Nursing School: Easier or Harder?

grinnurse, RN · Mar 27, 2005

I have loved NS and at times it has been hard, seemed overwhelming, and consumed alot of time but in the end it will all be worth it. I will get to do something I love and get paid well to do it!! NS has confirmed what I thought all along about myself, I am not stupid :) .

You get to have 2 families in NS-your real one and them!! I have made some really great friends and we are very supportive of one another and help each other out through everything. I've also gotten to prove dh wrong and that well makes me :rotfl: .

If you can expect the unexpected and roll with the punches it should be fine. The one's that I see hating nursing school are those that think life is either "black and white".

Tweety, BSN, RN · Mar 27, 2005

This board is where students come to vent, so it is easy to believe that nursing school is an awful dreadful experience, with horrible teachers that are out to get you, fellow students are immature gossping, backstabbing cheaters, and clinical experiences are full of nurses treat you like dirt.

Nursing school was much more time consuming that I thought it would be, but it was no harder than A&P, which was tough, but understandable. I made it through with all A's and one B, but worked my little patootie off to get it. My teachers were tough, but fair and consisent, in clinical all but one of the nurses were awsome, and my fellow students were supportive.

Good luck to you.

wonderbee, BSN, RN · Mar 27, 2005

It's challenging. I knew it would be. For me, the most challenging aspect is psychological. The more clinical experience I get, the more responsibility I assume for patient care and the possibility for causing harm. It's not a crippling fear but it underscores that nursing is not for the timid.

You can do it. Just be prepared to feel some butterflies. They pass.

Altra, BSN, RN · Mar 27, 2005

It's challenging. I knew it would be. For me, the most challenging aspect is psychological. The more clinical experience I get, the more responsibility I assume for patient care and the possibility for causing harm. It's not a crippling fear but it underscores that nursing is not for the timid.

My thoughts exactly. Nursing school has never overwhelmed me academically, but the sheer volume of material in a short period of time, combined with new exposure to all varieties of human crisis, has been draining at times. Just as I imagine "real-life" nursing will be.

What I've learned in the last few years: there will be times you'll be scared ****less. But you need to go and do it anyway.

Curious1alwys, BSN, RN · Mar 27, 2005

This is all so good to here. I know that I have immense anxiety over nursing school. The fear of failure is so much more amplified when you have to quit your FT day job, take a pay cut, and barely survive in order to go to nursing school! I suppose if I already had a PT job that could make ends meat I wouldn't be so anxious.

NeoNurseTX, RN · Mar 28, 2005

I always flew through classes w/ the highest grades.. and now that I am in nursing school I have found myself making below the class average on tests [but not always]! It's definitely challenging. There is SO much info crammed down your throat in a short amount of time. If you had more time, the same info would be easy, but it's just so much that it's overwhelming.

HappyNurse2005, RN · Mar 28, 2005

i vote HARDER. I do better than the class average on every test, so I'm no dummy. Though it is hard. I heard about the difficulty, but experiencing the stress, the time deadlines, the amount of material on a test, the difficulty of test questions, the other non graded but you still have to do it or fail requirements (such as class presentations), seeing many classmates fail out/drop out, the sheer amount of time nursing school sucks out of your life, especially if you have a family. it is all hard.

Though I will offset that with the fact that it is hard, but the longer you are in it, the more used to it you get. YOu get used to the difficulty and learn to adapt to it. You just do what you have to.

Fraggle · Mar 28, 2005

harder. I thought everything else was so easy, though, so that may be why. My first education is in engineering and I think nursing is more difficult, but in a different way. I think Physics and Differential EQ Calculus is easier than nursing.

But I don't believe that a C=RN, either. A C is the minimum passing grade in most schools (75 or above), so C=RN doesn't speak well about nurses. I went from an A to a B student. After the first semester, I'm back at a B+. I had to get used to the different style of testing questions. I think there's a definite learning curve, so the slower yu are to catch on, the harder it will be.

.......than you imagined and/or were told??? How did your expectations differ from what became reality? (crouching, because I don't know if I really want to know this going into school in July:uhoh21: )
Looking for insight! Thanks!

Fraggle · Mar 28, 2005

I cut back to PT and am now leaving my cushy job and taking a big pay cut. It's totally worth it if nursing makes you happy. And my pay will be back to good in a year, so it's a managable sacrifice. If yu enjoy it, you can do it.

