I know it's hard. But is it really that hard?

[Stillthinkin]

26 year old male wanting to become a nurse. I'll be doing my pre reqs soon. ( The reason why I want to become a nurse is become I love being around elderly people who can't help them selves.) My question is nursing school really that hard in community college. I know nothing about science or math. How hard is this road? Besides assisting those in need I want a job that a robot won't be able to replace me..

[ItsThatJenGirl, CNA]

This really depends on what type of student you are. I've never really had to study before, then nursing school came. My first round of tests I did really well on - with no studying. So I got cocky. The second round wasn't as kind to me and really gave me a reality check. The content itself isn't hard, IMO - it's the sheer amount of stuff you're learning all at once. For me it's been difficult because I'm having to change everything I've been doing for the past three years. I did okay this semester, hoping to get ahead of the curve next semester though.

[onthego782]

It is hard..but combination of clinicals and academics tend make more challenging. That said it is very doable as long as you stay focused and engaged. Anything worth while is going to be hard. Stay away from drama and BS..keep focused.

Take classes to help with GPA if you can..a 2.8ish would be nice but finding a way to be interested in subject matter is important in retaining it.

Best wishes.

[HIPAAPotamus, BSN, RN]

I have a master's degree in music. I studied my tail off for that degree, and sacrificed a lot of time and energy for it.

I just finished an ASN at a local community college, and I'll tell you what: it was much more difficult than completing my music degree.

It's not just the amount of knowledge, it's that exam questions are not about what you know: they want to know how you would prioritize and implement care.

[MiladyMalarkey, ASN, BSN]

I'd say it's more challenging than hard. Learning to juggle the volume of knowledge being thrown at you and balancing school/home life is an adjustment. Critical thinking can be a challenge. Not only do you have to understand what is happening to the patient, but you have to know why it is happening, how to prevent it from happening, when it happens what measures you take and what you expect to happen after applying these measures. You have to understand A, to know B, C, and D. A foundation or basic understanding of chemistry, anatomy, physiology, basic math and pathophysiology is very important.

[nursinglove30]

It's the busy work that make it a lot harder.

[NurseSpeedy, ADN, LPN, RN]

I found the community college A&P, especially the lab practicals, a complete BEAR. I had to drill that crud into my brain to remember it. Nursing theory itself I found a lot easier, but it's probably because I could kind of relate it to a person or situation and visualize it which helps me a lot. I also test a lot better with situational type questions and not gross memorization of a bunch of stuff that seemed to be the case with the pre-requisites.

The programs are fast paced so the best advice I could offer is not to fall behind because it's really hard to catch up if you do. If you know you have a paper due and a test on the same day, get the paper out of the way early so that you can have a clear head to study for that test the few days before it's scheduled.

[The1nerh]

I'm currently in a nursing program.I wouldn't call it hard as far as the things that I have to learn,it's difficult because in other classes/programs I would have say..1-2 assignments and 5 or so chapters to cover every week,along with one test. In my nursing program,what I'd do weekly in another class,we are doing daily.

EVERY day we have at least 5 chapters to memorize,1 test,care plans,learning drugs,etc....we are studying from 3-5 books at the same time while also learning the clinical aspects.

It's not hard,it's challenging and time consuming.

There are also a LOT of 'pop up' things..like tests,assignments,etc..so we have to stay prepared and ready.Skipping a day or 2 of study in other programs is ok,in nursing it can lead to frustration and repeated classes.

[Horseshoe, BSN, RN]

It's not hard,it's challenging and time consuming.

How do you differentiate "hard" from "challenging"?

Reading the nursing student forums, it's safe to say that MANY of them consider nursing school to be hard, not just time consuming. That's why the question in the OP is difficult to answer without knowing a lot about the person posing the question.