Is LPN school really that hard?!

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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!

LPN school is not really hard as far as the material goes, it's hard because it's so time consuming. It's a lot to learn in a short period of time. There is lots and lots of clinical paperwork, reading, papers to write, projects, etc... It's not about just memorizing the material, you need to truly understand it and be able to apply it in real life situations thats the part most people have trouble with, it takes a lot of critical thinking which isn't really something that you can learn, it's something that you will develop with time. Test questions are formated just like the questions in the NCLEX books. I would suggest that you start looking over these books as soon as you can. Saunders compressive is good, so is the one by Kaplan.

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I too had to deal with one Nazi instructor and the other instructor was afraid of her own shadow therefore she never done anything to 'rock the boat' where the first instructor was concerned. That woman made my life a living hell and I would literally sit around thinking of ways to dispose of her. I had a 4 and 5 year old at home and my husband worked evenings. We never saw each other and it was hard. I wanted to quit so many times and finally my husband would tell me 'well, just quit because I'm tired of hearing it'. Then I would whine and say 'no, I've put too much time in to it, I can't quit'. I'm so glad I stuck it out.

Clinicals are not bad if you are able to attend a decent teaching hospital. The one we done our clinicals at here in southeastern Oklahoma was pathetic!

I survived....just like everyone else.

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Thinking about LPN school makes me want to vomit. I have to admit, I didn't have a lot of extra personal baggage. I was 20, and lived at home with mom and dad. Not too many bills to contend with.

It was a full time, 9 month program with various days and hours. We started with 40 students, ended with 14. We had to have an 80% on everything - even if it was 79.9, no rounding! I didn't struggle too much with the material. I just made it a point to have good study habits.

I was an ER tech, and I made the big mistake of sharing that with people. The minute they found out I had experience, the more they expected of me. Which meant, taking care of two patients while everyone else had one. The clinical paperwork was endless and preparation was difficult for me since I lived 40 mins from the hospital/school. If one thing was left blank, you were sent home, which meant dismissal of the program. They had a "no abscence" policy in most of the clinicals. So, if you were unprepared and sent home, they kicked you out based on the absence policy.

The nurses at the hospital I did my med/surge clinical at, felt LPN students were a major interruption to their day.

The suck ups were present as well. You pretty much had the same people in everyone of your clinicals. Of course, 90% of the suck ups were in my group. They felt it was necessary to throw a party to the staff of wherever we did clinicals EACH time. Even though the staff at most of the places treated us terrible.

Passed my NCLEX first time though with 75 questions.. GLAD it's over!

Original plan was to keep on going at the same school with RN...no way, not with those instructors again! They stressed me out!

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Specializes in ICU, PICC Nurse, Nursing Supervisor.

One of my main issues was paying such close attention to detail. If my teachers said put your name in the left hand corner and you put it in the right ..You failed. I ended up being able to follow directions real good as a result it helped me zone in on each and every little detail to make sure it's correct. I was trained at the county hospitals and most of my instructors were military nurses. The content was hard and took a lot of study time to grasp but more than anything it was adjusting to policy and procedure.

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just spoke with someone that just passed her finals of the lpn program that I will begin in less than 2 weeks. she said that it was manageable! I'm kinda feeling like 'ready or not' here I come!!:eek: our program has an 80% average that must be attained.:uhoh3:

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Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.

Hate to admit it sometimes, but I do have bitter feelings about nursing school, because I always thought they overdid unnecessary things. The classmates were the same as yours, kissing the bottom cheeks of the instructors by throwing lavish parties and purchasing expensive gifts for them because they wanted to remain in their good graces. That was very annoying to me because I felt that it was their JOBS to teach us. Our absences were not as counted because we were their first LPN class and they wanted to make everyone pass. Plus, being one of the top students worked out for me. Where we did clinicals, they weren't per se bad to us, they were indifferent. We didn't throw them parties, but the professors had been taken out to dinner and all. I used to just throw them $5 just to shut them up, but I didn't ever remain for their parties.

We had instructors that used to call in and tell us that they would not be coming to clinicals, so we missed time. We did graduate with the majority of students...only losing 5 and I think that 5 or 6 didn't take or pass the boards. Our grades were not so bad, we needed a 73 to pass or a C, but they didn't round up, either.

