What is so difficult about nursing school?

JROregon, ASN, BSN, RN · May 5, 2010

I think the tests are done in a totally different way than we have been tested in our pre-reqs. Friends have told me the tests involve scenarios that are looking for the "best" answer. There may be 2 answers that are both correct but one is more righter : ) Those friends got As in their pre-reqs and are now happy with Cs and the occasional B. You are being tested to NCLEX standards.

TheSquire, DNP, APRN, NP · May 5, 2010

Nursing is most likely one of the hardest, if not the hardest, subjects taught in community colleges, as it's a lot of information and skills that need to be learned in a relatively short period of time. For some people who either don't do well in classroom environments or those who have only ever taken 100-level (and occasionally 200-level) courses at the community college level, the amount of work required to succeed and excel in a nursing program can come as quite a shock.

Then again, I have a maxim about the student forums (which I repeat often) that says that the level of whining and complaining a poster does in these forums is inversely proportional to their GPA. Don't sweat it - if you're a good student and apply yourself well, you'll do fine.

allnurses Guide · May 5, 2010

I agree with TheSquire. There are a few things that tend to make nursing school hard. I am just finishing my first semester and my observations are this:

Most people don't know how to study. They know how to memorize. That will get you pretty much nowhere in nursing school. The exams are all application based, which is two steps beyond memorization. You have to demonstrate you know it, understand it and can apply it in a variable real life type situation. NCLEX style questions are HARD. There are usually two potentially correct answers and you have to really know your stuff to choose the right one.

Most people have very poor time management skills. Nursing school is an incredible volume of information given in a relatively short period of time. For instance, this week alone I was assigned 600 pages in a textbook to read, know and be able to apply on the exam this coming Monday. That's about average. On top of that, we had skills scenario testing, ATI testing, a group project due plus our usual clinical rotations and paperwork. Managing time effectively is essential to nursing school success.

Because for most people it is so time intensive, that often means friendships, partying and pleasurable activities have to wait. This can greatly decrease the ability to "decompress", which leads to higher stress levels and a greater perception of it being "hard". Lack of sleep does the same, as does lack of exercise. Social time, sleep and exercise all go out the window for a lot of nursing students. The more succesful ones find a way to make these part of their priorities with socializing being the lowest on that totem pole.

Nursing school is not impossible by a long shot. It does take tremendous dedication, an ability to go with the flow and play the game for two years and a degree of acceptance that you signed up for this, so you are going to work hard, not complain a lot and just get 'er done. I too find the ones who complain the most and push back against the requirements the most are the ones who are not doing as well. It is unclear which came first - the not doing well and then complaining, or the mental attitude of complaining and then not doing well from occupying too much mental energy in protesting the way things are.

Good luck to you.

itsmejuli · May 5, 2010

I graduated LPN last August and will be starting RN this August.

I didn't find LPN school to be that difficult, I graduated with honors. I also don't expect the RN program to be much harder.

I agree that most of the whining comes from people who don't apply themselves to the program.

on eagles wings, ASN, RN · May 9, 2010

Shouldn't this be in general nursing student and not prenursing? Afterall most people who will read this post also have no idea what they will be faced with in nursing school and I don't think you will get the answer you want... :) :twocents:

zbb13 · May 9, 2010

So much for my critical thinking skills-you're 100% correct. But I found an old post, very similar, that discussed this qn. Tx.

on eagles wings, ASN, RN · May 9, 2010

Ohh ok I see. :) I am still doing my pre-reqs but what I heard about NS is that its a huge amount of stuff you've never heard of before... a ton of theories, rules, ethics, illnesses, nursing interventions, etc all rolled into one... and then nclex style Qs on top all that make it harder.... its a lot of material... I'm starting in the fall and I've got a few nursing books already(they were so cheap when I stumbled upon them I had to get them lol) and I am shocked at the amount of stuff I have to learn in 18 months. :eek:

Well thats my :twocents: hope it helps at all. I don't know much yet but that's what I've heard.

Elle_Guerira · May 9, 2010

Speaking for myself, I don't think nursing school is difficult, but I do find it overwhelming. You'll find yourself inundated with so much information it'll make your head spin. On the flip side though, a lot of information is overlapped from one class to the next so this redundancy does help retain the information. Furthermore, be prepared to put your application skills to the test.

CuriousMe · May 9, 2010

There's no one thing that is terribly difficult (although pathophys had it's moments) as other's have said.....it's the volume of work. At the end of our sophomore year, we were taking three nursing classes and were responsible for 3-4 chapters per week, per class. So, 9-12 chapters per week of dense material, plus clinicals, exams, research projects, group projects, papers, etc.

In addition to the pace, the question style is very different. While the questions are multiple choice....often all 4 answers are right, and you need to find the "most right" answer. This can be a frustrating endeavor.

I've kept my 4.0 GPA after nearly two years of school, but it takes a LOT of work, far more work than my prereqs required. I'm an upperclassmen buddy to a couple of our underclassmen and the most popular question I get is, "How do I get an A in XYZ class?" like there's some magic formula other than, figuring out what you need to do to learn, and then putting in the time with your but in a chair doing it.

GoGoSN · May 10, 2010

I just finished my first semester of nursing school and found it difficult to adapt to:

1.) Critical Thinking Questions-These questions are unlike anything I have ever seen before. You might want to browse through some NCLEX review books to get an idea on nursing questions. You will become better at these questions by about the 3rd test. Don't get discouraged if you don't get them on the 1st and 2nd.

2.) Large Volume of Coursework-Woah. There's a ton of material to learn! I am in a 2yr program and supposedly the 4yr program goes a bit slower because you focus more on theory. We would learn material for the next test usually 2 weeks prior to being tested on other material.

3.) Learning a New way to Study- I did well in Anatomy and used a ton of notecards to remember the material. I would practice for hours on end until I knew all my cards. You really can't do that in nursing classes. There is way too much material for you to make notecards with, and by the time you will have made all your notecards the test will be the next day. So you are sitting there with a ton of unmemorized notecards and a test in 24 hours. (Yes. I did that and quickly learned that is not how to study for a nursing class. Sit with every slide and basically rewrite the slide on another piece of paper. Then try to recall what you just wrote and write as much as you can (without looking) under the paper. It's worth it!

4.)Clinical-You are thrown into the hospital and are expected to care for real people--with real health problems!

This can be tough for people, like me, that lack prior health care experience. However, it can be a chance to shine for people that have previous health care experience!

I gave you in depth answers because I wondered the same thing before I started nursing school. Good luck! Stay focused and don't get discouraged if you don't do well at first.

CuriousMe · May 10, 2010

2.) Large Volume of Coursework-Woah. There's a ton of material to learn! I am in a 2yr program and supposedly the 4yr program goes a bit slower because you focus more on theory. We would learn material for the next test usually 2 weeks prior to being tested on other material.

I'm just finishing my junior year of a 3 year program (BS program). I agree with most of what you've said....except for the above part. I'm not sure who told you that material for the Bachelor's degree is more spread out.....not so. BS programs aren't longer because they're spread out, they're longer because there's more in them. I don't see any way to cram more into our program.