Is Nursing School " Hard?" Would You do it Over Again?

sallyrnrrt, ADN, RN · Aug 16, 2016

In a heartbeat I would

kummerspeck · Aug 16, 2016

I got a Bachelor's in education before going to nursing school (I graduated nursing school at the age of 38). My associate's in nursing was a million times harder than the BS in El Ed that I have. Nursing school is hard, and there are reasons it should be, but it has been very rewarding for me. If I had to do it again, I would. But I am REALLY glad I don't have to! Good luck in your decision.

Cricket183, BSN, RN · Aug 16, 2016

No one can answer for you which degree plan you should follow. It all depends on your long term career goals. If you're uncertain about nursing, it's always a good idea to job shadow a nurse for a day or two and get a better idea of what nursing is really like.

As for what makes nursing school so hard...it's a lot of different things (or at least it was for me). The content isn't always difficult, although it can be, but it is a huge amount of information. There is a lot of reading & writing (care plans, ugh!). I'm a speed reader and have always been comfortable writing research papers and such but at times I found it overwhelming. The tests you take are not formatted like other tests. Most exams are NCLEX style questions. There isn't one correct answer to choose from. You must choose the most correct answer.

Your first semester, you may have clinicals one day a week but be prepared for that one clinical day to require both prep time and time afterward to complete related assignments. We had to go the day/evening before clinical and get our patient assignment. We had to research their history, chief complaint, make cards of all their medications and be prepared to administer them knowing the med, dose, route, potential side effects & interactions, and prepare a plan of care (the vain of every nursing students existence!). And your second semester expect more clinical days. For me my first year I was at the Houston campus of my nursing school, the second year I was at the Dallas campus. (We moved due to my husband's career requiring me to transfer campuses.) My clinicals ended up being all over both metroplexes. It gave me a wide variety of experiences but I spent a lot of time in my car in traffic. I also commuted 90 & 120 miles one-way to my respective campuses.

I am also a minister's wife with two children who were in late elementary school at the time so I was busy outside of school. I often stayed up late studying after everyone else was in bed. I lived on very little sleep. I too am a type A person so I completely get the "have to have an A" syndrome. At some point I had to learn to accept a few B's and be okay with it. (I still graduated cum laude.)

As hard as it was I don't regret a single minute of it and would do it all over again. I loved my nursing career and regret that it was cut short. (I'm currently on disability due to health issues.) I would give almost anything to be able to return to nursing.

llg, PhD, RN · Aug 16, 2016

I think the biggest factor in answering the question, "How hard is it really?" depends on the particular school you chose.

Some schools accept lots of students (almost everyone who applies who meets some minimal pre-req requirments and who is willing to pay the bills) -- and then put them through a VERY difficult process of weeding out those who are unlikely to pass the NCLEX licensing exam. Those schools are often the hardest ones to get through -- but they are often not the best quality of school. The school puts up lots of hurdles that you have to get over, but they don't necessarily teach you any more.

Then there are other schools that are more selective in their admissions standards -- and who are therefore more confident in their students' ability to pass the NCLEX. Such schools aren't trying so hard to "weed the week ones out." They are more supportive and are trying to help everyone pass because they have confidence in the students' underlying worthiness from the start.

Then of course, there are many schools somewhere in between the 2 extremes.

What type of school are you going to? What percentage of the students who start the program actually graduate on their originally scheduled graduation date? How many of those students pass NCLEX on the first try?

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Aug 16, 2016

How hard is nursing school? I think the answer to this question depends on the individual's intellectual aptitude and prior learning experiences.

Some people to the right of the bell curve will think nursing school is easy, while those to the left of the curve will feel it's the hardest feat they've undertaken.

Most people in the middle of the curve will be somewhat challenged by the time constraints and new ways of thinking presented in nursing school, and will neither consider it 'easy' nor the 'hardest thing ever.'

