Whether is it from a Nursing Instructor or classmate, I keep hearing that Nursing School is HARD, HARD, HARD!!! This is no big surprise to me that is hard, but it seems strange that this is emphasized so much; it seems like people are trying to scare people away from Nursing, or maybe there are other reasons. I've never heard people emphasize this aspect of Medical School to the extent that I hear it about Nursing School. I think medical students know they are doing something hard, and I never hear anyone emphasizing again and again how hard medical school is. Why is Nursing School treated like the most difficult thing to do on the planet? OK, sure it is hard, but to keep emphasizing this makes it almost sound like the person saying it maybe didn't get any respect for how hard they worked, so they want everyone else to be impressed with how smart they are to have made it through. I just never hear Doctors going around saying how hard Medical School was, and I think it because everyone knows it is a hard thing to do. It sounds like Nurses have an inferiority complex. What gives?
Medical school is difficult, but the selection process is unlike anything else. The simple scrutiny of their admissions process is so rigorous that you hear less about medical school being difficult for the simple fact that the people that attend have essentially groomed their lives for that experience. Nursing school selection is said to be hard, but I did nothing but make a phone call and show interest to get in my BSN program. Granted, I already had a BS with all the prereqs, but so do a lot of people. There are so many nursing seats to fill that it can't feasibly be that difficult. If it were "that" hard then the volume of nurses couldn't be produced. One of the reasons medical school admissions is difficult, other than weeding out those that either can't do it or would give up under stress, is to cull the herd and prevent an inflation in the population of doctors. We see how law school has been experiencing the negatives of not doing this.
I honestly don't see how anyone can say with a straight face that nursing school is HARDER than medical school. Yes, I went to school with some nurses who probably could have handled medical school work if they had been so inclined. But how does a 2- or 4-year program (more than half of which does not include any science) compare to 8 years of school and 3 years of residency? We took ONE patho and ONE pharm class for all of nursing school. How does that compare to a separate patho class for every system of the body? Nurses, we can be proud of the work we do and the education we have, but it does nothing to boost our professional esteem by making laughable comparisons between our level of education and a doctor's.
I feel the same way. Honestly, it drives me absolutely crazy when people act like this is going to be the hardest thing I will ever do.
It's really not. There were times I felt overwhelmed and frustrated, but overall I actually enjoyed nursing school. It was challenging but challenges are good. For being in an accelerated program, I maintained a pretty decent school-life balance.
You have to ask yourself, when may this happen - perhaps after a surgery. Why may it happen, patient moves around too much??? Inappropriate nursing interventions that cause the patient to move and cause this condition to occur - what protocol should you follow if you notice this...should you apply a saline soaked dressing, leave it open, ask the patient to get up, lie still, etc...call the doctor??? There are many ways that one topic could be addressed and when they ask the question, they assume you already know what it means, even if you never seen the word ever before you read the chapter.
I'm not in the nursing program YET, but I would presume that the textbooks give the definition of a medical condition, along with the situations that would cause the condition to develop, and how to treat it or prevent it. All you have to do is push yourself a bit more than just knowing the definition, I don't see how that is so difficult to know.
]Based on the med school curriculum, one can only assume that it is more challenging than nursing school. Harder? Well, that depends on your definition of hard. Time consuming? Definitely.
Nursing school is all about critical thinking, common sense and time management. E.g. - If you are admin. digoxin (Lanoxin) and the pt apical HR is
Time management is another big issue in nursing school. There are a lot of projects and papers. These are what I call "free points." Do the work and turn it in on time. Simple. Some of my classmates didn't see it that way. They would wait until the very last minute to do the work. Therefore, their papers were full of grammatical errors, etc. If you cannot write a paper or do a project on time, how can you be responsible for a pt?
In my opinion, nursing school is: 50% (critical thinking), 30% (common sense) and 20% (time mgmt).
]Nursing school is all about critical thinking, common sense and time management. E.g. - If you are admin. digoxin (Lanoxin) and the pt apical HR is
]If you cannot write a paper or do a project on time, how can you be responsible for a pt?
That critical thinking line that nursing programs emphasize really irks me. The example you provided is classic for nursing school, but I fail to see the critical thinking involved. It merely seems obvious.
I'd have to say that time management in school is nothing like the work place. I'll admit that, and others I know and have known, be it college now or back when I got my first degree, often will procrastinate on something as menial as filling out a worksheet or writing a paper because that's doable. In life, in the workplace, you can't so you don't. If you do then there are repurcussions much more serious than anything that would ever take place in the classroom. I've taught, been a follower, and been a leader. Being a student is an island all to its own.
I just think there's a disconnect between the "lessons" that nursing school tries to furnish and reality. I don't think there's a way to correct this, but I'm seriously tired of it being harped.
This reply is in no way directed at the person whom I've chosen to click reply under.
Seems that way. I just hate how instructors imply that it's difficult because it's become annoying. If students are too stupid to grasp that then find more students. It's obvious from this board that, at present, hosts of bright shiny faces are awaiting that coveted seat in a nursing school near them.
It's really not. There were times I felt overwhelmed and frustrated, but overall I actually enjoyed nursing school. It was challenging but challenges are good. For being in an accelerated program, I maintained a pretty decent school-life balance.
I'm glad. I start my ABSN in Jan. and sometimes reading the posts here about how "hard" it is becomes really discouraging sometimes!
ImThatGuy, BSN, RN
2,139 Posts
Yet it's not.