Nursing school IS rigorous

I think this topic has been discussed ad nauseum but I went into this first semester thinking the horror stories were meritless and the result of lazy students, but that could not be more incorrect.

I am just about to finish my first week of the first semester in my nursing career, and I seriously have a headache from all the reading I've been doing. Today, I had my first post-lab quiz and I made a 60%, where 74.9% is required to be passing. Only 1 person out of 8 in my lab group passed. We all have individual appointments with our instructor to do it again. Our first grade stands, but we must pass it to continue on with lab. Read More...

How old were you when you started Nursing School?

I want to know how old were you when you started Nursing school. RN's and LPN's are welcome to answer. I'm in my early 30's, married with three babies, ages five and under. I'm a little nervous and worried that I may have started a little late at following my dream to become a nurse. Read More...

Are energy drinks effective?

There's this craze going on about energy drinks - All it is is sugar and caffeine. Students, athletes, professionals of all ages are drinking this stuff. Are these drinks as effective as they say it is? How healthy is it? Pros? Cons? Please share your thoughts... Read More...

What do you so to relax from nursing school?

Hey everyone! So I start nursing school on Monday and I am SO excited! I just want the weekend to fly by so I can finally get started! Anyways, I always hear everyone say it's important to have some time to yourself to relax from studying from nursing school, so I decided to buy a book about the Robertson family from Duck Dynasty to read to relax. I thought I would be a fun break now and then from the stress of nursing school :-) What do you guys do to relax? Read More...

Oldest in cohort...feeling out of place

I know there are a lot of threads on allnurses regarding age and "it's never too late" etc. I think that is why I assumed it would be no big deal going back to school at age 40, into an ABSN program where everyone is at least old enough to have one degree.

Today was orientation and out of the 32 in our cohort, I was the oldest. I got excited because there was a lady close to my age, but one of the students just brought her mom with her! lol. I just felt out of place and was really doubting myself. I can't imagine having much in common with most of these students, let alone fitting into a study group or a group project with them. I was just bummed by the orientation and wish I could be more excited about my decision. Read More...

Were you guys allowed the use of a calculator when you took your dosage test?

The nursing program at my school does not allow the use of a calculator.I find this extremely ridiculous, since you have to get all 10 questions correct without one. Did your school allow calculators? Read More...

Items needed for Nursing kit for clinicals during nursing school?

Hello everyone I am new here, and I am also a brand new nursing student started may 2013 at Chamberlain College of Nursing. So far so good and I love every minute of it, I am so excited to get ready for my Fundamentals class, but we need a nursing kit and the one the school offers is very expensive! I was wondering if anyone could help me by letting me know what comes in a nursing kit for a student nurse, and if it would be cheaper to buy the items separately and put them in my own nursing kit? Read More...

People sure do have some nasty opinions about nursing

And they don't know how to keep those opinions to themselves!

Nursing school has meant my social life has taken a pretty big hit, and on top of that I've had to drop some people who have shared their uninformed opinion about my given field.

"If nurse were smart they'd be doctors, as it is they're a bunch of bitter old harpies who exist just to make doctor's lives difficult." (I wanted to tell this person if they were smart they'd be a filmmaker and not an unemployed assistant cameraman but I was too kind to disparage their chosen field)

"Nurses are pretty much glorified flight attendants. This is a customer service job - if they're tired they should just quit." (Next time you're in the hospital tell the nurses that and tell me how it goes)

"It doesn't take a rocket scientist to put on a band aid." (well, then put on your own band aid, genius) Read More

Superstitions???

As I'm sitting here making my med cards, I realized I have a superstition that gets me through. I religiously watch deathly hallows part 1 & 2 while I study and make note cards. (waving my nerd flag) I, for some reason (?), find it comforting and I feel like I can concentrate better when it's on. Hey whatever gets us through, right?!? So what's your superstition?! I'd love to know! Read More...

Is nursing for me???

So I've been on the fence about a number of things. I've recently graduated from a BSN program and I'm wondering if nursing is really what I want to do long term. My issues with nursing sort of center around nursing's image and general lack of professional esteem, especially being a male nurse. I cant stand being seen as inferior to physicians, or handmaidens. I think nursing is still a long ways away from gaining the prestige and recognition it deserves. In my personal opinion, that would take doing away with LPNs, ADN nurses, and possibly making an MSN the entry degree for nurses. Read More...

Has anyone discouraged you from nursing?

I recently decided I wanted to be a nurse. I'm 20 and have changed my mind many times about what I've wanted to do, but I know the medical field is for me and I have what it takes to be a good nurse. Of course I still have doubts like if I will be smart enough, compassionate enough, if I can get through school, if I can do everything and work and not give up... but I try to keep positive. I have been keeping really quiet about this decision and have only told a few people, but I'm not necessarily receiving the most positive feedback. These remarks include... Read More...

4.0 Challenge!

Hello everyone! I'm a pre-Nursing student with two semesters of pre-reqs to do before I can apply to the Nursing Program at my University. Who wants to start a support thread and help motivate each other? We can list our classes for the fall and report back with updates/venting/encouraging as needed. I'll start... Read More...