Thinking Of Quitting Nursing School?
"One of the most common causes of failure is the habit of quitting when one is overtaken by temporary defeat." Napoleon Hill.
Nursing school is hard, and the personal backgrounds of every nursing student is different. If you are in nursing school, and you are feeling overwhelmed, you are not alone. If the pressures you are facing are becoming too great for you to bear, follow these steps to know if quitting nursing school is what you need to do.
#1. Remember why you chose nursing.
The reasons why people choose nursing is broad. Regardless of what the reason is of why you chose nursing, ask yourself if nursing is going to really be the career that you want. Hopefully you job shadowed or worked as a CNA, or some other nursing related role before starting nursing school so you had a good idea of what you were getting into when starting nursing school. If you didn't do these things, you might be turned off with some of the things nurses have to do on the job.
There is a big difference between learning nursing, and the physical job of nursing. It is possible to love the class of anatomy and physiology, but hate having to work on a living breathing human. If your reason for choosing nursing is becoming more and more distant the farther along you go in your program, and you realize that the career of a nurse is not what you had originally wanted, this is not a bad thing.
There are many job opportunities in America. There are also many other stable jobs in healthcare that might suit you better if it fits your desires more than nursing. Nursing can be a challenging and frustrating career, but if you are doing what you love doing, nursing is the best choice for you.
#2. Reserving your time for school.
Sometimes students are not prepared for the intensity that nursing school requires, and do not give themselves the amount of time needed to study and prepare for exams. Other times nurses have other problems outside of school taking their time away from studying.
If you are struggling to pass your classes, and you are working full time, or have other non school related responsibilities, do your best to clear up as much time for school as possible. If you want to be a nurse, you can make this happen. But if you have to work overtime every week to pay bills, you will have a big disadvantage that might be too much for you to bear.
If money is tight, do your best to get scholarships, grants, loans, whatever you can do to get some extra help while in school. It is better to sacrifice for a few semesters of nursing school, than have to sacrifice giving up your dreams of being a nurse, and making more money for your family.
Reserving your time for nursing school means that you are putting in everything you have into your program. You need to postpone other things in your life in order to do well in nursing school. When you see your class schedule, don't think of your days with little to no classes as days off. It is possible that these days might be clinical days, or testing days. You need to be absolutely sure of what is included in your class schedule before you decide to change your work schedule. Being prepared for your classes, and putting your nursing program first will help you pass your classes, and progress semester after semester.
#3. Remember that life happens.
There are sometimes adverse life events that happen, and even though completely out of your control, can make nursing school close to impossible to finish. It is devastating for a nursing student to have a family crisis in the middle of their program, but the program moves forward, and you might have to drop out of the program. If you are in crisis situation, talk with your instructors, and academic advisers. It is possible that your school might have opportunities for you to either finish the program later, or to postpone your seat in the program so you can start over when your family crisis is over.
Remember that life happens. It is not your fault if there is a crisis in your life. If you do have to drop out of your program, you will be able to finish it later. It is still better to become a nurse three years from now, rather than do a different degree or job you don't like for the rest of your life. If you know that being a nurse is what you want to do, then be a nurse. Do what it takes to pass your classes, and become a great nurse!
Key points.
Remember to focus on why you want to become a nurse, if you know that nursing is not what you thought it would be, don't be a nurse. It is really that simple. If you are struggling to pass your classes, talk with your teachers, and make more time to succeed. Don't let the trials of nursing school weigh you down to the point you fail or drop out. You can pass, and you can become a great nurse. It will just take time and effort. Las point, don't forget that life happens. If there is something in your life that is pulling you away from school right now, and there is no way for you to continue in your program, take a break from the program, and do what you can to start back up as soon as you can.