Is it just me or......

Nursing Students General Students

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....does nursing school seem easier than some make it out to be. i am not trying to come off as cocky and i have only completed the fundamentals (1 term) portion of my adn program so i'm certainly no expert, but the information seemed to come relatively easy to me. now i don't have a 4.0 but i did manage to pull a 3.391 this term:yeah:, while some in my class could barely get the required 78% on the exams. maybe i'm being over confident....but early on i figured out a way to study that has caused my grades to jump from low b's to a's. but who knows i could be setting myself up for future failure:eek:!!!!

Specializes in Geriactrics.
this is inspirational. a lot of the posts about how difficult and hard nursing school defintely scared me a bit. not just on this forum but in real life everyone was saying that nursing school is sooo hard, often i was wondering if they were trying to discourage me.

were the nclex style questions as strange as everyone else made it out to be? i googled some of them and they seem like any other multiple choice questions

the questions are difficult at first. you normally get 4 multiple choice answers and you have to pick the most correct one but the trick is they all look correct. the nclex study books show you how to eliminate false answers by using the information taken from the question that is being asked. now you still have to know the material but it does help you throw out what they call distractor questions.

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Specializes in Geriatrics, MR/DD, Clinic.

Like the above poster just mentioned, I find the sheer volume we cover very intimidating and we do it very quickly. Is the material hard? I don't think so. It. Is. Just. So. Much. For example, our first week back after winter break we have about 500 pages to cover in one week.

I have always worked in health care. Before I got my LPN I was a CNA, so I felt I was adding knowledge to my base. Now going for my RN, I have been an LPN for many years so I feel I am just adding also. I have always thought this has been an advantage to me, I love nursing and health care so much. It's hard to think of it as hard lol :)

Also a nursing exam is much different than an algebra test where there is only one answer. Perhaps the critical thinking is what some people find difficult? Adjusting to these types of tests may take a little bit of "practice" and retraining how your brain thinks. Which is why they make wonderful NCLEX study guides. Buy one or two.

The Saunders Comprehensive Review of the NCLEX-RN is AMAZING and worth every penny.

The concepts we learn, to me, are pretty "easy". In the common sense way. I don't remember everything and certain subjects are harder for me that others. Last semester I thrived with mental health, OB, and Peds. I didn't do as well in cardiology.

Do I work hard for my grades? Absolutely. I read the material, review with different books, and study my notes. I spend a lot of time on it because I know it's important. But I won't say it's "hard".

Don't get discouraged if your a new nursing student. I do believe it comes easier for some than others. I do believe it takes time and effort, but I do not believe it is undo-able.

Good luck!

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Specializes in Geriactrics.
my thoughts exactly!

i just finished med surg at a community college and that class was a bear. it wasn't so much the material, but the sheer volume of it and the pace of the program. theory, lab, clinical, papers, projects...add a part time job to that and it was one draining semester. i barely squeaked out an a and maintained a 4.0, but it was anything but easy and as advertised.

i have one semester left before i graduate and i cannot wait to be done with nursing school.

we are not allowed to say which school we are attending (had to sign a contract because some students found it wise to bash the program and some of the faculty members online).....but i will say that i live in the upstate sc area and attend one of the local community colleges. but i also said that i have only finished fundamentals.....so i may be in for a rude awaking come next term, we have med-surg i, psych i, and mom\ baby i for the spring\summer terms. i also think its they way the program is structured that makes it less strenuous, we only take two classes at a time (theory and lab\clinical) every 5 weeks. it sounds like a lot of info to be completed in a one months time but we attend school 4-5 days a week and our test or completed out of class in an online testing center and we get a mandatory 5 weeks off during the summer to relax. but for the fall 2013 cohorts will have 7 week classes because some of the students and faculty don't like trying to cram all of that information into 5 weeks. i personally like the 5 weeks class schedule.

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The program that I want to attend we will only be taking one class a semester. Will this make the program easier?

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Specializes in Geriactrics.
the program that i want to attend we will only be taking one class a semester. will this make the program easier?

how long will it take you to graduate?

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Specializes in CNA.
The program that I want to attend we will only be taking one class a semester. Will this make the program easier?

My program has a single "class" each semester. However, that class covers Theory, Lab, Clinical, Pharm.....they just cram everything into one class. It's how two year colleges in my state get away with stuffing an RN program into a "two year" schedule.

Definitely not easy.

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how long will it take you to graduate?

it will take 2 years to graduate.

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The material wasn't hard at all, it's the time management that was most difficult. Between school and clinicals, we are involved 6 days per week. I think it's a tough schedule for me and my family.

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I just finished my first semester and found it way easier than expected as well. I think one of the reasons is because my expectations were so high. I started NS thinking it would be EXTREMELY difficult. I'm sure if I had gone in in a different mindset, I would have found it more challenging.

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Specializes in ICU.

So far it has been no where near the level of difficulty I had anticipated, considering the things I was reading and hearing from others. Hope it stays that way.

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I thought I would add that I went to Smith for my BA in Economics and my current school is a community college in MD. I have to say I am entering the next semester officially having discovered that all 3 of my closest classmates will not be continuing. These were smart women and I know each worked extremely hard. I think that the pace and shear volume of material has been grueling for me and many others. At least in this program I really do not think too many folks have been breezing into their 2nd year. I wish frankly that I had entered nursing school with any sense that the pre reqs I got A's in were like kindergarten in comparison and I was going to be in for a rude awakening.

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Way easier than I expected. From reading here and talking to a few friends, I was expecting it to be like the Bataan death march, but really it was pretty easy. I go back in a few weeks, so we'll see how next semester turns out.

This gives me hope. I'm starting an ABSN program and I really have been beating myself up BAD over how hard it is going to be because of reading these threads.

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