The day I went to nursing school was the worst day of my life

As everyone knows, nursing school is difficult. For me, it was the toughest thing I’ve ever needed to do.

I envy each of you who posted about your strengths and the struggles you needed to endure in your path to becoming a nurse, because there have been again and again after I desired to quit my job. I hope that somebody – even when it’s only one person – reads my nursing school acceptance story and gets the motivation they should keep going.

It’s a protracted road to nursing school

Courtney Whyte When I used to be first accepted into nursing school, I worked as an ER technician at a area people hospital. How exciting! A couple of weeks after starting, the varsity lost its accreditation. Then I made a decision to search out one other school that accepted me quickly because I knew I desired to proceed my education. Bay State College in Massachusetts was nearby, so I applied and, to my surprise, I didn’t get in because I didn’t meet the TEAS (Test of Essential Academic Skills) requirements. This delayed my admission to nursing school for a complete 12 months. I used to be devastated, but I knew what I needed to do. Meanwhile, in September 2017, Bay State accepted me into the health sciences program and I started working on prerequisites. I also took TEAS not once, but twice to make sure that I can be accepted. When I called my parents to inform them that I had been accepted into Bay State’s rigorous nursing program for the autumn 2019 semester, that they had more essential news to inform me.

My younger brother Robert, who was currently going to physical therapy for back pain, was diagnosed with stage 4 Ewing sarcoma. A tumor the dimensions of a golf ball had wrapped around his spinal cord.

I actually have made the choice to defer acceptance into the nursing program until September of the next 12 months. I knew that since I used to be the one person within the family within the medical field, I needed to step in and be involved in my brother’s care. I had no idea what to anticipate, and to say the least, I used to be terrified. Robert’s cancer went into remission the next August, and I used to be confident that my nursing profession would accomplish that At last begin! I began taking classes on campus and fell in love with the SIM lab. But a couple of weeks into my first semester, we discovered that Robert’s cancer had returned and spread. I made a decision to proceed with school and maintain balance – juggling multiple roles. Between working, going to high school, and being my brother’s caregiver, I did most of my education on public transportation and within the family waiting rooms of Massachusetts General Hospital. And yet by some means, by some means, I passed every class.

As if life wasn’t complicated enough

Boom. The pandemic hits. I work on the front lines within the Emergency Room, my brother is undergoing chemotherapy and I can now not be there for him. My whole life turned the wrong way up. School went online, clinicals were canceled, and I became really depressed. I knew my brother was getting worse and I could not even be there for him. Fast forward to November 2020. I’m ending my fourth semester of a five-semester program. My brother remains to be undergoing cancer treatment and that is when the news broke. Some of the very best doctors within the country told us that Robert’s cancer was spreading too quickly and there was little more that may very well be done. Just after Christmas, we decided to take Robert home. I took time without work from the ER to act as his personal caregiver/”nurse” and he was placed on hospice. Two days before the beginning of my last semester, my brother died peacefully with me by his side. My world stopped, but once more I knew what I needed to do. I planned my brother’s wake, funeral and celebration of life in order that my parents would not should lift a finger. I just wanted them to attend the meetings I had planned. The dean of my nursing program called me to precise his condolences and offer me time without work. It gave me the chance to take a semester to calm down, start over in May, and finish the semester in August 2021. I knew my journey to becoming a nurse took longer than others, so I didn’t need to wait and put it off any longer. Five days after his services, I returned to class and caught up on what I had missed. I passed that semester with flying colours, knowing I needed to do it for Robert.

Not only did I pass nursing school, but I received the Dean’s Award for Perseverance in the course of the pinning ceremony. I didn’t even think I’d make it to the pinning ceremony, never mind being the recipient of the award. There were many days where I questioned medicine and my future and really desired to quit.

Moral of the story

The moral of my story is: please don’t quit – ever. If I can do it, you possibly can too. I hit every possible blockage, I pushed even after I felt I had no strength left. Being pinned down by my best friend was probably the most amazing feeling. I hope my story sheds light on someone who needs it. I did it anyway. It wasn’t easy, but boy was it price it.