Hello, fellow struggling nursing student. I completely understand that you feel discouraged, hopeless, and beat down by nursing school. I am right where you are and I want you to know that are one of many students who have been beat down by the big, bad monster that is nursing school. People only see the tip of the iceberg that is success in nursing. They do not know about the part of the iceberg under the water that is the hard work, risks, late nights studying, failures, persistence, clinicals, exhaustion, doubts, failures, doubts, and hard work that it takes to become a nurse. I want you to know that I understand the full ice berg because I am struggling and I know stories of many successful nurses that have been practicing as a nurse for a long time. You can encounter a set back one thousand times and it would not stop you.
I have been beat down twice so far and I’m going back for a third round next month. The first time that I faced a trial, it was when my depression stopped me from being able to go to classes. My parents were starting to split up and I could barely get out of bed some days, so forget going to classes or studying. I was doing prereqs at the time. The second time that I faced a trial was just this semester when I had a trouble passing a test to get to my second rotation of clinicals. The test was to determine how well I know how to figure dosages of medications. I failed it seven times. I had to drop out my nursing class because I was not able to get to my second rotation of clinicals with a one hundred percent on the dosage calculation test. I had failed in an epic fashion and I was so embarrassed. But, I refuse to let my trials stop me from achieving my dream and I hope that you will have the same determination and will power. You want to cry? Let it out. You’re stressed? Work it out. You feel tired? Grind it out. The one thing that you can never do is quit.
So, I hope that hearing about another nursing students trials is what you need to gather your strength and keep giving it all you got. I hope that you climb the mountain that is nursing school and that you get to beam with pride when you get to sign RN behind your name for the rest of your life. I hope that you know that I believe in you.
Love,
Haleigh’s