Nursing School: Officially the Hardest Thing I've Ever Done

FATKAT · Jun 3, 2010

RE: "Nursing School: Officially the Hardest Thing I've Ever Done"

I worked full time shift work (12 hour shifts) while doing school work on my days off. It has taken me 7 years. I don't have any kids though. It is still hard to make myself do school work on days off though. Night shifts were great for writing essays or essay outlines too. :yawn:

psme63 · Jun 3, 2010

Ok, I know that everyone keeps saying that it's hard and hard to understand if you are not a nursing student. I will be starting this fall and cant help but to be scared to death by all of the horror stories, I'm even questioning whether I should attempt this. I always heard how difficult A&P was, after finishing it I look back and realize it wasn't hard...just time consuming. I had to figure out different ways to learn and memorize it. Things that helped me to understand it and how it worked. Is that how nursing school is? Time consuming and you have to figure out the best way you learn, but still doable??

don't worry, once you get the hang of it, it is going to be a habit....a habit of studying and setting priorities...

survrgrl08 · Jun 3, 2010

Hi. I'm really looking foward to starting Nursing school this fall. I'm 33 and have finally found my niche. I'm looking foward to the rewards and challenges of becoming an RN. I am also a Breast Cancer Survivor. I was diagnosed in2006 at the age of 29 and I feel after going through chemotherapy, bilateral mastectomy, radiation and other assorted drugs and treatments, I feel this has prepared me for the insanity of Nursing School. :).. I can't wait to begin thinking outside the box and applying what I have learned during treatment, especially patient care, and what I will learn from classes and clinicals.

Good Luck Everybody!!!!!! :yeah:

studentinnursing · Jun 3, 2010

I've worked full-time during school and it hasn't been bad. I work at a mail-order pharmacy that is open 24/7 so my schedule can be pretty flexible. I can also study at work when calls are slow. My best friend is currently in nursing school full-time and has a full-time job (tech in an ER) and is a single mom of two and is surviving so it CAN BE DONE! :)

That's encouraging! I'm a newly single mom, been just a year, and I still have trying days where I think how in the world can I do this for 4 more years.

But I have been talking with some people I know who are trying to get me into their hospital as soon as I have my first semester done for PCT job, and I want ICU really bad, so I know I have to get my foot in the door first asap but was kinda worried about working outside the home, more time commuting (can't work in my pajamas either!) and daycare hours, etc. Most hospitals and people that I've talked to do say that the hospitals are really good about scheduling around you for school. I don't know how I'll do night shifts with the kids, but a plus is I can work all weekend . . . will see how it goes. I am so excited to be starting, and at least that first semester will be behind me when I start working, not that it's going to get easier, but I'll finally be able to gain some experience to go along with the book smarts, which will do me no good without actually working I don't think.

I'm glad it can be done; if it can be done, I can do it!

sherriberry1 · Jun 6, 2010

Hi!! I am a third semester RN student and it is HARD:eek:...IT is the vast info you have to remember then apply it. I am a mother of four kids..13 y, 6 y 3y and 18 months old so it is stressful...but as for everybody hung up on this 4.0 average get over it...nursing test are UNLIKE anything you have ever done before...basically you have to change your whole way of thinking about things. We have to make an 80 on a exam for it to be considered passing..a 79.9 does not cut it (no rounding). I took my C last semester and was GRATEFUL to get it!!! (MED SURG is no joke) we lost 6 people out of our class. I am hoping to graduate next May 2011 and as long as I have at least an 80 at the end of the 5th semester....I will be walking across that stage with my ADN :yeah:

DGDreamGirl · Jun 28, 2010

what semester did you get behind in? I'm currently dealing with "being behind"

jeffreyballentine · Jun 28, 2010

Believe me, I can relate. You just have to persevere. The real question is - despite it all - how badly do you want it.

I'm fallen behind as well. I passed my basic skills class - had trouble with a teacher that was legitimately prejudiced against me - then moved on to Med Surge and Pharm. At the clinical orientation, one of the former students got up and stated how we were all in the "real deal" and that no matter how hard we studied before, it was nothing compared to what we were going to need. I - the straight A student - and most of the people said, "Yeah, right." I had a 4.0, right? I had all A's in my pre-requisites. Ooops!Was I ever a dumb ass! It was all about clinical manifestations and learning signs and symptoms and treatment, and above all, critical thinking. I - and most of my class - had trouble "getting it." We all thought it would be the same as before - NOT EVEN CLOSE!

Bottom line, I passed Pharm with a B+ (and I was glad to get that) and I had to take Med Surge over; I finally passed my final "regular" test with a C, but not nearly enough to make up the difference. At the same time, I "blinked" and took my eye of the ball without realizing it - my part-time job became hell with too many hours and a new boss (ass!) Then my renter left my high priced condo (once upon a time when I could afford it from my earlier job) and trashed it. Hello, $6,000 in repairs and, in this economy, so far, 4 months of $2,000 "double mortgage" while I try and get the place rented. Other financial problems surrounded me as a result, and I completely lost focus. Clinical on Saturday, so in effect, a "seven day a week" work schedule - M-F at regular job, S-Clinical, Sunday spending all day working on the stupid condo!!! And two tests on Saturday - which, had I studied properly with the right intensity, and better organization, I could have taken earlier and separately instead of trying to "cram them together." (And didn't that work out well...not!)

