School is kicking my butt

[jekajekalynn]

I just started my first year of RN schooling, and I feel like such a loser. lol

I feel like for all the studying I am doing, which is a LOT (reading the chapters, taking notes, using an audio recorder) I am barely doing well enough on the first two tests we had.

In my defense though, 99 percent of my class feels the same way..See there are 4 teachers teaching 1st year nursing students, and the teachers pair off to make the tests. In the other pair of teachers classes , all the students have scores of 90s or above. In our class, only 2 ppl out of 40 or so passed the first test.

I really don't know what to do. Ladies that have went to the RN counselor to complain about the totally different results between ours and the other class only got the generic response of 'study more'. Well..we study a LOT, and it seems like they are pulling the questions out of thin air.
Wish me luck that we all pass...

 

[NicoleRose]

awww i'm sorry! my mom is an RN and she tells me stories all the time about how terrible nursing school was
she says its more like boot camp than actual school b/c you really dont learn much of anything you need to know to actually be a nurse lol you just learn to be tough.

but i'm sure you can do it and goodluck!

 

[itsagloomyday]

RN of almost 30 years here. Just thinking about nursing school gives me an ulcer Very challenging and it didn't help that many of my classmates already had degrees in other fields and were only taking the "nursing" courses while I struggled with taking a 24 credit hour load.

I am happy to report it didn't kill me, and I am a better person for having a struggle. I retained more of the answers I got wrong on tests than the ones I knew and forgot right after the test. Nothing came easy like in high school and I even had to re-take one of the courses I didn't pass.

Talk to your instructors and tell them you are studying hard, but feel you are maybe focusing on the wrong information. Ask them if there is a way to filter out what is the MOST important (they will tell you it is all important and state boards will give you a lot of right answers, but they want you to pick the best right answer). If there are upperclassmen, ask them for help or advice.

Find something to motivate you to keep going. Set short term goals. Reward yourself when you meet those goals. Get a study buddy.
My biggest motivation was my parent's threat that if I dropped out of school, I had to pay back every penny for my education.

You are not a loser. Nursing school can be grueling, but the rewards are well worth the work. Most nurses will tell you they lived, breathed and slept nursing when they were in school. They weren't kidding. Hang in there.