Is it really that hard?

i have been asking myself the same thing and i've come to the conclusion the lifes what you make it. the same goes for nursing school, im sure its alot of work and that where the hard comes in, but if you study, keep with the pace, and stay organized im sure we should be fine...did i get it right nursing students??

I've been reading a lot of threads about the RN curriculum before I joined the forum and I have to ask is it really as hard as everyone is making it seem? I know it's different for everyone but I just have to ask, because I feel like if you study and stay focused anything can be easy.

Basically, I just want to know if anyone of you guys has had previous medical experience before going to school for your RN degree did you find it particularly more simple seeing as you already knew the basics?

It's a lot of work but it's not "hard". I firmly believe each student needs to establish and become self aware of his/her own strengths and weaknesses and not rely to heavily on the experiences of others when determining your opinions and potential for success.

That being said, I also firmly believe that nursing school is NOT for everyone and it is getting more and more challenging as the demands of the profession catch up with the rest of the industry - which is how it should be. Frankly, if you are not successful during the admission process, prerequisite material or even first term of nursing school, it might be a blessing in disguise. You can change your tack before having made too much of a financial and time commitment There are MANY professional opportunities within healthcare - nursing/medicine is just one.

Might be more important to determine where you best fit.

Yes, it's hard work. But if you REALLY want to be a nurse, and you're self-motivated, hard-working, etc. then you can do it. I would suggest talking to other nursing students that are in the same program for any specifics to your school. Good luck!

it's a lot of work but it's not "hard". i firmly believe each student needs to establish and become self aware of his/her own strengths and weaknesses and not rely to heavily on the experiences of others when determining your opinions and potential for success.

that being said, i also firmly believe that nursing school is not for everyone and it is getting more and more challenging as the demands of the profession catch up with the rest of the industry - which is how it should be. frankly, if you are not successful during the admission process, prerequisite material or even first term of nursing school, it might be a blessing in disguise. you can change your tack before having made too much of a financial and time commitment there are many professional opportunities within healthcare - nursing/medicine is just one.

might be more important to determine where you best fit.

just to clarify nursing and medicine are 2 different professional fields. but i see where your going chicago312...if you cant make it in nursing school..you prob. wont make it in med school either.

just to clarify nursing and medicine are 2 different professional fields. but i see where your going chicago312...if you cant make it in nursing school..you prob. wont make it in med school either.

one of the issues with language that people have is that anything in healthcare not directly involved with nursing is referred to under the "medical" umbrella. for example, i had 'medical' experience as a first responder before i started school. i don't think the op was confusing the two professions.

i also have to echo what chicago312 said - nursing school is work. whether or not it is hard depends on how proficient you are at academics. as i've said elsewhere, a person's frequency of vent/whine postings here is inversely proportional to their gpa.

Nursing school is hard. Its not that the material itself is all that hard, its just that there is a LOT of information. And you're learning in a way that you've never really done before. Every other class before nursing school was basic here's the info, now tell me that info back on the exam. But in nursing school everything is applied and teachers are constantly asking you to "critically think". Nearly every exam question is a whats BEST for THIS scenario questions, where at least 2 answers seem right. For example, this was just a simple question but many got it wrong. The question was something like you have a patient who doesn't speak English and you cant get an interpreter what do you do? and many people got it wrong because in our text book it said not to use children as translators, but in THIS case that was the best option. You can read every word of the text, and every power point, every lecture but still get some wrong because you have to apply the info. But nursing school is definitely do-able. I mean thousands of people graduate every year! You just have to be willing to put the work in and focus, and you can do it :)

Nursing school is hard. Its not that the material itself is all that hard, its just that there is a LOT of information. And you're learning in a way that you've never really done before. Every other class before nursing school was basic here's the info, now tell me that info back on the exam. But in nursing school everything is applied and teachers are constantly asking you to "critically think". Nearly every exam question is a whats BEST for THIS scenario questions, where at least 2 answers seem right. For example, this was just a simple question but many got it wrong. The question was something like you have a patient who doesn't speak English and you cant get an interpreter what do you do? and many people got it wrong because in our text book it said not to use children as translators, but in THIS case that was the best option. You can read every word of the text, and every power point, every lecture but still get some wrong because you have to apply the info. But nursing school is definitely do-able. I mean thousands of people graduate every year! You just have to be willing to put the work in and focus, and you can do it :)

This!!

