How hard is nursing school?

Nurses General Nursing

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  1. How hard is nursing school.

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Hello everyone,

I have heard many stories about how nursing school is super hard and really want to hear feedback from firsthand nurses about the true difficulty. I know it's not going to be an easy program. I am extremely curious how hard it really is. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Ps-

The program I am hoping to get into has prerequisites of Micro and A&P 1&2 so I won't have to take those during the program.

Thanks :yes:

I think you would find it easier to ask someone to describe the smell of oranges.

Nursing school can either be extremely easy or so hard you fail, it highly depends upon your personal attributes and the program you are in.

My class started with over 80 and ended with little over 20. I personally found nursing school to be easy, most of my books are still in the plastic on my bookshelf. My wife thought is was a bit more difficult and many friends found it to be too difficult to finish.

I think it really depends upon your ability to focus, critically think, and organize in chaotic situations.

Lol. Oranges.

I figured it's going to have a level of difficulty but hearing your description (along with reading other topics on Allnurses) makes me feel like "I got this"- I am an optimist. :-)

Do you think most people drop out of the program because of the difficulty or possibly from changing their mind thinking nursing wasn't what they thought it'd be?

I would also like to know! I will be applying for an accelerated program at the end of this year / early next year for a September 2018 start date. I am just about to graduate with an undergrad degree from a very rigorous and difficult university that is high ranked globally. I got great grades in my undergrad. So I already have years of university study habits down in a very stressful and EXTREMELY competitive environment. So I would also like to know, from someone who is very use to the rigour of a university education, how difficult a nursing program would be.

Specializes in ED.

It completely depends on where you are in your life, how well you test, and your support system. I went though school with three kids in diapers and 9 months pregnant with the fourth at pinning. Hard yes, but basic training was harder I think. It was all about the support.

Most of my classmates were college graduates familiar with college-level courework, so the academic part didn't seem to be the reason why people dropped out or dropped back a semester. Life issues like poor health, pregnancy, moving, not liking nursing seemed to be a bigger reason.

Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

BY FAR not the hardest thing I have ever done. But then I was active military for 10 years. The material is easy to understand; the hard part comes with pleasing your clinical instructors, all of whom have very different concepts of what is "right". But get used to it cause that is how it is working with doctors. They are all different and have differing preferences, all of which you will have to learn.

It's not that hard. It's all in your head.

Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

The academics was never hard for me. But "fitting in" and being the type of student some of the faculty wanted was. I was the proverbial square peg trying to fit into a round hole. That meant 2 years of misery for me while taking clinical courses.

I think a key indicator of how difficult nursing school will be is your ability to apply knowledge and problem solve. There is a lot you just need to know in nursing but there is much more you can figure out if you know the basics. For instance, if you know your A&P and pathophysiology, know how to assess a patient with X and what to look for is a lot easier than trying to memorize. Similarly, there is a finite number of nursing interventions but infite ways to combine them based on disease process and patient specifics. But again, if you know your basics you can easily identify and prioritize the appropriate interventions.

Students who have the most difficultly either don't have the foundational knowledge (e.g. - forgot all their A&P after the final) or struggle integrating that knowledge. Some level of this is normal which is why no one will honestly tell you it's a total breeze. But it's impossible to memorize your way through nursing, there is just way too much. Your ability to think critically and problem solve is what makes the difference. Best of luck!

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