Does Nursing School=No Life Literally?

schnookimz · Sep 18, 2013

Absolutely not. I worked full time, studied before tests, and lived a normal life. Everyone is different. In my opinion, if you need to study four hours/day then you aren't studying effectively.

chrisrn24 · Sep 18, 2013

I definitely studied but had a ton of fun on the weekend. (Perhaps too much fun!)

Marsha238612 · Sep 18, 2013

Wow Schookimz,

Literally first time I hear someone who thinks one can have the same life as pre-nursing. Its a very refreshing thing to hear since everybody talks about how nursing equals having a life that involves nursing and that's it.

Thanks

ChristineN, BSN, RN · Sep 18, 2013

I didn't have much of a life during nursing school, but it was because I worked full-time all through out nursing school and was taking classes full time. If I was able to find the 30 plus hrs a week to work, I am sure you could find the time to do whatever.

xoemmylouox, ASN, RN · Sep 18, 2013

I worked full time, went to school full time, and was able to maintain some fun in my life. I'm more of a homebody to begin with, I study well, and I slept whenever I could ( including in my car between school and work ). You find a way.

RNperdiem, RN · Sep 18, 2013

I managed to have a satisfying life outside of school while maintaining a part-time job, keeping up with some stress-relieving hobbies and seeing my boyfriend. I was also young, more energetic, living at home with my parents and didn't have any children.

Everyone has a different situation.

Bouncyball · Sep 18, 2013

During my Lpn program I had plenty of free time had really good grades. The Lpn-Rn bridge was a different story. The school I took the bridge at is known for being one of the hardest in the area. The rn bridge expected much more of you (more homework, higher passing grades, and full patient loads at clinicals) than other nursing schools in the area.

I had no life and was always sleep deprived while in my bridge program. It was the worst time of my life, but I got through it. Now, my life is back to normal.

eelise11 · Sep 19, 2013

In my recent LPN school experience, it was very true for me that I had no life. But we were also in a 1 year program with 3-4 tests every single day. What made this hard was that we would literally take hundreds of notes per day, which was soley what our years were based off of, and we would be wayyyy ahead, by 10-15 chapters/subjects and then have to backtrack to study for an upcoming test on something we covered 2 weeks ago. This was on top of care plans, projects, homework, quizzes, etc. So for me, it was 100% true that for that year, I had absolutely no life. My friend is the the same program now. She was determined that she wouldn't lose her social life just because she is in school. She kept telling me if you just know how to study right, there is no problem. She completely disregarded the tips I was trying to give her. Now, she's 3 weeks in and has failed or barely passed every test she's had with her very minimum 30 minutes or 1 hour of study before each test. And it's only the beginning, so right now, she's only at one test per day. It's all about your program though. Some aren't as hard and rigorous as others, I hear.

BlueDevil,DNP, DNP, RN · Sep 19, 2013

My wife once said to her sister that childbirth is actually not a big deal, but those that have been through it exaggerate to scare the crap out of those who haven't. I can't speak to that obviously (except to say my wife is a 7x birthing champ), but I often think that that is very true for nursing school. Let's be honest: nursing school is not a big hairy deal. There are a great many courses of study a heck of a lot more rigorous. I studied a few hours a week and I had a 4.0 from day one all the way through my DNP.

I went to Penn (BSN), Case Western (MSN/FNP) and Duke (DNP), so I don't think it was because I went to fly-by-night schools with pitifully low standards, lol.

Is it demanding? Yes, in the sense that there is little by way of subjective evaluation. You either know the material or you don't; can either demonstrate the requisite skills or cannot. However, we all look really silly and foolish when we pretend it is on par with math, engineering or the hard sciences, and plenty of mediocre minds graduate in those fields.

You can "have a life." Be organized, plan ahead, and for dog's sake, don't procrastinate. It isn't a cake walk, but it isn't even nearly one of the most challenging curricula.

akulahawkRN, ADN, RN, EMT-P · Sep 19, 2013

Nursing school is definitely time-consuming. Work is also very time-consuming. They don't suck all of your available time though! I have to work full-time and I go to school full-time. I also have to do things at home... like eat, sleep, study, and help with the kid. It's a lot to do but I usually get a bit of time for myself every week.

Yes, it's possible to have a social life outside of school. It's all about time management. If I was in one of my previous jobs, I would have a much tougher time keeping up with studies. I can usually get about 1/2 of my studying done while at work and most of my care plans done as well.

Don't get me wrong... school is no joke. It's tough. But it's all doable!

ak2190 · Sep 19, 2013

To be completely honest, I didn't study much in nursing school, or for the NCLEX and I did well in both (and passed the first time around). But, I've always been really good at retaining information and grasping concepts without the redundancy of studying. It all depends on how you learn. I did know people who spent 8 hours in the library every day studying.