Why is nursing school "hard?"

Nursing Students General Students

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Hello all,

I start nursing school next Tuesday, January 21st, and I am super excited. I just quit my job as an accountant and will be going to school full time for the next two years to get a BSN.

I have read many posts on this website about how difficult nursing school is and how many have cried their way through or didn't have a life. I don't doubt that nursing school is difficult and my hat goes off to all who have succeeded in nursing. But I can't help but wonder what makes it so difficult.

So for all of us who have yet to embark on this journey, my question is why is nursing school so difficult? Is it the material itself? Is it the amount of material? What is it that makes people cry?

Specializes in Cardiac.

CONGRATULATIONS on your new journey!!!!

I, too, left my first career to pursue my BSN and just graduated in December.

Honestly, nursing school isn't THAT HARD :-)

I started off as a newlywed, spent semester 2 and 3 pregnant, then semester 4 with a newborn, and worked. It can be done!!! :-)

To answer your question, nursing school is just different than anything I've ever encountered.

Testing is hard (at first), you have to understand that there will be several "right" answers, but one of them is the MOST right. That was a difficult concept for me, as in previous testing, there was only ONE right answer. Time management is crucial. It is so important to figure out what works best for you early on, and stick to that. The way each professor teaches is different, and figuring out how to pass different types of tests could be challenging at times. Some professors provide power points, and you could pay attention in class, study and memorize every single power point, and you would pass! At first, I would do ALL the reading, and study the power points, and look over my notes, and it was TOO much in later semesters with all I had going on at home. I learned that it really helped to do the sample questions in the back of the chapters covered to prepare for exams, even if I didn't do much studying from the book. Some books provide codes to online resources that contain practice exams, and I would do those too. Most of my professors actually used at least a few of the questions from these sources, but never mentioned it during class. The content is rough at times, but if you study hard and try to memorize everything they go over and class, then brush up on anything that's confusing at home, it will help so much. A lot of the material builds semester by semester, so if you start out strong, you will stay strong. Clinical instructors can be difficult, and for them, it's all about following directions, being safe and coming to clinical prepared to demonstrate your knowledge.

You will do great!! Remember to take time for yourself, try not to procrastinate, use a planner and find what works for you as far as studying goes. The two years will fly by! :-) Good luck !

Specializes in Nephrology, Dialysis, Plasmapheresis.
Could be As I started my first comment of with everyone is different.[/quote']

I think it can be a hard adjustment If you are a perfectionist or feel inadequate if you don't have a 4.0. The first semester was a shock to us all when we got 75% on the first test because we didn't chose the "most correct" answer. Nursing school wasn't too bad for me. I had a couple of mental breakdown moments were I felt overwhelmed, but they were rare in my 3 years. I worked 2 jobs the whole time, had roommates, a new boyfriend (who is now my husband), and still made time for vacations on my breaks. I never let it stress me out. Just stay on top of your work and don't get down on yourself if you get an 88% on a test! I graduated with a 3.6 and felt good about it. For me, it wasn't that difficult.

I am so glad you asked this question! I am a CPA and am beginning an accelerated bsn program also. This is really helpful and I am happy to hear another accountant following their heart!

I also didn't find it that hard but one thing I noticed is that in many programs you only take one nursing class at a time. Often they are shorter 5-10 week classes so you can fit a few into a semester. So while it seems to your family that you're only taking 1 class, the class can meet twice a week in lecture for about 4 hours. Plus 2-3 hours of lab. Plus 10-15 hours of clinical. So for just ONE class you're actually in class for 20+ hours per week plus your homework time. No one seems to get that. They hear one class and think cakewalk.

Specializes in Emergency.

I was told this by a medical doctor: Nursing school is hard because you learn the bulk of what med students learn but in a much shorter time frame. There you go. Once again. That came from a medical doctor.

I was told this by a medical doctor: Nursing school is hard because you learn the bulk of what med students learn but in a much shorter time frame. There you go. Once again. That came from a medical doctor.

The doctor is wrong, oh so wrong. I had a roommate who went to med school in a nearby big city. I cracked open his books once and was blown away. Nursing school does not even come close I assure you. The amount of stuff they learn in 1-2 didactic years is mind boggling.

Specializes in ER, CEN.

Basically because it's peoples life's you playing with

Well Im guessing during the past few months you have figured out what makes nursing school so hard. And that bad news it. It only gets harder. During nursing school I worked full-time as a nursing assistant and tied for valedictorian of my class. It was brutal to say the least. I was over-worked, underpaid, sleepless and miserable. Nursing school is something I would never ever do again! And honestly you'll make more money as an accountant than you will as a nurse. Good luck to you!

Specializes in LAD.

You have a long reading list and only so much time to actually read it...not to mention study it again.

Yep, mcm6508, sure did!

Here is why I felt it was hard from my perspective with one semester down and four more to go:

1. Disorganization - my program hired new instructors the weekend before class started; we also got a new dean over the program.

2. Reading assignments that are unreal - the sheer magnitude of the reading that is assigned is impossible to meet if you expect to retain any of it; I finally accepted that I could not read every word and started letting the Powerpoints direct my reading.

3. Five classes the first semester of school...with tests in four of them in one week; how do you study for four tests in five classes in the same week and keep up with the reading assignments that are ongoing while substantively posting to your online class discussions?

4. The 7 point grading scale...being 1.2 points away from an A when you would have already had one if the program went by a normal 10 point scale

Overall, my first semester wasn't too bad, once I figured out what worked best for me. I have heard that first level is the easiest and it gets harder from here...but then again I've heard that 3rd level is easiest. I just take each opinion with a grain of salt, i'll find out soon enough.

Specializes in med surg.

First semester was a piece of cake, just wait. That's exactly what I said. Second semester was a slap in the face!! Maybe you are more disciplined than me. I'm on my third semester and it's a lot of work.

I have just finished my sixth week of a BSN program; I can't comment on clinicals because I don't start those until another week, but for me the schooling has been exhausting because I'm an introvert (INTJ) and the labs are HIGHLY social and involve doing awkward-for-me teach backs of skills in front of my instructor and entire lab group. I get nervous from stage fright every time and have a hard time talking to the mannequin as if s/he is a real person...I actually feel my face turn red and my face sweats. We have anywhere from four to six hours of skills lab a day until we start clinicals. Because I am an introvert, when I get home all I want to do is fall asleep right away, which obviously affects my study time and messes up my sleep cycle (I currently wake up at 4am and do work then).

The thing is, I have 3 years of volunteer health care experience in an abortion clinic (think really, really intense) and don't have those problems there, so I assume there is some hope for my clinicals as far as patient contact is concerned. But right now the labs are what is hard for me. I've gotten As on all but one of my tests so far, and I chalk it up to the critical thinking and communications skills I picked up back in the day when I got my English BA in 1998. Those skills, once learned in any context, can carry over into nursing.

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