How hard is nursing school?

Nursing Students General Students

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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 Medical/Surgical.

It's really good to hear some positive words about Nursing school...I know it will be hard, but I get so tired of hearing people describe it as "pure hell" or "the worst 2-4 years of your life." I just feel like it intimidates a lot of people and makes them fear something that is fully manageable if you put your mind, heart, and time into it. It's a shame too, considering there is such a need for nurses.

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Specializes in Case Managemnt, Utilization Review.

The academics are hard, but that is relative, to flipping burgers is hard to if you do it every day , year after year.

If you want to be a nurse, you put your nose to the grindstone and do it. How bad do you want it? If you want it bad, you will succeed. ZGood pay, fair benefits and an education that you can always fall back on. All good things take hard work.

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Specializes in CWOCN.

I had an easier time with my Masters Degree than my current ADN nursing program.

The material is time consuming. The smartest move I made was taking all of my science courses before I got into nursing school. Some of my colleagues are in nursing school and taking the science courses simultaneously and they are overwhelmed.

The program is demanding whether it is a BSN or ADN because everyone takes the same NCLEX.

Take every suggestion the nursing instructors tell you. Do the assignments they tell you to do and study what they tell you to study. Time management is essential and you have to pace yourself because there is no way to play catch-up before a test.

I got 3 A's my first semester and I'm in my second semester now. It's about three weeks into the semester and we have covered 12 chapters from the OB material and about 8 chapters on regulatory/endocrine and psychiatric issues. Had one big test already and start clinicals this week.

I have no regrets. I love learning the material. I am determined to finish the program. It is hard work but really interesting.

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It will be easier if you get your pre-reqs and non nursing core classes out of the way.. you still need to read and study and it will sometimes seem really really hard.. but I know people in my class that are capable of getting A's but just can't because they are taking all the other courses assigned because they wanted to "do it in 2" well now they are struggling to pass both Anatomy II (which has a lab- so is 2 days a week- 5 hours total) and their English (3 hours a week) plus their Nsg 120 & 122 class (which is what like 20 hours) so they are in school 28-30 hours a week.. not counting studying! so obviously they don't have the time to really study.. get everything you can out of the way, it may take a year longer, but it will save you in the long run!! Good luck!

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Specializes in Med/Surg <1; Epic Certified <1.
i am currently working on a medical assistant diploma via distance ed, so hopefully that will at least help me get back in the "study mode"....

If you're worried about the English/medical-ese part of nursing school, any health-related experience/knowledge you can learn ahead of time will help immensely. I think the terminology is what gets to me sometimes as I spend a lot of my reading time looking up terminology in my dictionary!!

I have two little daughters and will also have to work part-time during school.... do i even have a chance with all that? i plan on only working every other weekend, though.

We have several single moms of small kids....child care is a huge issue, as is juggling everything for them, but at least one of them also works the weekends plus one day a week and she's doing quite well....it can be done...make sure you've got lots of childcare options for your kids' vacations, sick days, school closings because you won't be allowed much, if any, time off other than what's already scheduled while you're in school.

the soonest i can start the actual nursing classes is 2009, anyway, due to the colleges waiting list. so i guess i got some time to prepare myself and at least get all the generals out of the way....

Get as much as you can out of the way...the folks that are having to fill in with A&P, micro, history, etc., are going a little nuts between scheduling and the extra work. NS is a lot of information and reading and it's thrown at you FAST and FURIOUS!! Try to eliminate as many distractions as you can, read a lot that was written before me in this thread -- and GOOD LUCK!!

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Definitely try to get as many non-nursing courses completed as you can ahead of time. I have taken ALL of my liberal arts and science courses so I only have core nursing courses left, which equates to about 10-13 credits per semester. So far for me, nursing school is not hard per-se, but very challenging to juggle all the components successfully. There is theory class, lab and clinical with requirements to meet and assignments to complete for each component. Plus lots of extra study time outside of class, research and care plans, and practice in the lab plus skill validations. You have to stay on top of everything, stay organized and have good time management skills.

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For me nursing school is not hard academically. The "hard" part about nursing school, is all the clinical experince, and having instructors that don't teach, and the pass or fail classes. I would rather get a grade then a P or F. Nothing is more stressful then knowing you have to recieve 100% on certain exams.

Nurses also have a tendency to kill their young..I had my fair share of this. I think I have gotten better at dealing with it, but it can be very tough.

GoodLuck

:balloons:

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Specializes in Brain injury,vent,peds ,geriatrics,home.

I really thought nursing school was a breeze.I had alot of experience prior as a patient care tech.N/A treatment aid as we were called back in the day. Ive always found medical issues interesting.Learned medical terminology on my own.To this day study and learn about diseases ongoing.Graduated fifth out of 45.without exserting sp?myself.Alot of persons failed out.So I dont think the academics were below par Everyone is different.Although I do hate Math and had to study that alittle .Other than that,for me wasnt hard.

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Nursing school is ALOT of work and very stressfull!! But, if you are committed to being successful in the program and putting in the study time you will get through. . .it is definitley do-able. Just prepare yourself mentally and emotionally for a very busy, intense schedule going in. I have a bachelor's degree in English literature from UCLA and this ADN degree is much more challenging! Good Luck!!

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Specializes in Adolescent Psych, PICU.

What makes NS hard is the amount of work you have to do in a short amount of time. You have no choice but to retain the material you learned because of the nature of tests in NS (critical thinking, NCLEX styel). You can't just memorize the info, you have to understand it. I'm really interested in the material so I enjoy studying and since I enjoy it I retain it fairly easy.

It is time consuming, but the material (IMO) isn't hard for me, but that is a very subjective statement to make.

I'm 33 years old, married with 2 young girls that I homeschool. I do very well in nursing school, never made anything less than a B and I do have a life. I also work part time as a nurse tech. I think being the age that I am gives me advantages, in fact most of the "older" students in my class who work, have families, etc do very well! I have single friends who don't work and are barely passing each semester (a couple have flunked out). So I actually think you probably have a lot more going for yourself than you realize!

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Specializes in Med Surg, Specialty.

It is a huge time investment. It really helps if you have a good support system, and, as another poster mentioned, it helps to have healthcare experience prior, such as CNA.

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all I have to say to this post is

:rotfl: LOL!! Is nursing school hard ?!!

I learned how to "pray without ceasing..."

but, like a good friend of mine (in the medical field as well) said

"just jump through the hoops, take it one task at a time."

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