I am so excited to be starting nursing school! This is what I've been working towards for the past 2.5 years and I am so incredibly stoked. I know it's gonna be difficult and some things might suck, but I'm even excited for that. I want to hear everyone's favorite parts of nursing school, your memories, your clinical experiences, and friendships you've formed along the way! When you were/if you were going through it in nursing school, what kept you going?

I am a Nontraditional student that very badly wants to be a nurse in the ED. Unfortunately I have not had a lot of success in this life in the financial department and have almost no extra income to spend on school. I’m not in a rush to get my degree necessarily and if I have to take out loans, that’s what I have to do. Just curious if it’s better try and get in at a lower level and work my way up with the hospitals help, or tough it out, take out loans, work my butt off. It also seems like in my area there are far more nursing positions open than more entry level positions.

Any advice is greatly appreciated! TYIA!!

2 weeks into nursing school and I already hate it.

My body is exhausted, tense, and constantly tired. The teachers barely teach and I’m mostly teaching myself. It honestly feels like I’m wasting my time and sacrificing my peace.

I keep thinking I’d rather work, grind, and build my capital than spend the next 2 years stressed in school. I already have another skill that can generate me 90k of income, i chose nursing because fear of the bad economy and AI takeover in the near future.

I did not want to go into the program after hearing people expose the toxic work environment and how it can affect people health and lifestyle. And also new grad Rn get paid so low. I wish i knew it before investing my time and energy into this. I got full scholarship for this program and i want to give it a try to see how i feel with school . I already hate it so much. I like helping people but at the same time if the stress and responsibility is more than how much nurse should be paid then I don’t feel motivated to keep going.

Has anyone else felt this way 2 weeks in? is it a sign nursing wasn’t for me???

I keep seeing “you cant transfer” in nursing. But then I see posts where people are transferring or did transfer between schools for a move or after a life change. And there’s even a transfer or two from a private into my current ADN program. I was surprised but they jumped in at LVN level & didnt need to start over. So what’s the deal?

Hi, I am not sure if this is a meaningful question, but we are assigned to find an over-60-year-old person who has either a chronic disease (DM, hypotension) or something like chronic kidney failure or heart failure that we'll collect information from to fill a (20-page-long) patient data collection form/nursing assessment record to determine 5 possible diagnoses.

However, even if I find a suitable person among my neighbours or relatives, due to the obvious overwhelming length of the form and some of the inappropriately perceived questions (possibly because of the local societal situation) make it hard to get the comprehensive data (especially for someone who's socially incompetent and introverted like me) needed.

Any ideas/suggestions on how I can have any progress before resorting to those *intelligent* tools?

(Please pardon me for any possible poor usage of English)

Hey guys, currently I'm prepping for writing the CPNRE , and I've had the Saunders Comprehensive Review for the NCLEX-PN Examination book for a while now. Is it good to use for the Canadian practical nurse exam? Thank you!

Is it ever awkward to request your current nursing program for an LoGS cuz you want to transfer out to another nursing program?

Great record but I cant help but feel weird about it.

I am starting LPN school and my dad told me that he feels humiliated that I am going to a technical college for LPN. I don’t understand why there this huge stigma against being an LPN or going to LPN school. LPN is a profession, you get licensed. It’s not like I’m doing something that is inhumane. It’s funny how this is coming out of his mouth when he went to a medical school in the Caribbean.

I’m in my second to last semester as a student nurse in NZ. I have to choose which area I want to go into for my final 3 month placement, and I am so stuck!! The areas I have enjoyed the most are paediatrics and mental health, which are both so different and specialised. I’m most likely to get a job in the area I do this placement in, so I want to choose wisely.

How do I choose? The pros and cons of each balance each other out, and I just have no idea what direction to go in. Any advice? Or anyone who has been in either paeds or mental health?

Hello, I am a 25m military veteran who is about to graduate with a bachelors in history and will start an accelerated BSN program in January. I enjoy school and have many years of my militray education benefits in which it covers tuition and provides a monthly stipend.

As such I am planing on pursing a graduate program. Such as nurse practitioner. I am planing on going straight into the OR after getting my BSN and will pursing a FNP program while I am working and will like to do RNFA as well. There are many OR new grad residency’s in my area.

As far for medical experiences, I was in a combat arms job in the army and therefore completely many combat medicine programs and completed a EMT program where I did my clinicals in the ER. So I am not completely new to healthcare but I do understand it is limited and will likely be far different from nursing.

I know I am war gaming down the road quite a bit but I believe in the power of long term planning as it has served me well in the past. My questions are, is pairing the OR, RNFA and fnp, a good combination and will lead to good job outlook? And how difficult is it to get into the OR as a new grad? I hope my military background will be helpful as it has taught me to work well under pressure, pay attention to the smallest detail, have tough skin, and deal with chain of command.

