r/StudentNurse

I have a year left of school and I actually hate nursing. The future of healthcare is so bleak and it's incredibly clear that management doesn't give a shit about us and we will constantly be under-resourced to do our very important and stressful jobs. I've been a CNA for over two years and a nurse tech for about 6 months. Maybe I've just worked a lot over the summer and I'm burned out but as soon as I get my degree, I'm gonna start taking classes for engineering or something because good lord, this field is not looking good. I'm in a privileged position cause I have scholarships to pay for all of my schooling and some of my living expenses. If this weren't the case, things might be different and I may feel trapped/pressured to do this for much longer.

Still thankful for all I've learned though. I'm glad I know for sure that nursing ain't for me.

Edit: in the post, I state that I will finish my degree and work as a nurse and THEN take engineering classes. But at least I know right now that this isn't for me and I need to find a way out.

as a student who's halfway done with nursing school, i wanted to write out some of my thoughts + advice for younger people who want to get into nursing.

first, i would just like to say that i was an AWFUL high school student. i've come to realize a lot of my peers who are doing great in nursing school really struggled in high school. so, if you're in high school right now & struggling to get through, maybe even doubting if you'll make it through nursing school, i first want to say take a deep breath & realize that 99% of high school is honestly useless. i've realized that if i'm not taking classes i'm interested in & enjoy, i physically cannot apply myself

that being said, if your school offers any kind of tech program that's CNA/nursing related... DO IT!!! i cannot stress this enough!!! my senior year of high school i did a 1 year CNA program that taught me SO much. by the time i got to foundations, it was a BREEZE. i had already learned most of it, and i am SO thankful for that program & all that i learned from it. my program required us to have 100 clinical hours to graduate, which i loved so much. it was a great way to test the waters & make sure nursing was what i really wanted to do.

on that note, if you're not sure about nursing.. don't do it. this might be a controversial take, but most of my classmates who picked nursing as a "backup" major seem to really not enjoy classes. nursing is a career of PASSION. you have to really love what you do & have a drive to help others. school isn't easy, and it's definitely not as glamorous as shows/social media makes it out to be.

not only that but you have to love PEOPLE. regardless of age, gender, race, religion, etc... i've heard a lot of my classmates make sexist/racist jokes, which strikes me as VERY odd, as we have a duty to care for & protect our patients. if you're not comfortable with people, especially those that are different from you, please do not pick this career. there's plenty of jobs with little/no human interaction...

you have to be willing to dedicate a lot of time to school. luckily, i love this career/field of study SO incredibly much that studying is actually enjoyable. i don't mind cancelling on a night out to study, because i feel like i'm doing something useful & the satisfaction i feel when i do good on an exam is absolutely amazing. yes, school is hard, but if you're willing to dedicate yourself to it, it pays off.

my last (& probably most important) tip is to find a study method that works best for you! nursing school is a lot more than memorizing something once for an exam & forgetting it. things build off each other so much, and once you start to see how everything connects, it's actually really cool. however, if you don't have a good study plan/method, it's going to get very difficult very fast. utilize all your resources. use all the quizlets. make all the flashcards. use whiteboards. teach your pets. practice clinical skills until you can do them with your eyes closed & it feels repetitive. do EVERYTHING you can!!

goodluck to everyone applying to nursing school! don't let bad grades discourage you, don't let rejection shape you. learn as much as you can & build a solid group of friends in school! i believe in everyone reading this && please reach out with questions, i love talking!!

Currently, I am deciding between a direct entry MSN versus an accelerated BSN because I already have a bachelor’s. One of the programs I am looking at is a 20 month long program that allows me to receive my BSN and graduate with a MSN. This program is typically geared towards furthering education to be a CRNA and NP.

The other program I am looking at is 10k and I join the Navy to get my MSN by the military. A 20 month program or another 3 years is what I am mostly looking at or maybe even more. I’m unsure about my decision so, any perspective or help would be great!! Thank you.

Hi! I’m starting a post-baccalaureate ABSN program next month and we’re jumping right into fundamentals, patho/pharm, etc. I’ve been an EMT on an ambulance doing primarily 911 coverage for a high call volume city as well as some interfacility transports. Did anybody here work as an EMT prior to pursing nursing? Did it help you at all in class/lab/clinicals (besides the obvious stuff like taking vitals, bedside manner, and general assessment)?

