Did anyone hate nursing school?

Nurses New Nurse

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I am in second semester and I am just sooooo tired and run down. Every week I feel like quitting. I have an hour commute and 2 small kids so thats an added difficulty. Is it normal to dislike nursing school so much? I know Im probably just not thinking clearly at this point being so exhausted, but please tell me it all pays off in the end!

I, like many others worked toward this goal for so long, just trying to get in. I have always loved school. But since becoming an actual nursing student, I can barely get B's much less A's. I guess I thought nursing school would be so fun and interesting and full of cool new things to experience. But hard instructors and hours of clinical are more the case. And I feel so dumb all the time!

Just trying to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I need help seeing the good in it again. Thanks.......better go study!

Hi all,

I feel every ounce of pain in all of these statements. I am going into my 3rd semester in the fall of 07 and come hell or high water will graduate in May of 08. This is the hardest thing I have ever done. What I hate the most is the clinicals. I hate getting up so early for them and hate the not knowing what to do syndrome. I work as an aide and that has helped with some of the uneasiness of working with patients. I also am an A student but struggle to get B's and C's in nursing school.

I do have to say that my instructors have been very supportive and have pulled me aside to talk to me about my anxiety. In that respect I do feel lucky.

Every day done is one day closer. I do feel sad that some of my classmates have not made it due to grades when I know they would have made wonderful nurses.

Good luck to everyone. We will all make it.

Nursing school, well there it is. I could have chosen to like it or not. Things are easier when I decide to like my situation, so I picked that. People are people, whether faculty, student body, patient population, hospital admin. I can always depend on the fact that people will act like people, so I take the bad with the good. Plus I'm used to being me no matter where I am, and if that wraps others around the axle, oh well. Hey, I have to get used to them so it doesn't bother me if they are forced to adjust to me.

Nursing school, well there it is. I could have chosen to like it or not. Things are easier when I decide to like my situation, so I picked that. People are people, whether faculty, student body, patient population, hospital admin. I can always depend on the fact that people will act like people, so I take the bad with the good. Plus I'm used to being me no matter where I am, and if that wraps others around the axle, oh well. Hey, I have to get used to them so it doesn't bother me if they are forced to adjust to me.

I like your attitude!! Its a good one to have in whatever you are doing. Sure NS is a lot of stress and hoop-jumping but think about where you would be if you weren't in school... a factory, flipping burgers, or maybe worse.

Specializes in Burn/Trauma PCU.

There were definitely parts of NS that made me want to scream: incompetent instructors, the general lack of sleep and lack of social life, the post-exam autopsies after every test ("What did you put on #3? #16?"), the constant juggling act. It was hard, no doubt. And I went to school with a bunch of type-A personalities (just like myself), and the pressure was sometimes unbearable: everyone had to be the best.

However, as a recent grad, I can say with all certainty that it was all worth it. Being excited about my career is something I wouldn't trade for anything. Plus, I'm not worried anymore about not making rent - much more peace of mind!

Specializes in LTC, cardiac, ortho rehab.

i went to nursing school straight after high school. during high school i was pretty much a bookworm, stuck with the girlfriend, overworked, and never really got to go out much. ill admit, nursing school was one of the most mentally exhausting times of my life but i loved every minute of it. i met some of the most sincere people that i still keep in touch with even if i live 2 hours away. lectures were really boring, clinicals would be exhausting, and the teachers were mean but for some reason i miss nursing school. currently, im waiting for the lvn to rn bridge and working on classes for my masters, but im excited to start the program again.

in short, i guess all im trying to say is that nursing school is an experience and you should make the most out of it. many people apply to the program and wait and some go in and fail. learn as much as you can while your in there cause its really different when your on your own working the floor with no instructor to turn to. dont stress yourself out too much, have fun and good luck -jon

I feel your pain. However, nothing in life is easy but you have to dig down really deep in your soul and ask yourself why you are going to nursing school. I'm a mother of four children and I gotta tell you it aint easy but my passion for nursing and my love for my children is what keeps me going. You can do it if you put your mind to it. So keep your head up things will get better. If you are religous put your trust in God first and ask him to get you through it. "Remember all things are possible through the hands of the Lord." I know this is true because I to have been there and soon will be graduating in December of this year. Thank God. Hang in there it will be okay

Specializes in OB.

