It’s possible you are well on your way to mid-terms at this point. Are you feeling overwhelmed? My sister who is in her first semester of her second year in nursing school called me the other day and said “what if I don’t learn everything I need to learn? What if I can’t pass the NCLEX? What if I won’t learn enough to be a nurse?”

I don’t think this is an uncommon feeling. I can remember in the beginning of my second year, riding the subway and suddenly being struck with the thought: I don’t remember what myasthenia gravis is. I panicked! I didn’t need to know at that minute, I wasn’t about to take a neuro test, I wasn’t even on my way to clinical. I was having an attack of “will I be unprepareditis”

Deep breath time! And then remember, nursing school is designed to prepare you for the NCLEX. And to be a nurse. Your school is accredited, right? How do you think they got their accreditation if they couldn’t prove that they are adequately preparing students? Trust the process a bit. Not that you won’t have a lot to learn once you get out of school: nursing requires a lifelong committment to keeping up and attaining more knowledge. But if you are realistically applying yourself not just to classes but to learning everything in clinical that you can…you’re on your way.

Instead of saying “eeeek! I don’t remember what myasthenia gravis is!” say “This path is designed to train and mold me as a nurse. If I work hard and cooperate with the process I will be just fine.”