Nursing school, from what I've seen over the past 7 months, is very time-consuming which some equate to being "hard." In addition, the grading scales for nursing programs is higher than what I had in my undergrad courses which makes earning As & Bs "harder" than in undergrad.

The standards of NS are high, as they should be. One thing that surprised me a bit was the amount of writing that is required in the program. Although I'd always been an okay writer before, I'm finding that I'm lacking in scientific writing skills...not to mention the fact that every instructor expects something a little different on assignments.

For me, the clinical lab/patient care part has been made much easier d/t having years of outpatient experience. I was already comfortable putting my hands on people and getting into their personal spaces; for many students this is a hard issue to work through.

I believe everything is subjective. Some people struggled with prereqs, others breezed thru. Some had to take the TEAS/Net more than once while some aced it. What is easy for some is challenging to others.

I have to agree with Thesquire, students who think nursing school is not so bad probably dont post alot complaining. As with any board, many of the people who post are having difficulties. You probably wont come across alot of posts saying "hey, just wanted to say this isnt so bad".

I remember years ago when I was going thru IVF to get pregnant with my son I went on an IVF board to get info. It seemed like nothing but bad experiences. So I asked that very question. One woman responded by saying, the women who get pregnant right away dont find themselves on these boards looking for answers so these posts are not representative of the actual population. In other words, happy, content people dont look for somewhere to vent.

Make sense?

I took A&PI my first semester of college when I had just turned 18. I remember there were two older women (in their mid-twenties, lol-that was old then) and they kept telling me how hard the class was on our first day. One said it was her third time to take it because you had to get an A to get into the nursing program. I remember mentally preparing myself for such a HARD class. Well, it never really got HARD. Don't get me wrong, it was hard compared to speech and sociology, but they made it sound like it was impossible. I just applied myself and got through it, but I have to do that with any class. I remember people in my micro class saying how hard it was and how much information it was. Really? I thought it was a breeze compared to A&P I&II.

I guess it just depends on the person and your expectations. I watched my cousin go through nursing school with no problems. She studied a couple of hours at night and never on the weekend. It seemed like such a breeze for her. Granted, she is extremely smart, but I think she just compartmentalized her life. She had a set schedule of what needed to be done every night, did it, and moved on. That's what I'm hoping to do next semester. I'm already doing that in pharm. I have a set schedule of when and what I need to study and when I'm done, I'm done.

I've been reading a lot of threads about the RN curriculum before I joined the forum and I have to ask is it really as hard as everyone is making it seem? I know it's different for everyone but I just have to ask, because I feel like if you study and stay focused anything can be easy.

Basically, I just want to know if anyone of you guys has had previous medical experience before going to school for your RN degree did you find it particularly more simple seeing as you already knew the basics?

I haven't had any previous experience outside of Patient experience. I did just go through a really close call in one of my classes, but it had nothing to do with the class being to hard. It was stuff to do with me at home, I totally lost my focus and it's something I will never do again. My first semester though when I was focused, I put in minimal effort at home and did well, I was getting plenty of rest and paid attention in class and didn't have to spend all my free waking hours studying.

I completely believe that for MOST people, if you go in with the right attitude, find out what works for you when it comes to studying, pay attention and focus yourself and keep a positive attitude you will find your experience good in school and not as hard as it seems.

I have heard many people say nursing school is the hardest thing you will go through, well I have been through a lot in my 30 years and it doesn't come close to the hardest thing I have been through.