Hardest part of nursing school

LivingWithTheBreeze · Feb 12, 2010

It is possible to work fulltime but very difficult to do. A couple of my classmates do it and they are always extremely tired. There needs to be plenty of time to study study study. I worked 25-30 hours/week my first year of school but this second year I a cut back to a measly ten hours. (Thank God for student loans!)

The hardest part of nursing school? The tests. They are not like a regular test. They look for application of knowledge. There will be four right answers but you need the BEST right answer. Everyone in your class will probably be highly intelligent but may have problems with this format. (It was quite difficult for me at first... and I came in with a 3.9 GPA as most nursing students do.)

Another hard part? The time is just very demanding. So try to cut the outside stuff so that you can dedicate as much time as possible to learning. I wish I had cut my work hours down the first year... I probably would've gotten better grades. But at least I passed!!!

Best of luck to you in your new endeavors! And congratulations on being accepted! That is a huge feat in itself! :yeah:

hotflashion, BSN, RN · Feb 12, 2010

Dedication is key, agreed. That's what will guide one person to "hit the books" rather than party or sit on the couch. However, I take exception to the idea that one must forego adequate sleep to be successful. There's nothing lazy about getting enough sleep, but in our culture it seems to be almost a badge of honor to sleep as little as possible. Our bodies need nutrition, exercise and sleep. We do not function very well or for very long without those. Adequate rest is a component of good health.

I once fell asleep while driving and was very lucky that no one else was on the road with me because I was in the right lane of a 3 lane interstate and drifted across the three lanes onto a relatively level median strip before I woke up. I'm pretty sure this happened because I'd become so used to functioning while tired that I lost the ability to judge my own state of wakefulness. I think, but am not sure, that most traffic accidents are caused by people falling asleep at the wheel.

I'm sure that a sleep-deprived nurse is not a good nurse.

This is a good article in a respected journal:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=fact-or-fiction-can-you-catch-up-on-sleep

Sorry, this is a hot button of mine.

LivingWithTheBreeze · Feb 12, 2010

I agree with you, hotflashion. No one functions at their best with no sleep. But if you are going to work full time and be successful in nursing school, you are not going to get as much as you need.

hotflashion, BSN, RN · Feb 12, 2010

I agree with you, hotflashion. No one functions at their best with no sleep. But if you are going to work full time and be successful in nursing school, you are not going to get as much as you need.

No disagreement there! Unfortunately, there's only 24 hours in a day.

Seth304 · Feb 12, 2010

There is no way to know until you get into school and see if it is for you. I knew some "intelligent" people in my class that didnt last 2 months. Unless you know for a fact you have a weak stomach and dont like to deal with people...there is no way to really predict how well you will do.

tokyoROSE, BSN, RN · Feb 12, 2010

The most difficult thing for me is the tests. They are definitely different from other tests... and it just takes time to get used to them. Overall nursing school isn't difficult, it is just very time-consuming. It is a lot of dedication and hard work. On weekdays I don't really do anything but go to school, labs and schoolwork. Weekends are the only time I get to do something "normal," after I do my 25-30 hrs of work. Lately I've been wishing there were more than 24 hours in a day...