Hated most of it. Saw a former instructor today and it knocked me into PTSD.

Made a couple of really good friends tho.

Specializes in Did the job hop, now in MS. Not Bad!!!!!.
There were definitely parts of NS that made me want to scream: incompetent instructors, the general lack of sleep and lack of social life, the post-exam autopsies after every test ("What did you put on #3? #16?"), the constant juggling act. It was hard, no doubt. And I went to school with a bunch of type-A personalities (just like myself), and the pressure was sometimes unbearable: everyone had to be the best.

However, as a recent grad, I can say with all certainty that it was all worth it. Being excited about my career is something I wouldn't trade for anything. Plus, I'm not worried anymore about not making rent - much more peace of mind!

Post Exam autopsies????? Annabelle, where did you go to school? We never had that!

I am in the lvn program at the moment. The attitude from the first semester I started was I can't believe how nursing students told horrible stories about difficulties of lvn. It's just a stupid certification, right? Everything should be easy I have a strong background of science. A&P, Chem, Micro, Nutri, even some of the psych courses as well. I felt to be a top student.

So, the first semester ended that attitude quickly dropped from arrogant to humility. I can't believe how stupid I feel not knowing this: "isolation patient who is going down to the xray on a gurney the nurse should what? I chose the patient should have the sheet to cover him instead of putting the mask and gowns for the patient because this will prevent spread of infection all over the hospital.

Now what I had before was knowledge, totally pure straight knowledge. Nursing is NOT one aspect. Nursing is to know everything from science to communication skills. It's like studying half business major(how much money am I going to earn?), doctor (a&p, chem), lab technician(lab values, CBC, BUN, PT/PTT, WBC, Na, K, and such others), speech therapist (therapeutic communication), psychologist(infant, childhood, adult lifespan), EMT, politics (nursing politics), religion, cultural sociologists, sport medicine, phlebotomist, secretary (lots of writing), CARE PLAN (they should have this course separated for cutting down time consumption), so should I go on?

I think we get the point. We can see how it's not so different when we compare nursing academic to military style academic.

It's NOT about how smart you are, because seriously, I would not have reply to this post because I wouldn't have anything to share or emphasize about. It's not about how wise your experience in life may be. It's about following directions to focus on your determination. Your attitude does need to be humble because no one here know everything there is to know.

5am every morning to wake up to write care plan, paper, to study about the next test, that is NOT fun, and i bet you the only people who is going to be THAT determined is the people who have an attitude of determination as well as desperate to want NURSING DEGREE.

If I wasn't desperate enough (think about the people standing in line for xbox 360 or playstation 3 that camped 2 weeks before the item release so they can sell them on ebay to make more money than retail price)

If I didn't have the attitude toward desperate, I would not have continued nursing. I would just continue to be a doctor NOT because it's easier, but at least they focus on expressing knowledge more, center for disease and illness, and such like that. I probably continue to med school after i receive my RN because at this moment, my purpose changed to being a NURSING STUDENT than someone who will make a difference in the lives of other.

It's NOT about how smart you are, because seriously, I would not have reply to this post because I wouldn't have anything to share or emphasize about. It's not about how wise your experience in life may be. It's about following directions to focus on your determination.

i bet you the only people who is going to be THAT determined is the people who have an attitude of determination as well as desperate to want NURSING DEGREE.

I probably continue to med school after i receive my RN because at this moment, my purpose changed to being a NURSING STUDENT than someone who will make a difference in the lives of other.

I hear you! I would think nursing school would be focused on building a strong foundation for safe patient care. Instead, much of it is just "getting through it"- but what a waste! As long as we're putting the time and energy into our education, I'd rather be learning useful stuff instead of learning how to pass poorly written tests and writing multiple care plans from scratch (how many times do I need to document the source for "encourage patient to use incentive spirometer"?!). I personally didn't think most tests did a good job of measuring useful knowledge or critical thinking skills. They tested one's ability to make logical guesses based on assumptions, instructor bias, and figuring out what the worst choices were instead of testing knowledg of what best actions would be.

