Will I be able too survive nursing school?

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Hello,

First of all, I would like too show my respects to anyone who is curently, or has attended nursing school, and all the nurses out there:yeah: Thanks for making such an important impact in the world.

I'm a junior in high school, and I plan on following the footsteps of my mother who is an Intensive Care Unit Nurse. Although, I doubt my abilities to suceed in Nursing School/College Prerequisites. Im an average student, nothing spectacular. I had straight A's freshman year then laziness got the be of me sophmore year. What concerns me the most is that science has always been my weakpoint, and it never really seemed to click right for me. How am going to hold up in college persuing a science based career if science is my weakpoint?:confused:

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Specializes in Pediatric/Adolescent, Med-Surg.

Study, study, study. Since you are still in high school, you may want to even see if you school offers a high school version of anatomy and physiology (mine did), for you to take senior year to help prepare you for nursing school. Once you get to college there will undoubtedly be tutoring services and instructors to help you if you are still in need of assistance.

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I agree with ChristineN about taking A&P in high school. I think that would be very helpful for you. When I was your age I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. It wasn't until I graduated high school did I decide I wanted to be a nurse.

I think something that may help you though is if you got your CNA. It kind of gives you an idea what the kind of work you will be getting into as a nurse. I got my CNA in 2007 and it gave me the drive to do whatever it takes to become a nurse because I loved what I was doing. I was so scared to take A&P. I thought I couldn't do it. I put that thought bomb in my head, I can't do it, I can't do it...and I set myself up for failure. At my community college you were only allowed to take each A&P class twice. I told myself after I failed A&P that I am better than this. I wanted to be a nurse more than anything! I set down and did whatever it took to pass a whole year of A&P. I am not the best when it comes to classes like this. But if you want something bad enough you can do anything and do what it takes to make it happen.

When you do take A&P in college, don't overload yourself with your other classes. Take classes to balance out with the amount of time you will be spending on A&P. I feel that after taking those classes made me better prepared for my nursing classes because all I ever did was study when I did A&P and in nursing school all I ever did was study. Clinicals is where nursing school gets to be a lot of fun I think.

I hope this helps! Oh and flashcards, writing notes out over and over, and study groups are your friends.

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Specializes in ICU & LTAC as RN. FNP.

Forgive me, but I can't get past your screen name which projects a lot of insecurity regarding your nursing future. Some people excel at different classes, while others are more challenging. One doesn't have to be a genius to be a nurse, but it will require alot of studying and hard work. Anatomy & physiology alone will weed out those who don't want to spend time studying, but it isn't a class to fear. That was just an example, but college is fun too, I didn't spend every minute studying. It's great you have a career goal early on, just do your best and seek help in school if you need it. Good luck future nurse!

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I was always very very artistic.

I came out of the womb with a crayon in my hand, I swear!

I always excelled in Art, Literature and Humanities... yadda yadda yadda.

But when it came to Science... shoot me!

But when I made up my mind to become a nurse, suddenly I found I could understand the sciences... I could do Math.

If I could do it, I'm sure you can too.

You need a positive mindset and, once you get going, you may find it to be darn interesting and even... fun.

Good luck and be sure to work with an academic counselor to better guide you!

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Specializes in CNA/LPN.

I was never the brightest crayon in the bunch either, so I know a bit about how you feel. You're doing good to figure out you may want to pursue nursing while you're still in high school. I thought I wanted to be a Kindergarten teacher for the longest time, so it's hard to not see the classes I took for that major as time wasted when I could have been going for nursing. I now feel like I picked teaching just to say I knew what I wanted to do after high school. I just didn't have the confidence back then to go into nursing although it always interested me. Now that I've gotten older, I've developed such a strong drive for nursing because it's the only career I feel passion in.

Pre-requisites are just the beginning. I also struggled with the idea of thinking that the competition may not be for me. I've never been a competitive person and have never really been put in a competitive position either, but I've adapted quite well and am enjoying pre-reqs! I went in there scared too death, not knowing what to expect, other than the things I've read on here.

A&P will definitely weed out a lot of the students who do not want to be bothered with extensive studying, while it will help others develop stronger studying strategies for the program.

Sometimes it is hard for us to imagine doing anything other than what we've seen our parents do as a career, but sometimes it's just not what we're meant to do. If you feel passion in the least bit for nursing, then go for it! There's no reason not to try. You'll do just fine in the pre-req courses as long as your committed to the fullest extent. They will help you decide if you're willing to go through the obstacles to obtain your degree, as well as willing to learn all it is that you'll need to learn.

