Is LPN school really that hard?!

[clarissairene]

Hi there,

I am enrolled to start LPN school in August. It's an 11 month program from 9am-3pm.

Is it going to be really that hard? am I going to be doing nothing but studying and stressing out the whole year? What about clincial rotations..is that hard?

Can you tell me what you thought the hardest part of school was and how stressful it was for you.

I have a 5 year old and husband at home and would not be working while in school.

Also, at this school, you have to maintain a 75% on everything or your out!!

Thanks for any info!

[SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN]

Yes.

The hardest part for me was kowtowing to instructors. And I had a daily 140 mile round trip drive.

I was exhausted.

Just survive it.

[S.N. Visit, BSN, RN]

The most difficult thing I experienced was the huge amount of clinical paperwork. I had an instructor that was like "Hitler", when it came to grading. For example if I stated that a wound was without drainage or pus, she would count it wrong and say I should have said " without exudate", which means the same thing. I would be up for hours with redo's trying to figure out which term she preferred and the ever so redundant med cards, all while I really needed to study for the next class day's med-surge test.

I had to skip many of social invites and my kids ball games to pass nursing school tests. Our 75% was an "F", we needed at least 78% to pass. It was a yr out of my life that I sacrificed, but it was well worth it. I passed the NCLEX-PN first try with minimum questions.

School difficulty really depends on your instructors, how well you deal with stress, and time-management. Oh, and the ability to mind read could benefit you greatly in school!

In a nutshell, LPN school is not so bad.....

[Jules A, MSN]

Suesquatch said:

Yes.

The hardest part for me was kowtowing to instructors. And I had a daily 140 mile round trip drive.

I was exhausted.

Just survive it.

LOL, I could have written this right down to the drive time. Yeah for me it was more the political bs and double standards than difficulty of the material, just stay on top of your studies of course. You will be fine. Jules

[pagandeva2000, LPN]

I feel the same way, the political mess and kissing the rears of the professors drove me to the brink of insanity; oh yeah, and the classmates! Some of them are know it alls, others kiss the rears of the professors by bringing them the coffee and buying gifts, then are the rowdy ones that don't study but attempt to cheat off of your paper. I fixed them by always sitting right in front of the classroom in perfect view of the instructors.

As stated earlier, just survive it. You see we are alive to speak about it...LOL

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

I attended a full-time 12 month program, but I thought it was not that difficult. The program was not difficult or academically challenging in my opinion, but the hard part revolved around memorizing a mountain of material in a compressed amount of time. The tests and quizzes were frequent; therefore, I had to do a whole lot of reading. You will simply have to figure out what type of learner you are (for instance: visual, aural, kinesthetic, or read-write), and discover study methods that will complement your learning style. Good luck!

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

pagandeva2000 said:

I feel the same way, the political mess and kissing the rears of the professors drove me to the brink of insanity; oh yeah, and the classmates!

I dealt with these silly politics while in school and, now, I must deal with similar situations in the workplace. Am I the only nurse who truthfully believes that nursing possesses a very bizarre professional culture?

[SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN]

TheCommuter said:

I dealt with these silly politics while in school and, now, I must deal with similar situations in the workplace. Am I the only nurse who truthfully believes that nursing possesses a very bizarre professional culture?

No.

You are not.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Suesquatch said:

No.

You are not.

Thanks for reaffirming my beliefs about the professional culture of nursing.

[SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN]

TheCommuter said:

Thanks for reaffirming my beliefs about the professional culture of nursing.

I really think that it's because, beyond advanced practice nurses, we are extremely powerless despite any "nursing models" those 70's taxonomists created and we take it out on one another in a very pathetic hierarchy of two years of school vs. one, charge vs. floor, LPN vs. aide - and we should be holding one another up.

And let's not forget the ADN - BSN fights.

[pagandeva2000, LPN]

TheCommuter said:

I dealt with these silly politics while in school and, now, I must deal with similar situations in the workplace. Am I the only nurse who truthfully believes that nursing possesses a very bizarre professional culture?

No, you are not the only one...it just makes me SICK, SICK, SICK!!

[sberrn]

My daughter is in the middle right now. Just make sure you study and there are guides to help you through. It is hard but worth it if you have the tools you need to help you suceed.

Good luck