Does anyone sail through nursing school?

jschut, BSN, RN · Jun 19, 2002

:chuckle :roll :rotfl: :roll :chuckle

Easy? Never!

Some of us have gotten through a bit easier than others, and some of us are the others....

Yea...we did have some who were extrordinarily smart....I wasn't one of them....I had to study....(I think they had to study too, but they retained it better than I did!)

Good Luck when you do start!!!

NurseDennie, BSN, RN · Jun 19, 2002

Sail through?? I don't know, but I sure don't *think* so!

I've majored in several things, and none of them were "pudd" majors, but nothing was as difficult as nursing classes. At least for me. I graduated from Purdue with an ALMOST pefect GPA (I got a "B" in English 101) and I'd studied physics, programming (okay, that's pretty pudd) and something else I can't remember in between the two.

Nursing classes started, and I got a "B" straightaway in Nursing Fundamentals. I thought I was going to hemorrhage! I hadn't gotten a "B" in decades.

As an example, I'd taken quite a few psychology classes (required for artificial intelligence programming) and then I took psych nursing. MUCH more difficult!!!

I know some very, very intelligent people, but I don't think anybody skated through really easily. I could be wrong, of course. Somebody with a phenomenal memory would have an easier time of it in some classes, that's for sure!

Good luck.

Love

Dennie

kewlnurse · Jun 19, 2002

Didn't kill myself, but it wasn't sailing, which to me looks like a lot or work . I will say that all through grammer school, high school, a AAS in a different field, and 4 credits shorts of 2 more degrees, I never spent more than 5 minutes studying. Never had less than a 3.0. Nursing school was at least 30-60 minutes per test. And I was happy with a 3.0

shay · Jun 19, 2002

Didn't study much, but dang if those stupid care plans, endless papers, and clinicals starting at the crack of freakin' dawn didn't nearly kill me....that and working full time.

If you 'sail' through, you're cheating or not paying attention.

okihusker · Jun 20, 2002

It was easy for me I guess. I was a med tech, which is like an LPN, in the USAF before I went through college. I we lost half our traditional students to organic chemistry, and physiology.

live4today, RN · Jun 20, 2002

Originally posted by dianacs
Taking a study break here...and posting is so much more fun!

Now, I haven't started nursing school yet, so I can't offer any personal experience, but perhaps you all can. Many people have said that nursing school is challenging, difficult, one of the hardest majors, etc., and this is definitely what I'm preparing myself for in the fall. Did any of you ever come across someone who had a relatively easy time of it? From my past experiences, there's always one genius type in the group who aces everything, seemingly effortlessly. If such a person exists in nursing school, that person must be doubly talented since one must apply her/himself in both the theory AND clinical portions of the program. Perhaps some of you are/were one of these people? I am curious to know...

Disclaimers: I know that grades do not make the nurse. I know that people usually have other responsiblities in addition to nursing school. I am not expecting to be one of the people I speculated about in my question. This is merely a point of curiosity. Thank you.

Hello Dianacs:)

I didn't exactly sail through nursing school...mostly A/B student with only two "C"s on my entire college transcript...only one in a nursing course, the other on computers because I only did the REQUIRED work, and not a drop above that since at the time computers TOTALLY bored me stiff. :zzzzz If it hadn't been for my whiz of a former brother in law, I don't think I would have gotten that "HI-C" that I got. Could have squeaked a B out of the class, but I really wasn't into it. Didn't affect my GPA much anyway, sooooo....

My former Psych Instructor made a big speech to the class one morning about students who were A students and those who worked really really hard to get that C grade. She said that just because one is able to RETAIN enough information to TEST WELL does NOT mean that individual is capable of APPLYING what they tested so well on. Then, she told us this story about one of her prior students who was a 4.0 from Kindergarten to College. She was so self-confident that she would make a good nurse because she Aced everything all through the program. Well, come time for clinicals, this same student could not APPLY what she had learned in the clinical setting; she was always bawling because she found out that her GPA of 4.0 did not help her one bit when it came time for APPLICATION. After she graduated and sat for Boards...which she passed first time around...she took a job in the hospital and within six weeks of her first job, she quit. She went back to college to earn a higher degree so she could -- get this now -- TEACH NURSING! :rolleyes: Go figure! :rotfl: So......suffice it to say, GRADES DON'T NECESSARILY MEAN YOU ARE GOING TO BE A SUCCESS IN THE REAL WORLD WHEN IT COMES TIME FOR YOU TO APPLY WHAT YOU LEARNED SO WELL BETWEEN THE PAGES OF THOSE EXPENSIVE COLLEGE TEXTBOOKS! Good luck to you whatever you do in your life! If you are a STRONG 'C' student who knows how to apply what you learn in the clinical setting, then hang in there. If you are an 'A' student, and know how to apply what you learn in the clinical setting...BRAVO! :)

fedupnurse · Jun 20, 2002

I went to school with one of those brainiacs who aced every test. She was the apple of each instructors eye. Book smarts are all well and good but I'd rather have someone with clinically savvy and expertise any day of the week!! This girl was lost in the clinical world. You know the face someone makes when they have something that is really grossing them out on their hands?? That's how she looked in clinical all the time. Most of the rest of us worked in some capacity of healthcare so we could take the sputum, poop and puke. She was totally grossed out by it! Wonder if she is still in nursing now????? That was 10 long years ago.

rnnurse2be · Jun 18, 2003

Humm, interesteg topic. I know when I went to school as a stupid stupid stupid 20 yr old I did crappy. I went back at 28 bound a determined to get A's and did. I pulled a C and freaked out, but then took a step back at my life. I work, am a wife and a mom to two sons. My life is SO hectic that I accepted it. The Class load that semester was HUGE, difficult and overwhelming. I learned to ACCEPT the C and be Happy with it.

I also realize that I study more than almost ALL of my friends and did just as well or better than they did. BUT, they are in their EARLY 20's w/ few stressors too.

The older I get, the harder I have to work. Thats why I decided to work 1 yr then go begin getting my MSN- NP

sbic56, BSN, RN · Jun 18, 2003

Other than being awfully time consuming with all the paperwork requirements, I didn't think it was that bad, as in hard bad. Pain is the butt bad, well, yes it was! I managed to be salutatorian, but it was small class, so I can't brag too much, (25). Plus, being an LPN for 13 years prior sure didn't hurt!

gotosleep · Jun 18, 2003

If you think nursing school is/was (which it isn't) hard, try anesthesia school (which is).

sbic56, BSN, RN · Jun 18, 2003

Originally posted by gotosleep
If you think nursing school is/was (which it isn't) hard, try anesthesia school (which is).

I absolutely wouldn't doubt that for a millisecond. That takes on an entirely different scope than nursing and would be totally foreign to me. I'm humbled.