Is it just me or is nursing school not as difficult as everyone makes it sound?

Nursing Students General Students

Published

I am about to finish my second term of nursing school and have completed difficult classes such as pathophysiology, pharmacology, chronic illness, etc.. and I honestly haven’t found it that hard. Idk if I was just expecting it to be a lot worse because everyone talked so negatively about it or what.. I’m in the program with people who are talking about having constant meltdowns and crying and I haven’t had one mental breakdown while in school.. am I missing something? Don’t get me wrong, it’s stressful at times and you have to put in the work, but people make it sound nearly impossible and like they’re losing their minds over it.. Whenever other students talk to me about how difficult it is I feel like I have to go along with it or they’re going to be annoyed by me not thinking it’s that hard..

For me i just wasn't at the maturity level i needed to be at. So i am trying again at 27 with a family and 2 more kids. Starting with my LPN then moving to my RN. It all depends on everyone's personal life situation and how they handle it. Some people dropped out already because of issues with work or home life tragedies.

Specializes in Emergency Room.

It can be. I really think it just depends on the individual and their particular circumstances. For me the material wasn't hard so much as my procrastinating and lazy study habits. That made getting my LPN, ADN, and finally Bachelor's much "harder" and more stressful than they had to be.

For others it's the material itself. And for some it's not the material or bad habits but they're juggling kids, job, marriage issues, sick parents, bills, etc on top of that. Or a combination. I knew one woman who failed out of the program 3 times because they couldn't pass a mandatory math test in the first semester but she was getting A's and B's on everything else. Everyone's situation is different.

If you find yourself having an easy time of it then just be grateful. I'm pretty sure if I look back I can think of a few students who didn't seem to have much of an issue with nursing school at all. I just think in a sea of complaining they weren't going to talk about how smoothly everything was going for them ?.

People all handle stress differently. Some people find it invigorating, and it enables them to achieve at higher levels than if there was no pressure to perform. Creativity often soars with stress and pressure.

Other people collapse under the burden of stress.

Most people are in the "middle"-they find the stress and requirements to be quite "hard," but they soldier on and do okay in the end.

1 Votes

I can definitely understand where you are coming from. You are not alone. But neither are the students who do find it very challenging. As another said, it really just depends on the individual. We all have our various strengths. For me, my strength happens to be pretty much anything academic. But I also had strict parenting and have above average intelligence. Therefore, I say just be authentic to who you are. Don't feel like you have to hide the fact that you don't find it as challenging. Just be humble about it. I usually just say things like, "Eh, I don't really let it stress me out I just accept my fate" rather than something that seems boastful. At the end of the day, it really doesn't matter what other students think. They are not handing you the degree or a job. Grain of salt.

1 Votes

First two semester for me was a breeze, by the third semester I had a slight meltdown. However, I believe it was clinical (peds/psych) that was taxing on me which then trickle over into my academics. Maturity levels, emotional stability, finances, living conditions, family, jobs all plays a part of someones nursing school experience.

1 Votes

You may have completed all the difficult classes, but you've clearly missed the section on mental health, stress and anxiety.. because it appears you can't comprehend how some people find things harder than others. That holier-than-thou attitude will get you nowhere. It doesn't make you sound smarter and it doesn't mean you'll get a job and your friends won't.

2 Votes

Nursing school is only hard if you have kids, work 20+ hours a week and commute long hours, or go to a horrible program.

I don't have none of the above so I wouldn't consider getting my BSN that hard. However, I acknowledge that those who worked while in nursing school or had kids definitely had their work cut out for them.

It depends on every individual's circumstance. The only hindrance to my studies was a very long commute to school, almost 2 hours one way through Southern California traffic. I am married with no kids yet, I had more than enough time to devote to my studies. Apart from that, nursing was the 3rd medically related degree I worked towards and much of the content was not foreign to me. Had I had kids or was working full time during school, I may be singing a different tune for myself.

I find it a little funny that everyone assumes I must not have a stressful life because I said I don't find nursing school that difficult. I wasn't putting anyone down that has a difficult time, it just shows that people absolutely cannot be happy for other people's success or happy someone isn't struggling. My boyfriend actually was in a nearly fatal car accident right before nursing school started and he lost one leg and severely injured the other and was in a wheelchair for months. I was a caregiver, a student, AND I worked and was solely responsible for paying all bills and completing all household chores until this last month. I just didn't feel it was necessary to explain all of this, but apparently everyone assumes I'm "boasting" and have an easy life. LOL

On 3/5/2019 at 1:08 AM, dennis8 said:

It depends on every individual's circumstance. The only hindrance to my studies was a very long commute to school, almost 2 hours one way through Southern California traffic. I am married with no kids yet, I had more than enough time to devote to my studies. Apart from that, nursing was the 3rd medically related degree I worked towards and much of the content was not foreign to me. Had I had kids or was working full time during school, I may be singing a different tune for myself.

My commute is 1.5 hours. I record lectures and listen to them sometimes on the drive. Good use of time.

1 hour ago, Luchador said:

My commute is 1.5 hours. I record lectures and listen to them sometimes on the drive. Good use of time.

I used to record myself testing myself on content related questions. I would play the recording in my car on the way to school (1 hour each way). It was a good way to see what stuff I actually knew vs. what I thought I knew.

On 3/9/2019 at 10:28 AM, Luchador said:

My commute is 1.5 hours. I record lectures and listen to them sometimes on the drive. Good use of time.

Thats a fantastic idea. Im working and going to school at night for my LPN. I am field service tech so i drive a lot. I need this to allocate my studying better. Did you just a buy a recorder?

+ Add a Comment