I've shared my story about how I dropped out of nursing school before . . . today I wanted to share a little update from a survey we ran
“Should I quit nursing school?”
Has that thought ever passed through your mind?
I actually did quit . . . in my 4th semester.
If quitting is on your mind right now, realize you are not alone.
I surveyed 100 nursing students, 68% said they have considered quitting. And there are over 32,000,000 results in Google for “quit nursing school.”
But my journey wasn’t all rainbows and sunshine and I learned a lot through my experience - let me share with you 4 things I learned from quitting nursing school - in hopes that you can learn from my experience.
(now before I go on, I am not condoning my actions or thoughts - I am only sharing with you my mindset at the time - in hopes that you can learn from my experience)
My Mental Health professor was one of ‘those’ professors. Despite my best efforts, knowing the material, and scoring 95th percentile on national benchmark exams - I ended up with a “C” in her class.
It felt unfair. I became angry and bitter.
I had (wrongly) tied my identity to being a “super 4.0 nursing student” . . . I wanted the ‘gold star’.
I couldn't sleep. I could barely study. I stopped working out. I stopped eating well.
The thought of quitting nursing school crept into my mind.
Once inside, it wouldn’t leave.
The point came that I began looking for employment outside of nursing. A job opportunity arose in Texas and I jumped on it.
I withdrew from nursing school just 10 weeks from graduation.
Fast forward the clock one year after quitting nursing school, I returned to complete my degree, landed a job in the ICU, and started NURSING.com.
Let me share with you 4 tips I used to eventually return to nursing school:
- Avoid becoming uni-dimensional: You are a human with varied interests. Don’t drop everything. Take time to still be you!
- You are NOT your grades: Sadly, many of us tie our self-worth to their GPA or how many questions it takes them to pass the NCLEX . . . Your grades DO NOT define you . . . do not allow them to control your happiness.
- Realize that after nursing school, you begin to learn in exponential leaps: I was stuck on the idea that I had to know EVERYTHING. I have since realized that learning becomes massively accelerated AFTER nursing school. You won’t know everything.
- Life is a journey: You don’t have to pass the NCLEX tomorrow, you don’t have to get accepted into nursing school THIS semester . . . you have a lifetime. You are in this for the long haul. Relax.
Through precepting nursing students, I realized I wasn’t alone in the feelings I had as a nursing student.
That’s when I started NURSING.com - with the goal of taking nursing students from discouraged and stressed to motivated and passionate.
The courses, questions, and study tools have helped the average user save 4 hours of study time per week and 50% of users surveyed improve their lowest grade by a minimum of 11 points.
I know it can feel like you’re drowning. But you CAN do this.
Happy Nursing!
-Jon
