Does anyone else find nursing school... easy?

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Specializes in Eventually RN, BSN, CNRA.

Before I get slammed let me point out that by easy I mean easier then expected. Coming into this semester (my first of four) I was scared, anxious and paranoid of managing my time, losing my social life and failure. Halfway through, I have a 92.5 average through two of four tests and passed all of my clinical self-tests (BP measuring, Injections, Calculations) with little to no difficulty. Sure, I study, but not nearly as much as I expected too. In clinical, I'm very comfortable doing all of the tasks I'm trained to do, albeit, it isn't much, just vitals, bed changing, dressing changing, feeding, bathing, for example. Not difficult tasks by any means, but nonetheless, it's all I can do at this point.

The reason I'm posting this is because my brother graduated from the same program as me just 4 years ago and completely lost his social life in the process. I used to laugh because I never saw him without a book. Now my mom (I'm 20, I still live home) gives me a hard time because she says I'm not applying myself because I still frequently go out, and basically live like the 20 year old I am (sue me, I like a drink!). I don't mean to sound arrogant or cocky, just wondering if anyone else isn't stressing over the program like most of this board.

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Specializes in Maternity.

nope. can't say i agree with you. this is probably due to personal differences (i have a baby, i work full time...)

i have an 83 average and am proud of that! i just hope to make it out alive!

good luck and great job with your current grade! :up:

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no. Its not easy. First semester is typically the "easiest" so they say. A girl in my class had told me she had actually went out and partied the day before the final and didnt even study and some how managed to get an A. I had a hard time in it myself adjusting with the the critical thinking type questions. But It only gets worse. Just wait to you move onto the second semester its a whole new world.

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1st Semester: Ok...pretty easy. And when I say easy, I also mean "easIER" than what I had anticipated.

2nd Semester: Not bad...previous graduates from my program all said that 2nd semester was the hardest, but I found it to be much like 1st semester, but with more skills and more responsibility.

3rd Semester (and current semester for me): After a looooooooong summer break (3 months), I kind of felt a little overwhelmed with coming back to school and hitting the ground running again. I also think that even though the skills aspect of the semester hasn't gotten harder, the critical thinking HAS. Our instructors expect us to act and think like 3rd semester students, and therefore, there is a lot more pressure on us to really understand the big picture. So, I have found myself to be the most stressed so far by my third semester. I still can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but it definitely has become more intense and real. But, the important thing to do is hang in there, because you can do it.

Another piece of advice: You get out of it what you put into it.

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Specializes in IMCU.

I don't find it very hard...yet.

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NO. But, I've never had the life you have... living with my parents, etc. I have a job, a husband, and 2 kids. So, no, easy is not the word that comes to mind. Be thankful that you can live at home, etc. while in nursing school...

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Guerilla04, do you have a job?

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i have already graduated and i thought the first semester was ok but it only got harder from there. most of the difficulty i had was just that it was so extremely time consuming. i spent many nights before a clinical day getting anywhere from a few hours of sleep to none at all. our situations are very different though. i worked a full time job and had a family as well. after graduating i just wished i would have had more time to really learn and understand all of the material. there were alot of tests that i did well on just because i tend to be a good test taker. if you are able to continue to have a social life, good for you. just make sure you study enough that you understand the concepts behind what you are reading. i'm sure you will do fine. just be ready for it to get harder. every semester that passed, we lost students and also gained new ones who were taking the class for a second time. good luck to you!!

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Specializes in Eventually RN, BSN, CNRA.

Yes, I work part time at the hospital I do my clinicals at doing dietary, basically I just take patients food. I work around 25 hours a week on average, nothing fancy. Usually a 3-8 shift 5 times a week, sometimes more some times less.

Trust me, although I dont know from experience what you parents and full-time employees are going through, I can imagine how much of a burden that puts on your studies. I didnt mean to insult any of you. Obviously some people have more time then others, thats very understandable. I'm not at the point in my life where I'm overwhelmed with resposibility.

Maybe if I re-word my question it will sound more appropriate; How many hours a week do you study? Actual studying, I vary between 2-3 hours weekly. That isn't including for clinical (prep sheets, care plans, clusters), strictly just reading the book and going over lecture notes. With those 2-3 hours, I feel I'm very prepared for class, and can actively participate and actually have a clue to what im taking about.

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The majority of the students I went to school with were holding down full time jobs, were parents, and were commuting various distances while they were in school, so everybody encountered academic difficulties to the extent they couldn't keep on top of everything and keep their health. I imagine that many of the good students would not have had a problem if they weren't overloaded with other responsibilties.

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yes, i work part time at the hospital i do my clinicals at doing dietary, basically i just take patients food. i work around 25 hours a week on average, nothing fancy. usually a 3-8 shift 5 times a week, sometimes more some times less.

trust me, although i dont know from experience what you parents and full-time employees are going through, i can imagine how much of a burden that puts on your studies. i didnt mean to insult any of you. obviously some people have more time then others, thats very understandable. i'm not at the point in my life where i'm overwhelmed with resposibility.

maybe if i re-word my question it will sound more appropriate; how many hours a week do you study? actual studying, i vary between 2-3 hours weekly. that isn't including for clinical (prep sheets, care plans, clusters), strictly just reading the book and going over lecture notes. with those 2-3 hours, i feel i'm very prepared for class, and can actively participate and actually have a clue to what im taking about.

no worries....you did not offend me at all. i only wish i had gone to nursing school before i had so many responsibilities. i envy your situation really. in my situation, it was all i could do to keep up with the assignments and things that absolutely had to be done so their were many times when i would end up cramming the day or two before a test. i never had enough time to actually read all the material.

just make sure you study enough that you actually retain the information. if you are able to do that in 2 or 3 hours a week, that is awesome. it's good that you live at home though so if you end up needing to work fewer hours then maybe you can.

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Specializes in Emergency/Cath Lab.

1st semester was easy for me. I had 19 credit hours and I still thought it was easy because I liked what we were doing and liked being busy. So yeah I agree. It only goes downhill trust me

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