I hate nursing school (and it is not because it is hard)

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I am in one of the top nursing schools in the country, and, coming from the interesting pre-reqs like chemistry and A&P, to the nursing model, which, I am sorry to say, is devoid of any real medical knowledge.....is heartbreakingly frustrating.

Pharmacology is not about pharmacology...its about a few specific drugs and memorizing things about those few specific drugs.

Pathophysiology is barely about physiology at all, its about how to nurse someone with a pathology more than anything.

My issue, is, I am 32 and afraid of getting back out there to get pre reqs for PA school or med school. What if I run out of public loan funding halfway through...I'm stuck. (I cant get private loans)

How do I pay for my life while I go back to school for a year for pre reqs?

All of this momentum and fear has kept me in a nursing school I hate more and more.

And no, it is not hard at all. I get straight A's. And god I wish I was bragging, but it just feels sad.

Its a rant. I am frustrated.

Thank you for your thoughts. I appreciate it.

I have no credit, bad credit etc...a wayward 20's

No one in my family is alive to co sign a loan....not tiny violin but just fact

Thank you again though.

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Thank you for that. It is nice to hear.

I spend a lot of time researchign on my own the pathophysiology of diseases that we are studying and then I come to lecture and want to hit my forehead because it is so dumbed down. And as for pharmacology, I studied very far into it as well and the same thing happened. I seem to study for nothing.....it feels like anyway. but thank you for your caring response. That is what I like most about nursing school. The cohort is full of wonderful caring people.

I don't think it will be for nothing....but if you don't want to do this...

I agree that you could work and pay for the next year of prereqs at least.

You can obtain your bio degree and work in that field.

But are you forgetting that a bsn doesn't spell the end to your learning as a nurse? After working and getting an msn, you can go on to nurse anesthesiology programs, or there are many other choices that you'll build on from what you study now. I feel luckier than in a PA or MD program really because I get to work sooner and have so many choices ahead of me still. This in no way will be the end of my degree. The director of my school started off like me, and now she's the head of a top rated university, teaching with compassion and integrity, to make this program what it is and make sure we're the best nurses we can be. Maybe that's in your future or mine.

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Specializes in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology.
Thank you for that. It is nice to hear.

I spend a lot of time researchign on my own the pathophysiology of diseases that we are studying and then I come to lecture and want to hit my forehead because it is so dumbed down. And as for pharmacology, I studied very far into it as well and the same thing happened. I seem to study for nothing.....it feels like anyway. but thank you for your caring response. That is what I like most about nursing school. The cohort is full of wonderful caring people.

That is what you are supposed to be able to do. A lot of nursing is striking out on your own and learning disease processes and learning best practices. When you specialize, you become so intimate in your knowledge with the subject matter of your chosen specialty that you can ask the MD exactly what you need for your patient based on excellent assessment and critical thinking skills. That is, at least for me, where the intellectual rush of nursing comes in to play. And, when you have to fill in the holes the MD left behind when talking to the patient (excluding matters requiring consent) and you are doing your discharge teaching and you can teach the patient so well that they can really get a hold of their disease process, that's the pinnacle of the nursing model.

I know it doesn't seem super hard and right now the schooling part is boring. I am having this issue, too. I feel like a lot of the As I and many in my cohort got were handed to us. It feels shameful. But, this whole time I've been studying on my own and doing my own research on things. I'm 30 and I don't need an instructor to teach me anything in the classroom - I need them in clinical. So, I've been getting my own work experience and have been lucky enough to be on a unit of my chosen specialty where my nurses nurture my student side and we can discuss high level disease processes and treatment protocols. It's freaking amazing.

And, yet, through it all, I'm still considering PA school later down the road. But, for now, I am extremely satisfied and am hopeful for what I can do as an RN and how expansive my medical and nursing knowledge is going to become, especially once I get on the job. Like they say, you learn everything once you get on the job.

There is no way nursing school can really prepare us to go into the workforce unless we go back to hospital-based diploma nursing (and, even then, the litigious nature of medical liability would still hold us back from getting "real" experience).

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Think hard about it and see if it is nursing you don't like. Maybe you like the science of diagnosing better than providing care. In that case, it would be better to switch fields now before you get any further down a dead end road.

If you are OK with nursing, and just think your classes are dumb, then count your blessings. If you are absorbing the info and passing the classes, you will probably pass the NCLEX easily. It's something to celebrate, not bemoan. Unless you think your classes aren't preparing you for the NCLEX, in which case you have a problem that should be taken up with your school.

