What makes Nursing school so tough that many people end up dropping out???

Nursing Students General Students

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What's the toughest part about the Nursing program??? Tell me about your Nursing program!!!

Specializes in ER, Teaching, HH, CM, QC, OB, LTC.

Double post

Specializes in ER, Teaching, HH, CM, QC, OB, LTC.

double post

:monkeydance:

Specializes in ER, Teaching, HH, CM, QC, OB, LTC.

I have know idea what happened I only typed it once!!

Specializes in ER, Teaching, HH, CM, QC, OB, LTC.

I agree that the shreer amount of information covered is a large part of why students drop out. They are just overwhelmed...

I keep asking myself this question. Does it have to be this way? Just what can be 'left out' of the curriculum? Between BON & NLN & other agency requirements schools have to be creative to find ways to make it work (at least on paper) then the students & instuctors have a harder time making it a reality. I beleive that alot of the 'busy work' comes from schools haveing to show how they are meeting these types of requirements.

I have spoken to retired nurses that tell the same stories only with dates going back 35-40 yrs. Nursing Boot camp is right!!!!!!

My motto in college was, This to shall pass & so will I!!!!!!

I also agree with the poster that stated that they where proud of a 88 on a test!!! I would tell myelf & others that it's not your GPA after your name it is your license... RN...LPN

Study smarter not just harder,longer!

Best of luck!!

Specializes in cardiology, psychiatry, corrections.

For me, learning the material isn't that difficult because of my EMS background. I have already been through a very challenging program. Paramedic school was more difficult than nursing. I see and hear a lot of that stuff when I work. The tests can be difficult, though. Some of it you can't study for; you have to be able to choose the rightest of the right. Currently, I am in my 2nd semester and I am working on Med/Surg II, which involves cardiac and respiratory. My ACLS certification helps out TREMENDOUSLY. I have heard that this is the most difficult class in the entire program. A lot of people are in a dead panic. I think this class will eliminate even more students than we have already lost. If one can get through this part, (s)he can pretty much get through the rest of it.

The harderst thing for me was adjusting to the hospital setting during my clinicals after working 10 years in ambulances. And during fundamentals I felt like I was in kindergarten all over again. I was used to being treated like an adult, and there are all these rules, and the instructors told all these stories to intimidate. They had an affect on most people; in my head, I laughed my a** off.

Specializes in Critical Care, Pediatrics, Geriatrics.

We lost 50% of our class the first semester. In my opinion, it occurred because many people "want to be...." whatever profession but once they realize the work it takes and the reality of the type of duties they will have, they decide its not for them, be it nursing or accounting or any other major. I went through three majors before I fell into nursing. And I say 'fell into' because I didn't feel the calling others described, I just happened to decide to try it and ended up loving it.

The following semesters we lost less and less students. These students either failed academically or had family crises that caused them to fall behind a semester or drop out.

The most important lesson you will learn in nursing school is time management. The material is semi-challenging but understandable, the testing strategies require loads of critical thinking, and you must be able to balance your personal time with your academic commitments. If you succeed with time management and have good study skills and reasoning abilities, then you will succeed in nursing school. Its not hard, it just requires commitment! And if you fall, pick yourself up and dust yourself off and try, try, try again

For me, nursing school was tough because the professors were poor teachers. Schools don't pay enough, so they have to accept anyone who has an advanced nursing degree - never mind if they know how to teach, communicate, write a presentation, etc. I basically spent a lot of money and went home and taught myself every night. Thank God for Tabor's and webmd.com.

I also was an older student and found many professors to be condescending, and love trying to "break" you. I never experienced that in my first degree - which was advertising. Professors became very defensive when we asked questions that they didn't have answers to.

And the worst part is - when I graduated and started as a new nurse, I was grossly underprepared, despite the fact that I had a student extern job too. I think the best nursing programs are the old school diploma programs. A nursing education in a university setting is a joke - you never use those theories or make cutsey health posters in the real world.

okay, you asked..... (but, i haven't dropped out)

overall, in a nutshell ...it's overwhelming & exhausting!!! it's nursing "bootcamp", they push you hard and try to cram as much info. into your head as humanly possible and much like regular bootcamp some make it and some don't!....(1st semester is not bad though...)

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That is exactly what I think its like.Nursing bootcamp.

In it for the money? What a joke! At least nursings salaries are going up, but I can't imagine being a nurse for the bucks. Nursing school is difficult for a lot of reasons, though the teachers can make it more pleasant. This semester, I just love my clinical instructor - for one thing, she's not the type to bark at students in front of patients, which I think is just awful and unprofessional since it creates a lot of tension. At the same time, the studying part will always be difficult, as is learning so many new skills at once. I just wish schools could weed out people before, and not during the program, as it's a waste of time and money for people who drop out.

I have been out of school for several years now. If it were not for the $$ I would not have done this. I wanted something I could make a decient living at and was relativel secure.

I make enough that do not have to work full time at this. Though I work full time at the moment I do not have to.

There is no way I would do this if it did not pay well. I would have stayed a CNA. THAT was fullfilling.

Specializes in ICU.

It's a really hard subject. I have an Bachelor's in Accounting and my husband has a Bachelor's in Engineering and we both think that Nursing was ten times harder than either. I had to study ten times as much and I actually had to remember the stuff I learned instead of being able to purge it to make room for the next semester. Several people in my class got into nursing without realizing how hard it really is. You have to learn disease processes, understand Anat & Phys, pharmacology, microbiology. And then aside from the science aspect, you also have to learn interpersonal communication, management and organizational skills, incredible attention to detail, and a very strong stomach. And that's just the basic foundation before you get your "real" education. You really have to be willing to dedicate a lot of time and be really focused. Those who dropped out in my class just weren't willing to do that, and I feel bad that they had to go through everything to get into the program, just to find out they didn't want it. Of course, I went all the way through an accounting degree before I found out it wasn't for me. Oh well.

Specializes in hospice, home care, LTC.

Nursing school entails lots of independent study. The quantity of information that must be learned is vast and varied and there just isn't enough time for all of it to be taught in theory or experienced in clinical. An excellent student is highly motivated, disciplined and committed. A tough skin doesn't hurt either, and you must be humble and confident simultaneously. :specs:

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