Do Nursing Students Have a Life?

cnacram · Feb 17, 2015

If I were you, I would also make time for myself. Take your studies seriously but never ever forget your life outside your nursing school or nursing career. Either you are single or married or have kids while studying nursing, you can still enjoy your life if you only wish to. Just try to manage your schedules very well. If possible, spend your time on useful yet enjoyable experiences. You can never regret a time well-spent.

MaryFutureRN · Feb 17, 2015

Haha. I do have a life, at least I try to have.

I'm on my second year in nursing school and all I can tell you is nursing school is one tough hell. Read your books, listen to the lectures carefully, pass exams, aremember your stuff in clinicals and you're good.

But unfortunately, these are not easy. Not easy.

My first year was difficult for me because of the adjustment period but I was able to do it. Everytime you study, always imagine yourself talking to a patient and she asking you questions. It helps me to integrate what I learned. Listen to your clinical instructors because they provide you the most practical and applicable knowledge since both of you are working together with a real patient.

I have a life because I try to slow down and manage time. Give yourself breaks here and then. Breaks keep you in optimum state. When you're tired, rest. Simple as that. Never procrastinate. Procrastination will be your greatest enemy if you do.

You'll have your Sundays or Saturdays as a rest, but still keep up with those quizzes next week!

Wrench Party · Feb 17, 2015

Sure did! My now-husband and I went into my nursing school with a game plan- I cut back to 20 hrs/week at work, prioritized domestic duties (laundry, pet care and meals became priorities, everything else could wait until the holidays and breaks), and I still had time to do some hobbies ( I squeezed in training for a marathon my senior year of school). My GPA was still intact and I was able to get a job within a few months of passing the NCLEX.

No one need drive themselves crazy and into the ground during school. Sure, it was difficult, but I don't regret not getting 100% straight As so I could have a little bit of work-life balance.

Everline · Feb 17, 2015

I made it a priority to graduate with a 4.0 GPA. So I pretty much lived and breathed nursing school. When I wasn't studying, I was thinking that I should be studying. I missed out on a lot of things during nursing school. I had a life, yes. But it was much different than what I had before I started nursing school and what I have now that I have graduated. If, by a life, you mean partying time and time for everything you did before, well the answer for me was no. YMMV, of course. It depends on many things.

mrsmsh42 · Feb 19, 2015

No.

I think of that entire year of my life (I did an accelerated program) as one long, big grand mal seizure. I know it happened. I know I divorced that year, too. I have papers to prove it, and have faint blurry images of question number #88 and # 151 of the NCLEX, and the panic attack in the bathroom after question #151. (The only person in my class of 88 nurses to get every. single. question.)

But it's mostly like a blackout. And this long post-ictal state afterward.

It's okay.

Yes, it's worth it. I'm glad I did it.

I'm equally glad that my only memory of it is a jumble of faint, blurry images. I don't try to hard to remember it. Doesn't help me.

mrsmsh42 · Feb 19, 2015

p.s. That was 2006, in case you're curious. I'm an RN, BSN, CCRN now and a charge nurse in a multispecialty medicine clinic.

mrsmsh42 · Feb 19, 2015

(Come to think of it, don't remember a lot about the CCRN, either. Less like a grand mal seizure, more like an absence seizure, that one.)

fltopp1 · Feb 20, 2015

Do nursing students have a life?? Do you procrastinate? Are you lazy? Do you have good study habits? It all depends on how you are with your time management. When you get hungry enough you'll find time to eat. When you get tired enough you wont be able to productively study you'll get some sleep. If you want to be a NURSE, then you have to earn it. If it scares you that much than maybe think of another career.

futurenurse16 · Feb 21, 2015

Nursing school is very time consuming of course. With all the schoolwork, studying, clinicals, and (if you work) on top of it, it can take a big chunk of your life away that you would normally spend relaxing or with friends and family. However, I've found it pretty simple to have somewhat of a "life." I see my non-nursing friends the same amount I saw them when I was just a pre-nursing student (which wasn't every weekend, but a few times a month). It's all about time management skills. Plan out your days, GET A PLANNER, write everything that's due, when there's a test/quiz, and any personal things (appointments, weddings, birthday parties, etc.) in there too. You can get everything done early on and have enough time to enjoy yourself! :yes:

Greenstar1013 · Feb 21, 2015

Hi BellaInScrubs! I am 2 semesters away from graduation now and in the home stretch (Yay me!:), but I remember how anxious I was to begin school as well. It seems like as soon as you tell someone you are a nursing major they began telling you horror stories about all the stress and sleepless nights and studying and don't even get me started on clinicals. Lol. Yes nursing school is hard. Making it this far is one of the toughest things I have done in my entire life and I have two teenage children. The first courses are mostly general education so they typically are not as demanding as nursing classes so you should still have time to hang out with friends and whatever. Of course that depends on how rigorous your classes are. I can safely say the best advice I can give you right now is to develop good study habits and get your life very organized. Organization and time management skills are absolute necessities in order to successfully continue in the nursing curriculum. that is truly the toughest part for me because it is hard for me to find balance between my family needs and the demands of my curriculum. So my answer to your question is that yes, nursing students do you have lives however the majority of that life revolves around nursing lol. If you want it bad enough you can make it happen. The best of luck to you in your studies!

MissChloe · Mar 13, 2015

I am in my last semester. I have a fiancÃ© and a home and a job, and have still made time for a life. I'm at the top of my class so it's not that school hasn't been a priority, but I need breaks or I get burnt out. So yes, I go out to the bar, hang out with friends and family, exercise at the gym or outside, and go on day trips. It keeps me sane.