Difficulty of nursing school?

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I'm am starting a BSN program in the fall, and I am very nervous about the difficulty of the classes. I heard that the information isn't exactly hard, just stressful. This past semester I was consumed with A&P 2 and I barely made a passing grade in the class and the lab. This is very nerve-wracking for me because I am usually a straight A student. My GPA is lower than I would like it to be, and I don't think I'll be able to bring it up easily just by saying "Oh, I'll just make straight A's in the fall." I am also doubting how I will be able to handle nursing classes if I am already struggling with the prereqs. Can anyone tell me if their GPA's suffered from nursing school? Is it that hard where I will be barely passing each semester? Was A&P 2 just a class I personally struggled with or did anyone else think prereqs were difficult? Are nursing classes actually easier to comprehend than anatomy was? Ugghh, I just need peace of mind :(

Specializes in PACU.

I fell from a straight A student before nursing school to a B student in nursing school. It's not the information that is tough for me, it's just the sheer amount of information. I got an 87 this semester which unfortunately is only a B in my program, but I've never been barely or just passing. Just focus on your time management and DON'T be afraid to clarify something if you are not understanding it.

Everyone is going to tell you something different. But I didn't think nursing school was too difficult. I was a straight A student during my pre reqs and remained so throughout nursing school.

Figure out how you learn best and use that to your advantage when it comes to learning and understanding new material. Just don't stress too much from the get go. Walk in with a positive attitude and everything else will fall in place. Good Luck!

Specializes in Critical Care Transport, Cardiac ICU, Rapid.

I was an A student prior to nursjng school and have retained my A thus far through 2 quarters. The academic side isn't exactly hard but the sheer volume of info is what can make it difficult. Honestly the information is interesting and fun to study but there is quite a difference in the amount of studying I've had to do

Specializes in ICU.

It really depends. The grading system is much different. It's much more difficult to get an A in nursing school because you don't need a 90 anymore. Some places it's s high as a 94. Some schools anything below an 80 is failing, where in the prereqs it's a B.

The volume of work for each section is really what can kill you if you don't have good time management skills. You may have 250-300 pages to read and know in a week. It's a lot of info to try and disseminate what is important and what's not. Some people have a lot of time to devote and others may not.

You are also learning how to think differently. On tests, you may have 4 correct answers and you must decide what is the most correct. It can be hard.

I didn't do poorly in nursing school, but it wasn't the straight A's I got in the prereqs. You are no longer memorizing a flash card. You are memorizing that flash card but also knowing how to apply and use that information.

Good Luck. Prepare properly each week for class and manage your time well. Organize yourself. You will have weeks where you have 300 pages of info to study plus a 50 page care plan due, plus a 12 hour clinical day. That's where you gotta learn to plan your time well.

I didn't do great in A&P either but I'm still in the program and on the Dean's List! The thing with nursing is that there is a LOT of information to know. Not only that, you have to also know how to apply it and use critical thinking skills. I would recommend making out a study schedule for each week, and stick to it. Review your notes for that week, look for clarification on things you don't understand. For me, doing well in my nursing classes (as in B+ and above only) came down to me being a better time manager, figuring out my learning style, and going to my professor for help if I needed it. I also used a lot of outside resources like practice questions and youtube videos. Staying on top of the info is SUPER important, and not just when exams are coming. Also for me, forming a study group was very very helpful because then I had a bunch of people with different knowledge sets. Hope this helped.

Specializes in Med/Surg, Oncology.

I got straight A's in my pre-reqs and I am now a B/B+ student in my RN program.

Most of the information isn't too difficult to grasp, but there is a huge volume of work for a short time, especially for those of us who work in school. Also, like other posters have noted, our grading scale has changed. You need a 94 for an A, 86 for a B, and a 78 to pass with a C. Lastly, I found that the tests can be very difficult, even after comprehending the material. In pre-reqs, the material is memorized and regurgitated on the exams. In nursing school, they require you to utilize critical thinking in what are sometimes ambiguous questions to demonstrate analysis and nursing judgment. Totally different thought process required.

Specializes in Hospice, Palliative Care.

Our program doesn't require a 4.0 to get into the RN program; yet, everyone in my graduating class that came into the program with a 4.0 lost their 4.0 the very first semester. Compared to prerequisites and non nursing (I would include medical doctor) courses, nursing classes are harder.

As previously shared, it is not so much the content as much as how little time one is given to master a large quantity of content. Also, and I'm not sure how universal this is with other colleges/programs, in our program a given nursing class might have between 100 to 120 points in total for the class with two exams worth say 30 points, and the final worth the difference (often enough that if you do poorly on the cumulative final, you failed the class). So there's a lot of pressure and stress involved.

I'm actually doing the best in my science courses like A&P I-II and biochem but did worse in my nursing classes b/c I guess they were more writing based? So I think it's really dependent on what type of subject you excel in since there's a huge difference between anatomy & physio and like trends of nursing

I agree that it varies. Some people will say nursing school is/was extremely difficult and others will find it to be a "breeze" (lack of a better word). I just finished my first semester and I have to tell you it's way different than any science or pre reqs that I have taken. The volume of information seems almost impossible to keep up with so time management is very important.

In my program anything below an 80 is considered failing and 94 is an A- , while a 95-100 is an A. So getting an A is very difficult , in my opinion. The cumulative final was worth 30% of our final grade so for some it was a make or break moment. But so far I'm hanging on to my A lol. So far so good

I'm actually doing the best in my science courses like A&P I-II and biochem but did worse in my nursing classes b/c I guess they were more writing based? So I think it's really dependent on what type of subject you excel in since there's a huge difference between anatomy & physio and like trends of nursing

I think this is pretty common. I did got a C/B in A&P 1 and 2 and a C+ in Organic Chem but I received 3 As and 2 Bs my first semester of nursing school. I am a lot better at the tests now because they are more intuitive and it's not all about memorizing (which I hate!).

I graduated with a 4.0. But nursing school was difficult for me. The volume of information one must learn is vast. You must challenge yourself to apply knowledge you've learned in class to real life situations that differ in various ways, so simply memorizing information won't lead you to success if you cannot take it further. Staying up late to do care plans, getting up early to go to clinical sites is hard; doing this when you have young children can stretch you to your limits. You still have reading, assignments, and exams in addition to your clinical responsibilities. Answers to test questions can seem infuriatingly NOT obvious. You have to be able to distinguish "the best" answer from four other "correct" answers. The tests require higher though processes than many are used to engaging in.

My health, my relationships, and my mental well being suffered. If I had it to do over again, I'd quit trying to keep that silly 4.0, and be satisfied with doing a very good job.

All that said, MOST nursing students get through it somehow. DON'T get behind, manage your time well, get plenty of rest, find time for exercise and personal relationships, and eat well.

Good luck. You can do this.

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