How hard is nursing school?

Nursing Students General Students

Published

Hi,

i know the question is hard to answer since it is different for everybody.... but in general..... how hard is nursing school?

I plan on applying to the ADN program at our Community College. I am under the impression that community colleges are usually very managable, as they are meant for pretty much everyone, but does that also apply to nursing? I am a little intimidated after reading some of the posts.

I have always been a good student, but to be honest, sciences and math weren't my strongest subjects.

I am from Germany, so I am also concerned about learning all the "medicalese" in english. I did take 4 years of latin in high school, though...maybe that will come in handy now ;-)

How much do you learn about diseases, diagnostics etc.... i mean, nurses arent really there to diagnose, right? So.... on a scale from 1 to 10, how hard is it? Or lets just say, compared to high school or general CC classes (I took a sociology and an early childhood class at american colleges), how bad would you say it is? what subjects are the hardest? i hear anatomy isnt all that much fun.... i am personally most worried about the chemistry/microbio...

thanks :-)

Specializes in NP / USAFR Flight Nurse.

My LPN program requires a 75% to pass and move on each semester. If you do not pass the ATI tests, which are set up to be similar to the NCLEX-PN you cannot move on either. It is very difficult if you have not taken andy A&P or Micro. I had a little previous experience as a CNA and from my BSN prereqs, and it has still been very difficult for me. You have to plan on your time in nursing school being devoted to school 100%. Make sure your friends and family understand that you are concentrating on school for that one year or how ever long your program is. You cannot make it through without support from your friends and family. It is very rewarding when you succeed and you know that it was EARNED :)

I just started my nursing classes a month ago. I have already completed my gen eds, pre-reqs, and co-reqs. So....I have it easier than the people who have their co-reqs and gen eds to do along with nursing. I think that it is time consuming. I find myself wondering away from my books sometimes. We have our first nursing tests in the next 6-10 days. I am hoping I do well. This info we have now seems basic to me, but I already did my CNA in summer 06'. You can definately tell the difference between people who have their CNA and not. Us who have our CNAs grasp this infor much easier right now. The thing I am worried about is the test format is completely different from tests we have had before, even the science classes. We haven't had much guidance of what the tests are like, so many of us are wondering how the tests will actually be worded/format. We also have our Dosage calc test in two weeks and they have taught us nothing. I did my calculations book and have been reviewing it. My sister graduated with a BSN last month and she studied her butt off! I am in a BSN program. I was a straight A student before, not too sure how nursing will turn out. But, they told us during oreintation that the C and low B students will not be doing too well because the higher grading school and if they have a hard time grasping the basic gen ed stuff, they will have to work twice as hard to pull their weight. It is time consuming and a lot of information to take in, in a short amount of time, but I am hoping it will be rewarding as I anticipate. Try to be positive and work hard!

For me the word isn't rally hard but incredibly intense. These 18-20 hour days are too much for me. Left for class 7 AM, out at 11, worked on nursing process care plan assignment until 1AM, had already put about 8 hours in on it over the weekend ( I work weekends, 1 day and three evenings a week) I can ussually study on my evening job.

Got home today was an evening job day (til 8), at 9:30 (stayed to keep working on assignment b4 packing up and heading home. Just finished it, got my stuff together for clinicals in the morning, drive an hour be there 6:30. Finsh 1:30 go to work, study and repeat. We had 2 quizzes this week and several chapters of reading, lab assessments, CD's to watch etc. I took this weekend offf from work because we have a bog test on Tuesday and that damn nursing process assignment to do again. God help me, I don't understand why they are so hard on us. If one didn't work or hav e afamily it might be more manageable.

Good Luck, I'm discouraged right now and venting but will be fine and thankful eventually. Good luck. Ps Don't have sppell check for the typos.:rolleyes:

Margaret

It is very time consuming, certain topics are more academically challenging than others (fluid/electrolyte balance and acid base stuff comes to mind), but it is doable. You need to be able to read fast and retain what you read to apply it in various situations. I have a life as well and still go out with friends and spend time with my family. First semester I also had a work study job and made a 4.0 gpa. My house isn't as clean as it used to be and there is always laundry to do and we have a lot more take out or leftovers than we used to, but the extra time has to come at the expense of something else. You need to have a great grasp of A&P. I cannot tell you how much this has helped me in the actual nursing courses. I can skim reading material that is more of an A&P review and focus on the new material and putting it all together.

If you have good instructors nursing scool is not that hard you need tobe motivated Nursing education will open the doors for you it is satisfaying profession respected prestigeos and fulfilling go for it Do not be intimated by clinical instructors. They love to intimidate students

Let me just say this: I am 3 weeks into a BSN program and I'm on the verge of seeking professional help for the anxiety that I have been experiencing. I have already had 2 tests and I passed (Thanks to God), but honesty, I can say I wasnt prepared for the transition like I thought I would be. This is a second career for me and I wasnt used to the huge study load, but I'm slowly but surely coming around. Time management skills are a huge plus. Although I had a good GPA to get accepted into the program, I am learning anything over 75% is good, although I push myself to get about 85%.

Nursing school so far is hard, but I think the hardest thing for me has been the transitioning and time management. The material itself has been intersting and when something has my interest, I don't find myself procasternating to study it.

Get a good support system, develop a good schedule and I think you'll be okay.

Also another thing to consider is the difficulty level from one program to the next. Our program started with 31 people and now during the 2nd semester only has 12 left. Thats right 12. I have take 4 years of pre reqs and none of them compared in difficulty to the nursing classes I have taken the last 2 semesters. How hard it is also depends on the person. Some people require less study time to understand the same info etc. So basically I would probably say that yes nursing school is hard....its just something that you have to really want and be prepared to dedicate yourself to. Good luck :)

Specializes in Acute Care.

A agree with a few other posts that say its more time consuming than hard. Maybe thats just me, but I haven't had any trouble with the classwork (so far...:stone) I put an insane amount of time and effort into studying, and it pays off. My problems have stemmed from horrible nurses I've had to work with and stuff like that.

I can deal with drowning in careplans, homework, tests and such, but being treated badly by someone whose job I respect and admire really, really sucks.

Specializes in Home Health Care.

There has been nothing easy about my program, it's a day to day struggle, and I do a lot of praying about it ....If being a nurse is something you REALLY want, you will work hard to become one. Having the knowledge that nursing school is not a cake walk, will give you the upper-hand of those who assume it is. We have single mom's working full time jobs making it,( yes they are stressed out) but they are doing it!

+ Add a Comment