I don't understand the tradition of insisting nursing students figure everything out for themselves instead of giving them examples, guidelines, etc. Yes, at some point, the training wheels have to come off. But school IS the training wheels. What's the point if they don't actually teach and give you clear learning objectives? Lectures functioned to signal what would be on the test - not any real enhancement or further explanation of the content - there was almost never time for questions and answers were often unsatisfying, especially to explain the thinking behind those horribly vague and useless test questions.

By the way, I enjoyed my nursing school classmates and the comraderie we had from taking classes together for two years - as opposed to my other bachelor's where I was lucky if I recgonized a few faces in many of my classes. I enjoyed getting to be in the various clinical environments and learning about and seeing various disease processes. I enjoyed being able to play a small part in a patient's health care experience.

Specializes in ER.

Nursing School to me is something I hate to Love.. it def has its ups and its downs, one of the things I loved about nursing school was the group of girls I met, without them I would of never made it through my junior year.. I know they will be lifelong friends I can always count on.... Now I am a Senior graduating in May 08, and I am ready to be done.. like everyone else said I am at the point where i do what I have to do to get through, even if i pass with C's.... C=RN.. Good luck to everyone this year.. Hopefully this light everyone is talking about is at the end of my tunnel, I'm so stressed!!

You're right, we're putting tons of energy and time into our education. What's so critically challenged about following directions? I don't see the critical thinking in any of the topic in LVN school so far. Six rights to administration (r.patient,route,time,med,doc,dsg) is your checklist, care plan (or just a bunch of unnecessary checklist in the hospital done at the time of discharge or a foreign document to most of the RNs at work) is just a waste of time management (ohh, which by the way, time management does not apply during post conference past clinical hour by the exception of the instructor which is okay! 630 - 1900 ish), and I could keep this horrible tradition we're facing in nursing school at this time. However, I don't think whining and complaining about it would change that tradition. It does feel good to vent though and everyone should.

Here's a last thought I have learned concurrent to cooperate nursing school itself (not the hospital we're trained at Kaiser Permenente, awesome staff). When you come in to class this week, let me know how you can relate to how far you've learned in school. Second semester, I have learned best to keep my mouth shut, slightly ask questions, do what is necessary, do what is told, say thank you or sorry, and NEVER argue. That is the secret ingredient to passing NURSING ladies and gentlemen. JJJ > I'm glad you enjoyed spending time with your classmates, they are people who will be there in tough or easy times.

(heh, in the end it's all about the license or that piece of paper that says we've passed NCLEX is what the initial and prime goal)

"You can learn a lot from listening than you can from talking. Find someone with whom you don't agree in the slightest and ask them to explain themselves at length. Then take a seat, shut your mouth, and don't argue back..." -- John Moe, Conservatize Me.

I hear you! I would think nursing school would be focused on building a strong foundation for safe patient care. Instead, much of it is just "getting through it"- but what a waste! As long as we're putting the time and energy into our education, I'd rather be learning useful stuff instead of learning how to pass poorly written tests and writing multiple care plans from scratch (how many times do I need to document the source for "encourage patient to use incentive spirometer"?!). I personally didn't think most tests did a good job of measuring useful knowledge or critical thinking skills. They tested one's ability to make logical guesses based on assumptions, instructor bias, and figuring out what the worst choices were instead of testing knowledg of what best actions would be.

I don't understand the tradition of insisting nursing students figure everything out for themselves instead of giving them examples, guidelines, etc. Yes, at some point, the training wheels have to come off. But school IS the training wheels. What's the point if they don't actually teach and give you clear learning objectives? Lectures functioned to signal what would be on the test - not any real enhancement or further explanation of the content - there was almost never time for questions and answers were often unsatisfying, especially to explain the thinking behind those horribly vague and useless test questions.

By the way, I enjoyed my nursing school classmates and the comraderie we had from taking classes together for two years - as opposed to my other bachelor's where I was lucky if I recgonized a few faces in many of my classes. I enjoyed getting to be in the various clinical environments and learning about and seeing various disease processes. I enjoyed being able to play a small part in a patient's health care experience.

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