Just wanted to provide a fun exercise for all students: For all those planning to go into nursing or close to finishing school, what speciality are you thinking of pursuing?

Optional: re-post an update in a year or two if you end up changing your mind or if you were right all along.

***Note*** This isn't about if you will get into your specialty out the gate from graduating.

Just a fun, time capsule type of post to see how you've progressed but also to show future students how things may or may not change your minds.

Like how med students choose their residencies, nurses should be celebrated for when they choose their specialities. 🎉

Ive worked over 10 years in assisted living and adult family homes and through my experiences working with hospice I know I want to be a hospice nurse.

I'm going into my 3rd quarter and while I dont feel like a social pariah I think im the only one in my program who wants to be a hospice nurse. I get the vibe from my instructors that its a bit abnormal. Once again, not necessarily judged for it, but that its a bit rare.

With the goal of feeling a bit less alone, does anyone else in this sub want to go straight into hospice? What during your life journey led you to this?

So, I am going into my second semester of an ASN program. I've known this might come up since signing but because my program doesn't give out clinical schedules until a week before the semester starts I was hoping it would work out.

My best friend of 30 years asked me to be her maid of honor in her wedding (been the plan since we were ten years old). The rub is her wedding is on the last weekend of one of my clinicals. Don't get me wrong this isn't a should I miss clinicals or the wedding because family is way more important than anything. That doesn't change the pit in my stomach about having to call out of a clinicals rotation after all the guilt the instructors put on us about it.

Has anyone else had to make this choice in their school career and if so what were the consequences and do you regret the choice you made?

My closest friend and I just went through a horrible friendship breakup today, and she’s one of my only friends so it’s absolutely gut wrenching for me. Perfect timing because I start nursing school (college sophomore) in a few days! Not sure what to do or how to balance this with the inevitable stress and responsibilities that come with being in nursing school.

Has anyone been through anything similar? What helped and how did you get through it?

I just finished high school and am going into the first year of BSN. I was able to work during my senior year and get okay grades, like 75-80, but I'm not sure that this is gonna work with nursing. I'm currently working as a host at a pizza restaurant, about 4 days a week, 4-5 hours each shift. My schedule doesn't look scary, but it has anatomy and physiology, which I'm most concerned about, so I was wondering if I should just quit my job or like reduce work hours, if my goal grades are 80+

Hey guys! I failed my pharmacology class this term & have to retake it next term. I feel really bummed about it and have no one to talk to about it. i feel like everyone else is moving up except me :( any tips or advice?

As the title says. I’m starting my final focus in September and I’m so anxious about it

I’ve had 8 rotations through my program, and I got a learning contract in 2 of them. I work as an HCA and I’m super confident and fast paced and the nurses find me very reliable, but I’m the complete opposite as a nurse and feel like i know nothing, have 0 time management skills, etc

I’ve heard the advice to ask questions when feeling unsure of something but I’ve had instructors give me a side eye at some things I’ve asked, and I for sure notice that the nursing students who DONT ask questions and are more serious and task focused get picked on less

idk what to do

I studied fashion merchandising for undergrad and I want to switch my career to nursing for financial stability and job security. I also have other reasons as to why I want to be a nurse that don’t involve the pay. Can someone that switched from a creative career to the medical field tell me their experience. And what was the hardest part about the transition? I’ll be doing a 12 month ABSN program soon.

I'm on the MSc Adult Nursing course at a UK university, which is two years instead of three. I'm currently on my management placement and it's not going well. I've had an assignment to do alongside this placement, this has been causing me a lot of stress and has been taking a lot of my focus. My mental health is also very bad as I've been having issues with relationships in my personal life.

My assessor has gotten annoyed with me a few times when I've been unsure of how to do things. I can understand their reasons for getting frustrated, but I do feel uncomfortable around them, they've made comments to me before telling me I've got no common sense and I need to practice my people skills as I accidentally put on a leg bag too tight. My assessor was complaining about me to a patient in front of me earlier, which resulted in my anxiety spiralling as a big fear of mine is judgement, and I then screwed up. They told me afterwards I'm more like a first year student. I explained to them that the assignment has been causing me a lot of stress and taking a lot of my focus, ​I have never done an assignment whilst being on placement before, and they asked me what I would do if I failed my management placement. I feel absolutely dreadful as I believe I'm going to fail my management placement and I don't know what I'll do if I do fail it.

