Biology Major-- Im told nursing school is a lot easier?

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Im graduating with a Bachelors in Biology and a Minor in Chemistry with a GPA of approximately 3.82 and will be be attending Nursing School (BSN) after I finish nutrition and a required psychology class. I decided to go into nursing because of the possibility of becoming a CRNA and what the job essentially holds. I originally wanted to go to Medical School and go into Family Practice-but over time I started to look at school as more of an investment. Comparing student loans, time in school and salary/pay. After talking to a CRNA and looking at the life he is able to live outside of work made me start to look at this career more and more.

So, I was told from him that Nursing school would be a lot easier than what Ive been doing right now and I probably wouldnt be stressed out over the amount of work I would doing in nursing school. BUT- as I read these forums all I see is how hard school is, so many people drop/fail and how no one has a social life. Something just doesnt add up. Will someone tell me how and why this is? I dont want to come off the wrong way here but I understand that nursing school requires a limited range of sciences before you can actually apply. Whereas we have to take classes like Genetics, Calculus, Physics and so on. So, is this the reason why I was told that "I" wouldnt be stressed over school work in nursing VS biology?? Or is my friend out of him mind and nursing school is actually crazy tough?

Someone help me out here, please just give me the goods and let me know what you think. Any help is appreciated!

The replies have been great. The big picture is- "Nursing school is difficult because of the amount of information you learn in a set amount of time, not ESSENTIALLY difficult as the amount of rocket science brain power used to understand a topic."

Now, dealing with "questions being straight foward, without any grey areas" that some of you say biology and chemistry fall into...well...this might be the case in a lower level class, for example, How is RNA made from DNA? Yes, by transcription. This is not the case in most classes--if it was only this simple. But I do understand what everyone is trying to explain.

Thanks much :up:

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The replies have been great. The big picture is- "Nursing school is difficult because of the amount of information you learn in a set amount of time, not ESSENTIALLY difficult as the amount of rocket science brain power used to understand a topic."

Now, dealing with "questions being straight foward, without any grey areas" that some of you say biology and chemistry fall into...well...this might be the case in a lower level class, for example, How is RNA made from DNA? Yes, by transcription. This is not the case in most classes--if it was only this simple. But I do understand what everyone is trying to explain.

Thanks much :up:

I do know what you mean (I'm the one with the chem minor, so I've taken a lot of the same classes you're speaking of)....but the tricky thing about nursing school questions is they're multiple choice.....but all the answers are right. You need to find the MOST right answer (forgive the grammar ).

The thing about being an RN is you're really not paid for your physical clinical skills....most clinical skills just aren't that difficult (yes they take some practice, but they're just physical skills) RN's get paid for their judgement....so that's what the exams are about, clinical judgement.

So, when all the answers are right, which is the most right, or the priority, or the first thing that should be done, etc...

It's a very different kind of testing then I have in my science classes (bio, gen chem, o-chem, etc).

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Specializes in Orthopedics.

The hardest part of nursing school for me is not knowing how well I did on a test after taking it. I can walk out of a test and have NO clue how well/poor I did. The last test I took I was convinced was my lowest score yet. It was my highest! I made a 97. That to me is difficult! Most of us are used to being tested on our content knowledge and feeling confident we know the material. You can study for days and go in to take a test and have no idea whether or not you are prepared because it is application of your knowledge base.

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Specializes in telemetry, ortho, med-surg.

The biggest mistake that I made when I entered nursing school was that I thought it would be easy because I came from a science background. As many posters have stated, nursing is an entirely different animal. Critical thinking skills reign supreme in nursing school. You may find the NCLEX style of questioning to be more frustrating because all answers can be correct. In science, answers are pretty black and white.

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Specializes in Critical Care.

It is a very different mindset than biology. It is all application of the nursing process and from my experience you either understand that or you're screwed.

Good luck :)

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The replies have been great. The big picture is- "Nursing school is difficult because of the amount of information you learn in a set amount of time, not ESSENTIALLY difficult as the amount of rocket science brain power used to understand a topic."

Now, dealing with "questions being straight foward, without any grey areas" that some of you say biology and chemistry fall into...well...this might be the case in a lower level class, for example, How is RNA made from DNA? Yes, by transcription. This is not the case in most classes--if it was only this simple. But I do understand what everyone is trying to explain.

Thanks much :up:

I would say (as some of the other posters have) that it's not simply about mastering the content (intellectually) -- which would not be that difficult for anyone who has been successful in a previous undergrad science major -- it's that plus the real-life application of the knowledge -- exercising adequate clinical judgment, being able to deal with complex, ambivalent situations, and all the mushy, complicated human stuff that nurses deal with.

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Yeah - you are right to a certain extent. Science is about theories and applying theories to solve new questions, problems, etc. It's not all black and white. But you can come up with an argument and defend your beliefs. Science is intellectually challenging. It's frustrating and rewarding as you figure things our or realize they are more complex. It's an awesome feeling to say, "I am a scientist."

But there are few things that can prepare you for the emotional and psychological challenges that come with nursing school. You can either deal with it or your can't. There is no level of intellectual capacity that can make you deal with that kind of stuff. Obviously, there are many, many nurses out there who are dealing with patients and the emotional and psychological baggage that can go along with it. If you feel called to it, you will probably do great!! I was in a total panic about a month ago. I was researching my patient's meds and he was on tons of psych meds. I was literally frightened about what I was walking into. Turned out to be a profoundly retarded, non-communicative patient. Yeah - we talk about these kinds of things but what do you do when you are actually in the situation? A couple weeks after that, I was with a patient who wasn't even 50 and had both feet amputated. She was sad about how battered her body was so early in life. What in the world do you say to that? It's not that bad? It looks worse than it is? It will get better? You'll learn to deal with it? For my 2nd A&P exam, half my class failed. Yet the professor couldn't curve. Why not? Well, someone went and earned a 98. Who was that??? Me! For all those "smarts" I thought I had, I still don't know what I was "supposed" to say so that woman. I did a lot of listening that day and I actually feel that was one of the days I learned the most in nursing school so far. The problem is that you can't test on that stuff.

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