Pre nursing vs nursing which one is more difficult?

[European]

Which courses did you find more difficult and challenging in terms of time spent studying , stress level etc..., the ones in pre nursing section or the ones in the nursing section. I am finishing pre nursing and it has been really challenging and just wanted to have a glimpse of what nursing courses are like....

[That Guy, BSN, RN, EMT-B]

Nursing hands down.

Clinicals, lab and dreaded care plans just eat up your time and energy.

[Nurse Connie]

Definitely nursing. So much reading in addition to care plans, practice labs, watching required videos, return demonstrations. It's a lot of work.

[VentcSN]

Nursing hands down...its much more difficult but its all about "Foundation" in nursing school. If you have a great foundation aka "prenursing", then you will do just fine in nursing school..I would say you cant really compare both because you definitely need prenursing to survive nursing school...

[DayDreamin ER CRNP]

Have you heard the phrase, "Nurses eat their young"? The same applies to nursing teachers.

To me, patho and pharm have been my two hardest classes by far. I did well in those classes but I worked my rear end off daily on those classes.

The care plans, circles of caring and SBARs and all that stuff was not really hard necessarily but they sure do take up a lot of your time.

The pre-req classes are tough but they are not as "life critical" as the true nursing classes. Not to say that those aren't hard but nursing classes are just different. You have to study and think differently than, say, an A&P class.

meredith

[Intern67]

Which courses did you find more difficult and challenging in terms of time spent studying , stress level etc...,

Prerequisites are kindergarten compared to the nursing program.

[RNDreamer]

For me, pre reqs were much more difficult because of the pure memorization. In Nursing school, yes there was memorization but not as much as in pre reqs. In nursing school, I was able to skim through chapters and not have to read word for word, but I had to do this in pre reqs. It was easier for me to remember things I read in my nursing books, than it was during my pre reqs.

The amount of work in NS can be stressful and overwhelming, but once I got time management part down, I was fine.

[European]

Thank you guys for sharing your experiences. Please keep them coming...

[threelittlebirds]

I agree with NYDreamer.... For me, the nursing prereqs (and coreqs) were tougher than the nursing classes. Anatomy & Physiology, Organic Chemistry, and Microbiology were pretty hard for me...simply due to the sheer memorization with very little real-life ways to apply it.

In comparison, my nursing classes have been super easy! There is definitely more solid information to learn, and a lot more work to do (in terms of preparation, care plans, etc), but I enjoy it, which makes all the difference. It's so interesting to me, I look forward to studying for those classes and keeping up with every assignment and every lecture....and as a result, I don't have to cram for tests or devote solid days to studying- I find I know it all by the time an exam rolls around. I think the difference is the real-life component- the stuff you learn in nursing actually matters!!!

Don't get me wrong, I devote a lot of time to studying for nursing classes. But it isn't miserable. I've made friends in the program, and a lot of the time, studying is a social thing as well.

Good luck as you continue into nursing :] You'll do great!

Disclaimer: I take patho next semester, so my experience might be much different by then :]

[RhodyGirl, RN]

Nursing courses are far more stressful than pre-reqs. I don't find the information necessarily more difficult, but definitely more time consuming and just different overall -- you're learning, applying concepts, and critically thinking. Much different than the days of Anatomy and Phys.

And, when you're trying to be a critical thinker, get a 20 page paper done, finish a careplan, go to the hospital to prep for clinical, read for an exam, prep for ATI's, get to bed at 1 and wake up at 5...and still find time eat and breathe ....yeah, it's more difficult than the pre-nursing classes!

[Nurse SMS, MSN, RN]

In broad generalities, nursing school is far and away tougher than the pre-requisites. If nothing else, there is a lot more at stake.

In specifics, the material itself is not harder per se. The type of exams are most definitely more difficult. It doesn't even compare. But what mostly makes the nursing program way more difficult than the pre-req's is simply the massive volume of work and retention and application of information expected. Most people have no idea how to truly study when they get into nursing school. There is a huge different between memorization alone, and true comprehension with ability to apply in variable and vague situational questions with more than one correct answer.

What nursing school has going for it past the pre-req's for me is the relationships I have made with the others in my class. We are very bonded and that makes it rewarding....in addition, I worked hard to get where I am. I am thrilled to be on my way to becoming a nurse, not just hoping to get into the program. The pride and sense of accomplishment outweigh the occasional struggle with how difficult it is. But yeah, if you are struggling in pre-req's, don't expect it to get easier. For the vast majority of people that does not happen. You will find those for whom it does and they are the fortunate few.

[threelittlebirds]

The type of exams are most definitely more difficult. It doesn't even compare.

What type of exams do you have in your program? At my school, all of our exams are NCLEX style, with a few short answer questions. I find these questions a lot easier than the timed essays and "draw the diagram" questions in my pre-reqs!