Difficulty of Courses

Nursing Students General Students

Published

  1. How difficult are the courses?

    • 1
      Death.
    • 0
      A real struggle!!
    • 2
      Difficult
    • 10
      Challenge, yet possible
    • 3
      Meh/ okay
    • 3
      Alright
    • 2
      Easy- peasy
    • 1
      Boring...

22 members have participated

How hard would you say the classwork is?

-Is it possible to have a part time job to pay for schooling and still have time to study?

- How many hours of studying is typically required each night?

- Which courses are the most difficult? Is there a way I could prepare myself for these courses ahead of time?

- Any tips for someone who is thinking about going into nursing??

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Specializes in Hospitalist Medicine.

It really depends on which nursing course you're taking. Some felt more difficult than others, some were pretty easy. It's all dependent upon your own unique experiences & learning style. I may feel Med Surg was a piece of cake, but someone else might really struggle with it. I might feel like I struggle with Mental Health/Psychiatric Nursing and others feel it's a breeze. It's in the eye of the beholder.

So, to answer your poll, I had to check everything from Challenge to Boring. I found none of them to be difficult, a struggle or "death". But I can bet you that were probably others who felt that way.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
How hard would you say the classwork is?
This question is purely subjective and is going to generate different responses. I didn't think the coursework was that hard. Many people think nursing classes are the hardest in the world.

The reality is that each nursing student brings different academic abilities and study skills to the table, all of which come together to affect their estimation of how difficult or easy the courses are. For instance, the student who graduated high school with a 4.3 GPA in honors and AP coursework may think the classes are easy, whereas the student who dropped out in 9th grade and earned a GED at age 40 might feel the classes are hard.

Unlike many other professions, nursing attracts a wide repertoire of people, ranging from those who are deficient in the most basic academic skills to those who are 'intellectual warriors' with advanced academic skill sets and the well-developed ability to engage in abstract thinking. The 45-year-old laid-off chemical engineer with two master's degrees is often sitting in nursing classes alongside the recent high school grad who struggles with very basic dosage calculations.

I worked 32 hours per week while attending school full-time and graduated from nursing school with honors. Some people say you must not work during nursing school, but that doesn't jive with the reality that some of us face.

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Specializes in ICU.

The classes are different. Each program is different. And each person is different. I don't study every day. I do put some time into my classes, but it's not my life. I have lots to balance. Family, relationships, a home to take care of. I manage just fine. But I don't find any aspect particularly easy. It's a lot of information to absorb. It's a question that only you can answer.

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Specializes in ED, Psych..

I feel like the course work is very, very hard but I also think this has a lot to do with the caliber of nursing instructors you're working with. It is a case by case type of situation for the most part.

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-Is it possible to have a part time job to pay for schooling and still have time to study?

Do not let anyone tell you, or scare you into believing you cannot work and go to school at the same time. In my program of ~80 students, I can tell you right now most of them work full time, and have children. Not sounding rude, but anyone who blames working as the reason they cannot do nursing school/fail it is using it as a scapegoat. (Granted, it's easier without these responsibilities, but no where near impossible)

- How many hours of studying is typically required each night?

This is subjective. My entire nursing school experience I studied probably 5 hours a week total. Other people do that every day.

- Which courses are the most difficult? Is there a way I could prepare myself for these courses ahead of time?

Subjective again... Pharm is a pain for everyone though I'm fairly sure.

- Any tips for someone who is thinking about going into nursing?

Hold onto your hat, you'll be done before you know it.

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Specializes in Neuroscience.

I did not have a job the first year, and I do this year. Working forces me to really schedule my study time, which makes me not a procrastinator, which makes me less stressed for tests.

If possible, get a PRN job. The ability to accept jobs on the days that you want is really helpful.

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Specializes in Oncology/hematology.

Yes, it is possible to have a part time job.

I worked a part time job, took extra classes outside of the program's required ones (sometimes 6 extra credit hours per semester), and have a husband and child. I was also in the honors program, the class representative, and the Kaplan representative. I stopped cleaning my house for the most part, didn't have much time for friends outside of the program (but made new ones in the program) and we ate out a little more. But, it's temporary, and was worth it. I got my dream job and am loving being a nurse.

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