For some context I am a 21 year old student who withdrew from a sonography program. I dropped because I realized I was no longer passionate about sonography as I started a job a nurse tech. I am feeling discouraged as I still need one more pre req to apply to nursing school. That will push me back a year until the new cycle starts. I am not concerned about not getting in as my school is direct admit i’m just feeling discouraged about changing paths at a later age than new high school grads. Do any nurses have any advice on combatting this feeling?

A few weeks back I found out I was being placed on a telemetry floor for my senior preceptorship but today I got offered a spot at a children’s hospital in a pediatrics PACU unit. I do have interest in pediatrics but I’m also thinking about what might be more beneficial to me post-grad. I am in NorCal and I know how hard it is to get a job here, and I guess I know that if I were to even land a job here it would likely be in med-surg which I’m more than okay with. My fear is that if I take the peds PACU spot it would make it even harder to get a job versus if I stick with my telemetry spot, if it was gen peds I wouldn’t have thought twice about it. Does anyone have any advice, especially being in the NorCal region? Both sound great to me it’s just worrying to me how specialized the PACU, especially how the peds PACU might be and how much I’ll actually learn/be able to do compared to a tele floor and how that will reflect during my job hunting.

I was given until tonight to decide, any advice appreciated.

I’m 20 years old and currently pursuing nursing. My goal has always been to become a nurse, but I’m at a point where I’m seriously considering joining the military, specifically the Navy, because I’m struggling financially with school and trying to figure out how I’m realistically going to finish my nursing degree.
I’ve actually been interested in the military for a long time. I almost joined my senior year of high school and was *very* close to signing up, but ultimately decided not to. It’s something I’ve continued thinking about even years later, so this isn’t completely out of nowhere.
Right now, though, finances have become a really serious issue. I’ve actually had to take **another semester off from school because I don’t have the finances to continue right now**. It’s extremely frustrating because I want to be in school and working toward becoming a nurse, but I don’t want to keep putting myself further into debt just to finish my degree.
That’s a big part of why I’ve started seriously looking into the Navy again. I’m interested in nursing and the possibility of having my education supported while also having a career afterward. I’m also wondering whether there are options for someone who wants to become a nurse but doesn’t have their nursing degree yet.
At the same time, I’m nervous because I’m not sure if I’m the right personality type for the military. I’m a pretty sensitive person and I definitely feel things deeply. I know basic training is intentionally difficult and involves being yelled at, being pushed physically and mentally, having very little control over your environment, etc. I’m worried that maybe I’m too sensitive and that I wouldn’t make it through training or would struggle with the military culture.
I also don’t want to make a huge life decision *just because I’m struggling financially*. I genuinely have an interest in the military that existed long before my current financial situation, but I’m trying to figure out whether that interest is strong enough to make the sacrifices that come with joining.
For anyone who has experience with the Navy, Army, Air Force, military nursing, ROTC, or military education benefits:
Would you recommend this route for someone whose ultimate goal is to become an RN?
Are there programs that can help pay for nursing school before you have your BSN?
Is it better to finish nursing school first and then commission as a nurse?
What is basic training actually like for someone who is more sensitive/emotional?
Do you think being a sensitive person means you’re not suited for the military?
What personality traits actually make someone successful in the military?
What are the biggest downsides or things you wish you knew before joining?
How much control do you actually have over where you’re stationed and your career?
If you could go back and choose again, would you still use the military to become a nurse?
I’d really appreciate honest advice from people who have actually gone through this, especially people who were nervous about whether they were “military material” before joining.
I’m not looking for someone to convince me to join or not join. I’m just trying to figure out whether this could genuinely be a good path for me, whether someone like me can actually thrive in the military, and whether it makes sense to pursue this instead of continuing to struggle financially trying to finish nursing school on my own.

One of my classmates was struggling with interviews and online applications.

And then he absolutely crushed his preceptorship in the ICU. Next thing, they hired him for a residency position that had previously not existed.

My other classmates was also struggling and reached out to the manager of the IPU that she did an externship and also got a residency position offer that had not previously existed.

With things being competitive you need to act like a human being and impress your fellow humans around you. there’s more to this job market than just applications and ATS.

I’m not a nursing student yet, but that’s very likely the career path I’m heading toward. I’m really shy, but I love helping people and taking care of them, and I have a great deal of compassion. Plus, I handle stress really well. It’s clearly the right job for me. The problem is, I hate hospitals. They’re really depressing, and I don’t necessarily see myself spending my life in one. So, I wanted to know: do nurses only work in hospitals?

