Do nursing students know what they are getting into?

Specialties Educators

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Do students realize the work load and the amount of studying required before they begin the nursing program or do they appear to be surprised once they are in the program?

I had a superficial idea that nursing school would be difficult but yes, I was a little overwhelmed at the beginning. I believe it took me about 3 months to get into the swing of how hectic it really was. And it seems like just when you think you have a handle on it, something comes to disrupt it! I don't think anyone can truly know until they are there as people gauge the difficulty level differently.

I was asked after my first year to sit on a student panel for new incoming freshmen to answer any questions they had. I did my best to tell them that YES it really is difficult and VERY time consuming. I ran into one of them 2 weeks later at the college bookstore and she asked me if I was "serious" or just telling them what the professors wanted us to!!!! Seriously????

However, it doesn't matter how much you tell people it is hard. No one fully understands how involved it is until they are living it day to day!

Specializes in Post Anesthesia.

I think that unlike other B.S. majors students are suprised by the amount of clinical hours off campus. I'm sure they realise that there is a clinical componant to the program but I doubt they have any idea how much time, effort and study this part of the program entails-I know I didn't. With clinicals 3-4 days a week your ability to adjust your schedule for your other classes becomes nonexistant. I can't imagine working through my senior year.

I doubt it. Otherwise this forum would not have so many "interesting" questions from people asking about nursing school and nursing. We also wouldn't see so many postings from new nurses ready to quit because they found out that it was a lot harder than they thought. They thought they were getting into a job with good pay they didn't realize the level of responsibility and stress it is.

Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

I think also the background of the students makes a difference. When I was first in nursing school at the age of 18, I was pretty stupid and certainly always looking for the easy way out. Completed 3 semesters of a 4 semester ADN program (this was in the 70's) and just quit one day and joined the Navy the next.

Fast forward....1990, now married with two children and voila I am a good nursing student. I knew more of what was expected and I came in with a different set of expectations along with much life experience.

Specializes in Med/Surg, ER, L&D, ICU, OR, Educator.

Students interested in the nursing program at our school are required to attend an infromation session that speaks to prereqs, desired work experience, importance of a good GPA, etc (all things scored on the rubric used to "rate" students when assessing applicants). I almost always come away from one of those sessions complaining that is too much of a downer (faculty are assigned to attend these meetings on a rotating schedule in order to answer questions), and wondering who would think that they stood a chance of even getting in after that! They are told how rigorous the program is, and why we have revised prereqs and entry GPA (etc.) recently...to give everyone a better chance to do well with the curriculum once accepted!

That said, they still seem shell-shocked the first half of first semester.

Good Evening Everyone :typing

Did anyone read any books/info about nursing courses you had to take before getting into the nursing program (Something like a studyguide for a nursing ethics course for example)? If so, do you think reading up on nursing ahead of time helped you do better in the program?

Best Regards

MissMissy :nurse:

I was prepared mentally for how hard it would be, and STILL shocked. And after two years worth of work, I am STILL shocked by how hard this is. I don't think you can really understand it until you're smack dab in the middle of it drowning, praying, crying. Even over the summers I lost some of that feeling until those first days of school rolled around and I saw the module and thought "how am I ever going to do this?"

Hi Lovingpecola,

Are you a traditional or second degree student? If you did your clinical yet, do you think that is easier then the course work?

Best Regards

MissMissy :nurse:

I am second degree, getting a masters after having already earned a bachelors in another field...

Clinical is not "easier," just different. It may even be harder because you have to actually integrate and apply what you've learned and each semester you have more information with which to do that! Clinical is definitely more tiring than coursework....the hours are long and you don't realize just how hard you're working until you get home and take a breath!

But I will say that I find the book material extremely challenging, but that may be because I came in from a humanities background and did not have much college science or math under my belt, AND I was not as accustomed to multiple choice exams as other students because my degree is in English which rarely uses that test format. Also, I went from a low/NON ranked public state institution to an ivy league school, which was/is harder than I even prepared myself for it to be.

Plus a bunch of other factors that just made/makes it hard - AND NURSING SCHOOL IS HARD PERIOD.

But I'm still here, LOL!

LP

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