injured1 · Aug 17, 2016

No one can answer for you which degree plan you should follow. It all depends on your long term career goals. If you're uncertain about nursing, it's always a good idea to job shadow a nurse for a day or two and get a better idea of what nursing is really like.
As for what makes nursing school so hard...it's a lot of different things (or at least it was for me). The content isn't always difficult, although it can be, but it is a huge amount of information. There is a lot of reading & writing (care plans, ugh!). I'm a speed reader and have always been comfortable writing research papers and such but at times I found it overwhelming. The tests you take are not formatted like other tests. Most exams are NCLEX style questions. There isn't one correct answer to choose from. You must choose the most correct answer.
Your first semester, you may have clinicals one day a week but be prepared for that one clinical day to require both prep time and time afterward to complete related assignments. We had to go the day/evening before clinical and get our patient assignment. We had to research their history, chief complaint, make cards of all their medications and be prepared to administer them knowing the med, dose, route, potential side effects & interactions, and prepare a plan of care (the vain of every nursing students existence!). And your second semester expect more clinical days. For me my first year I was at the Houston campus of my nursing school, the second year I was at the Dallas campus. (We moved due to my husband's career requiring me to transfer campuses.) My clinicals ended up being all over both metroplexes. It gave me a wide variety of experiences but I spent a lot of time in my car in traffic. I also commuted 90 & 120 miles one-way to my respective campuses.
I am also a minister's wife with two children who were in late elementary school at the time so I was busy outside of school. I often stayed up late studying after everyone else was in bed. I lived on very little sleep. I too am a type A person so I completely get the "have to have an A" syndrome. At some point I had to learn to accept a few B's and be okay with it. (I still graduated cum laude.)
As hard as it was I don't regret a single minute of it and would do it all over again. I loved my nursing career and regret that it was cut short. (I'm currently on disability due to health issues.) I would give almost anything to be able to return to nursing.

Thanks for your response. My program it is one evening and one clinical day throughout the entire program( assuming you have all the sciences knocked out ). It seems to be more of a middle of the road school between a weed out and a selective/supportive environment. I say this because, when my health shot, so did my GPA. Down below a 3.4...a 3.177( now there was a few A's on top of that GPA not calculated). Granted I got an A in medical term, physics, and computer systems, but I barely retained information bc the classes were fast accelerated. In the Ap 1 and 2, they combined them in one semester, so we had two labs a week, and had 1 class day to learn a system and then onto the next system the following second lecture of the week. So the 97% looks great, but all I can tell you about physics is if you drop an electron, heck breaks loose. Also, a little on thermodynamics. However, this college, seems the opposite. They don't combine AP 1 and 2 together. I can only speak from their "Science Classes" Structure, not nursing.

I also am into weight training, and that is what helps with aspects. I also have health issues, I have an ileostomy....so that sucks lol. ( which was my health issue ). I was a top 200 transfer( which includes all students coming into the school ) in a big college. Had a full scholarship...was an athlete, and bam! Got ill, and the ileostomy. So I am getting a second chance and a partial scholarship( no room and board...which is ok bc I am not 20 anymore etc etc). I know one program( the big college program), to quote..." The brain is there but do you have enough stamina( physically )." I walked from that program, not bc the words, but that program I would have to drive, kind of like you did...over an hr to sometimes an hr n half or more away, plus there was no evening. This program through entire program is 1 evening, 1 clinical( typically 8 hours ), was told students get out early, but have to go back to campus for an overview if you do...idk what that is. Also, it's not to far of a drive so no hour. So not just how hard a program is...but reading stuff on here scared me a little, on top of having an ileostomy/health issues. Some people in Health Care cringe when they know I move 700lbs...and train.

It was great info you gave, on the prep. I did not know it was that detailed. Also, it helped to understand more of the concepts. May I ask...based upon your description...is nursing moving towards, like a case manager type role with all the documentation? So before you would go see patients, you would have to know all that for 7 A.M? Also, the plan of care, didn't know that ha. Most( non nurses ) think you get orders from doc and implement them. The care of plan, did you have an "X" number of patients? Congrats on the Cum laude! People seen the Type A thing, which is great...but it hurts me( knowingly ) in other areas. Had a prof..and I was studying that AP course that combined Ap 1 and 2 together in one semester...I would study the Kidney, all the nephrons, the nephron loop, study it at different angles...different images. It would take me 6 hours just to set up my studying before I studied. Now understand at this time, I was not a nursing major, and nursing majors came up to me and wondered why I would take a class w out being a major. Anyway, I would then go to the prof, and ask questions on his office hours....Basically in a nut shell, he informed me he cannot ask 100 q's on a kidney on a test, heart, etc, only 3-4 would be covered. He basically goes your brain reminds me of a computer before there was Apps. ...he informed me I didn't need to know everything. However, on the tests there would be two correct answers....but which one was the best... I can tell you the class started with 60, and ended with I think 35. The average in the class 67.5%.( this was at the bigger college ). Like you said, which is ironic, he told the class...All those who hope to get an A....You will prob get a B..lol. I am eyeing nursing to eventually go into N.P school.

