nursing school THAT hard?

cracklingkraken, ASN, RN · May 11, 2015

That's hard to gauge. It really depends on the individual. I honestly have found that nursing school has not been difficult for me. Then again, I've always been very studious and read a lot, on top of the many classes I have taken over the years, so I have an easier time understanding the material. I also manage my time well and focus on my weaknesses so I can study the material more thoroughly.

There are also people in the program who put way more time into studying than I do, read supplemental materials, and still do only average on exams. I would not base the predictability of her success in nursing school off of one class, though.

happytypingirl · May 11, 2015

I imagine nursing school will be as hard as one persons hardest pre-requisite class(es). Staying on top of things and effective study skills are surely a must. The only thing I'm concerned with is that I rewrite everything. Effective but time consuming and I don't think there will be time for lots of note taking.

AxOxCrazy · May 11, 2015

The difficulty of nursing school is not in the content, but in the time constraints.

greygirl81 · May 12, 2015

Nursing school wasn't hard for me either. I was going through a divorce at the time and had a fifteen month old little girl. I scheduled my nclex-pn two weeks after graduation, didn't study and past with 78 questions. It depends on the person and what you put into it.

Purple_roses · May 12, 2015

One of my friends who has been through school already told me that if you can do well in the pre reqs, you can handle nursing school, provided you have good time management skills. She said time management was the key. The material will be hard, but you're smart enough to learn it.

Mami.RN, MSN, RN · May 12, 2015

I am not in nursing school yet but I cant imagine it being harder than pre-req. I believe if you have great time management and study skills that you can do well.

happyinmyheart · May 12, 2015

I've heard that it's incredibly and almost impossibly hard. I've heard so many horror stories ðŸ˜

No Stars In My Eyes · May 12, 2015

I imagine nursing school will be as hard as one persons hardest pre-requisite class(es). Staying on top of things and effective study skills are surely a must. The only thing I'm concerned with is that I rewrite everything. Effective but time consuming and I don't think there will be time for lots of note taking.

I'd study by re-writing my class notes. It was generally all the studying I required. I found that by watching my hand record the information, I was printing it on my mind, as well. I could close my eyes during a test and remember what section of the recopied page contained the info I needed. I thought it was an odd way to study but it was the only way I could figure out to work it.And it was quite successful for me! The time it took to do it was well spent, though others used to make fun of me for doing it all the time. But they frequently asked to borrow my class notes, too.

scaredsilly, BSN, RN · May 12, 2015

Yes, it is hard-as someone else said, partly because of the time restraints. There never seems to be enough time to learn everything you have to learn. Pre-reqs are not 'easier', just different. In nursing school you will learn a whole new way of thinking - its almost like making 2+2=4.3. You need to be detail orientated and you need to be able to balance a lot of very different and very new information all at once. In pre-reqs (and probably most classes you have taken in your entire life) you are taught that blah blah is correct because it just is. In nursing school, you really need critical thinking to figure out what is right (or most right) because there is no longer a "just is". Nothing is black and white anymore. 8 things can be the right answer, knowing what is the most right answer can save a life (and help you pass your tests).

I can't tell you if nursing school is harder, but I promise it is a different kind of hard.

NightOwlPsyRN · May 12, 2015

Personally, there's a few things to factor in...covering a lot of content in a short amount of time (especially in accelerated programs) and test-taking. NCLEX style questions will be unlike any test questions you've taken before. You very well could have a multiple choice question where all options are equally "right" responses (or all equally "wrong" responses too), however, you have to choose the BEST (and evidence-based) response. Of course, there's always the select all that apply questions too. This can be nerve wracking because a lot of people tend to look too much into the question, second guess themselves, or tried to rationalize incorrect answers.

Nibbles1 · May 12, 2015

Micro was the hardest class for me. (Our final was make cheese and wine thank goodness for Pinterest) I think nursing school is more tedious than hard.