I am in my second week of my first semester of nursing school. I felt overwhelmed and was feeling more and more like I made a mistake. I walked out of class to get some air and walked to the sidewalk when I saw a kid on a skateboard riding by. When he skated past me, the back of his jacket said, “Trust the Process!” I just burst into tears. Clearly, something is telling me that everything is going to be ok. Similar to the time I was depressed as a teen and I was sitting on a church doorstep when three little birds started playing next to me. Oof, sometimes the universe just comes in to tell you that things will get better. Anyway, just thought I’d share my emotional day. Best of luck to all of the other students out there! Trust the process! We’ll get there!!

I just had my first Fundamentals test and I find myself more frustrated than I was before it. Firstly, I overstudied. There was a girl in my class that barely studied and got over my score. Secondly, other people in my class insinuating that we are dumb or the answer was soooo obvious. Thirdly, those people are being titled as being so smart when I don’t really find them much special and I am pretty smart too so IDK why i’m just not in that category with them. I feel like I’m being sunken into the underdog role again and I’m tired of it. I have so much experience and maybe I did shrink myself initially. My plan going into nursing school was to just stay out of the way according to reddit but now I have this burning flame inside me to prove myself to everyone. I hate this feeling. I got builled pretty bad in the past so idk if this inferiority is from that. I’m venting but yeah 😭

I currently work at a hotel that just got bought out. My insurance therefore ends September 9th. The new insurance will start November 1st. Cobra will cost $500 a month which I don’t have and is estimated to not even be approved for a month and a half according to our benefits team.

Will my nursing school even find out realistically? We start clinicals in 3 weeks and which is my “not insuranced” period but I already submitted all my health insurance information into the system using my current insurance information. Just found this out in the past hour and I am panicking to say the least.

when I told all my friends that I was accepted into nursing school, everyone was so happy for me and always told me how excited they were for me to finally be able to get into my career. as soon as I finished my pre reqs and was actually in the program, I got EXTREMELY busy, like way more than I ever anticipated. All of my time went to going to class, clinical, studying for back to back exams, doing homework, or going to my part time minimum wage job, since I needed to make money to pay my tuition. My friends quickly blamed me for not making enough time to go out anymore or make important events because I was studying or doing homework all the time. I felt really badly but not only did I not have the time, I didn’t have the money. I was making $18/hour working 20 hours or less a week depending on how I’m scheduled, and my tuition after loans was at least $5k per semester, while still trying to afford to survive. I had a new boyfriend at the time who I spent time with that helped me study, and didn’t make me pay for anything. They complained about this too, but they never even offered to study with me. Eventually I just woke up one day and they had unfollowed me on everything, and now they act like I was wrong. I just finished my nursing program, and now those friends are closer than ever and I’m super lonely. I’m happy I did my program, but I’m also sad that our friendship ended this way. Am I wrong in any capacity? Any advice?

So let’s start off by saying the program I am in is extremely unorganized. We didn’t even find out what days we would be having for our lab class until the first day of actual classes because it wasn’t posted in our Canvas. We have had 4 hours of lab time over 2 weeks, 2 hours each day we had lab, for one class and we’re expected to watch videos and review the skills check offs before hand. This is our literal second week of class, we only had labs on Tuesdays, 2 hours each and we have a skills competency check offs tomorrow from 8am-4pm where we have to demonstrate all 16 of the skills in-front of an instructor. Majority of the videos they have provided for us to watch do not even match up with the skills on our sheets and it makes it more confusing. We get like 1 hour to practice and are expected to sign up for open lab hours to practice more or at home.

Not to mention we had our first exam in our pharmacology class on Monday. Literally after we spent the whole class the week before going over expectations of class and not going over any of the content that the test was on, we were expected to review the content on our own outside of class. So I spent basically all my time trying to make sure I did well on the pharmacology exam and not doing much for the skills check offs in our fundamentals class.

I feel like they are expecting us to do way too much in such a short period of time. I spent all day today at school, from 1p-7:30pm practicing and don’t feel any better about these skills. Some of them we literally learned in class today and are expected to check off on tomorrow.

I feel like giving up because I feel set up for failure already. Not to mention I have a toddler at home so I can’t just spend all my time doing these things.

I just don’t know what to do. I guess I’m gonna go in tomorrow and hope I pass some of them but at this point cramming isn’t helping me at all.

We took a 40 question Pharmacology II exam. There was one question that was the same, with the same multiple choice answers to choose from. When going over the exam with the instructor one-on-one, I asked about the question that was on the exam two different times. The instructor’s response was, “I’m not going to do anything about it. The ones who got it right got to bite the apple twice.” (The instructor writes their own questions, in case that’s relevant.)

This happened last semester in Foundations with a different instructor. I can’t tell if I’m inflating the issue in my head. Idk if anyone is/was as bothered as I was. What do you think? Is there a next course of action, or is this “normal” and something to let go?