I didn't spend nearly enough time studying it. I wanted time for myself, time for my wife, time for this, time for that, etc. I didn't realize the price of being a nurse. I was stupid. I blamed it on everything else. Tough yes, a reason to not study harder, no.

As in many cases, I blamed it all on everything BUT myself. The students at Chamberlain College of Nursing get to do a "satisfaction survey" at the end of the academic year. In a fit of anger, I trashed the place except my clinical professor and my lab professors (love Professor Caulderhead.) After all, this was there fault, right? There were a lot of poor teachers, right? Nursing wasn't THAT hard, right? I could take my time and eventually get through it, right? Hello, "Jeff the Jackass!"

Yet, as much as I want to blame it on the school, and the teachers, and my wife, circumstances, finances, and God/higher power, or whatever and whomever, I WAS TO BLAME. I took my eye of the ball. One of the things that my former Med Surge professor said (Professor Zihlman, great prof!) was, "Nursing has to 'own' you while your in school." I just didn't get it. I didn't realize it. I do now - with a renewed sense of purpose and a "oneness" of focus. I also realize that you just don't "work your way causally through school." You need to apply yourself in a manner unlike before. People's lives are at stake. Other nurses and health care professionals are involved with you in the "real world." Prof Z was right - it DOES need to own you. For me, at least another 8 months to a year.

My original class - with my "peeps" like Heather, and Rachel and Judy - they're all getting ready to graduate. They took the "Hesi" to prep. I should have been part of that; WORSE, I COULD have been part of that. I was too busy being the "class clown" - "funny Jeff," playing at studying. So, instead of graduating, I'm behind. But, I learned my lesson. The hard way.

Sometimes, things DO happen for a reason. To give you a jolt of "reality." We don't like it; but we're better off for it.

(Believe me, I'd love to take that survey "back" - goodness knows who saw it, and to say that, in retrospect, I'm ashamed of my comments and attitude, is an understatement to say the least.)

The long-winded point that I'm making (after all this, LOL!) is - forget about "being behind." It's over. There's nothing you can do about it. Beating yourself up and looking too far ahead will drive you crazy, depress you, and make matters worse. yes, get a "reality check" and realize what happened and why and where. Then move on. Take it one focused class at a time. And if you need help, get it early. I was in trouble in Med Surge from the first test.I wasn't that I was "stupid" - I just didn't understand the intensity and, most importantly, WHAT to study. When they say, "Work the N-Clex questions" - guess what, you should WORK THE N-CLEX QUESTIONS! Not do the "easy workbook stuff." Instead of listening to my professor on the tutoring sessions, I talked about all the problems in my life - gee, that really helped, right?

It wasn't till the end when I shut up and listened to both Professor Z and (God bless her,) Prof. Caulderhead that I finally started to "get it." Light bulb went on. Had I done that earlier, I would have been better off AND I WOULD HAVE PASSED - but I was too proud.

What you CAN do is realize the intensity required and prepare to meet the challenge and move forward. Learn from the mistakes. Just keep "your blinders on." Realize what is at stake. Easy to say, hard to do.

Hope all goes well for you!

Music in My Heart · Jun 28, 2010

I always heard how difficult A&P was, after finishing it I look back and realize it wasn't hard...just time consuming.

That's how I would describe my nursing school experience. It was not particularly difficult intellectually but the pace was grueling and unrelenting, and the stakes were very high... fail one class and you were booted out of the program.

CBsMommy · Jun 28, 2010

what semester did you get behind in? I'm currently dealing with "being behind"

I fell behind in my first semester, which was Fundamentals and Pharm. It was right when we started clinicals. I didn't realize how much paperwork would be involved in clinicals and I got a little unorganized with missing a chapter here and there. It was next to impossible to get caught up but I locked myself in my house for the entire weekend, begged my mom to take my son on Saturday night, and got myself caught up.

I think what makes nursing school so hard is the amount of work piled on us. If we are not writing a paper, reading our assigned reading or working on a care plan, we are working on that math test coming up in two weeks, or the skill that we need to perform nearly perfectly in front of the instructor. For myself and a lot of my classmates, it was hard to figure out which to tackle first since it seemed that everything was due at once. But, if you look at it like stepping stones, it's not too bad. When I passed my math test, that was done for that semester. When I passed a skill, that was done for the semester. By the end of the semester, I was shocked at how much we had done and how fast the time had gone by. I was really shocked that I loved almost every second of it, even when I was stressing about the super hard pharm test that was coming up! So for all of you starting nursing school soon, just relax. It is doable!!!