I've been reading through the forums a bit over the last few days, and have noticed a general consensus on the high difficulty level of Nursing school. I'm curious: How difficult are the nursing classes specifically?
You see, I already have all of my prerequisites and co-requisites for my degree complete. The only classes I will be taking from this point on will be my nursing classes. Which at my school means four 8 credit nursing classing taken sequentially over the next four semesters. Can I think of it as being comparative in difficulty and workload as last semester for instance, when I took Human A&P 2 and Microbiology for 8 credits? Or, will the Nursing classes be considerably more? Has anyone else been in the same position as myself and taken their nursing classes without any other classes simultaneously?
I think the thing that people are not prepared or is the sheer volume of information to be learned.it's not that it is harder than other classes but the amount you have to memorize and remember how it all fits together makes it unlike any other type of learning.
I would agree with that. As a 4.0 student, the difficulty for me lies not in the content itself but rather in the large amount of new information to process and remember. In my pre-reqs I could skim the readings or the powerpoint slides and make A's with minimal study time. My first semester of nursing school was 8 credit hours (just nursing classes), and on top of 4 hrs of class per day, and clinicals 2 days per week, I would study at home about 5 hours per day and complete 10 hours per week worth of clinical paperwork. It was time-consuming and exhausting, but nothing was too difficult for me to grasp.
ProudStudent, I find the nursing stuff to be very interesting as well, which is probably why I am not stressing. I am learning in class because it all interests me and I absorb so much of it. I am like a sponge. lol
I really do believe that all students need to relax. Sometimes you can psych yourself out!
I just finished my first week of nursing school and well...the material seems reasonable enough...except that I've already read about 200 pages that I'm expected to know like the back of my hand in the next few weeks with the additional reading of future weeks. So there's a lot of info to know!
Honestly, I am feeling like my lack of healthcare experience is making things tougher for me since I have to look up a lot of things I don't already know. But I also feel confident that I can and will learn the material with continued effort and study time. From what students in other semesters tell me, keeping up with the weekly reading is important because if you fall behind, you have to climb a mountain to get up to speed. So the fact that I'm keeping a reading and study schedule makes me feel better. Then there's the thinking like a nurse thing. I can't do that yet, but I'm starting to get a general sense about it. It's a different way of thinking.
Before this week, I was also scared of all the horror stories I heard about nursing school. It won't be easy for me, but I feel pretty good about it.
Just because I don't study 6+ hours a day does not mean I am blowing off nursing school. "You get out of nursing school what you put into it." Some don't need to put in as much time to achieve the same result (..or possibly even a better result)I am an intelligent person. I have perfect attendance. I am not simply learning the material long enough to just regurgitate it onto a test. I am learning to RETAIN it and APPLY it. I understand that nursing school is not like other majors... The material and skills I am learning now I will be using the rest of my life, and I am committed to becoming a nurse wholeheartedly. I am more than ready to be a life-long student, as I understand that the medical field and science are constantly changing. I have a Bachelors in Biology with a minor in Chemistry. I feel this gives me an edge on some of the concepts and makes things easier for me to understand; hence (maybe) I require less studying time to understand some concepts than some people. I don't think you should judge and be "scared" by some nursing students who find nursing school less difficult than others. I am more than committed to becoming an excellent nurse and I know that commitment does not end with school... It lasts throughout the life of my (future) career. I have and have always had a great memory... I don't need to study things or read the subject matter over and over and over to understand it. When I am interested, it clicks and sticks. That shouldn't cause you "to not want me as your nurse in the future." I worked as a Fitter and Dispenser of Hearing Instruments (after college) for 5 years. I have developed a passion for helping others through this career and decided I wanted to take it beyond just rehablitating people to hear again. I have always had a passion for biology, healthcare, and science in general. I decided to become a nurse only after I obtained my BS in Biology and after my experiences working in hearing healthcare. I talked to many people in my class that found the program very difficult and were having problems passing tests (studying triple the amount I was). I, of course, never openly told them I found anything easy as to not offend anyone. I just offered to help or let them know I would be willing to form a study group with them, if need be. Even though I found the first semester to be "easy" does not mean than I am not only learning but retaining the information. I made straight A's for my first semester and also aced my first HESI end of semester exam. I feel I am definitely coming into my own and beginning to think like a nurse. I do practice questions in my Saunders NCLEX exam book in my spare time (among other nursing books I read) and even though I haven't done more than one semester I am able to get correct answers more than half the time. I am committed to this. I have no children and am single. Nursing school is my main priority. Just because I don't need to study constantly does not mean I am not learning and retaining what I need to become a competent and successful nurse. I will succeed and become a great nurse, because I would not have it any other way.
**Meant to respond to "Crazed"'s post with this but for some reason it didn't copy her post at the beginning.
I said open a book. I said nothing at all about studying and specifically mentioned research AND the ACA, which isn't covered in any of our current edition books. My point is even if you don't have to study you should be reading.
For that matter, right now I have an autobiographical book from an anorexia survivor because I want to have more of an insight into the workings of the illness on the psyche than just the disease process.
To be honest I skimmed the wall of "how dare you judge me simply because" text and will just restate what I said. If you're proud that you never cracked a book, or read a book, or did additional research during nursing school (that wasn't assigned) I wouldn't want you as my nurse.
Why?
Because I place personal value on these traits.
Now, if this doesn't apply to you then you have no need for a knee jerk emotional response.