Also, before anyone questions my academic ability, as I understand nursing is a tough program. My highest grades in high school and college has always been science and I chose to get a degree in history out of interest and not to avoid any tough classes.

Any insight on things that may not work out as I plan or things that might be unexpected would be greatly appreciated.

Hiiiii, I start classes on Wednesday for my first semester and I’m excited and also so nervous. I’ve been seeing so much negatively surrounding nursing programs and just being a nurse in general and I’m just seeking some reassurance that it’s not as bad as everyone says it is because honestly it gets discouraging seeing all of that. I’m currently a CNA at a hospital so I feel like I have somewhat of an advantage but again, seeing things like that have been discouraging. Someone tell me it’ll be okay!!!!

I'm in my 4th year and i still can't get used to how much ppl gossip. Everytime i have a drink with my clinicals group or classmates, the conversation always centers around gossip about other classmates.

To make it worse, alot of those rumors that get thrown around aren't true. A girl claimed that her friend had told her that a classmate of ours never takes a shower and has greasy hair. I had to tell her that i actually shared a room with that girl for 2months and she took showers every single day.

If someone makes a mistake, everyone (100+ ppl in my year) knows. If someone dislikes someone, they can't keep it to themselves and have to make their friends hate them as well.

I genuinely am wondering if i can work as a nurse if these are the kind of ppl i would have to deal with at work. I graduated from a all-girls' highschool and back then, gossiping was seen as something negative and ppl rarely talked about others behind there backs. And now i'm in uni and ppl have actually regressed.

I'm 19 and I've always loved books and medical dramas as a kid as an adult. One of my favorite books from childhood is "the night shift" by dr. Brian Golding, and it made me intrigued about the medical world

I've just started nursing school, and the introduction to a career in the medical field has made me revisit a lot of hospital dramas in my free time

I'm obviously aware that real life is nothing like a TV show. I don't expect the job to be half as glamorous and exciting like it is in fiction, but I guess I'm just worried that consuming fiction is going to give me an unhealthy/unbalanced perception of nursing school and nursing as a career

Does anyone else feel this way? How do you feel excited about nursing as a career without being dangerously naive/self important about it?

I’m a nursing student who just started a nursing extern position, and I’m only a few shifts in, but I’m feeling so overwhelmed and clueless. I know I’m brand new and obviously don’t expect to know everything, but I’m struggling to figure out how I’m supposed to learn when the unit is so busy.

My preceptor is currently precepting a GN as well, and I feel like a lot of his attention naturally goes toward her. She’s obviously further along and needs more direct teaching, so I completely understand why. But it means I don’t always have much to learn from the situation. Almost every other nurse on the unit is also precepting a GN, so there doesn’t seem to be much extra bandwidth for teaching an extern.

I also feel like I’m doing a lot of PCA-type work. I have CNA/PCA experience already, so I’m comfortable with those tasks and don’t mind helping, but I really want to use this externship to learn how to think and function more like a nurse. I want to learn things like prioritization, assessments, medications, why certain interventions are being done, how nurses recognize changes in condition, communicating with providers, etc.

I’m trying to remind myself that I’m only a few shifts in and that I do know more than I did on my first shift. But I feel overwhelmed basically the entire time I’m there, and sometimes I leave feeling like I didn’t actually learn anything nursing-related. I don’t wanna miss nursing tasks because I’m doing solely doing PCA duties. I have a background as a CNA and I’m more than happy to help out but I’m here to learn how to be a nurse firstly.

For nurses who have been through an externship: Is this normal? How did you make the most out of your externship when your unit was really busy and your preceptor was also orienting someone else?

Should I be more proactive about asking to observe assessments/med passes/etc., or is there a better way to approach this without feeling like I’m getting in the way? And at what point would you bring up the lack of nursing-focused learning with the preceptor or externship coordinator?

I know I’m not supposed to know everything yet. I just want to make sure I’m actually taking advantage of this opportunity and not spending the whole externship doing PCA work.

First year nursing student and having trouble studying for fundamentals. I passed Pathophysiology and pharmacology with As and my study method was studying with flashcards with the 6 components of each disease/medicine. (Etiology, Pathogenesis, Morphological Changes, Clinical Manifestations, Complications and Prognosis,Diagnostic and Therapeutic Implications) (MOA, use, Pharmacokinetics, Contraindications, Side Effects & Adverse Reactions, and Nursing Interventions & Patient Education) I would use these flashcards as foundation and use practice question to apply my knowledge. But for fundamental I feel like there isn't a SET structure I can study it and feel like I'm studying the wrong thing. I also do practice questions. But when the exam came I was struggling to pick between two answers or I didn't recognized the material AT ALL. I need some advice and help!! P.S I got a 84 on my first exam.