Hi everyone, I'm starting nursing school soon but was wondering if anybody worked in the ED as a tech during school and how you juggled a job whether that be part time or full-time. My ultimate goal is to be a nurse in the ED when I graduate so I want to get as much experience and exposure as I can by the time I'm graduated. Out of all the jobs I've seen in the hospitals around me they seem to mainly be full-time, 3 12s a week, and nights. Obviously that is not ideal for somebody in school but I was wondering if anybody has done it and what their experience was going through it and if its worth it. Do you think it would be better to pick up a job in the ED later in nursing school and just hold out for a part time? or do you think this can be done. I also already work in surgery as a CNA at a hospital as well and hate it lol. And also am finishing up EMT school before nursing starts. Would love to get your insights (coming from someone who loads up their plate and always needs to stay busy lol). Thanks everyone.

I’m in my last year of my BSN program and honestly have no idea what specialty I want to go into after graduation.
Other than my clinical rotations, I really don’t have much hospital experience. I recently saw an opening at my local hospital for an ICU NA position and I’m debating whether I should apply.

Part of me thinks it would be a great opportunity to get some actual hospital experience and see what the ICU is like, but I also don’t know if I even want to work in the ICU after I graduate.

Would you guys recommend taking an ICU NA job even if I’m not sure I want to do ICU nursing? Or would it make more sense to try to get an NA/PCT job on med-surg, telemetry, or another general unit so I can get exposure to different things?

Basically, if you were in my position during your last year of nursing school, would you go for the ICU job or try to get experience somewhere more general?

Hey everyone, looking for some advice from people who have navigated the medical school/healthcare job hunt as a couple.

I’m currently in the middle of this med school application cycle. Based on the standard admissions timeline, I likely won’t have a clear picture of where I’m actually matriculating until late March or April.
Meanwhile, my wife is graduating nursing school this upcoming May. From what her program and advisors are telling her, major hospital new-grad residency interviews happen around January, and they generally expect offers to be accepted or commitments made by February.

This leaves us with a rough 1–2 month gap where she might have to commit to a hospital system before we even know what state I’ll be moving to for medical school.

For those who have been through this:

How flexible are new-grad nurse hiring timelines? Is it realistic for her to hold off on applying/accepting until March/April, or does waiting seriously hurt her chances at competitive units/hospital systems?

Can she accept an offer and renege if needed? We obviously want to avoid burning bridges if possible, but how standard is this in nursing?

How did you coordinate geographic overlap? Did you pick a target region based on interview invites, or just wait it out?

Any insight, personal experiences, or strategies from nurses or med spouses would be greatly appreciated!

Tomorrow, I have an interview with the ER. I’m both excited and nervous at the same time. Does anyone have advice on how to do well on the interview and not let their nerves get the best of them? Thank you 🙏

Hello! I am 23, and have a BA in psychology. My dream career is a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner. I have the prerequisite classes done for an ABSN or most direct entry MSNs, but I don’t know what is more worth it. Working while doing them seems to be ill-advised and I’m also not sure what the best method is to manage that. Would it be better to do ABSN then work for a bit as RN, and then proceed to MSN, or to apply for direct-entry MSNs? Or a third unknown option. Thanks for any advice!

Hello everyone, I’m currently in college finishing up my gen Ed’s before going into the RN program and I’ve heard from a ton of people that it’s extremely competitive. I’ve been considering doing the CNA to LPN to RN route to make it a little easier on myself especially since I’m not really good with school and struggle and was wondering if this would be a good option for me?
Has anyone done this route with success or should I just keep powering through into the RN program.

I hope this is allowed here, but my head is spinning and I didn’t know where else to start. I’m 40 years old, an attorney, but I’m burnt out and miserable. I have always wanted to be a nurse (labor and delivery in particular). I have started researching what I would need to do to be a late in life nurse and its incredibly daunting. I think my science and math classes went up to MAYBE biology and Math 2. I’m talking bottom of the barrel stuff, because I was a liberal arts major.

I have been researching accelerated programs (I am also former military so found some like UNC that allow you to get a pathway to entry.

Long story short, please help! Do you have any suggestions to get me on the right track? Should I be doing community college classes for prerequisites? Any guidance or assistance would be absolutely amazing. Thanks so much!

Have an interview coming up and I've been out of work for a while in general, so it's been years since I've had a job interview.

What types of questions did they ask you?

Well guys. It happened. I slept through clinical. I realized around 9AM that I misread my calendar and had an email from my professor. Only 1 clinical is allowed to be missed before getting dismissed. So from now until December I cannot miss a clinical.

I don’t know that I’ve ever been more broke and anxious. I don’t feel like a human I feel like a ball of anxiousness stuck inside of a meat suit. I moved away for nursing school and I’m set to graduate as a RN this upcoming May. Ive literally been donating plasma to pay my car note & have gas money since I have to drive 4hrs a week for clinical. I could sit for my LPN NCLEX but I’m stuck waiting for my refund check because I don’t have money to pay for or even register it. Then if something happens with my car, I don’t have anyone here that would be able to bring me, and I definitely don’t have uber money. It’s just so stressful on top of class, clinicals, SIM lab, and exams.

I just need some folks that understand what it’s like to give me some wise words and to know or hear if others have felt this way for my own comfort.

Hi! I’m a sophomore and finally just started the nursing classes which have been fun and interesting since it’s a passion of mine but I find my cohorts are in some sort of clique that I can’t and I’m not sure I want to get into.