If you find the classes aren't challenging enough, then continue to do what you are doing and take it further in your studying. If you can afford it, you can also subscribe to nursing journals and do the CEUs and case studies to keep you engaged. Or, you could go to the library and look at the journals there.

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Specializes in IMCU, Oncology.

You don't mention how far along you are in nursing school, but if you aren't just starting out then perhaps you can finish this degree and bridge over to become a nurse practitioner. NP's have more autonomy than PA's and practice as mid-level providers, have the ability to diagnose, prescribe and treat patients. That is my plan. ALso as previous posters have stated, you can work as a nurse full time and go to school full time to become and NP. However, not sure how possible that would be in PA school and esp. in MD school.

I love nursing, and have enjoyed my clinical experiences in the hospital. I never found class too difficult however.

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You sound a bit arrogant, but from what you describe, I would be upset too. Your instructor uses sock puppets?! That's insulting. I'm in my second semester right now, and I personally feel that I've learned a lot of scientific knowledge so far; of course, the tests reflect nursing actions as opposed to scientific knowledge base, but you need that knowledge base in order to make the right nursing decision. My pharmacology instructor this semester let us know that she wasn't going to touch much on physiological processes in lecture, but she's given us resources to look that up on our own time and has continuously emphasized the importance of understanding the scientific knowledge base.

Your program sounds odd, to say the least. I can understand why your program is giving you a negative view of nursing.

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Nursing is my second career. First degree was chemistry/biology and I was naive and thought nursing classes would be similar to science class. Ha! Boy, was I wrong! My first semester when I was just in the intro stuff And pharm and patho I had similar thoughts as you, but let me tell you, it doesn't stay like that at all. I have gained a huge appreciation for my BSN. It all sort of comes together later on and one day you will realize how deep you are thinking, not just memorizing disease processes. Those few meds you learn apply to more than you think. I am in a top rated nursing school as well and I though it was crap until my senior year when everything came together

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Nursing is my second career. First degree was chemistry/biology and I was naive and thought nursing classes would be similar to science class. Ha! Boy, was I wrong! My first semester when I was just in the intro stuff And pharm and patho I had similar thoughts as you, but let me tell you, it doesn't stay like that at all. I have gained a huge appreciation for my BSN. It all sort of comes together later on and one day you will realize how deep you are thinking, not just memorizing disease processes. Those few meds you learn apply to more than you think. I am in a top rated nursing school as well and I though it was crap until my senior year when everything came together

Ashes: I felt the same coming out of chemistry and A&P classes. The pace of nursing school is so slow, and not sciencey fot lack of a better word. But I take what you say at the end there. I think what I would like to do is shadow an ICU nurse, just to see if I could stand the job, and if it is, like you say, so much more than it seems they are training us for.

I have a Political Science and a History degree and was a commercial fisherman and a stone mason so...I have a wide background and I was really ready at this point in my life to be challenged to the extent of my ability and stimulated intellectually.

I am only in my first year though, so I suppose it's not too late to turn the ship. I have an internship in a Microbiology lab that I am looking forward to. I think I will look for some people to shadow...ACNP's and CCRNs

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You sound a bit arrogant

I appreciate your thoughts. I am keenly aware that, to people who have wanted to do this all their lives, like the people in my cohort, this kind of ******** comes off as arrogant but, I don't see how it is arrogant at all? Should smart people act as if they are not frustrated by, what I see as, a really sad state of affairs in nursing schools. Supposedly mine is in the "top 10" and I know people that have gone to the "number 1 and number 2" (I understand that rating is not that solid) nursing schools and they have said the same things as I have.

My nursing professors do not think with a logical detachment. They are not clear thinkers like the medical professors I have talked with. I makes me wonder if they are not my people. but really, I have wanted them to be my people so badly, because the thought of going back to an uncertain future scares me.....

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Actually, I'm not even going to bother. I feel too smart to be in this thread anymore.

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Actually, I'm not even going to bother. I feel too smart to be in this thread anymore.

Well that hurts...

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If you are more into it the science aspect of it you may want to get your NP, PA, or MD as others have said. I don't think this comes off arrogant I just think you are looking for something different. Nursing and medical are completely different. But on the other hand as someone mentioned., fundamentals of nursing and pharmacology were a bit basic.. In my second semester, that's when the disease processes and critical thinking came into play

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