Complaints You've Heard During Nursing School

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I know some of these things are things that all students complain about, so they're not stupid. They just need to realize that it's not only our school that makes you do these things. Most are the standards for every program. But some of these are just dumb, I'm guessing because they just didn't know how intense a nursing program is, especially since our school has pretty easy admission compared to others (3.0 gpa and 75 overall on HESI A2)

1. The Community Nursing class/clinical is a waste of time.

2. The clinicals aren't in anything I want to specialize in.

3. Too many classes each semester. (It's a full time program where all your core credits have to be completed beforehand so there are 4 nursing classes a semester, 3 in the last semester)

4. You have to take med math tests every semester and pass with a 90.

5. Having to write research papers.

6. Leadership Management and End of life care class aren't easy A's.

7. Having to take exit hesi's every semester. (I think the minimum score you can get on it is 800 and if you fail you take a remedia class).

8. Making careplans.

9. You need 100 hours of community service before graduation.

10. The lecture exams are too hard. (I wouldn't say this is dumb but some students say this and then laugh about how their books are still in the wrappers they bought them in.)

Specializes in PICU/Pedi.
Oh wow....I lost count LONG ago. Is it just me, or does it seem that nursing students are a bunch of whiners? People need to grow up and understand that there are going to be hoops to jump through that make no sense. I know there are hoops I've had to jump through that in my own mind has had me thinking "what the HECK is THIS supposed to teach me?". But I shut up and just jumped through them. It's gotten me through the program without any bumps and it's kept any targets off my back. I just don't understand all the whining.

Nope, it's not just you. Definitely ALOT of whining.

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Yes, there is a lot of whining. I'm tired of hearing people complain that they have to know about the meds they are going to pass. Hello?!?!?! Welcome to nursing school. Last semester, we had a clinical instructor who would quiz you on your meds even if you were not passing any that day (we get scheduled days to pass meds because of the structure of our clinicals), and people complained like crazy that they had to know about the medications that their patients were taking. I actually said to one of my classmates: How are you supposed to know if the patients current complaint is a side effect of the medication or an over dose reaction if you do not know the meds they are taking or what those meds do? - she didn't like that too much at the time, but later told me I was right.

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In my program (EVE/WE), I don't hear a lot of whining. The only complaints I hear are more like this student doesn't like this professor and/or that professor is out to get them. :bugeyes:

My only "complaint" is I see the volunteer hours as useless. I am 47 yo and I have had my share of voluteering....I resent being forced to do it. Not to mention that during AH I, we had clinicals all day Sat and Sun for 8 weeks straight and many of us work FT and have families so getting those volunteer hours is near on impossible!!

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Specializes in Onc/Med-Surg, ER, Nursing Supervisor.

I'm starting my last semester this week. I get so sick of hearing everyone complain that the instructors are so unfair, and they check up on every little thing we do... blah, blah, blah. HELLO?! We are operating under THEIR licenses!!!! I'd be checking every little thing, too!

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I know some of these things are things that all students complain about, so they're not stupid. They just need to realize that it's not only our school that makes you do these things. Most are the standards for every program. But some of these are just dumb, I'm guessing because they just didn't know how intense a nursing program is, especially since our school has pretty easy admission compared to others (3.0 gpa and 75 overall on HESI A2)

1. The Community Nursing class/clinical is a waste of time.

2. The clinicals aren't in anything I want to specialize in.

3. Too many classes each semester. (It's a full time program where all your core credits have to be completed beforehand so there are 4 nursing classes a semester, 3 in the last semester)

4. You have to take med math tests every semester and pass with a 90.

5. Having to write research papers.

6. Leadership Management and End of life care class aren't easy A's.

7. Having to take exit hesi's every semester. (I think the minimum score you can get on it is 800 and if you fail you take a remedia class).

8. Making careplans.

9. You need 100 hours of community service before graduation.

10. The lecture exams are too hard. (I wouldn't say this is dumb but some students say this and then laugh about how their books are still in the wrappers they bought them in.)

yup, that one would irritate the hell out of me.....done it, over, done with

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We do alot of complaining in my program about the fact that they throw a lot of stuff on us at the last minute. Example: we start school tomorrow and they just told us recently that we now have to get a varicella titer to be able to move through clinicals. I hear that it is like this is a lot of programs so we just try to go with with it.

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Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.

We have many complainers in my class, it drives me nuts.

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well dont get this to you... it's already devastating in your part so just smile and learn....i know coz ive been there and besides complaining without actions is becoming a disease now ...so just relax and learn, study....hard. forget about the vacations and holidays coz you wont get any when your enrolled to a challenging paramedical course...anyway if you really love and crazy about being a nurse you will get by and the next thing you'll know your done as a student.

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Specializes in PICU/Pedi.

OMG...I ran into a former classmate that is an LVN student today. She told me that she heard that the school is making it really hard on us RN students, with all the tests they have us taking, etc. I was like, "What??" I told her that peoples' lives depend on us, and it's SUPPOSED to be hard. She said she had heard that they make us take a ton of tests. IMHO, the only "useless" test we have to take is for part of our online learning system. It doesn't count for a grade, but we HAVE to take it, and it's pretty hard. All the other tests are module exams, dosage tests, demos...I don't think any of that's unreasonable. I mean, really...are we here to learn, or what? But apparantly, there are some nursing students that think it is asking too much of us. :uhoh21:

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Specializes in General adult inpatient psychiatry.
Our community health is in the last semester along with our last med/surg class. The leadership class is during the third semester along with the first med/surg class, peds and end of life care nursing. What exactly do you do during community?

In community health for clinical we went to a female correctional facility and did referral/case management type stuff, as well as health teaching. We also had a giant teaching project as a capstone for the class. But lecture was very much by the textbook and I just found it annoying.

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Students in my program (it's a BSN program) are always complaining about the ATI. We have to pass it in order to pass each nursing class. I think it's a good thing. We all want to pass the boards and ATIs are helping us get used to that style of testing. I've also heard complaints about the care plans and research papers. One student complained that she didn't see the point in doing research because she has no plans of going to grad school.

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Specializes in LTC.

The most irritating complaint that I've heard is from the student who frequently misses classes, if they do come to class they're late, and just really doesn't seem to want this as much as the rest of us. The complaint is "no one told ME that." I mean, really? You don't come to class on time, you don't participate in much of anything, and you want all of us and the instructor to hold your hand through this whole thing? Pull up your pants and buckle down like the rest of us! "No one told me that" is not something that's going to get you by in life, especially not going to get you by as a nurse!

Sorry, vent over.. :p

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