Advice to a pre-nursing student?

Published

Hello, I am starting full time in the fall. I'm not starting nursing 1 til the second quarter but I am taking bio-chemistry and anatomy first quarter. I am wondering how hard it is going to be to adjust to a nursing student life. I will be dorming on campus so I will be to class everyday. I know I will be overwhelmed. I guess my main question is how hard is nursing. How did you adjust? Did you have a life outside of nursing? and I just need some advice?

Also... I am thinking about doing some online research to prep me for my anatomy class... maybe teach myself all the bones in my body and just get to know more about the human body. My mom finished nursing school 9 years ago so she has all the books, plus online should have good sources... Should I start now?

I'm not going to lie - nursing school IS tough. It's a lot of reading and studying...clinicals can be exhausting and of course if you get stuck with a crappy instructor then it just isn't fun (fortunately I have had fabulous instructors so far). There will be times when you will have exams/quizzes/projects/lab practicals/papers/other assignments due all in the same day or week. I'm not trying to scare you - I'm just telling you the truth.

I'm loving nursing school. Sometimes the amount of work you do is ridiculous and you really don't have time to "slack off" but it has been a rewarding experience so far and I can't wait to graduate in a year and a half with my BSN :yeah:

One thing that I think makes nursing school so hard is that it's all about applying knowledge to a situation. In all of our years of schooling prior to become a nursing student, you pretty much just remember facts and spit them back out on a test or quiz. Memorizing facts won't really get you anywhere in nursing school. It will help when remembering the norms for vital signs or lab values but other than that you need to apply your knowledge to your patient care.

And are you going for your BSN? Generally it's a 4-year program (sometimes 5). Your first year (or 2 years if you're doing a 5-year track) is spent completing your pre-requisites then you will be considered for admission and it is like that everywhere you go. I also want to say that 90% of schools have waiting lists so don't be discouraged.

Haha i've been warned! I think the applying knowledge wont be SO tough for me because I absolutely love anything and everything to do with the anatomy of our body and life and all of the diseases to come with it... The only think i'm worried about is knowing all the medication. And yes I will be going further, i'm assuming.

This year will be all prerequisites. Then I will do my Nursing 1 and 2 next fall and spring.. then I wanna transfer to a 4 year and get bachelors or masters degree.. and I am "Thinking" about doing a Certified Nurse Midwife type thing or even go FURTHER to become an OB/GYN.. which Idk how easy it would be to go through nursing then to med school for 4 years.. to become an Ob/Gyn. I feel like things will hold me back from being a doctor but it's my life goal. My boyfriend is 5 years older than me so the "children" aspect might get in the way.. but maybe we can talk it through and it will be worth it? Although, I will have to see how well I do until then.. :)

Would you say all the stress is well worth it? My boyfriend will be working as a police officer in 2-3 years so idk if that will be tough financially?? We're hoping not.. he'll start out making 40-50grand.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion