Nursing school vs. Nursing

Kickinnrs · Mar 30, 2008

My situation may be a little different. I graduated nursing school in May 07. My stress level during nursing school varied between an 8 and 10, depending on what we were testing on.

My stress level in the nursing world (I work on at a children's hospital on the orthpedic/neurosurgery/trauma floor) is a little lower only because we really have a great group of nurses. If one nurse isn't overly busy and they see me struggling/stressing, they step up and help out. They may give pain medication for me, reset a beeping IV, put a flush on a minnie infuser, or during an admission do my vital signs or ask the admission questions for me while I asess the pt.

I guess I could rate it a 10 when dealing with some of the parents or a child that feels you are their personal slave with absolutley noone else to care for (usually the teenager).

Talking to the people I graduated with, I know I'm VERY fortunate to be working where I do. I hear such horror stories about "older nurses out to eat their young", MD's being total a&& h@%@& when they call them (can only think of one time an MD was "short" with me)

cardiacRN2006, ADN, RN · Mar 30, 2008

I clock out and I go home. I don't take home work and I don't stress about work when I'm home.

I had quite a busy shift the other night. Had one person code and die, and then had another very critical pt take her place. In addition to that I also had my other very critical pt. I also had a student.

Today, 3 days later, I just remembered that I forgot to write a verbal order. Dang...

So, yes, sometimes the stess comes home with me. There is always something to do, someone to call, someone to teach, something going to heck rapidly...

So for me, nursing school was probably a 3-4 on the stress scale and nursing now is an 8.

First year nursing was probably a 500.

I don't always have the ability to clock out and leave it at work...

Ayvah, RN · Mar 30, 2008

One year as a nurse:

My non-nursing degree - 3/10

Nursing school - 8/10, stress mainly because of overwhelming time commitment and high failure rate of fellow students.

RN job #1 - hospital IMCU - 12+/10, different kind of stress - health problems solely because of work(nauseated on days off, falling asleep at the computer at home while reading emails, feeling decades older than I was, physical strain, etc), never seeing my family, very unsafe nurse-patient ratios because we staffed based on numbers, not acuity, sporifice support staff, working 14-18 hour shifts with rare breaks, very very ill patients, saw experienced coworkers crying at least once every 3 weeks or so, most floats would end the shift saying how they would never come back. Poor hours, including nights/weekends/holidays. Manager never around, and when she was, she discouraged us from voicing concerns/complaints.

RN job #2 - specialty clinic - 2/10 - fantastic staff, fantastic manager, awesome doc, always get full lunch and breaks, great hours - 1 night/week & 8 hours of weekend/month, no holidays, lots of catered lunches or dinners, lil boring, adequate time with each patient to provide thorough care, overall very friendly group of routine patients.

LovebugLPN · Mar 30, 2008

I found nursing school to be a 10 because of all of the stress of proving myself and worrying about instructors looking over my shoulder. I watched many people leave each semester and always felt like my days were numbered. I couldn't let my guard down because even the week before our final finals someone was made to leave the program. I think the working world after graduation depends on where you choose to work and who you work with. I took a relatively low key job that paid as much, if not more, then I would in any area stressful facility. So I would say most days are a 6.

*ac* · Mar 30, 2008

Most of the nurses I have asked this question tell me that although they are often very stressed while at work, they go home and get to do whatever they want, whereas the student has to continue studying.

I have to disagree with this. I come home from work and rethink every little thing that happened, or could have happened. What was the patho-phys behind that condition that I never had time to look up? What will happen to that pt that will probably have surgery tomorrow. Till I tell the doctor so-and-so? Did I report that I couldn't get such and such done? It's endless. I feel like I'm never really off.

I have a really hard time sleeping after work. Anxiety was high in school, but in the end, it was JUST SCHOOL.

But I love it and know I did the right thing.

rbs105, ADN, MSN, RN · Mar 30, 2008

I agree and disagree....school was hard, but now I can actually KILL someone!!! Of course, I could have done that as a student too, but it would have gone over to my instructor or the RN on staff and I would not have lost a license because I never had a license....

I finished school in May '06, worked in oncology, had 2 miserable preceptors, lasted 6 weeks, switched to the OR and I love it-mostly because now I work in a team environment and when something is going wrong, I have other people around helping (MD's, anesthesia, etc) and frankly, if I'm going down, everyone is going down (this can be good or bad)! I feel I have somewhat limited myself by being so specialized and I dont' think I could pass meds or even distinguish heart sounds anymore, but I get to do some really cool stuff that most RN's will never get a chance to see or do. I find that the fact that I am an adrenaline junkie and work in a level 1 trauma center, I have found my 'niche' and that helps my stress level. I still think about stuff after, but not as much as time goes on. Plus, I have learned how to walk away...going to the gym helps....

rbs105

angel337, MSN, RN · Mar 30, 2008

i am an ED nurse for 5 yrs and for me working is way easier than school. i just get up and go to work. i am not worried about tests or projects and i am no longer at the mercy of the professors. i work in a good place that respects nurses with great people so i don't have alot of work related stress. i know alot of people can't say that so i feel very blessed.

