How did you get through nursing school?

Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN · Mar 15, 2016

I haven't read through all of the responses yet... but OP, I completely agree that you need some help. Does your school have a counseling center? Mine had one where students could talk to someone for free. What you are describing is not normal stress.

I maybe studied 2 hrs a day...sometimes more, sometimes less. I made A's in all of my science classes -- in fact my instructors recommended I be a peer tutor in Microbiology and Pathophysiology, and A's and B's in my nursing classes. Clinicals were pass/fail.

I worked part time and had a baby while in school. There's no way I had 6-12 hours a day to study!!

I also passed my NCLEX on the first try in 75 questions.

Yes I'm naturally book smart, but not a genius or anything. OP I'm not saying this to rub salt into your wounds, but to illustrate that this assertion it's all about putting in the time like your life depends on it is just not true. I would get to the point where my brain would hit a wall, and I recognized additional time would not be productive. I don't think that piece of advice to study more will solve your problem...rather I fear it will make your anxiety worse.

Labmom1118 · Mar 17, 2016

Don't push your loved ones away. They help to keep you sane. My now-husband has way better coping methods than me. He doesn't seem to let anything bother him. I struggle with depression and anxiety (since middle school) and tend to be a perfectionist. He'd always remind me that they're not going to put my grades on my diploma and talk sense into me when I'd really start to freak out. You can't do it alone.

AlwaysLearning247, BSN · Mar 18, 2016

Sometimes people get anxious and overwhelmed with new experiences. When I was in nursing school the first two semesters for me I would get slight anxiety before walking into clinical but it was never to the point of severe stress and not eating. You sound like you feel intimidated by something, correct me if I am wrong. You're not stupid and try not to feel unwanted. Many students feel unwanted in clinical, I know I did many times. Just make the best of the situation and breathe. Maybe seeing a counselor may help. Nursing school is without a doubt stressful between needing to score certain grades for exams and constantly being critiqued in clinical but it does get better. I honestly remember feeling like nursing school would never end but now I miss it. Just breathe and relax and make the most of your clinical experience. Dive in and learn as much as you can! Hope it gets better for you.

nsumrein · Mar 22, 2016

Definitely have to Disagree with you..... I study a minimum 4.5 hours a day , sure some other days a little more and i manage to actually get 95 + on exams. and it is sad you assume in order for someone to get a nice /rewarding grade without the exaggerated amounts of hours you say is needed, is a cheater. Totally wrong and unfair. People retain and understand information differently not everyone is the same...Maybe you are just a really really slow learner.........

nsumrein · Mar 22, 2016

Definitely have to Disagree with you..... I study a minimum 4.5 hours a day , sure some other days a little more and i manage to actually get 95 + on exams. and it is sad you assume in order for someone to get a nice /rewarding grade without the exaggerated amounts of hours you say is needed, is a cheater. Totally wrong and unfair. People retain and understand information differently not everyone is the same...Maybe you are just a really really slow learner.........

Sounds Fishy! Think about it, most nursing schools have 9 - 15 chapters on each exam every 2 weeks, plus you have class and labs, and you are able to study for 2 - 4 hours and bust all A's. one chapter can take 8 hours to comprehend, memorize all of the rationales. Sorry like I say to all who read this thread 6 -12 hours minimum. If you study for less you will barely pass or fail like many do. All your professors will tell you the same. The only way to bust out all A's is if they are pulling from all bank questions or you have the exam, or the professor tells you the questions. You can have 7 choose all that apply options on exam, the chances of getting all of these right are nearly impossible.
Now as I move on Study, study, study, no other way around it.

BeachsideRN, ASN · Mar 22, 2016

Like my professor said if you are not putting in 6-12 hours a day in your are going to fail. I did not believe him at first but if you truly look around, those who are truly stressed out beyond belief are because they are not studying enough, in fact I was one of them. Now when I take a test I expect to get an A, why because with time in comes quality along with quantity. You have to break it down, it can't be done in 4 hours. If you are studying less than your school is using mainly Test Bank questions than you will get an easy A or B. I laugh when I hear someone say they got all A's in nursing school, I say crap - most likely the school used all test banks for questions. If they are not using test bank questions you better put in 6-12 hours or you will most likely fail! Nursing school is a beast! You gotta study like your life depends on it period. The stress level will decrease substantially!! No other way around it nursing school takes no prisoners you conquer it by studying period!

I do not put 6-12 hours a day into studying. I have A's in all my nursing courses. And I do not use test banks and neither does the program. It's QUALITY not quantity.

BeachsideRN, ASN · Mar 22, 2016

Sounds Fishy! Think about it, most nursing schools have 9 - 15 chapters on each exam every 2 weeks, plus you have class and labs, and you are able to study for 2 - 4 hours and bust all A's. one chapter can take 8 hours to comprehend, memorize all of the rationales. Sorry like I say to all who read this thread 6 -12 hours minimum. If you study for less you will barely pass or fail like many do. All your professors will tell you the same. The only way to bust out all A's is if they are pulling from all bank questions or you have the exam, or the professor tells you the questions. You can have 7 choose all that apply options on exam, the chances of getting all of these right are nearly impossible.
Now as I move on Study, study, study, no other way around it.

