Day in the life of a nursing student?

virgo,student nurse, CNA · Nov 22, 2011

Well, I would say it all depends. You will have lecture a couple of times a week, notes to take, chapters to read before lecture. Tests, vocabulary you need to know. Clinical a certain number of times a week. Possibly clinical homework, lab hours, the list goes on. Once you know what is expected of you from each class, it will get easier.

Sand_Dollar, BSN · Nov 22, 2011

This semester (med-surg) I have one 12 hour clinical day, and 2 half days of lecture. I started out by trying to study every day but as the semester crept by, I found my study time slipping away. I now only tend to study the day or two before an actual exam and we have to get our clinical paperwork done the day before the clinical day.

You will find each semester is different. I began in the summer and was overwhelmed, but as I got a handle on it, it seemed to flow better and I was OK. I have actually tried to take off either Friday or Saturday completely. It is important to remember yourself during all this or you will lose your mind.

Next semester (peds & OB) will be way crazier for me with Monday 12 hour clinicals, full day Wednesday's with lecture and Friday lecture half days. Then there are random days thrown in for labs, sims, panels etc. So it can occasionally be 4 days a week.

I will have to gauge how crazy the studying will be. I suspect I will have to put in more consistent study time, but I do only that which I have to to maintain my GPA. As I said before, every semester is different.

We have an awesome class of 36 students. We all get along great and in the very beginning one person said how nice it was to be in a class full of overachievers (LOL). Our program is strictly GPA based and the lowest GPA was a 3.79 No one slouches in our class and we all work hard to keep up our grades. That said, I don't know of anyone in a formal study group. We have review sessions the profs put on before exams that many people go to (those that go record it for those that don't) and that's all we do for extra studying. I carpool with a friend and we go over our notes on the way to class, but that's it for us.

I love nursing school SO much! The students are great, our profs are brilliant and understanding and I just LOVE patient care. Oh... and hold on tight because its going to be over before you know it!

Best of luck!!! :)

~SD

ashleyisawesome, BSN, RN · Nov 22, 2011

Hi everyone. I was hoping some of you could give me an idea of a typical "day in the life" in nursing school including when you study and all that. I am currently taking my pre-reqs and looking for some tips.

it will be different dependent on your program, but ill tell you what my day is like:

lecture days (Tuesday, Thursday, Friday)

wake up at 6am, start class at 8am. lecture until 12, sometimes 1:30.. it varies.

get home by 1/2:30 and either take a nap, eat something, go on facebook. i might study for a half hour or so if i dont have work. but i do not study every day.

clinical days

wake up at 5:00, at the hospital by 630. right now my clinicals are 10 hours long so i get out at 5pm. some semesters it is only 630-315.

usually i will come home and eat/take a nap. im too burnt out to study or work these days unless its absolutely necessary. if i have a test the next day i may skim my notes before my throbbing, pained body goes to bed.

Also, when do you delegate free time?

i do what i want on weekends as long as im not working. im not one of those people who locks myself in my house for 48 hours studying. if i have a test coming up i might do an hour or so on sunday of studying.

One more thing (and that's it for the questions! Lol) did you all find that your classmates were more friendly in nursing school/wanted to form study groups more willingly?

you will easily be able to find the people that are willing to study with you. not everyone does, i am not one of them. i sometimes accept study group invites if its right after class and we have a big test that i need some clarification on, but i live an hour away from school and dont go out of my way to drive there more than the 5 days a week i need to. im more of a loner when it comes to studying, but thats just how i learn.

ImThatGuy, BSN, RN · Nov 23, 2011

This won't mirror anything others will say, but for this semester...

BSN program. Class from 9-11:30 and then 1-4:00 on Tues and Thurs.

Wake up at 8, etc. Class; listen, text, skim Power Points on the screen. Lunch with the gf. 1; listen, text, skim Power Points. 4 go home, visit gf, work out, have dinner, sleep.

Friday through Sunday I work around 16 hours a day. Sometimes I work after 4 on Tues and Thurs. On Mon and Wed we had clinicals, but I did less on those days than I do in class.

leenak · Nov 23, 2011

So classes/clinicals range from 3-4 days per week? That doesn't sound bad, I expected a lot more than that.

Anne36, LPN · Nov 23, 2011

In Nursing school I have found everyone to be very friendly so far and those who are able can form study groups. Sometimes it just depends because people are spread out and dont live close by.

For my program we have Lecture class on Mon, Tue/Wed clinical ,(usually arrive at hospital at 6:30 and get out at 3:00 + commute time) Thursday off, and Friday Lab. So, we have to show up somewhere 4 days a week. Thats the easy part. We obviously have homework and exams to study for , projects or papers to write. The clinical Assessment forms and Care Plan are about 2 full days worth of work for me, so clinical can feel like a 4 day a week job sometimes. This is a holiday weekend and I have a test on Monday, a Careplan to write and a project to get started on. And if I do all that I will still be behind because I wont have any of the reading done for the next lecture.

Anne36, LPN · Nov 23, 2011

If you have a family or children all your free time is basically doing laundry, shopping, cooking if possible etc. My house is a mess , there are just not enough hours in the day. The only reason Im not doing homework now is because I am so tired my brain cant function well enough to put clear thoughts down on paper.

dope a mine · Nov 23, 2011

For me my week goes like this

Monday - lecture / lab most of the day

Tuesday - long lecture

Wednesday - free

thursday - free

friday - free

saturday - 12 hour clinical

sunday - free

Dont let all the "free" time fool you. I have to balance studying, reading assignments, lecture notes, doing clinical paperwork, group projects, social time, and time for relaxation. You definitely need good time management skills because you can easily get behind if you use your "free" days the wrong way. We usually have an exam every other week and clinical paperwork to turn in every week. So a lot of those free days are spent doing that. I will find one night per week to usually go out and have fun, and I try to fit lunch with friends (outside of school) between my studying few times a week hopefully. But there are weeks that go by that I'm so busy that I don't even see my friends..

leenak · Nov 23, 2011

As a pre-req student, I work 50 or so hours per week and I've been contemplating whether I should try working under 20 hours when I go to nursing school. My schedule right now is M/W work and school from 8:30am to 9:00pm, getting home around 9:30pm. Tu/Th/Fri - work 8:30/9:00am to 6:30/7:00pm. Saturday school from 9:00am to 1:00pm. The only drawback is right now, I don't have much of a commute with work or school. Nursing school will change that.

Mentalageis16 · Nov 23, 2011

a tyical day of a nursing student is about critical thinking in every aspect of life. for example, if I go shopping, I wil carry drug cards with me in case if I have time to read, this way gets both things done. If I go on this forum, I make sure I am also doing ATI questions, and treat this as a matter of relaxing activity in between doing questions. it's all about time management and how much stress you can handle. I don't enjoy food that much anymore, I found nursing books are more interesting than food, so my craving is in reading and spent a lot time thinking about next semester goals.

tokyoROSE, BSN, RN · Nov 23, 2011

I am in my final semester of a BSN program. It is a breeze. :)

Wednesday - 3 classes, start time is 8:30, ends 4:30. It is a long day. I tend to do my homework on my laptop during these lectures.

Saturday - preceptorship, up at 5am, at hospital by 6:45, get home around 8:00.

I work 30 hours a week. With my free time, I study for the NCLEX, do my group projects that are not accounted for in class, apply for jobs, shop, watch tv, spend time with friends and my bf. Three more weeks until pinning. :)