Is Nursing as Stressful as Nursing School?

ThePrincessBride, MSN, RN, NP · Sep 16, 2012

I think it also depends WHAT kind of nursing you get into. Hospital nursing is going to be more stressful than school nursing, ICU/critical care nursing is going to have a different kind of stress than psyche nursing...it really depends.

chevyv, BSN, RN · Sep 16, 2012

Yes, nursing is much more stressful than nursing school. It's all on you as a nurse and you take the heat for you actions/inactions. You don't always have time to ask what you should do as in nursing school. I work psych and there are so many legalities that it's no wonder I'm not taking up one of the beds!

JaneSmithRevisited · Sep 16, 2012

Thinking about the amount of responsibility I have as a nurse makes me rethink about nursing as a career. I have 1 year experience under my belt and I'm still drowning. No matter what your workplace tells you... it's an environment of blame. I'm trying to get out of bedside in general, wish me luck.

Ellie S. · Sep 16, 2012

Yes, I have been an LPN for over 20 years, and it's hilarious how many brand new RN's fresh out of school who are cocky and think they're more experienced than I am just because they have a "higher" degree. Many of them act so cocky, and then warm up and end up asking for advice once they realize what they're truly in for...

Music in My Heart · Sep 16, 2012

No matter what your workplace tells you... it's an environment of blame.

Certainly can be... and is for some. I must go on record, however, and state that that is not universal and is not my experience 3 years in.

Kabin · Sep 17, 2012

It's all been said but hospital nursing is very stressful. It's streamlined for perfection, very little time for you to go to the bathroom, have a snack, lunch, or down time. There's just too many tasks to do and too many interruptions. It's not a healthy environment.

crazy oldnurse · Sep 17, 2012

I am so sorry to say yes a new job with minimal training as supplied in school really makes one dizzy with self doubt. I believe that school competition is to put pressure on newbies to show them that this profession is "not fooling around". You do not have your sea-legs at first and you are at the mercy of older nurses with lots of past practice. It will take a while until you can rely on your own actions and your own rationale. It gets better as you can trust yourself. Namaste.

imjustme123 · Sep 17, 2012

Thinking about the amount of responsibility I have as a nurse makes me rethink about nursing as a career. I have 1 year experience under my belt and I'm still drowning. No matter what your workplace tells you... it's an environment of blame. I'm trying to get out of bedside in general, wish me luck.

This is something I've really wondered about......an environment of blame....you put that into words for me. People are human and of course we all have to do our best. But I have definitely wondered about that environment of blame. That one thing in itself may make me want to work as an LPN in a clinic or after I earn my stripes, for an insurance company or something. I would love to hear more about this topic.

imjustme123 · Sep 17, 2012

Yes, I have been an LPN for over 20 years, and it's hilarious how many brand new RN's fresh out of school who are cocky and think they're more experienced than I am just because they have a "higher" degree. Many of them act so cocky, and then warm up and end up asking for advice once they realize what they're truly in for...

I wonder why you can't be promoted for experience if you could test out. I never understood that thought process.

Multicollinearity, BSN, RN · Sep 17, 2012

I found nursing school to be more stressful, and I had a VERY stressful first job as a nurse. In my first nursing job as a correctional nurse I responded to codes all by myself while videotaped by prison officers. That is STRESSFUL, yet I found it to be less stressful than nursing school.

It depends on what stresses people out and their perceptions. I was an anxious, stressed nursing student because I believed I would not graduate (despite having a 4.0 GPA + excellent clinical evaluations). I had this excessive fear in my head, and I didn't trust any of my instructors. Part of that was because I attended an old-school ADN program where they were military-like, and part of it was because I simply did not believe I was college material.

Even though the responsibility as a nurse is exponentially higher, my stress load is exponentially lower now because I have experience, confidence, and a comfort level I didn't have as a student. I suppose if one attends a nurturing nursing program and doesn't have any neurotic mental problems like I had then nursing school might be waaaay easier than practice as a licensed nurse. So there may not be a logical answer to the OP's question, and the answers will vary by individual.

Multicollinearity, BSN, RN · Sep 17, 2012

I also think some will say being a nursing student was more stressful because they worked too many hours while in nursing school, and life was barely tolerable as a student.

PacoUSA, BSN, RN · Sep 17, 2012

Most of my stress in nursing school was compounded by financial concerns, but things are better now that I am employed. So while I still have stress on the job right now, I don't feel it is as bad as it was in school.