If you definitely feel a passion for nursing, you'll be able to go far! :)

Best of luck! My biggest advice is to search deep inside and find more confidence in yourself. You can do anything you set your mind to.

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I took all of my prerequisite courses, except microbiology, along with my high school classes while I was still in high school, and I graduated nearly eight months early so that I could get into the current nursing program. While in high school, I hated math, but I took calculus, algebra, geometry, stats, the works. I always said that the medical math and drug calculations would be the thing that got me, as I am great in science. However, when I started nursing school I found that, compared to the maths I took in high school, medical math was a breeze. I made a 100 on my first dosage calculations exam, and have yet to miss a medical math question on any test. My point is this: sometimes we think things are going to be much harder than they are, and we are pleasantly surprised by how easy they really are. I won't say that the science required to get to nursing school is easy, it's anything but, but it isn't anything you can't handle. Anatomy and physiology will take a lot of study and hard work, as will microbiology. English was really easy, psychology was a piece of cake, and sociology was pretty much like a breath of fresh air. You will have about three or four hard prerequisites, and the rest will be so simple compared to the three or four hard courses. If you really want to be a nurse, don't let your fear of science stop you from pursuing your dream. If your high school offers online college classes, I would highly advise you to take some of them. I was notorious for taking between 8 and 14 classes a semester, and I really paid for it. I've accomplished my goal, and I'm in nursing school, but I spent a lot of nights in high school worried sick, studying until 4 and 5 AM, vomiting because I was so worried, and basically losing my mind. Was it worth it, you bet. Was it hard, definitely. If your high school doesn't offer online college courses, try to take as many science courses as you can reasonably handle at the high school level. Study hard, work hard, and seek out extra help. I find the science in nursing school to be easier than the prerequisite science courses, but not everyone in my class agrees with me. There are some people who struggle greatly to understand the pathophysiology of each disease and disorder, and they can't seem to picture in their head what's going on in the body. Things like that just make sense to me, so I don't struggle. However, the people who struggle with pathophysiology and complex science are still passing, and they aren't anywhere close to failing. They just have to study harder and work harder than some of the rest of us. Nursing school isn't easy no matter how smart you are, and there is a ton of studying involved, but each person struggles with different things. Like I said, if you really want to be an ICU RN, which is what I want to do, also, then go for it. It doesn't matter how hard it is, as long as you learn, pass, and progress on to your next class. Good luck with your journey!

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my mom is a nurse, and early in her career, she worked in intensive care. she once told me that in order to be a nurse, you have to love caring for people and you have to "get through" the science.

i agree with the previous posters that mention taking a&p in high school if possible. this will be a great preview to a&p in college and therefore lessen your load. as someone who has taken multiple anatomy and physiology courses at different levels, i can assure you that you can never have enough a&p!

when applying to schools, you may want to look at programs that don't require extra science courses. most rn programs require a&p i and ii, microbiology, and general chemistry, but some schools require additional biology and chemistry courses (such as organic chemistry. . .eww!).

when you get to college, you may want to spread your science classes out and combine them with easier courses (like psych, for example). the second you realize that you don't understand something get help immediately! utitilze whatever resources are available to you (professor office hours, study groups, tutoring, etc.). never be afraid to ask for help.

just remember. . .where there's a will there's a way!

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Specializes in CNA/LPN.

A&P in high school really is a helpful route! I forgot to add how much it helped me, especially with the early chapters from the college course! I remember taking it in 10th grade and I was deeply into that class more than I had ever been any other science course and remembered a lot of what we covered...so it was really helpful in the long run!

I definitely second getting help as fast as possible if you fall behind or do not understand something to the extent that it is needed to be understood!

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Specializes in Ortho/Med/Surg.

I thought I could never do science. I got a BA in Russian language and literature. (it was back in Russia). And I'm ESL student/ But here I'm getting A's in my first semester of nursing school. You can do it if you want!!!

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Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.

You can survive anything you choose to survive that's in your own hands. If you want to be a nurse, then be a nurse and don't let your fears keep you from getting there. If you suck at science, get a tutor. Science was my weak area and I decide to pick a career science heavy. I did good in Nursing school and found a love for Science.

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