Nursing School versus the work field

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hey everyone,

I just completed my first semester of nursing school and I pretty much hated it. On clinical days I was so stressed I could barely eat my breakfast. I keep reading all these posts about nurses who hated nursing school, so I guess it is not uncommon. So what I am wondering is how am I to know if I want to be a nurse or not if I hate school. I am feeling really stressed about this. Please give your insight. Thanks!

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What do you see yourself doing as a nurse? Start with that... then find out how long it will take to get to that point, and use that to help you decide. :)

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Also, try to pinpoint what it is you don't like. Peers? Teacher? Nervous about feeling unprepared? The facility?

That might give you somewhere to start from too.

:(

Good luck!

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Specializes in Geriatric nursing.

Did you like or hate what you did at your placement? I think this question is important to reflect on because you will be doing those things as a nurse after all.

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I worked as an RN for 19 years- been an RN for 26 (7 years of health issues/disability when I've really needed my license)..... In those years, I can't remember anyone who liked nursing school. Nobody ever wishes they could go back to nursing school.... it's sorta like boot camp & basic training....some make it, some don't. But never hear anybody want to do it again :)

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Nursing school sucked! It was crazy and stressful. But you need to figure out what it was about it that you didn't like. If you are like me, and hated the stressful tests, but loved being at the hospital during clinical, then it's totally worth it. Once schools done and you start working it's sweet. If you didn't like the patient care aspect, then you may want to reconsider what you are doing.

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Specializes in LTC, Psych, Hospice.

I didn't like nursing school, either....and now I'm back in. I love nursing, though.

What is it about school you don't like?

I enjoyed the clinicals in school, but hated the care plans. That's something I'm not looking forward to doing again....care plans. At work, they are check off boxes with an area for anything not included on the form.

Keep in mind that "real world" nursing is way different than "school" nursing.

Good luck.

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I'm gong into my 4th quarter of nursing school. I despised my 1st quarter; it was so hard and I felt completely lost. But midway through my 2nd quarter is when so much started to make sense. At this point in nursing school, I think the majority of us in my nursing group would be able to handle the skills necessary to be a nurse as of today, but we still need to learn time management [in a big way] and practice prioritization. Our last two quarters will be mostly based on time management [and prioritization] and leadership skills, as we will be assigned up to five patients, and will have to delegate tasks.

It gets better and a little bit easier each quarter. Stay positive and remember that nursing school is temporary...life will resume, eventually.

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Specializes in Telemetry, OB, NICU.

We didn't do much at clinicals in first sem and that wasn't fun for me. In 2nd semester, I loved clinicals because I got to do more skills and such.

What I can suggest is, in second/third/fourth semester, if you like what you do in clinicals, you will also like nursing; if you hate what you do in clinicals, you won't like it. that's just my view.

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Im in the second summer session of an accelerated BSN program right now and I have never been so miserable in my entire life. They throw a ton of information at us and every other day we have a test. Since the summer started, I dont feel like I have done anything but study or sit in a classroom for hours. Most people in the class (incuding myself) stay up until midnight studying and the class average on the tests is usually like an 82. Sometimes I can believe that I am actually paying money to be put in this situation.

I thought about quitting a million times, but once I started talking to other people in the program, I realized that no one is happy and everyone is miserable. Not one person I spoke to hasn't thought about quitting several times.

So, I really think that once you get through the school part, working as a nurse has to be different or else no one would be going into this field, it just wouldn't be worth it.

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My first semester of nursing school was also miserable and very stressful, but it got better afterwards, especially when you advance into courses and clinicals and get a grasp of pathophysiology... Good luck!

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Specializes in MS, ED.

Echoing others: I hated nursing school and wanted to quit a dozen times over. I think most of us did.

I felt like they threw us in, let us sink and ridiculed us for not knowing what we weren't taught yet. I felt constantly stressed and imagined that this couldn't be for me. After I graduated and started working, I can say that some of those feelings were indicative of how I would feel working the floor. Always pulled in five directions, ignored or spoken over, running constantly and trying to do a good job. That being said...

the only thing that keeps me in nursing is that I really like the patients. Good team, so-so team, there is always one that makes me glad I do what I do when I go home and lay my head down. If you can see that for yourself - that you enjoy helping patients but don't like the environment and hustle-bustle - you may still find a place in nursing where you'll be happy. Think it over. Good luck!

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