This is all so good to here. I know that I have immense anxiety over nursing school. The fear of failure is so much more amplified when you have to quit your FT day job, take a pay cut, and barely survive in order to go to nursing school! I suppose if I already had a PT job that could make ends meat I wouldn't be so anxious.

hypnotic_nurse · Mar 28, 2005

My first degree (French) was academically much harder than nursing school for me. What made my nursing school stint tough was working full time during a difficult divorce with two preteen children while going to school.

November · Mar 28, 2005

For me, some aspects are easier than I had imagined they'd be and some are harder.
I had heard all sorts of horror stories, that nursing school is so hard and you'll be stressed out beyond belief. Well that's true sometimes, but not all the time.
And I also thought people meant the material is hard to learn. That has never been the case for me in the nursing classes. The material isn't difficult to understand, it's just SO MUCH information. I wasn't prepared for having 15-20 chapters covered on 1 exam. It's just so much. That was probably one of the hardest things to get used to.
Also, it's not just the lecture and exams that are hard and stress you out. Clinicals is a big part of the stress. I remember during first semester: I'd go get my patient's information the day before clinical, then spend 5-6 hours writing up my careplan and I'd just cry because it was taking so long and I had to be at clinicals at 6:30 the next morning. That was a really hard thing ..... just because I never had any experience like that before, no other classes do you do stuff like that.
The careplans and exams get better as time goes on. Once you do a lot of careplans, they get easier and easier and you don't have to spend as much time on them. The exams are hard at first because they're not like any exams you've ever taken before ..... you have to critically think. There's usually 2 answers that are correct, but you have to pick the one that is most correct for that situation. That takes practice, but you'll be amazed at how good you'll be able to critically think even after the first semester.
I don't mean to scare you by telling you this stuff. I wish I had known more of what to really expect when I went into nursing school. You'll have plenty of really great experiences!! It's one of the hardest things I've done, but one of the most rewarding. There'll be times you walk out of clinical with the biggest smile on your face because you helped a patient; you listened and were there for them, took good care of them and at the end of the day they said "thank you so much for taking such good care of me". That makes you feel so good :)
Get to know your classmates. You'll be spending lots of time with them and they are the ones that know exactly what you're going through. There's times you'll feel like no one understands. No one else undestands why you can't just blow off studying so you can party all weekend. They DO understand though. Talk with them about it, vent, study together.
Get to know your instructors too. Go to them to get help on things you don't understand. They're there to help, and for the most part they really do care about your success.
And of course, you have us! We understand! As you already know, there's tons of great info here to help with classes, I wish I had found this place sooner. Vent to us when you feel frustrated. It makes nursing school seem not so hard and more bearable.
Sorry this is so long, and way more than you asked for! I just got carried away and wanted to give you information that I wished I would have been given when I started nursing school. Good luck to you :)

Thanks for such a great post. I start an ABSN program at the end of May - your post not only provided a weath of information - but also was encouraging. Thanks again.

Lilnurse0803, RN · Mar 28, 2005

This is an excellent idea for a thread because as a first semester clinical nursing student, I can relate to the original poster. I heard horror stories before I started my clinicals and was scared, however, being confident and mentally preparing myself for nursing school helped a great deal. I can tell you proudly that I am doing excellent in all my exams and clinicals. My A's as an undergrad/preclinicals have carried over into my nursing class because I brought with me the dedication and motivation that helped me succeed with my earlier education.

I believe it all lies within the person since every experience is unique. What is hard for one person may not be hard for another. I think that managing one's time as best as they can and speaking with your instructor about the best way to prepare for the exams has helped me a great deal. I have a bachelor's degree in Forensic Science and I find that nursing is a lot more challenging than my course of study in forensics. The material you have to retain is extraordinary in such a short amount of time, especially putting that information to use in your clinicals where you are dealing with real human beings. Doing as many NCLEX practice questions as you can with the information you have learned is a great way to learn to think critically and to anticipate what types of scenarios your instructors may ask in exams.

Think positive and learn to make friends with your classmates, staff at the hospitals you do your rotations at and most importantly, your clinical instructor; these people are vital to your success..

Best of luck to all!!!!!!!!!!!