While I enjoy learning a great deal, I really hated school, and, while I never planned to become an RN, I can certainly say that after that experience, I would NEVER go back to any nursing school for any reason. I am grateful to be an LPN, though, and know that I had to endure that to be where I am today, so, while there are no regrets, I would not revisit such garbage again.

erinp88 said:
Thinking about LPN school makes me want to vomit. I have to admit, I didn't have a lot of extra personal baggage. I was 20, and lived at home with mom and dad. Not too many bills to contend with.

It was a full time, 9 month program with various days and hours. We started with 40 students, ended with 14. We had to have an 80% on everything - even if it was 79.9, no rounding! I didn't struggle too much with the material. I just made it a point to have good study habits.

I was an ER tech, and I made the big mistake of sharing that with people. The minute they found out I had experience, the more they expected of me. Which meant, taking care of two patients while everyone else had one. The clinical paperwork was endless and preparation was difficult for me since I lived 40 mins from the hospital/school. If one thing was left blank, you were sent home, which meant dismissal of the program. They had a "no abscence" policy in most of the clinicals. So, if you were unprepared and sent home, they kicked you out based on the absence policy.

The nurses at the hospital I did my med/surge clinical at, felt LPN students were a major interruption to their day.

The suck ups were present as well. You pretty much had the same people in everyone of your clinicals. Of course, 90% of the suck ups were in my group. They felt it was necessary to throw a party to the staff of wherever we did clinicals EACH time. Even though the staff at most of the places treated us terrible.

Passed my NCLEX first time though with 75 questions.. GLAD it's over!

Original plan was to keep on going at the same school with RN...no way, not with those instructors again! They stressed me out!

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I just wanted to know does anybody know any LPN programs in Brooklyn NY? Please help me.

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Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.
starbabyfive said:
just spoke with someone that just passed her finals of the lpn program that I will begin in less than 2 weeks. she said that it was manageable! I'm kinda feeling like 'ready or not' here I come!!:eek:our program has an 80% average that must be attained.:uhoh3:

maybe your friend can give you some insight on what is expected. don't pay attention to my rants; I do not regret going to school, I only hated the experience. be sure that you manage your time well, and I had one theory; try and pass the first few exams as high as you can. this would assure that in case you don't do as well that you have a bit of cushioning. it is attainable...you will just dedicate a great deal of time to it.

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Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.
ironmasl0714 said:
I just wanted to know does anybody know any LPN programs in Brooklyn NY? Please help me.

Medgar Evers Community College in Brooklyn.

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Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.
txspadequeen921 said:

One of my main issues was paying such close attention to detail. If my teachers said put your name in the left hand corner and you put it in the right ..You failed. I ended up being able to follow directions real good as a result it helped me zone in on each and every little detail to make sure it's correct. I was trained at the county hospitals and most of my instructors were military nurses. The content was hard and took a lot of study time to grasp but more than anything it was adjusting to policy and procedure.

WOW!...those miltary nurses were tough! but, I can see how you can benefit from their instruction, though. a small mistake like that allowing you to fail would make you follow instructions well...a necessary componenet to passing and working as a nurse.

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Specializes in Med/Surg Nurse, Homecare, Visiting Nurse.

If I can do it so can u...single mom here. Traveled to another state for school. Clinical at 7:30....out the house at 5:30....just making it. School ended at 3:30...get home so exhausted. Tests....80% to pass....sometimes three tests a week. Study group?.......no time. My suggestions just feel it out...don't give up...11 months looks like a long time but it goes day by day. Communicate with the teachers don't just sit there....ask them to explain something if need be. Take good notes....I always had two notebooks....one to take notes in class....the other at home to rewrite everything.

You can do it...before u know it it's done.

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Specializes in Almost everywhere.

Many moons ago, back in the 80's, I went to LPN school. I was 18, not married, no kids at the time. I found LPN school to be very hard. The instructors thrived on putting the fear of God into a student. I remember my clinical instructor on the first day of clinicals at the hospital. Our group had to meet her in the lobby. She came around the corner with....I am not joking...a bull whip, and said "Let's go girls." We were all wide eyed and stupid. She was just joking, but at the time...holy schmoley. I just remember from then on all I did was eat, sleep, and breathe nursing school.

Times have changed. The same program I was in many years ago has changed tremendously. They are teaching LPNs to be critical thinkers. I think that is important. So good luck to you. Be prepared for it to be a challenge, but that is what this is all about. You can do it and you will succeed. Take it one day at a time.

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