nursing school THAT hard?

Angeljho, MSN, NP · May 12, 2015

Eh, nursing school wasn't too difficult. However, the difficulty level of anything is pure subjective. I did think nursing school was time consuming, though. Most of my colleagues had a tough time balancing families, relationships, and private-life situations because nursing school took up so much of their focus from those areas.

No Stars In My Eyes · May 12, 2015

Eh, nursing school wasn't too difficult. However, the difficulty level of anything is pure subjective. I did think nursing school was time consuming, though. Most of my colleagues had a tough time balancing families, relationships, and private-life situations because nursing school took up so much of their focus from those areas.

At the age of 19-turning-20, I had no relationships/family/life situations; I lived in a dorm with other nursing students and we each had a private room. I think that made it less stressful all the way around.

CiaMia, BSN, MSN, DNP, RN, APRN, NP · May 12, 2015

I think it also depends on what model of nursing school/program. Accelerated post-bac BSN? WAY more "hard" than taking pre-reqs. If I were doing this as a traditional student it would be different, but the pace and front-loading are INTENSE.

Then, as people have said, it's getting into the mindset of a whole different testing style. Not cut and dry asking about the information, but using critical thinking and interpreting the information in the question -- all the answers might be "right" but you've got to be able to determine which one "fits". Being able to apply concepts rather than just identify the pieces.

brandy1017, ASN, RN · May 13, 2015

Nursing school was easy for me, but I also read all the material, studied and even used supplemental nclex review books as well. I know some people don't actually read the books, but skim them and try to get by with just their class notes. If someone is having trouble in school they need to reflect on what the problem is and then come up with a solution. Read the book, don't miss class, join a study group or get a tutor, use nclex reviews. If it is a math or science class see if you can order a "solutions" manual from Amazon or B&N that shows you step by step how to get the right answer and then make sure to do all the homework. I used supplemental books like Math Made Easy & Algebra Made Easy to refresh and reinforce my math & chemistry since I had been out of school and not taken any of those classes since high school. Now there are so many extra options for learning on you tube, free university lessons online not for credit but at least for study and review and possibly being able to CLEP out of them if you were motivated enough. Also Khan academy with free lessons on many subjects. A motivated person should be able to succeed if they take the time, study and make use of all their options.

NurseSpeedy, ADN, LPN, RN · May 13, 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.

This will be difficult. I did the same thing with my LPN. Went to school Monday thru Thursday 7a-2p and spent from 3-9pm studying/rewriting material from the text in my own words to better understand and then worked Friday thru Sunday.

Years later came the transition to RN. Accelerated program. Took the prerequisite courses years ago. No problem. Accelerated program...12 week quarters...pharm and med surg (with clinical and lab) together (finished corequisites so they were finished prior. On less thing to worry about). First week-between the two 15 chapters...didn't change the next week. You will be spending your time reading, highlighting important info to go back and review, and studying. There's too much material to rewrite everything. Giving it up was not an easy thing to do but you have to spend your time wisely with a fast paced program. I'm still getting mostly A's so it's possible to change the way of learning.

Do do I think if someone struggled in micro they should consider something different? No...if they were absolutely clueless in A&P, then probably (because it will come back with all of your courses building off of it. In order to understand the abnormal, one needs to first understand the normal functioning of the system affected).

Can you make it? Yes. But I would find a better way to absorb the info than rewriting the text because there's not enough time for that. Good luck!

mmc51264, BSN, MSN, RN · May 13, 2015

I also think it has to do with the program. I did an ADN program that was ridiculous. they were so afraid of NOT having 100% NCLEX pass rates, they made it way more difficult than it needed to be. We loast over half of our starting class, we took practice NLN tests to see where we were-which many of were in the top 5% in scoring and still barely managing to pass. The book was a joke-dangerous mistakes (like a paragraph on teaching your pt how to administer IV insulin at home), the grading scale was so tight that an 86.4 semester average was a C. I had a bachelors and a masters going into this program, have never had a grade below a B and I struggled. It was the program, not "nursing school" I just finished my RN-BSN and graduated cum laude.

katie115 · May 13, 2015

I don't think nursing school is anything like the pre-requisites. Those pre-reqs teach you the basics to solve the problem in nursing school, just like building blocks :yes: If you put your mind to it, you can push through. You just have to know yourself and your limits and work around them. Good luck!

canigraduate · May 13, 2015

Comparing pre-req's to nursing school is impossible. If you have a scale from 1-10, with microbiology being a 6, nursing school is purple. They are that different.

Think of pre-req's as preschool, the first semester of nursing school as fourth grade, and the last semester as your first year of college.

Is any one of these harder than the other? Yes!

Are they part of a logical progression to get you to the goal? Yes! But there is a lot of stuff you have to do to fill in the gaps.

The thing to remember is that you have to do a LOT outside of nursing school to keep up with the curriculum. Studying the content isn't all. You have to learn a lot of the concepts independently. You have to practice basic nursing skills, such as assessment, wound care, catheter insertion, vital signs, etc. You not only have to be able to pass tests, but you have to pass skills demos. You will have projects and papers you must complete on your own time. For every hour you spend in a class, you will need to spend roughly another 4-5 hours outside of class on nursing school. Some students can do it in less time, some need even longer.

Not only that, but you also have to learn a new test-taking style. Think about the tests you have spent the past fifteen (or so) years learning how to pass (the SAT, the ACT, end-of-grade tests, etc.). Throw all of that out the window. Now you have to learn how to critically think through a question and pick the most correct, the least correct, and sometimes all-of-the-correct-and-in-order answers.

On top of that, you have to learn how to take both the knowledge and skills you are learning and apply them to a specific person with a specific set of illnesses in clinical. Which you will have to spend at least 5-10 hours a week preparing for.

It's a lot. It is hard. It is doable. It is definitely worth it.

bagface · May 13, 2015

I think it depends on the program/person. For example:

1) Our school refused to accommodate a fellow classmate who had cancer - she needed the cancer removed - urgently. She took two tests three weeks before the semester was even over, only for the program to come back at her and tell her she needed to take the final before she had her surgery (this surgery required her to miss a week of school).

2) During my time in school nothing was excused - the following things happened: a student's parent died, some were hospitalized for appendicitis/pancreatitis, another student's son died because she ran over him with a car accidentally trying to leave to get to clinicals on time. Our program made zero exceptions for these people.

3) Your life is going to be hectic. Is it worth it? Yes. But my years through school were hell. And to be honest I don't know if I could do it again if I had to. If your life is in a good place - do it. If not - fix all your family drama/children needs/spousal support/savings accounts prior to starting. This will set you up for success in the future.

Good luck!

UCFAshley · May 13, 2015

This. All of this is so true.

dinah77, ADN · May 16, 2015

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.

That's how I studied too!

Except I typed mine :up:

Ldla1234 · May 17, 2015

It is hard, and it depends on the program you enter. I was terminated from my nursing school. I missed passing my med surg II class by 1 test question on the final exam. i was devastated to say the least. As others have said, it is all about critical thinking skills and the choose all that apply questions were a beast! Thankfully I have gotten a second chance and will start at a new school in the fall. I had no problem with any of my other clinical courses. I left the program with a 3.65 and that was with two D's in the same clinical course. So, it may seem easy at first, but then you may come across a course that is a harder concept. It all depends on you. I guess those who say it isnt hard for them are gifted.