What is supposed to be the hardest year?

Nursing Students General Students

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I was just wondering because my aunt is a nurse, and she got her degree in the 80s.

She says that the first year is the hardest because the whole anatomy and physiology thing and nursing language is new when you start...

My mum says that subsequent years get easier and the information just gets built on from what you know.. because you get used to the jargon etc... Is that true?

Some people say that the work gets harder as you move up.

I thought that 2nd year would be the hardest, because we have to do medical-surgical and squeeze in clinicals.

During my LPN schooling, the 1st semester was the one that people dropped like flies.

During my RN (ADN) schooling, again the 1st semester (from what i was told, b/c I started in the 3 of 4 semesters) was where a lot of people failed out. Then it seemed that the 3rd semester was the killer again.

Specializes in L&D, infusion, urology.

I found that the last semester was hardest, if only for the time it took. That was the semester that finally took down my running. Probably the first semester was the hardest, academically, though, because of all of the adjustment. You're learning how to take NCLEX-style exams, manage reading 4300 chapters a week while managing a group paper and other assignments, AND trying to not kill yourself in the process.

I would agree that it depends on how your program is set up.

my ADN program, med surg was the second semester and I found it the most difficult because the transition from Fundamentals (relatively easy) into M/S was like night and day. I kinda wished my program prepared us better for it because just when you thought you got that "think like a nurse" thing down pat in Fundamentals, M/S turns it upside down. The NCLEX-style questions are way harder, and now that SATA is becoming more prevalent in the real NCLEX, it was reflected in our exams as well, so scores across the board went down. People found themselves one grade lower consistently on the exams vs Fundamentals. A lot of my class didn't make it, unfortunately. I feel like that harsh transition from a relatively easy first semester into a way harder second semester was a disservice to the students.

I'd say that your aunt's recollection from 30 years ago is probably not terribly accurate. The passage of years has a way of tempering some experiences while amplifying others.

Personally, I found 2nd (of 5) semester to be the hardest because we were expected to have the basics under control and that's when the care plans started full force.

We lost students each of the 5 semesters so I don't know if any one of them was really any harder than any of the others. To a degree, it was a 'war of attrition' in which some students just got worn down by the system.

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