First day of classes I didn’t expect anyone to talk to each other because it was sort of the introductory day where we get familiar with the course. I arrived early because I wanted to measure out the commute and stuff I sat down and students started pooling in and sitting on the opposite side of me. There’s only two sides of tables and all but three students sat on the right side, me included.

I brushed it off as whatever since they most likely knew each other before hand since my pathway into nursing was accelerated because I joined the program a semester after school started last year.

In lab last week there was a little scavenger hunt for rooms around our floor and everyone branched off into a few groups to search for rooms. Introduced myself and they didn’t respond.

I’m also left with no partner during lab as-well.

I was a bio-chem major for my first semester in college and thought the college life was fairly nice. People would hold doors open to you and interact with you and things, when I’m not in the nursing building people still do lol.

But anyway, the energy just felt really off when I met my cohorts. I’ve also picked up on things now being there for two weeks. The girls don’t say good morning back, don’t hold doors open, and purposely close the elevator on me.

Is/has anyone else dealt with things like this in their classes? I figured with how difficult the course is there would be more camaraderie but I guess not?

Why does taking someone's vitals feel more awkward and intimate and invasive than having them taken? I've never once been a patient having my vitals taken and thought "god I wish this nurse would get tf out my space," but when I'm the one doing it all I can think is "oh god oh god I'm so sorry I'm in your space." Every instinct in my body is telling me I'm too close to the patient and I must be making them uncomfortable.

Did anyone else deal with this? Does the awkwardness fade with more practice?

I just started my BSN program for nursing, and while I knew this would be difficult, I’m feeling very anxious and overwhelmed. I genuinely feel like I’m going to fail and I won’t be able to keep up with the workload. I’ve always done very well in classes before this, but nursing school feels like a whole new world. Does anyone have any advice or has anyone experienced the same feelings?? I hope I’m just overthinking it, but idk.

I’m going into nursing after 5 years working in marketing/graphic design and have no healthcare experience. Im currently taking pre reqs and many of my classmates seem to have healthcare experience either as CNAs, LPNs, etc. A huge part of my reason for going into nursing is the flexibility and growth opportunities and I’d want to do outpatient care. But I’m also a compassionate, patient and kind person and feel that I can be a great advocate for people who are in vulnerable situations health wise but have never actually (all gratitude to the most high) had health problems or been in hospitals for a long time to have interacted with really impactful nurses. I studied sociology and learned about the disparities and how they negatively impact POC. I think id be a great advocate for POC and people of immigrant backgrounds. How can I beautify these points in my application with no direct patient care? Is there a way (or should I) loop in my marketing experience somehow?

So clinicals are tmmr and I’m honestly so fucking terrified to be completely honest. I haven’t even worked at a hospital before so i don’t even know what to expect. I’d appreciate any tips or advice on what to expect

I looked forward to this for so long. My cohort sucks.

So much planning, praying, money, and sacrifice to finally go to nursing school.. I get here and the mean girls are eating me alive.

I'm intelligent. I'm enthusiastic. I'm not mean or negative or unnecessarily bitchy because I'm genuinely happy to be there, and apparently that's not the norm in nursing.

I'm a CNA, I know how shitty things are, I'm still happy to be there. I have the smarts and a good attitude but I'm chubby.. I'm a lesbian.. and the mean girls decided to make my sexuality their business when I definitely neverrr discussed it with them.

When I asked around trying to form a study group, they joked that I was "single and ready to mingle." I wanted a fuckin study group and I was just happy to be there! Needless to say this experience has broken my heart. I know that bullied bully because they're unhappy, but I thought I'd make some friends here. Keeping my head down and getting out wasn't part of my dream. Tons of stupid ass gossip stemmed from those comments about the study group, and I had to get teachers involved. Group chats got involved. And literally I never attacked anyone. I never belittled anyone.

I want to quit. Maybe nursing isn't the right path. I think about it every day, but then I realize I really do want to be a nurse. I genuinely don't know how to cope. Every class feels like heartbreak atm

TLDR I graduated two years ago with an art degree (bad decision, I know) and am considering going back to college. My old college has an accelerated program specifically for previous graduates who want to come back for nursing, meaning it’d be an accessible path for me. On top of that I’m only 24, so I think it’d be easy to pivot my career at my age.

It’s been something I’m mildly interested in but unsure about? Without divulging personal details, my mother has Parkinson’s and I’ve acted as an unofficial caretaker for her, hence why I’m interested in going into medical care. My godparents highly recommend it as well, with one of them being a nurse herself, citing good pay and solid job security.

But at the same time I know a hospital is much more hectic than a home and I’m intimidated by the prospect of dealing with medical emergencies. On top of that, the idea of going into nursing for the money feels weird for me, but that may be the idealist in me talking.

What should I know about the profession before I commit?

I have mild to moderate hearing loss and been looking through amplified stethoscopes as recommended by my nursing professor. I also have in the ear canal hearing aids.

What brand/model do you recommend? Do you guys still put your stethoscope in while your hearing aids are still in? Or, do you have to take them out? If so, how often did you have to sanitize your hands?