Also there is no need to memorize all the rationales or to read every word in the textbook IF you understand your content.

And to assume someone is cheating because they aren't studying the same way you are is arrogant.

timeis · Mar 27, 2016

I am a nursing instructor and past nursing student so I am concerned about the difficulty you are having in nursing school. You mentioned that you are in your second semester of nursing school. Was the first semester this stressful? Was it just basic skills in a lab or were you in a clinical setting? Where the expectations different?

I developed some coping mechanisms in nursing school. I already had a business degree and was surprised at how different it was to make good grades. In nursing school I had to buy uniforms and keep them presentable. Once I made that a priority the stress about the uniform went away. I made sure I prepared for giving meds. This part was so stressful for me. I got through nursing school by making procedures for everything. Have you been through a difficult course to complete a goal before? What worked for you to get through it? You can use these past experiences to get through this difficult program.

Nursing school was really stressful for me too. I remember that part of my stress management was to create 30 minutes in the morning to myself and 30 minutes at night. A walk or gardening, time with a pet or my child. Living in a state of constant stress is one thing but if it is to the point where you are physically sick and not eating then it is a real problem.

You mentioned that in clinical you are made to feel stupid. I am wondering if you set your expectations too high. You are in a learning environment. Has your clinical instructor or program given you clear guidelines for what is expected? I give my students a full day of orientation. They use timelines to stay on track. Their responsibilities are written out for them. For the most part the students who follow these expectations do the best. There are always some students who make up high expectations for themselves and then they cannot get their basic patient care done.

You also mentioned that you feel lazy and unwanted. Is it the patients that make you feel unwanted? As a nursing student it bothered me too when the patients made me feel like I was a bother. I too felt lazy at times because things would be quiet with nothing to catch up on and then everything would get busy and I fell behind. I started to offer my help to some of the other students so they were more willing to help me when I got busy.

I realized in nursing school that some of my friends supported my decision to go to school and respected my need to study for 4 hours a day after school. Some of my friends and family members did not respect my need to study. Stick to the friends who understand why you want to finish nursing school

CaffeinePOQ4HPRN, BSN, MSN, LPN, RN · Mar 27, 2016

I'm just wrapping up my second semester of nursing school, and I am a mess . I still have another year to go and I don't see how I am going to do it . I'm living in a state of constant stress to the point where I started pulling my hair out and not eating for hours. In clinical I am made to feel stupid and lazy and unwanted every time I go there so I started having anxiety attacks before clinical too. I just feel completely overwhelmed . I've **** out all my friends because I can't do anything ever because I'm always studying and I snap on my loved ones all the time or just break down crying once a week. How did anyone make it through this ? I need help

The sad truth is this: Nursing education is not structured in a way that shows any consideration for the overall health and well-being of its students. Everyone in my program had experienced increased levels of anxiety, stress and reduced overall health during nursing school. Honestly, we got through it by commiserating with one another, seeing the school psychologist, many students ended up on anti-depressants, making sure we ate real food when we could, we tried to get some sleep/take naps whenever we could, and WHITE-KNUCKLING every single day of the exhausting existence. See your school psychologist -- that helped me and all of my peers. My entire program ended up in our school's psychologists office at some point over the course of the program. Some clever students built a case and reported our school to the College of Nurses and now their program is under review.

Reach out to your peers and make some friends. Help emotionally support each other through this experience. Maybe even start a support club or phone-tree where you call to check in on each other.

CMRN1994 · Jan 6, 2017

As a person who just passed the NCLEX I will tell you how I personally got through nursing school. For classes like anatomy and chemistry things that hard core memorization was required to pass, I would read the chapter, take notes at home, then leave space in those notes for my notes in class, but really focus on listening to the lecture in class for understanding rather than note taking. But once I got into actual nursing classes, I honestly did this. I would go to the resources provided online for the book, print out the outline of the chapter, review the outline briefly and then go to the book for things I didn't fully understand from the outline. Other than that I went to class with a good night's sleep, used an app on my computer which allowed me to take notes and record the lecture at the same time. Then when I got home I would take a bath or shower to relax and listen to the lecture again, saying the information out loud and listening to UNDERSTAND. I did this, and didnt stress at all through nursing school, I never studied anymore than 3 or 4 hours and never straight through because I listened to what my body was telling me. Stress can make it hard to focus, affecting you grades, so while everyone in my class was getting on meds to deal with the anxiety, I was skating by with high Bs and some As. I'm not saying this will work for everyone, and I did study hardcore for finals and midterms (12 hours 100+ page study guides). But the rest of the time I learned to understand, not memorize and I feel I did better in clinicals and on the NCLEX because of this approach. Best of luck to you, and I hope you get through this and feel less stressed soon!