Does anyone enjoy Nursing School?

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I have been recently accepted into a ADN nursing program and am very eager to get started. I attended my orientation and was throughly disappointed. It seems all of the comments and information provided was so negative. Listen, I am not blind to the fact that Nursing School is HARD work. I understand it will take a lot of studying and time away from my family. I know I can expect to probably make B's instead of the A's I have made thus far and that's okay.

It just seems that most of these posts are so negative. Is it really that bad? I feel if I manage my time correctly and study what I need to I will be okay. I didn't say I will be at the top of the dean's list but I will manage. I really feel discourgaed about the whole process at this point.

I guess I feel as though I need to be the judge of how long to spend in a skills lab or how much time to spend studying vs basing my habits on someone else's success/failure. I am my own person and know how I learn and study but it seems everyone only insists to quit your job, divorce your spouse and put your children in counseling because you will NEVER be around.

I unfortunately cannot quit my job as I need to make money. I have a small son who I know needs me and a husband that supports me. This is really just me venting so sorry if I went on a rant!

To sum this up: does anyone have any encouraging stories about nursing school? Words of positive wisdom? Anything positive?

-A Discouraged Student.

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Hi! Congratulations on your acceptance!! Don't be discouraged...this will be challenging no doubt, but such an extremely rewarding experience. I adore school. I adore nursing school. The feeling of "Heck yeah!" when you pass a skills comp, get a good (or great!) grade on an exam, or have a patient you know you helped in one way or another is so awesome :D I personally think the exquisiteness of the human body is so amazing, and learning about it and what's right/what can go wrong/how to fix it is just an unbelievably incredible journey. I wish you the best in nursing school! It's an awesome experience :D

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Specializes in ICU / Urgent Care.

Dont get fed into the culture of negativity and under achievement. It is what you make of it. You put in the hard work you will get your good grades and graduate a compitent nurse. Just stay on your toes and keep up, remember quality over quanitity, manage your time efficiently, study smart

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I don't know what specifically you're referring to, as far as the negative comments, but I didn't *hate* nursing school.

I graduate next week, I worked full-time throughout the program, too.

No matter how well you manage your time, you're going to feel overwhelmed. The amount of information you need to learn is staggering. Add on to that skills to learn and clinicals. The papers are obscene (not really, just felt like it). The exams are hard and involve a steep learning curve on *how* to test, not just knowing the information.

Saying all that, I enjoyed my time as a student. The first semester was really tough on me, but then I started taking better care of *me* and my anxiety, stress, depression and all out depletion of resources ended. I love learning and with nursing it's awesome because then you get to apply the learning which is where I excel

ps, you will NEVER be around. You need to prepare your family for that. it's not an exaggeration. I have friends who were in tears because they missed this and that with their kids. For the next 2 years, you will eat and breathe nursing school. Just find ways to manage that reality.

And congrats, go out and kick butt :)

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There are some good aspects!! I made some of the best friends I could ever have in nursing school! They understand you and support you!! So that part was amazing!

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Specializes in ICU / Urgent Care.
I don't know what specifically you're referring to, as far as the negative comments, but I didn't *hate* nursing school.

I graduate next week, I worked full-time throughout the program, too.

No matter how well you manage your time, you're going to feel overwhelmed. The amount of information you need to learn is staggering. Add on to that skills to learn and clinicals. The papers are obscene (not really, just felt like it). The exams are hard and involve a steep learning curve on *how* to test, not just knowing the information.

Saying all that, I enjoyed my time as a student. The first semester was really tough on me, but then I started taking better care of *me* and my anxiety, stress, depression and all out depletion of resources ended. I love learning and with nursing it's awesome because then you get to apply the learning which is where I excel

ps, you will NEVER be around. You need to prepare your family for that. it's not an exaggeration. I have friends who were in tears because they missed this and that with their kids. For the next 2 years, you will eat and breathe nursing school. Just find ways to manage that reality.

And congrats, go out and kick butt :)

Dont fear monger I know plenty of nurses who had plenty of time to spend with their kids and spouse while doing their bsn. Its all about time management

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I know people who have kids (although older ones), work 60 hours a week, and still manage to pull off nursing school. Now I cannot attest to how much actual time they spend with said kids at home, but they do it. Anything is possible, but I would advise not underestimating the difficulty of nursing school. Nursing classes are unlike any other classes you have taken before, the sheer volume of information you need to absorb (not memorize, because you will need to draw on it again and again) can seem impossible at times.

I like to think of it as a puzzle with missing pieces, by the time you graduate you will hopefully have most if not all the pieces, however until then you have to think your way through it. I also make a joke about textbook nursing vs real world nursing, to pass test you need to know textbook nursing, to pass clinical you have to learn real world nursing. We often have test questions that ask us what we would do first, or to put things in order of priority, 90% of the time I am looking at the answers thinking in the real world I would do things simultaneously - I do have 2 hands after all, but the textbook answer assumes we can only do one thing at a time.

I personally love nursing school, it is a lot of hard work, and it has meant sacrificing more than usual time with my family. It is 2 years of our lives though! My kids and husband all support me and understand this. I make them a priority on breaks, but during school I have to find a balance of both. Keeping organized, not procrastinating, and using your time wisely will all help you to be successful.

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Specializes in Forensic Psych.

When I first started NS I didn't work. I had a reasonable amount of time to spend with my kiddos. I was gone studying quite a bit (can't get a thing done at home) but I tried really hard to get as much done during working hours as as possible. I got my kids off to school every morning except clinical days and I got them from school. I was really only seriously absent on the weekends before a test.

As the semesters have worn on, things have gotten harder. I do spend more of my time studying, but the biggest time-suck is working. I work 3 12s, a 12 hour clinical, and 2 days of class. By the time I get home from work or clinical, it's pretty much time for my kids to go to bed. If I have to be at the hospital the next day, I won't see them until that next night.

I have one day a week off, but that day has to be spent studying.

So, no, I'm not around. I'm like a ghost floating in and out of my own home. I make time to see my family, but between that, housework, shopping, cooking, cleaning, and general grown up stuff, there's literally no time for anything else. I keep calling my friends just to check in and let them know I'm still alive. :)

So all that goes to say, experiences vary. I've had varying experiences within my own journey. It's impossible to know how you're going to take to nursing school until you're in the middle of it. It may take everything you've got, or you may have plenty of yourself left to burn. Working adds stress, but lots of people do it.

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You will meet some of the most incredible people throughout the program, you will hear the most inspiring stories, you will receive a lot of helpful advice from your instructors. It is a journey that will be worth it at the end, just take it one week at a time.

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Dont fear monger I know plenty of nurses who had plenty of time to spend with their kids and spouse while doing their bsn. Its all about time management

LOL, hardly fear mongering to report what I've seen and what has been the case for nearly all my nursing buddies :)

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I enjoy parts of it. I'm ending my first semester and I love looking back and seeing all that I have learned and how nursing school has helped me expand not only my mind but also my character. But I'm not going to miss it. It's okay. It's a two-year stint that gets me to where I want to go. You will enjoy some of it. You will hate some of it. Enjoy the good and learn from the bad.

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Specializes in Forensic Psych.

Also, I want to add, that YES, I've enjoyed it. I have made some amazing friends. I've learned more in the last 18 months than I thought possible. I've been challenged and forced to grow. I've gained a lot of self-confidence.

But it comes with sacrifice. You know what they say...you can do everything, but you can't do everything well.

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