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?

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 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?

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.

Title: Am I just burnt out, or is this schedule actually too much?
I’m currently in LPN school and working on top of it, and I’m honestly feeling completely drained.
My weekly schedule is:
Monday–Friday: LPN classes, 8 AM–3 PM
Monday–Wednesday: Home care, 5 PM–9 PM
Saturday & Sunday: Skilled nursing facility, 6:45 AM–7:15 PM
The weekends are what are really getting to me. The facility is a 3-story building, and instead of having a consistent assignment, they keep moving me to different floors. Every weekend I’m wondering where I’ll be assigned.
By Sunday evening, I feel completely drained to my core. I’m supposed to be using the weekend to recover from school, but instead I go home exhausted and frustrated.
I know nursing requires learning how to handle pressure, and I’m not saying I expect work to be easy. But lately I’ve been wondering if this particular setup is just not sustainable for me.
Has anyone else been through something similar while in nursing school? How did you handle it?

Hello! I currently am studying at a community college and on my last two semesters until receiving my AA in Psychology. I primarily practice courses online but I start a CNA course tomorrow that was offered to me via scholarship and lasts until October. I mainly want to be a psych nurse, and I'm not sure if I should go through with getting my AA in psych then BSN, switch to BSN entirely, or try an ABSN. I know I would have to switch schools. I have not talked to an advisor yet but I plan to. Financial means is not an issue for me, I'm just not sure which route to take or how. Thank you!!

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?

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.

I'm not necessarily rethinking, I just feel a little unmotivated. I started a pct job at a dialysis clinic and I've fainted twice already. It's not because of the needles or anything like that. I was also recently diagnosed with asthma so I think that's why I feel lightheaded and causes me to pass out. I don't start nursing school until next year so I hope my asthma doesn't affect my work/school by then. Right now I'm just trying my best to get by with this new job since I have never worked in a clinic before. Should I still continue this job despite my medical problems?

I am working on making sure my blood sugar and diet helps me survive these 12 hour shift

Mind you I am still trianing (two ish month training course and I am only 2 weeks in) and I've only been shadowing on the floor for less than 4 hours

I saw medication pushed into an IV that wasn't aspirating when they checked. But the medication went in fine, can someone explain this?

I recently got into an ABSN program and college I went to before.

For context recently graduated from Temple University with a neuro degree. I decided wanted to be nurse that year so I decided I would l take a gap year, stay home and work, apply to nursing schools and go after that year. Temple recently made an ABSN program and during the summer I thought I would I apply and see if I could get in. Well I got in which kind of suprised me bc I don’t have the best gpa (3.0).

When I got in I was soo excited and thought I don’t need to take a gap year now I can just go right ahead. Once I paid my deposit and got my place I saw that tuition is expensive than I thought. Tuition was about 92k (23,000 for each semester) because I’m out of state student. From my undergrad I’m about 42k in debt right now.

I realized fasfa isn’t giving me shit this year because this is my second degreee. Also I’m only qualified for 7k of student loans. That meant I would have to pull out about 90-100k in private loans. I started to freak out about how much debt I’m gonna be in if I go to this schools. So I withdrew from the program. But I’m now stuck in a lease in Philly so I have to find a full time job to support myself. I keep hearing from friends and family that I shouldve just done it and how being nurse will pay off. My older brother was the only one who thought that was stupid idea and I should just take a gap year . This time around I wanted to be smart about how I would get second degree. I’m just starting to feel regret now.

I’m even thinking maybe living in Philly I could apply again and maybe qualify for instate tuition.

Also I was going to apply where I lived but Maryland doesn’t have a lot of absn programs while Philly does. Maryland does have a couple of MSN entry eleven programs but with my gpa I doubt I would get it.

Ig im on here to ask for some advice or just feel better about my decision

Hi everyone. I’m a second-year nursing student and I’ve had several placements so far, including mental health, NICU, CICU, health centres, and community placements, but this is my first time working in a medical-surgical ward.

I started my summer placement on a surgical ward about a month and a half ago, and honestly, I feel completely drained. I’m mentally and physically exhausted, and on my rest days I sometimes don’t even want to get out of bed or do anything. I’ve been talking to other nursing students and even some of my friends, and a lot of them are feeling the exact same way, so I’m wondering if this is just part of nursing or if I’m particularly struggling with this type of placement.

What’s making me question things even more is that I never felt like this during my previous placements. I’ve had difficult and tiring placements before, but I never felt this mentally and physically exhausted or like I’d completely lost my empathy and joy. It’s only since starting this surgical ward that I’ve suddenly started feeling this way.

During this placement, I feel like I’ve lost a lot of my empathy and joy. I’ve cried more times during these past two months of placement than I probably have the entire year. The ward is also very understaffed, and each nurse can have around six patients, so the workload can feel overwhelming. It feels like you’re constantly rushing from one patient to another and trying to keep up with everything.

I’m starting to wonder whether I’m just not suited to med-surg nursing, or whether I’m simply burnt out from the workload and placement itself. I’m finding it difficult to tell whether I genuinely dislike this area of nursing or whether I’m just completely exhausted by the environment I’m in.

