Pre nursing vs nursing which one is more difficult?

vccorscc · Jun 6, 2010

a frien(now in her last semester of ns) once told me its not the material its the amount of work and the time thats the challenge .

guiltysins · Jun 7, 2010

Thank you carolinapooh!

Going back to the original post though. For me, the process of getting accepted seems more stressful and difficult than pre-nursing and nursing LOL! But I didn't find pre-reqs that difficult, there were some I didn't enjoy however. I think it's really just the amount of material and the impact of it all that makes nursing school difficult. For example, not understanding a bell curve (gotta love statistics! -_-) isn't really a life or death situation lol but it sure was annoying as hell when I was stuck in that class! But I always felt that having classes that kind of flow together would make it much easier to understand, which is unlike trying to study A&P, write an english paper on Walt Whitman and remembering Erikson's stages of development in the same week.

lsw1956 · Jun 9, 2010

Nursing was much more difficult than the pre nursing! My school also had the HESI test which was very difficult. Actual nursing classes involve nurse care plans, clinicals and tests and all that together is very hard. I made it at 52 years old and so can you. God Bless!

European · Jun 9, 2010

Nursing was much more difficult than the pre nursing! My school also had the HESI test which was very difficult. Actual nursing classes involve nurse care plans, clinicals and tests and all that together is very hard. I made it at 52 years old and so can you. God Bless!

Congrats for finishing. Quick question, what is the HESI test?

Rmedin19 · Jun 9, 2010

Wow, are those frequent sleepless nights on non-accelerated programs too? I was a straight A student for a while and definitely had quite a few sleep deprived moments but how do you function and reason and memorize after a week of 4 hr sleep nights? Ha Ha Ha, I'm scared as I am applying to two accelerated programs. Advice?

And sorry, no idea what the HESI is except that its a standardized test. I found these links that seem to explain it pretty well though.

European · Jun 9, 2010

For ABSN I think you should search in other posts for advice, this one deals with the ''delicate'' moment of transitioning from pre nursing to nursing courses.

us2uk4u · Jun 9, 2010

For me it was definitely nursing, esp Med-Surg. For AP I and II, Chemistry, Micro, all the Psych classes, and Stats it was all about memorization and not too much critical thinking skills involved. It was definitely an eye opener when I entered Med-Surg with a 3.8 and barely passed the class with a C+. I swear my professor always asked her questions where it came down to two answers and you had to think about ABCs, then Maslow, then safety, ethics and legalities.

We lost 40% of the entire nursing class after Med Surg. I guess they wanted to filter out students. But for the past 5 years they have a 100% NCLEX passing rate.

European · Jun 9, 2010

For me it was definitely nursing, esp Med-Surg. For AP I and II, Chemistry, Micro, all the Psych classes, and Stats it was all about memorization and not too much critical thinking skills involved. It was definitely an eye opener when I entered Med-Surg with a 3.8 and barely passed the class with a C+. I swear my professor always asked her questions where it came down to two answers and you had to think about ABCs, then Maslow, then safety, ethics and legalities.
We lost 40% of the entire nursing class after Med Surg. I guess they wanted to filter out students. But for the past 5 years they have a 100% NCLEX passing rate.

Wow 100% is remarkable, do you mind telling us which college do or did you attend?

lsw1956 · Jun 9, 2010

You have to have a compassionate and caring nature to be a nurse but I honestly believe that when selecting a career choice you MUST consider income and job availability also.

Anne36, LPN · Jun 9, 2010

Great topic, OP.

Im in pre-nursing right now and am really hating A&P2. I dont hate the subject but I hate the lack of instruction(mystery Lab) and needing an A in everything. I need to prepare myself for some kind of backup plan because Im not sure I will make it thru nursing school if its this bad.

Im so stressed out all the time and miserable. Why does it have to be this way? I have not taken a science class yet that has had more than 3-4 people come out with an A. On our first day of A&P 2 our instructor told us that too, she usually never has more than 3-4 get an A per class, which seemed about what Ive experienced so far. Many have dropped out class and we are down to about 24 now. I think after the Lab exam and the 2nd test it will drop more.

A is basically the pass rate now. Nursing school cant be so hard that only 3-4 people make it out of a class.

SuperSweet · Jun 9, 2010

Nursing- The material is not difficult, it is learning to think critically to take the test which are modeled after taking your NCLEX. In nursing classes there is so much work, reading, and with little time. You learn very quickly how to become the most efficient. I love nursing school! Pre-nursing is just a right of passage to something so much greater and rewarding!:) Best Wishes to you!

TipitiwichitRN · Jun 9, 2010

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....

Nursing for sure. It is made to be that way. The small challenges in pre nursing give you time to build up the study skills to handle the 'real deal'. Nursing is application based answers- not memorization. Try to truly understand your pre nursing stuff- it comes back up with an assumption that you not only just remember, but that you actually understand and 'get' it later in actual nursing. Good luck!