was going into my 3rd year. i walked into a&pi filled with intimidation & fear, but i walked out of there with an a. & the same goes for a&pii & microbiology. i never thought i was capable of passing these classes. i told myself that passing with a c or b would be good enough for me, but i surprised myself by getting a 4.0 gpa on my pre-reqs. it's all about hard work, determination, & your passion of wanting to become a nurse. now, i'm getting ready to apply for nursing programs & praying that i'll get accepted into my first choice.

"now that i'm getting older, i don't feel like i have much time to waste... again."

i look back sometimes & regret how i didn't start taking the pre-reqs during my first year because if i did would have gotten an earlier start in applying for programs & possibly be in nursing school at this very moment. but then, everything happens for a reason & just like my co-worker said "don't rush things. take your time & everything will be worth it in the end." you're only in your 20's, you're still young. i've heard about students who go back in their 40's & i admire them for that because i'm 21 & i already freak out about being in school at an older age.

good luck in your a&p class & just remember to work hard! you can do it!

hayleyh31 · Aug 19, 2010

I'm alot like you. I graduated with a History degree because I wanted to be done in 4 years and I didn't think I was smart enough to go into nursing. It only took me 2 1/2 years out in the workforce before I realized that my History degree was doing me no favors and I just needed to go after my dream. My little family is sacrificing for me to go back- I have three kids now, instead of the one I had 2 1/2 years ago, so it's going to be tough. They're my motivation though- I will get through it and be successful for them because they need me. :)