I’m honestly dying of stress right now because everything I’m reading is saying that my school not being nationally accredited will mean I could get rejected from sitting in the NCLEX. Not just that, but I’m told I wouldn’t even get hired? My school wanted to expand their health care programs beyond LVN, LVN-ADN, and CNA. They’re a great community college and known for high NCLEX pass rates and good education, but since we have a new dean and this new program, accreditation hasn’t been set. Sorry for dooming, but I was so proud to get in as the first cohort that it didn’t dawn on me this was a possible situation.

I moved from CA last year, as a teacher, but have been looking to transition out and into birthwork (former doula). However, I am just learning and figuring out the timeline for school! I have a BA in Psych already, so I was assuming getting my pre-reqs and my ABSN would be the best route, however...how many of y'all have had your BSN paid for by your hospital? Folks keep saying this is an option, but is it up here? I have heard some folks recommended moving out of state!

My long-term plan is to become a certified nurse midwife so, I understand I need my RN and THEN go to a Masters (or doc) program for midwifery. Anyone go through any of our local CNM programs, like Seattle U?

Thank you for any advice or resources!

Hi everyone,

I’m facing a bit of a dilemma and I’m wondering what I should do. I just started nursing school and I’m in an ADN program at a CC. I’ve also been a tech for a little over a year and I’m a part time employee, which grants me $5,000 a year for education. I’ve gotten 5k so far and plan to have them cover 5k for my tuition this semester. I would also be expected to work here for 2 years after I obtain my license.

However, I am planning on doing an externship this coming summer and with that, I’d drop to per diem for my tech job. However, I’d lose my benefits and I would be expected to pay my workplace back. By then I’d owe them $10,000.

I was really hoping to secure an externship in a different hospital system in my state (NJ). I really hate where I live and it’s always been my goal to relocate up north closer to the city. My ideal plan would’ve been to secure the externship next summer then work there as a new grad. My current unit essentially guarantees me a job and I’m wondering if I should just suck it up and deal with it, but the idea of staying here for another four years aches me.

Advice would be appreciated.

I'm reading through some posts and comments about how in American nursing school if you miss more than one clinical you fail ??? what ??? why are they so strict. Im here in the UK studying nursing. If we miss hours we can just extend our placement or we get an extra placement at the end of 3rd year. As long as u don't miss too many to earn an action plan , and have all your profiencies ticked off, you'll be fine. I know a girl in 3rd year who had an 8 week placement to make up for all the hours she missed. Failing because you missed more than 1 clinical day is just insane

Hi fellow future nurses. I am a nontraditional student (41) in the fourth semester of an ADN program. I am going to school for a career pivot. I know many of you understand what it takes to get to this point. Recently, at clinical, the nurse I was working under told me it was “bold of me” to be doing this with no previous healthcare experience. She said it twice and the tone was derisive. I am not working much while in school period (I am very grateful I am able to do it this way because school is hard and takes up most of my life). I know previous experience is good to have, but I’d love to hear any success stories from people in the group who took a more unorthodox path to nursing. I have an arts background and this is a very different world for me, but so far I’ve hung in there and have surprised myself with what I am capable of (in a good way). Anyone else?

I’m 22, just graduated with a psychology bachelors three months ago. Over the summer I immediately started nursing pre reqs bc I think psych nursing (and eventually psych np) is a better fit for me than being mental health counselor. I’m aiming for ADN programs in my area. Before being an NP I would like to get travel nursing experience because I love traveling, but also to help fund my masters eventually because of the $$$$

My question is what can I do during my ADN program, assuming I get in, to get into the unit of my preference upon graduation? Trying to decide between psych or ICU starting out. Thanks.

Hi.

I just recently received my preceptorship in the TNICU for my final semester. I’ll start in a few weeks so I’m interested in studying material before that is directly applicable to this unit. Does anyone have any advice on what I should prioritize my studying efforts on? Also if you have anything that you’d like to share that you think a precepting student could benefit from I’d love to hear it.

For anyone who has worked on a TNICU (and I’m sure this will vary by hospital), are the trauma patients “ordinary” trauma patients (ex. MVA, GSW) or do they always have neurological involvement in their trauma (ex. TBI).

Hey all! This is my first semester of nursing school and my school changed into a brand new nursing curriculum (of course my class has to be the first) anyways, for those who used Sherpath, how were the quizzes and exams taught? My school gives us so many options to try and study and it feels very overwhelming choosing between Lessons or reading the textbook or slides that the professors create. Any advice on fundamentals, pathopharm(yes they’re combined). I have 5 classes total, 2 of them are split into lab/lecture 1 is online

I’m taking one class at a time trying not to overwhelm myself. I catch myself studying for at least 3-5 hours with breaks in between and I incorporate late night studies on weekends. I’m a big note taker as well as I retain information that way!