Did you ENJOY nursing school?

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I'm getting ready to do an orientation at a nursing college! I'm so excited for that first step.

I have a question though; it won't stop me either way, but I've been curious; is nursing school really the hard- knock life everyone says it is? Did anyone enjoy it or find it tolerable and not want to put a plugged-in toaster in the bathtub halfway through? :eek:

It's not bad, I had a pretty good time. It's all what you make of it.

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I love it!! I made loads of new friends and everyone is just really nice! Everything is so interesting too :) and you can't beat a clinical skills lab session! SOOO much fun and I learned lots and we are generally really good for listening and paying attention. Though we laugh lots too and have a great time! Obviously sitting down and learning the stuff can get stressful but at the end of the day its worth it. We all share notes and try to help each other out. In hospital is where things can get tough but again the RN's are generally a great support and us students have each other, with the older students looking out for the younger ones. Basically, nursing school is GREAT :D :D

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So far so good. I adore and welcome the challenges. Reading about a disease process and finally seeing it manifested in clinical was an awesome experience. Yay for us nurses.:nurse:

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Specializes in Private Practice- wellness center.

Like others have said, school is what you make of it. I am having a BLAST! It's harder than Hell, but I love it. Others in my class are completely miserable and are second guessing their decision to go, but are sticking it out. If you have decent time management skills, you won't COMPLETELY lose your previous life, it'll just be spotty for a couple years while get work to get the "RN" behind you name. (And isn't that the secret to everything? TIME MANAGEMENT! lol. I think that'll be yet another handy skill I can say I've learned once I graduate and hit the floor.)

Good luck! Learn a lot and have fun with it. :D

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Specializes in My goal is to be an Oncology Nurse.....
I had some personal issues that I had not anticipated when I got accepted into the program.

Life happens.

However, I feel those issues negatively impacted my education and made it much harder than it would have been otherwise.

You have to have your head in the game and mine wasn't always there.

Is it hard?

Of course. It has to be. It is a lot of responsibility and you have to prove your worth.

I KNOW I would have enjoyed it far more without the extra baggage.

It's rough and tough, but it's possible.

I read this post and thought AMEN!!! Last fall was a complete nightmare for me. I did not expect my hubby to stray and he did, found out right before my first Nursing test! Then I spent the rest of the fall repairing my family is the most impt to me. After that, I just couldn't get into my work and I felt soooo negative about school and my education, that I just didn't care and let everyone know about it. I found a job this summer working home health care and completely fell in love! :redpinkhe I have learned so much and I am sooo excited to get back into Nursing school this fall. I know that my attitude and confidence has changed dramatically because I am running solo with my clients and it is nothing but critical thinking and application.

So kudos to me and those who have over come adversity, drama, and whatnot, to get back onto the saddle again and ride into the world of Nursing!:hug:

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You all say NS will be great "if nursing is your passion". Well, my situation is that I really want to work in LDRP or pediatrics....but I can't really imagine myself giving a bed bath to a 65 year old man. I find myself with a HUGE passion for labor/delivery and NICU or PICU but absolutely NOT with sick adults. Is it possible for someone like me to make it through nursing school?

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Specializes in L&D.
You all say NS will be great "if nursing is your passion". Well, my situation is that I really want to work in LDRP or pediatrics....but I can't really imagine myself giving a bed bath to a 65 year old man. I find myself with a HUGE passion for labor/delivery and NICU or PICU but absolutely NOT with sick adults. Is it possible for someone like me to make it through nursing school?

I'm one of the ones that gets through nursing school because nursing school is my passion. I think it makes it so much easier to think about it in this aspect. I actually felt the same way that you do when I first started nursing school. I want to do labor/delivery also, but I realized that I have to be a well rounded nurse at the end of the day. I don't care for the idea of taking care of older people either, but it's actually not that bad. When you get in that "nursing" mindset all of those negative thoughts go out the window because your first priority is to help your sick patient to get better whether they are a newborn or a 100 year old person. Of course we all have our preferences, but at the end of the day it's all about becoming a well rounded nurse that's good in everything. You never know, you might actually like taking care of the older population. There are so many different things that you can do with nursing and that's one of the great things about this profession. :nurse:

Good luck with your future plans!!:D

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Specializes in Pediatrics.
You all say NS will be great "if nursing is your passion". Well, my situation is that I really want to work in LDRP or pediatrics....but I can't really imagine myself giving a bed bath to a 65 year old man. I find myself with a HUGE passion for labor/delivery and NICU or PICU but absolutely NOT with sick adults. Is it possible for someone like me to make it through nursing school?

