Be completely honest......

renerian, BSN, RN · Mar 24, 2004

yes, alot

renerian

Pab_Meister · Mar 24, 2004

Hi Maliatc:

Yes, nursing school is very difficult - even some of the students in my class who have years of health care aid experience are failing.

If it is your intention to work while in school, you may want to consider taking only the core nursing courses during the semester, and picking up the peripheral courses during the summer or online or whatever.

I got in to nursing school with a 3.923 QPA (GPA) and I find it overwhelming at times.

Granted, I'm taking EN 111 (it's a no-brainer course) as well as A&P II. Whenever A&P and nursing exams are on the same day, I find that there just isn't enough time to study effectively for both - or is it that my brain just can't hold that much info? If you can take your nursing classes separately from the other courses it may be a good way to see how much you can handle. In all honesty, the actual material in first semester nursing is not difficult - I would say it is easier material than in A&P I or II. The difficulty is in the quantity of material that you have to learn to be successful. We had another exam today. I left thinking, "Phew!! Thanks for the easy exam Mrs. W!" However, afterwards when the students were going through the post-exam de-stressing in the hall, it seems as though I was the only one who thought it was easy. One of the most common reasons among the students for not doing well is the time needed for their other commitments (jobs, family, etc.).

As far as making the reading material easier to handle, I would recommend buying a study guide like "You Are Smarter Than You Think". The nice thing about this book is that it is specifically geared towards the nursing student. For more information, do a search on this forum. The book is about $15 on half.com.

If you know this is what you want to do, and are prepared to put in the work, I'd say go for it.

Best of luck!!!

LPNtoBSNstudent, BSN, RN · Mar 24, 2004

yes it is hard, but you can do it. good luck

septicwad · Mar 24, 2004

The only hard part is putting up with all the f-ing bulls@#%!. It's not rocket science. Your spelling and grammar in your post were fine so you should do well in nursing school.

Catma63 · Mar 24, 2004

So, is nursing school REALLY hard? I'm 24. I've been going to college part-time after highschool...taking one or two night classes a semester for Business. Just recently, I decided that I'm going to do it...I'm going to work part-time, and do the nursing program full time at a local community college. I'm kinda intimidated though....after looking through some of the threads, it sounds like a REALLY hard program. I have drive, and this is something that I'm going to go through with, but please tell me....exactly how hard is it? Lots of reading? Homework? About how many hours a night do you study?

I'm in my second semester, Maliatc, taking (more like desperately trying to pass!) Med-Surg. I can tell you also, yes, it's hard. However, it's doable. You WILL have to study a lot, read a lot. Homework basically consists of, sayyyy, getting discussion posts in on time for online courses (I've actually taken Pharm online and am currently taking Nutrition online too), doing community projects or whatever kind of project your curriculum calls for. Mostly just the reading for the main course....that's the killer. As it said in my syllabus the first semester, it requires a minimum of 20 hours per week study. Usually more. I'm talking a lot of time sitting and reading, outlining, etc.

You can do it though! Look at all the nurses in the hospitals! If they can do it, so can you!

Ortho_RN · Mar 24, 2004

Nursing school hard?? Yes, but not impossible.. And honestly I think the main reason everyone finds it so hard, is because it is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO completely different from any other college courses.. You spend all this time doing pre-reqs, complaining about how hard A&P is etc.. But when you get to the actual nursing program its another whole type of schooling... The tests are different, the teaching (or lack of) is different.. The political BS you have to deal with...

If you really really want to be a nurse you can do it.... There are much harder things in this world than nursing school..

GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!

booyah · Mar 24, 2004

It can be done. I worked full time at 60+hrs per week on night shift. Because I had to work so much I slept through class and did not study. I performed well in class, labs, and clinicals. I passed the NCLEX the first time with the minimum amount of questions to answer. Here's the catch though. I had nine years experience as a paramedic. This gave me an awsome knowledge base of A&P, assessing and treating patients as well as experience with practicle skills. A lot of the stuff they tell you in two years I was able to pick up in nine. My extensive past medical experience allowed me to slack in nursing school and still make the grade. Although you may not have extensive medical experience to help you out; you can make it through nursing school and be a great and smart nurse with some work and dedicated time. This stuff is not rocket science, just a lot of crap to remember for the first time. Here is some bonus advice...Take all the the things the instructors tell ya with a smile and nod, then go do what you figure out is to be right and when you get out you'll learn how it's really done.

I'm in my second semester, Maliatc, taking (more like desperately trying to pass!) Med-Surg. I can tell you also, yes, it's hard. However, it's doable. You WILL have to study a lot, read a lot. Homework basically consists of, sayyyy, getting scussion posts in on time for online courses (I've actually taken Pharm online and am currently taking Nutrition online too), doing community projects or whatever kind of project your curriculum calls for. Mostly just the reading for the main course....that's the killer. As it said in my syllabus the first semester, it requires a minimum of 20 hours per week study. Usually more. I'm talking a lot of time sitting and reading, outlining, etc.
You can do it though! Look at all the nurses in the hospitals! If they can do it, so can you!

TinyNurse, RN · Mar 24, 2004

nursing school is hard because nursing is,...... i used to whine but now i know real life. xoxo jen

RNKITTY04 · Mar 24, 2004

Lol good one septicwad! And I agree!

LydiaGreen · Mar 24, 2004

Hard? Yes, the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. I am less than two months away from graduation. Expect to see between one half and two thirds of the people in your class to be gone at the time of graduation. It is not uncommon for a nursing instructor to tell you to look at the person on your left, the person on your right, and know that only one of the three of you will graduate. It isn't a certainty but certainly is the statistic. It is hard. But if it is what you really want you WILL do well and achieve your goal. Stay focused. Work really, really hard six days a week. I always allowed myself one day off from homework and studying for my family (married with two children). I averaged four hours of sleep a night in my first year of nursing school - no joke. Second year - about five. Last semester, I averaged six. In my final semester, I'm averaging eight. The first year is a killer and it's meant to be. It isn't that nursing instructors are "weeding out" students, it's that students weed themselves out. Nursing is a demanding profession, so it is appropriate that nursing school is demanding as well. If you want it, you will do well. One word of warning - the students who spent more time partying than studying, are all gone. Be prepared to put the majority of your social life on the back burner but it is SO worth it in the end.

NursesRmofun, ASN, RN · Mar 24, 2004

Yes, it is hard....but worth it if it's what you want to do.