Valerie Salva, BSN, RN · Mar 30, 2008

Nursing school was a 9 for me, the real world is a 10 to the hundredth power on some days. Graduated and got my license in 2006, been working as an LPN in the medical clinic of my hospital since then. No real strong influences outside of recently diagnosed heel spurs and plantar fasciitis (both common nightmares for nurses) and the occasional anger that floats through my head seeing some of the incompetent, manipulative people function around me.
School gives you the basics to pass NCLEX and you can use that knowledge to make a judgement call, but, the real world consists of constantly protecting your license while dealing with wild politics. You will see that things are not really done by the books, but you had better at least know what should be done, what you can skip or do later and document well.

Great answer. I've been a nurse for 17 years, and have worked in a number of settings. Nursing school is stressful, but it is nothing compared to being a nurse.

As for injuries, I have nursing induced back injuries.

Valerie Salva, BSN, RN · Mar 30, 2008

i am an ED nurse for 5 yrs and for me working is way easier than school. i just get up and go to work. i am not worried about tests or projects and i am no longer at the mercy of the professors. i work in a good place that respects nurses with great people so i don't have alot of work related stress. i know alot of people can't say that so i feel very blessed.

You are blessed. I'm envious!

imanedrn · Apr 1, 2008

One year as a nurse:
My non-nursing degree - 3/10
Nursing school - 8/10, stress mainly because of overwhelming time commitment and high failure rate of fellow students.
RN job #1 - hospital IMCU - 12+/10, ...
RN job #2 - specialty clinic - 2/10 ...

Good call on the non-nursing degree. Anything non-science / healthcare related is like a walk in the park in comparison!!!

My business degree (emphasis on management information systems, aka, computers in business: 2/10 (if that!)

I originally returned to school for pre-med and made the mistake of taking chem, bio, AND physics (with labs!) all in one semester: 7/10

First semester of nursing school: 10+/10 -- I've never had so much self-doubt in my life! For the first few weeks, I was convinced I couldn't hack it -- even though I'm a life-long (and very diligent) student! I was convinced I wouldn't pass my skills test to move on to clinicals and wouldn't pass my physical assessment tests (all of which I Aced).

Remaining semesters: 5-8/10 (depending on the time of the semester). Adjusting to the first few weeks was always the hardest because we had this nice two week break in between, then BAM, you're plunged back in to learning a CAREER (versus a business degree with which you can do just about anything).

Nursing while precepting: 5-9/10. I didn't have a good preceptor. She would do pick up all my slack and not tell me that she did it until report, so I never knew how to do certain things - or even that they had to be done! On my last 2 weeks of precepting, where I was on my own, but she was on the other side of the hall with her patients, I just bombed. I had all the stuff I had to follow up on and either (a) didn't know that I had to or (b) didn't know how to. I didn't realize these items were critical, so - since I got behind - I just let them slide. BIG NO-NO! Got reamed by the night charge - while I was still precepting!!!

I'm fully on my own now. There are still MANY things I just DO NOT KNOW! But I know how to find out now which is the big difference. If someone gets irritated at me asking so many questions, I tell them to talk to OUR manager because she's the one who POINT BLANK told me to ASK QUESTIONS if I don't know how / why / when to do something.

So, now... I'd say my normal stress is 4-7/10. For example, Sunday was easy peasy. Monday was busy as all heck! Lots of little stuff too. I started getting stressed out, but then stopped and realized it would all get done. I suffer from anxiety on a regular basis and work just worsens that. So I take my meds, calm down a bit, then move on...

My time management skills have improved tremendously! I get my charting done on time now (earlier in the day), where I previously wouldn't get it done until near the end of the shift. That's a HUGE help because then I only have a few things left to chart at the end of the shift or after report. So then I can take on all that little, annoying stuff...

So, I guess my thoughts are that nursing school was WAY harder than actually being a nurse - but it all depends on how you look at it, where you work, and how you deal with stress... :uhoh3:

imanedrn · Apr 1, 2008

I have to disagree with this. I come home from work and rethink every little thing that happened, or could have happened. What was the patho-phys behind that condition that I never had time to look up? What will happen to that pt that will probably have surgery tomorrow. Till I tell the doctor so-and-so? Did I report that I couldn't get such and such done? It's endless. I feel like I'm never really off.

I believe this makes for a good nurse -- not necessarily second-guessing yourself but always thinking what you could have done better. On the flip side, though, this definitely makes for SEVERE anxiety. In reality, we'll NEVER get to everything or remember to report on everything. You've been there for 12 hours! That's 1 1/2 normal work days! And people with "normal" work days just go about their business while rarely (if ever?) having to "report off" to people. I've realized that things will always be missed and/or forgotten... That's the nature of being human.:smackingf

BeachBayNurse · Apr 1, 2008

I would say nursing school was about a 5/10. I think that the professors made it much harder than it needed to be, but my experience seems better than what others have described.

As for being a nurse, it can be from a 4 to a 10. My advice is if you are in a place where most days are a 10, get out! It is not worth your health and happiness. No matter what kind of guilt trip they lay on you, you owe a job like that nothing. The stress will eventually cost you your health, but the floor will continue to survive without you.