I just started the 2 year ADN program at my community college about a week ago. I am actually the youngest in my program at 18, and I have no nursing experience. Before I started, I obsessed over blogs and spent a lot of nights wondering if I could even make it through nursing school. I graduated high school in the top 5% of my class with a good ACT score, and I'm generally a hard worker. I am just wondering, was nursing school as hard as you thought it would be and if so, why?

**It's all about critical thinking baby!**

Soooo many interesting posts in this thread; thank you all! Of course these type of questions about whether certain academic programs are more or less difficult to endure or succeed at receive answers which are very subjective, I know.

I am really curious about the 'critical thinking' component tbh.

When I first started seeing and hearing this phrase in conjunction with the nursing industry and careers, I pretty much understood it to be all about what was often mentioned - i.e. finding potentially the 'most right' or 'best' answer to a given challenge. The stakes are completely different within a field in which a person is making a decision where the result affects another human of course!

I do get a little puzzled sometimes. Critical thinking processes are highly valued in a lot of other jobs; and in the main, required to be among the most effective, even if its not verbalized as such. It is emphasized and respected in many spheres of life. The simplest form is often generally accepted as how one responds to a situation with logic, instead of emotional fuzziness, and often its about adaptability under extreme time pressure etc.

The reason I feel puzzled often though, is that 'critical thinking' which is focused on in most nursing programs is discussed by students and nursing veterans alike as if it is something that is alien to a vast majority of people in or coming from other professions.

Is that generally true or is it mentioned so often because nursing programs are primarily designed with younger students in mind, for instance those right out of high school, where one might not expect a more developed exposure yet to what critical thinking is all about?

Thanks for any comments delving deeper into the 'critical thinking' requirement in nursing which seems to be presented as unique in comparison to other professional paths. Comments about this often-raised point would be helpful for those interested in becoming a nurse, who would like to delineate between their current life and career experience and what will be expected within nursing academic programs as well as once they have the responsibilities of working as a nurse in a professional position after obtaining their license.

Specializes in Neurology.

Nursing school is more difficult than the NCLEX. Its difficulty is dependent on who you are and what school you are enrolled in. You will probably be fine. If not, then you can try again.

Nursing School is Hard and Draining and physically and emotionally demanding.. I joined straight from College at 18 and I can honestly say that I wasnt prepared at all!! I would highly recommend that before you start any type of nursing you apply for work/volenteer as a health care assistance as this will help build up clinical skills. Nursing is fantastic but staright out of college to University its bloody well hard. I was suppose to graduate this July and About one week ago dropped out due to the pressure and the poor mentoring and due to me feeling like I am not quite ready yet to be a staff nurse - And I passed everything, but I feel that I need more experience to become competent. So I have left university until this december 2016 to get some HCA experience. Im gutted i wont graduate with my peers while im 21.. but 22 is good enough. But If you feel ready for nursing school, your strong minded, confident, determined and ready to learn then go smash it!! Its a great career choice..

Megan X

It was at the time harder than anything I had ever done in my life! Now I was a single mom with 4 year old twin daughters working full time in a head injury ventilator unit. There were at least a million times I wanted to quit and had to tell myself it was gonna be worth it when I was done, I hoped. Looking back it doesn't seem that bad so either I have that amnesia like u get after the labor is over pain gone baby in ur arms or God keeps giving me harder and harder challenges in my life making nursing school easier than some things now. It is almost 15 years now looking back I would do it all over especially if I were young like u and didn't have all I did heck it would have been a breeze. U will make it we all did, Good luck!

My first semester absolutely sucked. I thought it was difficult because it was hard for me to figure out what to focus on from the readings. I also had a hard time figuring out how to study. This is my second semester and it hasn't been nearly as difficult for me.

I started an ADN program at 18. Graduated at 20. Now 21 with a year experience. I plan on going for my masters within a few years. It's hard! It will push you to your limit and not prepare you at all for the real world. BUT, you can do it! You have to have a passion and take school seriously. I was one of the few "babies" to make it, because I didn't go party and ignore the seriousness of the program. I will say, it's so worth it! I get to do my dream job at such a young age. So my advice: take it serious, be confident in your abilities, and never give up! Good luck!

Specializes in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology.
courtneymann said:
Thanks for your replies! Luckily, I don't have to work, and I live at home with my parents. Maybe that will make it easier for me. What I'm hearing is, it is hard, but the difficulty truly depends on each individual and how you learn. Thank you again for the replies! Hopefully I can stop stressing for at least a couple weeks. :sarcastic:

Just make sure you figure out how to study for nursing school curriculum before it's too late. You might be great at "traditional" school but nursing school is a totally different beast. Expect what worked for you in high school and pre-reqs to not work anymore. What you end up learning works may end up not working for the next class. What works in the next class might be what you did in high school. You must be flexible in how you study (read: don't resist it and be stubborn and try to make it work if it's not working for you).

Studying for nursing school is not a one-size-fits-all approach. It must be carefully tailored to each class and to each instructor's expectations.

Specializes in School Nurse.

I completed an accelerated MSN program 20 months in length. I already had a BS in biology and a PH.D. in molecular genetics. My child was not quite 2 years old and I was almost 40 years old when I started the program. IT WAS THE HARDEST THING I HAVE EVER DONE. But I graduated with perfect 4.0 😊

There is a reason they say a Bsn degree is the hardest bachelors degree to obtain... So yes! Almost finished with my first semester.

Specializes in NICU, Trauma, Oncology.
alyshih14 said:
There is a reason they say a BSN degree is the hardest bachelors degree to obtain... So yes! Almost finished with my first semester.

Nursing is hard, yes ... But toughest? Let's not go overboard here

Specializes in Med-Tele; ED; ICU.
alyshih14 said:
There is a reason they say a Bsn degree is the hardest bachelors degree to obtain... So yes! Almost finished with my first semester.

Having earned degrees in engineering and chemistry, I can assure you that "they" have no idea what they're talking about.

Specializes in Allergy/ENT, Occ Health, LTC/Skilled.

I was already an LPN before entering my bridge so I knew it would be hard. But, I've been surprised, so far its 25% hard and 75% all time consuming. It's the marathon not the race sort of thing. Study, prioritize, you'll be just fine.

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