I just finished my first week of nursing school and well...the material seems reasonable enough...except that I've already read about 200 pages that I'm expected to know like the back of my hand in the next few weeks with the additional reading of future weeks. So there's a lot of info to know!
Honestly, I am feeling like my lack of healthcare experience is making things tougher for me since I have to look up a lot of things I don't already know. But I also feel confident that I can and will learn the material with continued effort and study time. From what students in other semesters tell me, keeping up with the weekly reading is important because if you fall behind, you have to climb a mountain to get up to speed. So the fact that I'm keeping a reading and study schedule makes me feel better. Then there's the thinking like a nurse thing. I can't do that yet, but I'm starting to get a general sense about it. It's a different way of thinking.
Before this week, I was also scared of all the horror stories I heard about nursing school. It won't be easy for me, but I feel pretty good about it.
I also have no healthcare experience. I am doing better than most of the girls WITH experience. The reason being is because for exams I answer how the book and instructor taught me how to answer. The girls that have experience will answer how they have done it or have seen it bring done in the hospital. Most of the time it is wrong and not the correct way to go things. Example, a question asked something about what a CNA can't do. I answered "take initial vital signs and assessment". I was correct but a bunch of girls argued and said "I do that all the time!!!". Doesn't matter, they were wrong. Hope this helps.
A comment to those who barely cracked a book, or really only had to pay attention in lectures, that's just great. But just as there are all different kinds of learners there are all different kinds of teachers and schools.
At mine the normal reading assignment was 300 pages per week, occasionally 500. The instructors made no attempt to cover it all, but all of it was on the table come exam time. Often I'd be teaching myself the concepts.
I don't want to get into the peeing contest "my program was hard yours must be easy", "or gee i must be smarter". In fact my teachers were pretty much garbage, they could have taught, but instead blabbed about antecdotes and nursing stories for hours on end.
Anyone who didn't do the 6ish hours of studying "self teaching" didnt make it.
A comment to those who barely cracked a book, or really only had to pay attention in lectures, that's just great. But just as there are all different kinds of learners there are all different kinds of teachers and schools.
At mine the normal reading assignment was 300 pages per week, occasionally 500. The instructors made no attempt to cover it all, but all of it was on the table come exam time. Often I'd be teaching myself the concepts.
I don't want to get into the peeing contest "my program was hard yours must be easy", "or gee i must be smarter". In fact my teachers were pretty much garbage, they could have taught, but instead blabbed about antecdotes and nursing stories for hours on end.
Anyone who didn't do the 6ish hours of studying "self teaching" didnt make it.
I agree. People are different, programs are different, instructors are different, and students learn differently. Because I'm an auditory learner all the way, I definitely spent less time in my book than other people. But if I miss a lecture? Holy moly, does it take a lot of work to cement that missed material in my brain. Study groups are the end all, be all for me, because of all the talking. YouTube videos are phenomenal. It's just how I learn, not some awesome sign of genius or laziness, or even a sign that what I'm learning is super duper easy.
As far as the OP goes, I don't know, but when everyone answers: NO, it's not hard, it's just a lot of material that can take a long time to learn that moves really fast so it's difficult to make an A...shouldn't that just qualify as a YES, it is difficult?
If you asked me if calculus was difficult I'd say heck yes it was! Not because it was unlearnable. People learn it every day. But because it took a big effort for me to succeed in learning it.well.
The last fews posts, in MY opinion, were some of the best yet. There are different types of instructors, nurses, students, etc. I don't think any one person is wrong for studying/learning how they do. What's important is that they care enough about nursing to accomplish all of their goals and become a nurse.
It's hard for us to tell you that you will breeze through your course because of the above facts. What we CAN tell you is that you should do the best that YOU can do. Don't worry about how well anyone else is doing. Spend the time that you are using to worry about and put it towards your material. Stress is only there if you LET it be there. Enjoy school! Take some time for yourself as well. Maybe get your class together and have a cookout once a month, or maybe go camping together. The more you can relax your mind and body every once in awhile the more relaxed and comfortable you'll be all around!
I have a bachelors degree in a sort of related field (animal health technology), graduated Summa Cum Laude with that degree. Was going to go to vet school, had all the pre-reqs, then changed my mind. Decided to go to RN school and figured it would be a breeze given my background...yeah, not so much. The difficult thing for me is that nursing school exams are a whole different beast. I don't read full chapters, ever. I take decent notes and also follow along in my book, highlighting where needed, and those are the only parts I read. I feel that if you read each and every chapter in it's entirety...it's information overload, and I've had instructors tell me as much. I was told by the dean of my program that 10 hours in our ADN program, is comparable to 18 hours in a BSN program and I believe it. My first semester I managed to take nursing 101 along with micro, while also working 40-ish hours a week, but that wouldn't fly now that I'm in my final semester.
I'm not one to spend hours on end dissecting every word of a chapter. Most of my nursing texts have been encyclopedic - meaning they contain much more information than is necessary or possible to know. It has served me well to have a solid functional knowledge rather than a shaky encyclopedic knowledge.
mind_body_soul RN
132 Posts
I would agree with that. As a 4.0 student, the difficulty for me lies not in the content itself but rather in the large amount of new information to process and remember. In my pre-reqs I could skim the readings or the powerpoint slides and make A's with minimal study time. My first semester of nursing school was 8 credit hours (just nursing classes), and on top of 4 hrs of class per day, and clinicals 2 days per week, I would study at home about 5 hours per day and complete 10 hours per week worth of clinical paperwork. It was time-consuming and exhausting, but nothing was too difficult for me to grasp.