I also read somewhere that after gaining a few years of experience, nurses can work abroad. Is that true?

I have been in an LPN to RN bridge program since January. I thought going into it we would all be older and more experienced, so there wouldn't be that much drama. Wrong.

First semester we had OB/women's health. In class there was one other student who asked tons of questions and we had similar views on things, so at first I thought we would be freinds except I realized she is very blunt, loud, and bossy but not in a good way. I found out during lab that I have a weird talent for knowing how dilated a cervix is with the feel of my fingers. Yikes. But the professors were making comments and joking how they needed to get me into the OB specialty immediately and this seemed to greatly annoy her. We had a test the day before and she told me she didn't do well on it. She asked me my grade and I made an A so I was honest and told her.

We had a lab simulation of a postpartum hemorrhage. I hate lab simulations because I feel so awkward during them plus there's 5 of us in there trying to figure out what to do. Things were getting nuts with the mannequin bleeding out, so me and another student started massaging the fundus. This woman is taller and larger than me and she SHOVED ME OUT OF THE WAY with her shoulders and took over massaging the fundus. I didn't react because I was thinking, "Did she really just do that to me?" and then downplayed it in my head because it was a stressful simulation and I thought maybe she was panicking.

We ended up being in clinicals together for two semesters. During our med-surg rotation we were each assigned a different nurse to shadow. I was walking down the hallway with the nurse I'm assigned for the day and she calls for me to come here because she "has a job for me." and then procedes to tell me her patient needs a suppository and she thinks it would be good experience for me because I was an office nurse. I wasn't going to deal with her acting like my boss so I asked her why she was trying to push her task off onto me and I already had things to do for patients with my assigned nurse. Her response with an absolutely nasty smirk was, "Well we were going to make you do it." I told her absolutely not and asked her why she would think that's okay. She then started saying, "I just thought you would want the experience, nobody is trying to bully you!" Maybe I overreacted to this and it might sound like she was trying to help, but I could tell she was targeting me and I am not dealing with that. She tries to control freak everything and seems to really need validation from professors and our clinical instructors.

Then there is another girl in my class who asks me my grades *every single time* we take a test. She will wait for me in the hallway just to ask me how I did. At the beginning of the semester we exchanged numbers and I messaged her my name with my number. I have sent her quizlets I use to study and materials I use. We have been in class together for 7 months and had our second semester med-surg clinical rotation together. The day before our second semester final she started calling me by the wrong name. First she said "Hey Brittany, your shoe is untied." I was like my name isn't Brittany??? but we do have a Brittany in our class. I laughed it off. The next morning of the final she said "Hey Brittany do you remember the answer to that practice question?" I I pointed to the Brittany in our class and said hey THAT'S Brittany. She said oh sorry you just look like a Brittany! Then after the final she was waiting outside the classroom as always and asked me how I did. I said I did well and she looked me up and down because I was wearing a dress and asked me who was taking me out. I said nobody I was just going home to be with my kids. When I said bye to everyone she said, "Bye Britt... oh, I mean, (correct name)!" Acting like this after I tried to help her out and send her study material because she wasn't doing well and I was trying to be nice to her is wild to me.

Thankfully those are the only two people, but for some reason it's ALWAYS ME who gets targeted by these weird bullying behaviors from others! Most of the other people in our class are very nice though.
Does anyone else deal with weird / bizarre behavior like this from classmates?

Have been trying to decide all summer whether to attend my local cc ADN program or go to USC, tuition free, and attend an ABSN after. Logically, I know ADN is faster, cheaper, etc. However as someone who is 21 and never went to cc straight out of high school, I’m scared I’ll regret giving up the opportunity to go to USC for free and have that “college experience.” More so in the sense of living away from home, being on campus, etc. I am not interested in Greek life or really even the night life honestly. I also can’t help but think having USC on my resume may help me get a job later/give me fall back options if I end up not even liking nursing. I can’t decide if I will regret giving up USC more than I will regret postponing my RN license 2 years. I have been trying to meet with a counselor to see if I will be able to get my B.A from USC a semester early, in order to apply to ABSNs for the fall of 2028, before my prereqs start to expire, but am unable to until tmrw the 17th (but hypothetically I could retake these prereqs at USC?) Any thoughts, advice, or anything I should know before completely making my choice?