How hard is the LPN program and the NCLEX-PN?

VioletKaliLPN, LPN · Mar 24, 2011

You are in Nursing school, it is tough. You often have tests on 200-300+ pages of information that you must read, and those tests are WEEKLY. You do not get 2-3 weeks for tests, they are weekly, sometimes bi weekly. Next week I have 3 tests in one week.

Becoming an LPN instead of an RN doe snot mean it is easier. You learn the clinical skills, but you have less time. You do learn disease and pathophysiology, but you have less time. RN education is different, and a lot of new concepts are introduced, including care plans for some and Nursing DX, as well as management skills.

LPN's still learn disease processes, clinical skills, etc.

Do not undertake this if you want something easier.

Michael_Espelin, MSN, APRN · Mar 24, 2011

I second Violet's post.

As an example, I am in my second week of Nursing school and already have had 4 exams, on top of homework assignments, and reading. It's definitely not something you can just cruise through, you need to dedicate your life to it and make sacrifices. And for the NCLEX-PN, I have not taken it yet, but I hear both the PN and RN are difficult, unless you properly prepare for them.

SarahDreams · Mar 25, 2011

The NCLEX is, by everything I've heard, brutal. There's no nice way to put that.

That being said, everything those above me have said about the PN program is true, plus some. Our program, we DO learn nursing diagnoses and care plans - we're just starting care plans now, actually. I have my first due next wednesday. I'll have one night to do it, which isn't too hard, but it does mean I have to know what I'm doing beforehand.

Something else that should be noted - it's not like you have six months of schooling and then five months of clinicals. You have four weeks to learn everything you need to know for clinicals, and if you're not ready, you don't go to clinicals.

There are so many ways you can fail in the PN program, so be careful and be sure you're ready for the commitment. You can fail academically, which in our program means getting lower than a 78 test average. The tests are like nothing you've ever taken before, I promise. The test average, except for the math test, has always been sixties to low seventies. You can fail at an evaluation for a skill three times - if you do that, you're out. You can have too many absences. In our program, your third absence, that's it, you're done. You can prove you're unsafe to be around patients, or get a 1 in any category of your clinical evaluation. You can break the myriad rules set for clinicals.

And, of course, you can quit. We haven't lost anyone involuntarily yet, I don't think, but of 36 people, we now have less than 30, as far as I know. This is our first semester, not even halfway into it. It's hard on people. Our first night at the hospital - the day before yesterday, a few people were crying.

If you can handle this, read on....

You'll also find things in nursing school you see nowhere else. Our clinical groups are like families - we know eachother's children, their marriages and divorces and history, if any one of us needs something, six people volunteer without even thinking about it. If one of us is happy, we all share the joy. We spend time together, care about eachother.

The feeling when a patient looks at you and smiles and says thank you is like nothing else. It alone makes it worth everything. Knowing you're making a difference, just by coming to school. Meeting all these people, these exciting, fascinating people, these stories that are heartbreaking or beautiful or both. I've never in my life been as busy or as happy as I am now, in nursing school.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Mar 30, 2011

Is nursing school hard? Well, this depends on the student's previous academic preparation, what type of learner you are, and how fast you grasp new information. Some people claim that nursing school is the hardest thing they've ever done, and others state that it's relatively easy. The variation in opinions is due to the fact that we all bring different levels of prior knowledge and study skills to the table.

For example, the career-changing student who earned a 4.5 grade point average in high school and has a previous BS degree in molecular biology has displayed a high level of academic preparation in the past, and I would expect this person to successfully complete an LPN program without saying, "This is the hardest thing I've done in my entire life!"

However, the student who has never been to college in his/her entire life, doesn't read on a regular basis, and is not accustomed to studying might comment that the LPN program is the most difficult thing they've done.

The NCLEX-PN, in my experience, was not bad. You only need to answer about 50 percent of all of the questions correctly in order to pass, and you need to answer as many higher level questions correctly as humanly possible.

vicky2200 · Apr 4, 2011

The program- I guess it depends on 2 things: 1) the program 2) your past educational history/ intelligence.

- I dont think my program is that hard ( I better not regret saying this.) I do well and I rarely study. However MANY if not all of my fellow students seem overwhelmed and find it to be difficult. I dont even think I am that smart. I DID go to a private high school, and they all seem to have went to a public school, so maybe thats it.

Boards: Everyone says they are very hard. Everyone says the program is hard. I haven't taken it yet, so I cant say if like the program, I think its not bad. But I think it will be hard because they have us take ATI exams which are nclex based and i do terrible. Lots of studying is needed.

mshaw23, LPN, LVN · Apr 4, 2011

The program- I guess it depends on 2 things: 1) the program 2) your past educational history/ intelligence.
- I dont think my program is that hard ( I better not regret saying this.) I do well and I rarely study. However MANY if not all of my fellow students seem overwhelmed and find it to be difficult. I dont even think I am that smart. I DID go to a private high school, and they all seem to have went to a public school, so maybe thats it.
Boards: Everyone says they are very hard. Everyone says the program is hard. I haven't taken it yet, so I cant say if like the program, I think its not bad. But I think it will be hard because they have us take ATI exams which are nclex based and i do terrible. Lots of studying is needed.

The ATI was the most difficult exam for me and I failed it 3 times. But not this time I WILL DO WELL!