As a side note, again congrats on the Cum Laude. Dallas.. The Cowboys are my favorite team. Also, why we are on topic, ever think of HIM? Idk your limitations. Thanks for the response and insight. Sorry for long reply and I am sure my original post could have been shorter.

NICUismylife, ADN, BSN, RN · Aug 17, 2016

In all honesty, with a school that only has 1 class meeting and 1 clinical per week, I'd be concerned about how well they will prepare you. How is their NCLEX pass rate? And are you someone who is going to be self-motivated to teach yourself as needed?

And, yes, you will be preparing care plans on your patients. There is a lot more to nursing than just following doctors orders. There are times when you need to call the doctor and tell them what your patient needs. And there will be times where you see a doctor's order and need to question it for your patient's safety. The doctor orders it, but you are the last line of defense between the patient and the med/intervention, and you will be liable if you cause that patient harm, even if you were following a dr. order. Critical thinking is imperative.

As far as care plans, you will probably start out with just one patient per day early on, and then as you progress through the program, that number will increase.

Good luck!

BSN16 · Aug 17, 2016

Nursing school is different for everyone.

I did have students in my class that gave up their social life for school. They would study at all hours of the day and went above and beyond.

I wasn't that case, i was a lazy student. I did pay attention and take notes in class, but i never even opened my text book or did any assigned reading.

It all depends on what type of student you are and if you have any previous health care knowledge.

VAMPRISS1973 · Aug 17, 2016

Sure it's hard, but anything hard is usually worth it. That being said I do have to play devil's advocate. With school and clinical,there is massive dedication. Which having to eat five meals a day, etc Some days in nursing you work 12 hour shifts and forget to eat and realize you haven't seen a bathroom for yourself in 6 hours let alone grabbed something to pop in your mouth or take a drink. Oh and a co worker called in sick so now you have the next admission. It is extremely fast paced, high energy, high priority career. Nursing shortage? I just read an article in Beckers speaking of nurse lay offs, and facilities closing, I have been searching the job market and find it extremely difficult to find a position in Midwest near Chicago. Understand that nursing is while extremely rewarding is also difficult and patient focused career. So is school difficult? Yes, it has to be because nursing is difficult, it also helps to weed out people who thought that nursing was like on television, all dating doctors and taking breaks at nurses station, even having time for shopping at ha an hour lunch break. We started with 147 in our class, we graduated with 47. Also forget about getting all A's in nursing school, the grade scale is different and you are usually one of the top of you get a B. With all this information good luck making your decision.

emmy27 · Aug 17, 2016

The hardest aspect of nursing school for me was the simple volume of material needed to master, while working under intense time constraints. Care planning isn't actually all that hard- but it can feel VERY hard at one in the morning between full clinical days, and with a pharmacology midterm hanging over your head. I have always been a good student and I'm not particularly type A (I did not freak out if I didn't get an A, for instance) but I still spent more time studying in nursing school by a huge factor than in any other course of study (and I completed most of a liberal arts degree before switching tracks to nursing). There's just a lot to learn in a very short time. I rarely felt that it was okay to relax- I had a standing date with a friend to watch an hour of bad TV on Sundays, and I went to the gym with my brother a few times a week, and we had a big class party at the end of every semester, but other than that, my socializing in nursing school consisted of sitting in coffee shops or the library with my study group. It was extremely time-consuming just to read the sheer bulk of assigned material, even before actual revision began.

I'm a little baffled by the prospect of a single four hour lecture and one clinical day a week for a 21 month program. Typically when I have seen programs that are part-time like that, they take several years to complete, as a single clinical day a week really only allows for one class per semester. We typically had two clinical days a week, occasionally more, in addition to multiple days of lectures- and this was for an ADN, not a BSN. There was a part time nights/weekends program associated with ours, but it took, I believe, 2.5 times as long to complete as the full-time program, since they could only really manage one clinical course per semester.

Am I understanding you correctly when you say that's all this program requires? If so, I'm curious how they possibly fit all the requirements of a nursing degree in that time frame.

mmc51264, BSN, MSN, RN · Aug 17, 2016

I had a BS in Biology and a Masters in Teaching (4.0 gpa). My ADN program was the hardest thing I have even done. And I would do it again in a minute. With the nursing degree, you can go many paths. I am now working on my MSN in Informatics. I did not start nursing school until I was in my 40s.