So, how hard is it--Really?

Nursing Students General Students

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Hi everyone!

I'm starting NS school in the fall and I'm getting a little nervous here. :) I have all my prereqs done so I'll just be taking the nursing courses. I've heard from many people that nursing school is like boot camp.....People have said it was the hardest thing they've ever done. Most I've heard have struggled their way through it.

Today I met a woman at my daughter's school who graduated 3 years ago from the progam I am going to. I asked her for some words of wisdom and she said "There will come a time when you want to quit. Everyone goes through it. Just stick it out, it's all worth it in the end." She also said "If you're an A student, be prepared to be a 'B' student."

That kind of freaked me out. :lol2:

I'm not worried about working hard. In fact, I get my greatest satisfaction by receiving an A from a class that I worked my a$$ off in. I just wonder what I'm in for. I'm dedicated. I'm ready. Am I in for it?:lol2:

I think it all depends on your school and the curriculum and grading system. At my school you need a 93 or better for an "A" and let me tell you how hard it is to get that grade. An 80 or better is passing so that leaves little room for error either. I guess the thing I had to get used to is the fact that for the next (however long your program is) 2 years I was going to eat, sleep and breathe nursing. I think it does get better (not necessarily easier, but better) b/c you develop a system for studying and care plans. The first semester I was completely confused on "how" to study.

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I'll tell you the secret to getting through nursing school. Desire. You have to really want to be a nurse to make it. I'm graduating in August and I can finally see the light. I never felt like I wanted to quit, but I did feel like crying several times.

The truth is, it is so interesting that it is fun to learn, but the workload is immense. I was told, and I found out it really is true, you have to give up most of your personal life and time.But it is a sacrifice that will be so worth it and the time will fly.

About the grades, I just got a 92 on one of my tests, which is a B on our grading scale. Most tests are 50-75 questions, so, I only missed 4 questions( Out of 50) and got a B. So my point is, don't get hung up on grades. The important thing is grasping the material and feeling like you can apply it.

Anyway, YOU CAN DO IT! Have fun and good luck.

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It's the hardest thing I've ever done. It also changed my life in amazing ways and I'm so lucky for that.

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Specializes in CICU.

It's easy

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I have found the secret to getting an A rather is cramming -- but cramming on top of regular studying. Just studying hard will get you a B, spending 8 hours the day/night before a test reviewing obsessively (I'm big on index cards) will get you the A.

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wow. That sounds pretty lucky. I would love to be in that nursing school. I was a 4.0 GPA student and I am getting the highest grade in the class right now with an 83% which is a "C". I was told to be happy with "c's" so I went through depression thinking I was a failure for the first 3 semesters because I couldn't get above a C. Now I'm just happy that I'm almost done and haven't failed like a large portion of our class. We started out with 36 students and only have 5 students from our starting class.

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I just finished my second quarter of nursing school. Academically it is not difficult, but in terms of time requirements to finish all the work, it is. My A & P class was by far much more difficult than any of the nursing classes. My grades are a bit lower in nursing school (3.8) but in the long run, it doesn't really matter. In the end, you're either a nurse or you're not. No one is going to say, "Oh, that nurse received a low grade on ______". Give yourself permission to receive lower grades than you're used to. I agree with the previous posters that you want to make friends with your classmates. You don't have to love everything about them, but you will be working with them in clinicals and on group assignments so it's nice to get along. When things get rough for me, I try to think about what an honor it is to be in the program and how thrilled I was when I received my acceptance letter. Best wishes.

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I am in my 2nd sesemter of Lpn. 6 wks left to the semester. So far, what I find hard is trying to get the home work done. Just seems to be so much. It isn't hard to do just time consuming and that gets real old. I feel like I am always doing homework. I find it very interesting but just alot to do.

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Wow, this thread it so helpful to me. Thank you so much for your honest responses.

I can't wait to hear other's, too!!

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The "Straight A's in_____" add in Peds, Ob, Pharm, Mental can be found at at lot of college bookstores and also online at www.amazon.com

Also, I think one of the biggest frustrations with school is they expect you to know much more than you were ever taught and if you don't achieve at the levels they are expecting, they get frustrated with you. The key to overcoming this is getting to know upperclassmen. For checkoffs, we would get bits & pieces. So to prepare we as a group would collectively put together what the instructors were expecting to see and also what would be things that would be a guaranteed - failure. I think they have taught this material over and over again, that they forget to give us some fundamentals.

Don't worry. You will do fine and it goes quick!

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