College nursing program vs real world nursing

peachypurple · Sep 12, 2016

It's a completely different kind of stress. Nursing school teaches you how to take the nclex, real nursing teaches you how to actually apply what you learned in real life situations. I graduated in May so I'm just in the beginning of my career. I definitely get stressed out at work but I have awesome coworkers who are there to have my back. My stress from work comes from my patients staring to circle the drain, getting hit with an admission/transfer/discharge all at the same time, and dealing with difficult doctors lol. Both are stressful, just a different kind of stress. Real nursing is so much better than nursing school!

llg, PhD, RN · Sep 13, 2016

It depends on the person and the situation. I thought school was much more stressful than practice -- but there are other people who feel totally different. Some people sail through school with minimal stress and then "hit a wall" when they graduate. Other people, like me, struggled through my undergraduate program but had no problems transitioning to actual practice.

Don't assume it is the same for everyone.

cocoa_puff · Sep 13, 2016

I found nursing school to be fairly easy - graduated with a 4.0 at the top of my class while working 2 part-time PCT jobs. Real world nursing is unbelievably stressful for me. It's the responsibility, the patient/family interaction, 12 hr shifts, customer service, dealing with rude, angry, and entitled people that I can't stand. I don't mind patient care in that I will help with a bed bath or change my incontinent patient with no problem. I just hate dealing with issues for 12hrs at a time. It leaves me emotionally and mentally drained, and I regret choosing this career. Sure, I'm learning stuff but not what I really want to be learning (the physiology behind what's going on with my patients). I know nursing is not for me, at least not this type of nursing.