Do YOU enjoy nursing school?

Nursing Students General Students

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I am a prospective nursing student, waiting on a letter to come in the mail! Wish me luck!

I hear how tedious and gut wrenching Nursing school is. I hear how you cannot and WILL NOT have a social life; or life at that. I hear how extremely difficult it is; almost undoable.

I don't mind not having a social life and comitting my whole life to nursing school.

I don't mind the large amounts of studying.

I don't mind the hard work I will put forth..

But what worries me is that it's near impossible. Obviously it isn't since there are so many nurses and graduating nurses. But students nowadays are making it as if it's impossible to get through.

My question to you is:

Do you [did] enjoy nursing school?

Was it something you couldn't wait to get it over with bc it was just so bad?

Is it doable with a child? [i am a single mom of a 5 month old at the moment]

What are your inputs?

There were parts of the program that I enjoyed. I think the actual college program and your relationship to professors and students is what will determine your joy. My school had a 65% attrition rate that kept me thinking I could be kicked out at a moment's notice...VERY stressful! There was brown-nosing and cattiness, which I despised...oh, and also cheating! This type of behavior also makes for a very stressful experience. I'm proof that it can be done. I'm 40+ years old, single mom of teenage daughter, no extended family for help or support, and finished with 3.7 GPA. I couldn't wait for it to be over! Now all I need is an RN JOB!

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Is it impossible, no. It's a lot of work, but a lot of it isn't all that hard. Frankly, I think a lot of the terrible rumors are nothing but hype. Don't let other people discourage you. Listen to the advice they give, but don't let them rattle your cage. What is hard for them may prove to be very easy for you. So far, I've yet to run into any classes or material that I found over my head, hard to grasp, or stressful. Yes, exams are always stressful, but that's a given. If you want to be a nurse, go for it. Don't be afraid to follow your passions, and don't be discouraged by others.

I like it when someone basically writes my post for me :). Seriously though, I agree with all of this. I started this adventure with a toddler. I have had to sacrifice the tiny bit of social life I had, but that's because I don't want to sacrifice ANY of the time I have available for my son. What used to be social life was converted to study time. "Me time" is when I sleep. I am only in my 2nd semester, but honestly, the first one was a breeze. I am confident that even if it gets significantly harder, I can manage it. So can you!

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Specializes in orthopedic/trauma, Informatics, diabetes.

I have found Nursing school to be the hardest thing I have ever done. I went through grad school pregnant. Walk in the park compared to this. I have been a bit of a schoolaholic and this has certainly cured me of wanting to back to school. i know I will have to go back, I am finishing my ADN in May and I know I will have to at least get my BSN. Not going to rush into anything.

The positive thing that I have experienced is the bonding I have had with my classmates. there are some that are a little cliquey but we all help each other and support each other.

I do not, however, regret it! I am looking forward to being a nurse.

Good Luck!!!!

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Once I got past first semester and started to figure out how to "do nursing school", it wasn't bad. Yes, it is very hard. Yes, it is a lot of work. Yes, it is way harder than anything I took in my first bachelors (and that included calc based physics). However, it is what I LOVE so I enjoy studying it. If I devote the time I need to devote, I get almost straight As (I have a 3.8 GPA). I work full-time. I still have a social life.

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I love it! It's hard, but definitely doable. I have 2 kids. I have to manage my time with everything, so yes, I miss out on a lot of time with them, but it's temporary. I am part of the SNA and love that too. We do so much around the area! I love my friends I have made and everything. I'm just enjoying my time!

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I hated every blasted minute of it.I love to learn, but I felt so stifled!I was never so happy to be done with anything in my entire life.I still do my own studying, but it's enjoyable because it's on my terms!

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Specializes in Acute Care Pediatrics.

Nursing school was one of the best experiences of my life. ;)

I am a mother to three children. My husband works full time. I was able to attend full time class, and still cart my children to all their activities for the most part. :)

Don't get me wrong. I worked HARD. It was the most stressful time of my life. But at the same time - I HAD A BLAST!!!! I miss it already (I graduated on 12.16!)

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I enjoy it so much that I even study while on break between semesters!!!! Never had one day where I hated it.

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Specializes in CNA.

Oh my! This was a post and run for me!

Thank you so much for your replies!

I'm very committed and motivated when it comes to school work. Even though it was only pre reqs, I made sure to give it my all in everything I did. I just wanted to prepare myself!

I guess my biggest fear is just my baby. Like one of the posters said, I worry he would feel neglected.

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Specializes in New Critical care NP, Critical care, Med-surg, LTC.

I don't love it, I don't hate it. I really enjoy learning new things, so there have been some fantastic experiences. However, I work full time and have three kids at home, so it has been a challenge to juggle everything. Sometimes it felt like I was just doing busy work with the paperwork, and sometimes it felt like people just wouldn't stop pooping on me. But, sometimes I left the floor knowing my patient really appreciate the care I provided during that shift, and that was good. I have not given up everything else to study. In fact, most days of the week I don't do anything related to school. I made the decision that being a B student was okay with me, that was my work-life-school balance concession. It hasn't been awful, but I'll be happy when these next 18 weeks are finished. Good luck.

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Hi! I have one more semester left in an ADN program. I was majoring in English at a university before taking on nursing, so it was a total change for me! Still, I put the time in and stayed motivated and if you do that, I believe you can do it!

I would not say that I "enjoy" nursing school, mainly because of the stress and being sick of school (been in college for way too long!) but I do enjoy nursing itself. The hardest part of nursing school in my opinion is the time involved, staying motivated and organized, and the stress. There are times I am studying for an exam and feel completely overwhelmed and helpless as to how I can retain everything. But I keep at it, try to remain positive, and I do just fine. I keep on top of things and have earned A's for the past three semesters in nursing. It really is all about self motivation, in my opinion.

I know plenty of students with babies/kids/jobs etc. The ones that stay on top of their studies despite their other life obligations do just fine. The ones that allow the other obligations to take too much of their time and effort, do not. Nursing school does become a huge,huge, huge part of your life, although I do not agree that it becomes your life. Make time for yourself and your family, just not too much time :)

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Specializes in Trauma, Teaching.

Baby won't care if you are reading while cuddling. And at 5 months, Nursing Fundies sounds just as good as Good Night Moon! Read it out loud and explain it to him, and your understanding will soar as well, lol.

You have a built in model to listen to lungs, belly sounds, and poop assessment!

I like nursing school, but then, I get to be in the front setting the deadlines. For every paper you have to write, I have to grade 30+. I hereby give you official permission to take breaks from studying once in a while!

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