Hardest part of nursing school

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I am about to start my program to obtain my BSN. I was wondering what classes were the most difficult? I am very intellegant and dont think I will have to big a problem with anything. Can anybody give some insight? Also I am full time at the hospital as a phlebotomist. Will it be impossible to go fulltime to school and work? Or should I just drop to part time?:idea:

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it's not impossible to work full time and do nursing school but it will be a difficult thing to do.... (people are usually advised not to do that) just hang in there and try not to procrastinate... I Wish You the BESSSSSSTTTTTTTTTTT

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I am very intellegant and dont think I will have to big a problem with anything.

Well as long as you're intellegant, I dont think you'll have a problem. Just don't take any spelling electives. :D

It's not impossible to work full time, others have done it, including several in my class that also have young children at home. But it will be very difficult to keep up with it all and still get decent grades. And if you're like me, just passing isn't good enough. I thought I could do it and was lucky to get laid-off soon after starting school. Now I have all the time I need to study, study, study. I wish you the best of luck.

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Specializes in ED Nursing, Critical Care Nursing.

Hi,

All of the subjects in nursing school have their own unique characteristics. Different people have different opinions about what was difficult, etc. The main challenge in nursing school is managing your time in order to read and comprehend a mind-boggling amount of information. It's incredible how much reading/studying is involved. Adult medical-surgical nursing is quite a powerhouse of a course, but then again so was pediatrics and materity nursing. As for working full time, and attending school full time I know that many people have done it. Some of them did just fine, and others struggled horribly. Some didn't complete the program. It depends on the person, and how well you can plan and organize. If you do choose to work and attend nursing school full-time, be prepared to be very stressed on a daily basis for the entire program.

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Specializes in Cardiac ICU.

I went to school full-time and worked full-time also to pay for my tuition. It's possible! Hardest part in nursing school--dealing with difficult instructors/professors. Classes vary from interesting to boring, depending on your interests. Good luck and have fun!

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.

Simplly being intelligent doesn't make nursing school a breeze. Sometimes those who are book-smart have tougher transitions to make into the real world of nursing assessment/decision-making.

I'm sure you'll do fine. Just be prepared to work hard.

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Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.

The work isn't particularly hard, just massive in quantity. Most people who get into nursing school are pretty intelligent. After all, admission is competitive. You'll be among others who are equally as intelligent. It is the volume of work and the way it dominates your life that makes it intense. People do it working full time but I have no idea how. I take my hat off to them. I would not want to be in that situation. I am in my first semester and it is wonderful and exciting, but overwhelming. We have all learned that we have to re-learn how to study.

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Specializes in Foot care.

Well, if it was me, I'd say drop to part time or per diem if you don't need the money to survive. I'm no "spring chicken" as those older than me used to say (rest their souls) but I've also never been the kind to go to college and work full time at the same time. I need to sleep for one thing. I liked doing both half time but nursing school isn't set up to go part time, at least my school was not.

I, too, am very smart, but I'm not a fast reader and never have been. I once dropped out of an American literature course b/c I couldn't keep up with the reading. There was an immense amount of reading in my nursing classes, and an immense amount of paper writing. I'm not fast at that either. I've always said I'm a quality not a quantity kind of gal. :-) I tend to think that the amount of work assigned was a cover for poor teaching but that's another subject.

Some of my classmates finished the course under the most difficult of circumstances. Some had to work full time and support themselves while also paying for college or taking out loans and driving cars with bald tires in the snow. Some had kids with special needs and husbands who got laid off. They were a wreck and I guess they just skimmed the material to get through; they did what they had to do to survive. I think your phlebotomy experience will be key. I don't know where you are but it's terrifically difficult to get hired as a new grad in eastern Massachusetts unless you have a connection or additional skills/experience under your belt.

Good luck.

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Specializes in Clinicals in Med-Surg., OB, CCU, ICU.

One important concept I believe one needs to understand, the nursing material from one course to the next build upon each other. One course feeds into the next. One from the very beginning needs to make no excuses, and dedicate their full attention and energy to making it through the curriculum. Earning a degree in nursing is considered a professional degree. The testing is more difficult. One can not study the material the night before and expect to even pass. One really needs to be able to understand the material, and not just have a "jist". There is where the discipline and dedication come into play. It is the individual who does not have the discipline who will end-up retaking a class or failing-out of the program. It happens all the time, and at every nursing school nationally. Why is it so hard? One needs to consider this: If one or their loved one was in the hospital, what type of nurse would one wish to have at their bedside? :nurse:

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Specializes in mental health, military nursing.

Intelligence is helpful in nursing school, true, but dedication and the ability to perform on little sleep and no free time are the real attributes that will bring you success.

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Specializes in Rodeo Nursing (Neuro).

Pharmacology. Anatomy and Microbiology are no picnic, either. At least for me, anything that requires a lot of memorization is tough. Do-able, but tough.

ITA with gentylwind. I compare nursing school to getting caught in a flood. It isn't that the water is so terribly deep--it's just that there's so much of it. And the current is pretty swift. If there is any way possible to cut back your work hours, do it. I worked 32 hrs/wk my first year, but cut back to 24 the second.

It was the difference between an 8 day work week and a 7 day work week, since I was able to schedule work and classes so I never had both on the same day, the second year.

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The courses are really not the hard part in my opinion. It is the skills! I go to skills labs over the weekends to get extra practice! I am in clinical twice a week, but I like the extra time (time that you don't always get with patients) to ask questions and work out scenarios. It is easy to study a book, bu the application takes the time, in my opinion.. and it deserves the time!

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