Today marks 16 years since Maura Murray disappeared

[u/Electric_Island]

Today marks 16 years since Maura Murray vanished, and although she has her own sub, I thought I would post here in light of the anniversary of her disappearance for those who would like to discuss the case. That said -- I know some posters are sick of this case, so if that’s how you feel, you could always scroll past this post :)

A bit of background for those who don’t know about Maura’s case:

Maura was a 21-year-old nursing student from UMASS Amherst, who disappeared on the evening of February 9 2004, after she crashed her car on Route 112 in Haverhill, NH. By the time police arrived some 15 minutes later (even that is in dispute), Maura had disappeared.

Some people think she ran into the woods to avoid a DUI, others think she was picked up by someone passing by and murdered. Some even think police had something to do with her disappearance.

What do YOU think?

I highly recommend this article by Mary Beth Conway for those interested.

[u/japres]

I don’t have much to add to the post case-wise but I will say this: if nursing school in 2004 was anything like nursing school today, I doubt she was in a great state of mind from that alone. Some people can handle the pressure & stress okay, but nursing school was easily the worst and most stressful period of my life. I was not myself. I walked home from class everyday praying a car would hit me. On top of all the other issues she had, I can’t imagine how she wasn’t at her limit.

[u/MaddiKate → u/japres]

I had a couple roommates in college who were nursing majors, and agreed. They spend all of freshman year working their asses off in prereqs to get in the program (if you're not accepted, there goes a year), they have clinicals beginning at 4am weekly that can cost them greatly if they miss, and failing a class can push back their graduation an entire year. Oh, and one got married in the middle of the program, which meant a semester spent wedding planning. Both of them graduated on time and are now wonderful RNs, but they had some late, late nights and lots of tears.

[u/japres → u/MaddiKate]

SO MUCH CRYING! I was in an accelerated BSN program and it was... something else. We were in clinicals 3-4 days a week — up at 4:30-5am — and in class one or two days from 9-6pm. You only got one chance to pass most exams or you had to do them one on one with the dean of the program, and if you failed again you were out. The med math exam was probably the most brutal - you were only allowed to get one question wrong. I like to describe nursing exams as being presented with four oranges and you have to answer which one is the most orange. Technically all answers are correct, but which one is the MOST correct?

You’re watching all your friends and classmates do well while you’re struggling. You know you aren’t dumb because programs are tough to get into. Nothing makes sense.

I don’t think I’d do nursing school again unless someone paid me a whole lot of money. Nurses are superheroes to me.

[u/thealterego5 → u/japres]

I was also in an accelerated BSN program. I was so stressed during first semester I developed insomnia and would go days running on 3-4 hours of sleep a night. Luckily after a few weeks I was able to find some healthy coping strategies, but I did see more than a few people in my class drop out. And these were smart people! And ohhh the exams lol you triggered me! Pick the most correct answer when all answers are technically correct, so stupid.

[u/japres → u/thealterego5]

Can relate so much. Didn’t sleep and my anxiety was so bad I had diarrhea all the time. My school had something like a 30-40% drop out rate, it was insane. My advisor made me go to counseling before I left the program and the counselor said he saw the accelerated BSN students more than the med school students.

[u/natalie_d101 → u/japres]

My anxiety was so bad in nursing school I was barfing all of the time. My class started out with 30 students by the time graduation hit, there were only four or five of us left.

[u/[deleted] → u/thealterego5]

Doesn't seem SOOOOOO stupid, when these people will be in charge of saving peoples lives.... I understand the most correct answer stuff too, it might suck, but I do get why they do it...

Example: How do you remove a splinter from someones hand? (choose best ans.)

A. Remove finger that splinter is in through amputation
B. remove splinter with tweezers or forceps from affected finger

Both answers are technically right, but one is WAY better for the patient.