So...what is nursing school EXACTLY like?

RNnewbie2014 · Jul 13, 2013

It is TOUGH. It is life-altering. It is a bunch of things I have found out!! Lol. I am in a BSN program, and honestly, it will change your perspective on college courses like pre-reqs. It changed me for the good though. You actually LEARN it not memorize it. I have learned sometimes you have to find your way of whats best for you to study. Some things work for others that does not me. I had to go through trial and error to figure out what exactly made everything click. For me, I have class 4 to 5 times a week. Clinical is two of those days. I hope your emotionally stronger than I am because nursing school has put me on an emotional roller coaster at times. Sleep deprivation, and lack social life took a really big toll on me in the beginning. Now, I am just used to it. Some people can handle it, but I have to be focused on things in order to do well, so I can't join sororities and party hardy like all these other folks do :cheeky: . Anyway, you can do it!! Just go at it with all your heart in the beginning because I have always be an all A student and then here came my first C, and it killed me... Oh yea and my first failure too. Lol I made a 75 in Adult health I and had to retake it. I am glad I failed though because I have flown through the program now. Like PPs said, grasp it now. You will be adding on to it the entire time you are in school so it's best to understand it in the beginning!! I read aloud, I read my NCLEX book, I do ATI questions, and I have studied a few times with a group, but it does not really work for me. GOOD LUCK!!!

MommaTy · Jul 14, 2013

In my 1st semester of an ADN nursing program my classes are as follows. Mondays Fundamentals of Nursing 8:30a-12:30p, Tuesdays Lab 8a-11a, Wednesdays Role Development 1 8a-11a (every other week is online then the opposite week is in class), Thursday and Fridays 7a-1p clinical at a rehab center and an Online class Pharmacology 1. This is 12 credits.

Mandy0728 · Jul 14, 2013

This is what scares me a little too. The critical thinking aspect of it. No more memorizing facts and acing tests. It's about application. I start in August and I'm petrified/excited. My heart can barely take the extremes! One day I can't wait and the next day I am saying "Holy crap what the heck am I doing? What the heck made me think I could accomplish this?" And I haven't even started. But you certainly prove you have what it takes just making it through pre reqs and meeting the HUGE list of requirements like health/physical exams, background checks, liability insurance, vaccinations, etc that are required before you even begin. I'm out so much money already that there is no way I would give up on this investment. And that's how I look at it.[/quote']
I feel the same way! Even though I haven't gotten accepted yet since I have to wait till October, I'm very optimistic about it yet some days I wake up freaking out, thinking "can I really do this?" I feel like I'm already in so much loan debt and am not turning back now. I've invested so much time in retaking BS classes to boost my GPA and all that time spent studying my ass off was to raise my GPA for nursing, so I'm not quitting!

csmcj, BSN, RN · Jul 15, 2013

Thanks for all of the great tips guys. Is there anything now, looking back, that you wish you had done in the months leading up to the start of nursing school?[/quote']
I knew intellectually going I that nursing school would take up a lot of my time, but I was not prepared for the fact that it would pretty much consume my entire life. If I had it to do over again, I would have gone on those camping and hiking trips (fill in your own hobby here), I would have read more (for pleasure. I used to read 1-2 novels every week; now I haven't read anything non-school relates in almost a year), and I DEFINITELY would have spent more time with my family. I was able to sneak away for one day (one whole day!) to go home and see my parents over the Fourth of July weekend, but it was the first time I'd seen them in almost six months; I missed my brother's wedding because it happened to fall on a clinical day that I couldn't make up. Ultimately the sacrifices will be worth it, but it can be emotionally draining.
So I guess what I'm trying to get at is, don't stress yourself out with trying to read ahead for school or otherwise trying to prepare; spend this time enjoying your life while you can, because soon enough you won't have much time to enjoy it, at least for awhile. School is a wild, crazy ride, enormously rewarding in its own way, but it does have a tendency to pull you out of the world until graduation. Congratulations, and good luck!

akulahawkRN, ADN, RN, EMT-P · Jul 15, 2013

A day in the life of a student nurse? Reality is more like "week in the life of a student nurse." I'm in an ADN Program and it's a 12 unit/Semester program. My typical non-exam week goes something like this:

Sunday: wake up, housework for a couple hours, work, then study at work, go home, sleep.

Monday: repeat of Sunday.

Tuesday: Wake up, breakfast quickly, 4-6 hours of class time. Go home, study. After that, sleep.

Wednesday: Wake up, breakfast quickly, 2-3 hours of class time, 3-4 hours of hospital prep time, go home, start working on the care plan, study, dinner, study & more work on care plan, sleep.

Thursday & Friday: Wake up very early, go to clinical from 6:30-2 pm. Hop in the car, go to work. Study & work on finishing care plans, sleep about 3-4 hours.

Saturday: Repeat of Sunday.

Unless there's a school holiday, I don't get a day off from either work or school until the end of the Semester. I usually am able to get about 6 hours of sleep every night, except for Thursday night, so sleep deprivation isn't too bad. I really don't have a whole lot of time for anything else. It would be a whole lot different an experience for me if I didn't have to work though!

However, what's very helpful is that I have a very strong background in patient care and medicine, so I'm not learning a whole lot of new stuff, rather I'm learning to apply what I know in a different way. If I hadn't had such a strong background, I'd probably be quite buried in studying and not able to thrive.

Mandy0728 · Jul 15, 2013

A day in the life of a student nurse? Reality is more like "week in the life of a student nurse." I'm in an ADN Program and it's a 12 unit/Semester program. My typical non-exam week goes something like this:
Sunday: wake up, housework for a couple hours, work, then study at work, go home, sleep.
Monday: repeat of Sunday.
Tuesday: Wake up, breakfast quickly, 4-6 hours of class time. Go home, study. After that, sleep.
Wednesday: Wake up, breakfast quickly, 2-3 hours of class time, 3-4 hours of hospital prep time, go home, start working on the care plan, study, dinner, study & more work on care plan, sleep.
Thursday & Friday: Wake up very early, go to clinical from 6:30-2 pm. Hop in the car, go to work. Study & work on finishing care plans, sleep about 3-4 hours.
Saturday: Repeat of Sunday.
Unless there's a school holiday, I don't get a day off from either work or school until the end of the Semester. I usually am able to get about 6 hours of sleep every night, except for Thursday night, so sleep deprivation isn't too bad. I really don't have a whole lot of time for anything else. It would be a whole lot different an experience for me if I didn't have to work though!
However, what's very helpful is that I have a very strong background in patient care and medicine, so I'm not learning a whole lot of new stuff, rather I'm learning to apply what I know in a different way. If I hadn't had such a strong background, I'd probably be quite buried in studying and not able to thrive.

I'm ready for a crazy schedule, but I don't know if I'm ready to give up sleep lol! I need at least 8-10 hours a night....on the weekends I get 12 sometimes!

runsalot · Jul 15, 2013

I am glad I did not know how hard NS school was before I started. Enjoy pre ns school life. Go on vacation. Than get an nclex book and study.