I'm a pediatrics person...almost done with nursing school and still want to do pediatrics. I took every opportunity as a learning experience, even "giving a bed bath to a 65 year old man", and made the best of it. I thought of it for what it was....the patients were sick and in the hospital and they needed me at that moment and I did the best I could for them. Try thinking of it from the patient's perspective instead of what you want to be doing and it might help. Also you can think of it as a means to get to where you want to be!

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You all say NS will be great "if nursing is your passion". Well, my situation is that I really want to work in LDRP or pediatrics....but I can't really imagine myself giving a bed bath to a 65 year old man. I find myself with a HUGE passion for labor/delivery and NICU or PICU but absolutely NOT with sick adults. Is it possible for someone like me to make it through nursing school?

Yes. One of my best friends in nursing school, and who ended up being my maid of honor in my wedding, was the same way and still is. She had another bachelors first and went back because she wanted to do labor and delivery and thats her passion. She still is working on actually getting a job in that area, but has worked as a nurse for 2 years now and knows that she will land her dream job eventually! and is considering applying for a midwifery program. Even though I didn't identify myself with one area of interest in nursing school, certain clinical rotations I definitely loved more than others, and Im sure thats how it is for a lot of people. It has its tough points but if you know where you want to work when you are done, great! You will be fine :)

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I definitely see where you're coming from. I don't think there's anything wrong with preferring a certain area of nursing. Just because you may have a preference for pediatrics or labor/delivery doesn't mean you won't make a wonderful nurse. Although those might not be the first areas you work in when you become an RN, any experience you can gain will be invaluable!

Just keep those specific areas on your top priority list, and eventually you will get there; and with some good experience too :up:. Who knows, you may even end up finding a passion for a different area? Also, Of course it's possible for someone like you to make it through Nursing School :smackingf. It would be different if you were just in it for the money, and did not have any real desire to be a caregiver.

Labor/Delivery and Recovery is also an interest of mine. I think that every Nurse, CNA, LPN, MA, etc. will have a specific area that they prefer to work in. For instance, some people have a passion for working with the elderly and may gravitate toward nursing homes, and others may prefer blood and guts and gravitate toward ER nursing or surgery.

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I am so glad you posted this! This is actually my first post on this board, but I have been reading allnurses off and on since I first decided to go to nursing school a year and a half ago. I start in the fall, and we have orientation July 12. I could not be more excited! :) And it is comforting to see that although it's hard, most of you have enjoyed NS!

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Specializes in maternal child, public/community health.

Yes, I enjoyed NS. Well, okay, MOST of the time I enjoyed nursing school. (I did an accelerated program which has "writing across the curriculum" as well as group projects. I hate group projects and love to write but got bad senoritis the last semester. I kept thinking, "Am I really going to be a better nurse because I write 4 more papers and do 3 more group projects?") Yes, it was stressful at times but planning ahead (not my forte but I did it anyway) helped a lot. I found it amazing to learn so much within a short period of time. It puts all those things you learned in pre-reqs (like A&P) and expands on it. I loved pathophys. Probably my fav class though many classmates disagreed. Had a few classes I didn't like . Overall, great instructors who wanted us to succeed and become amazing nurses.

How to enjoy nursing school:

* Attitude is everything. You chose your attitude. Are you going to grip about everything? Are you going to be a drama queen or listen to those who are? (Allof us can be sometimes but daily? Nope. Don't need to hang out with them.)

*as others have said, find positive classmates and develop friendships. Negative students will drag you down.

* I found a good study partner to be invaluble. I never had one before but talking things out ("How do kidneys help regulate sodium?) really helped with understanding. Be sure it is someone with the same level of commitment or it will be frustrating.

* Be realistic. You will have to study to retain the information. Most people will have to study way more than when doing pre-reqs. Nursing school does require a time commitment. Some day, someone's life may depend on your knowlege. You need the information.

* develop a support system before you start - friends, family etc who will watch your sick child, mow the lawn, listen to you grip, buy you chocolate......

* Give yourself a break sometimes. I tried to take most Friday nights off from studying and just relaxed or did something fun.

* Plan, plan, plan. Know when things are due and plan ahead for times you have a test, several papers and a care plan due all at the same time. Find a system that works for you. I had a big calendar like you see in offices on the wall of my room. I color coded for each class and wrote down EVERYTHING so I wouldn't forget anything. I liked being able to look ahead to recognize crazy weeks and times that were less stressful. My study buddy could not do that - it stressed her out to see it all at one time. Find something that works for you.

*Keep your goal in mind. One day, you will be a nurse. You can do it! To this day, it thrills me to be able to say, "I am a nurse."

Congrats on your acceptance. Enjoy all you will learn!

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