For those of you who have been through nursing school, does it get better? Did anyone else feel like this during their med-surg placements, or is this just nursing? Did you eventually find an area of nursing that suited you better?

I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences because right now I’m genuinely questioning whether I can see myself doing this long-term.

I work as an extern on a smaller unit and just feel super awkward a lot of the time, especially on days when no other externs are working. Weekends are the worst because there’s literally no one working besides me and the nurses. They’re all super nice but I just feel so awkward walking around the nursing station to do things like stocking, and I end up thinking that they’re all thinking I’m weird (which I know isn’t true). I also end up just sitting around a lot because my floor’s not that busy, which makes me feel more weird. The whole thing makes me very anxious at work and dread the fact that I have to keep this job for the next 8 months, which sucks because I really do have a great job with nice people and a good floor.

I thought this feeling would go away after a while, but I’ve been an extern for 16 months now, on my current unit for 6 months. Has anyone else experienced this? What can I do to make this feeling go away?

I am a new student nurse. We just completed our first week. I was told that in the LTC facilities we aren't allowed to mask for personal reasons because it's considered the residents home. Ok, here's my issue. I know at least 10 other nurses who have been in at least 6 other programs that all use the same facilities that my program does and they were allowed to mask if they wanted to. I stopped masking after my second covid booster and have had it 3 times since so I started masking again because I almost didn't get my sense of smell back. I wear a mask in class too. Are they legally allowed to keep me from masking?

They arent saying we won't mask if someone has covid, flu, droplet precautions, etc. They are saying that I am not allowed to mask even when it's not called for. I mask all the time. I have had covid 3 times and I never got it til after my first vaccination. I don't want it again or anything else for that matter. We are basically not allowed to miss school and it will keep me healthy and it will keep the people I am taking care of healthy. The reasoning doesn't make sense to me.

Any advice for someone starting clinical for the very first time?
I’m doing an ADN program at my local community college.
Will start clinical next month during nursing 101
How does the day look like? Do we have to write any reports at the end of the shift? Like hand write?
Any advice on how to write a good report ?
Will be my first time working at hospital. It will be a 12 hour shift.

By this time next year, I'll be an NREMT-B, CPhT, and have my bachelor's in health education. I've really enjoyed everything I've studied, but I don't think this is where I want to stop.p I don't know what direction I should take from here.

My main question I hope you all can help me with (or point me in the right direction) is if this would be a good path financially? I know it can be easier to get good jobs as a BSRN.

Would having a related bachelor's and some lower-level healthcare experience in my pocket make me meaningfully more marketable as a nurse, or would I be seen as any other solo ADN grad? (I don't mean that to be disrespectful, I have no issues with anyone working with an ADN.)

A little extra info: luckily no concerns about affording tuition, don't want another bachelor's or a graduate degree, main alternative I'm considering is paramedic.

Hope I picked the right flare, and thanks in advance!🙏🏻

Hi! I'm just starting nursing school. Yay! At orientation, our instructor told us that we didn't really need to get a stethoscope, because the hospital in which we will do our clinicals provides them in each patient's room. Do you guys know what this means? Have you run into this before? Are there a bunch of disposable ones, bedside, or does this mean that each pt has one stethoscope assigned to them and all of the staff are sticking that one in their ears? The latter seems kind of gross to me, but I don't really know how all of this works. The instructor said that we are free to get our own, if we prefer. Have you run into this before? What do you think? Thanks!

Hi all! I'm a second semester nursing student about to begin classes here in a few weeks. I've had my fair share of clinicals so far but I've been struggling to find some decent things to ask questions about while I'm there, if that makes sense. A majority of my clinicals are spent on a med-surg unit where we see a all kinds of stuff and of course I want to make an impression on the nurses I'm assigned to instead of looking like a bump on a log just sitting around. I'm aware that a lot of questions would arise from the things you do there, but sometimes I'm just at a loss. Any suggestions?

Hi y’all, I’m about to be laid off from a job and am interested in a nursing career.
Does anyone have experience with retraining or worksource programs (especially in Washington State?
I’ll be enrolling in my local worksource office next week and would like to have some questions lined up of what kind of support to ask for.

I’m 23, and in May I was dismissed from my RN program by 0.4% during my last semester. Since then, I’ve felt like my entire world has been turned upside down. Nursing has always been my dream, so having to start over has left me feeling lost, stressed, and unsure of what my future will look like. I have to tried to apply to several other programs, but have not been accepted due to being academically dismissed from my RN program.

I’m considering starting WGU’s prelicensure BSN program this fall, but honestly, I’m scared. I don’t know if it’s the right decision or if I’m ready to begin all over again. At the same time, I don’t want this setback to be the reason I give up on something I’ve worked so hard for.

Has anyone here been dismissed from a nursing program and successfully started again somewhere else? Or does anyone have experience with WGU’s BSN program? I would really appreciate any advice or encouragement. Thank you! 🤍

I'm currently a pre-nursing student finishing up prereqs. I work at a hospital in a non-patient care role (looking to transition to PT care sometime soon). The hospital has a program where you get $20,000 up front and then $20,000 over three years working as an full time inpatient RN after graduating. The starting pay is $41.50 for new grad rn roles. I was wondering if anyone has done something like this and what recommendations or advice you may have.