The hardest part is...

NoWaNrN, ASN, RN · Jul 31, 2006

Nutrition was so boring!!!!!!!!! I hated it but sucked it up and studied like I did for the other classes an got a B :wink2:

JohnBearPA · Jul 31, 2006

Well, I'm not yet a student so I don't know what the most difficult part of getting to LPN status is. So you tell me. What is/was the absolute hardest part for you as former and current PN students? Was it clinicals, pharmacology, A&P or something else and what did you do to get through it? Thanks guys! :)

Tie between A&P, micro, and first day of clinicals, and I mean EVERY first day in a new clinical assignment, such as ped's, tele, trauma, ob/gyn, etc, etc.

Then again, the first day of school kinda' sucked too. LOL

GR8LVN · Aug 1, 2006

For me the hardest part was Pharmacology. This is something you must memorize. Then when you go to work, the meds. all change. Each facility uses different meds. But still, the hardest was learning the generic and the trade name for each. The best of luck to you.

islandti_patty · Aug 1, 2006

for me, pharmacology was the hardest part of lpn school. learning all the different meds. we had to be able to tell our instructors the med we were giving, why we were giving it, side effects....all that good stuff. so it was a lot of memorization. and there are so many drugs out there.

i find myself today at work, looking up new meds i have never given. it's a continued learning process.

i loved the classroom setting, and the clinical part of it as well. i hated....and dreaded check offs in the lab. even though i knew my skills, the instructors would intimidate me.

i have been out of school for 7 months now and i work at a hospital on a med surg floor, while i am taking my prereq's for the rn bridge over program.....:)

patty

pagandeva2000, LPN · Aug 5, 2006

for me, pharmacology was the hardest part of lpn school. learning all the different meds. we had to be able to tell our instructors the med we were giving, why we were giving it, side effects....all that good stuff. so it was a lot of memorization. and there are so many drugs out there.
i find myself today at work, looking up new meds i have never given. it's a continued learning process.
i loved the classroom setting, and the clinical part of it as well. i hated....and dreaded check offs in the lab. even though i knew my skills, the instructors would intimidate me.
i have been out of school for 7 months now and i work at a hospital on a med surg floor, while i am taking my prereq's for the rn bridge over program.....:)
patty

i am doing the same thing...looking up drugs i never administered before and learning side effects. in fact, i have my med-surg and pharmacology textbooks at my bedside, because i want to know these medications. interesting that we hated pharmacology, but that is the main function of most of our jobs, huh?

pagandeva2000, LPN · Aug 5, 2006

Well, I'm not yet a student so I don't know what the most difficult part of getting to LPN status is. So you tell me. What is/was the absolute hardest part for you as former and current PN students? Was it clinicals, pharmacology, A&P or something else and what did you do to get through it? Thanks guys! :)

I would say 'everything'. I hated clinicals because it was a game to me; as I already worked as an aide and knew that they do not practice what they teach, anatomy, because they give things that you will probably never use again, pharmacology because I had a dumb teacher. I didn't really comprehend pharmacology until after I graduated. I got an A- in the class because I studied a great deal, though. And, finally, the NCLEX experience really pissed me off. What I did about it was just to study. It is one thing to be anxious about something, but I knew that I can control my destiny by doing something constructive about it-studying! If you see that your classmates are very anxious, you may have to remove yourself away from them.

LUVtxNursing · Aug 5, 2006

Right now the hardest and most stressful part to me is preparing for HESI, which we have to take and make at least an 800 to graduate. I have done VERY well in school and still feel so unprepared for this test. I guess mainly because I know people who have done as good as me in school and still failed HESI. I am also nervous about going to work. I mean I'm excited, but terrified at the same time, but I hear this is normal. You will probably experience a multitude of nerves during school, and what is stressful for one may not be for you. Good luck!

Lachrymologist · Aug 6, 2006

Thanks everyone for your replies. I'm hoping that some more of you will chime in. :) *sigh* I'm just starting to get extremely worried. After reading people's experiences here and talking to one of the program instructors who said the program was very, very intense I'm beginning to feel that I'll just be wasting my time. The instructor also stated that Anatomy and Pharmacology weren't the hardest parts. That REALLY scared me. I was just thinking, "What could be harder than having to memorize ALL of that stuff?!" I'm afraid I'll fail. I suppose I can try looking at the fact that I possibly won't be able to get into the program till next year as a chance to prepare myself further. But I'm also afraid that waiting a year will increase my chances of backing out. Meh. I'll quit while I'm ahead. Thanks for listening.

Fiona59 · Aug 6, 2006

The course work and clinicals were nothing when compared to class politics. I had forgotten how truly petty 46 people (mainly women) could be in one large room. I never want to hear the phrase "planning for graduation" again.

My class was just too large, with too many age groups to have any cohesiveness, everything from fresh out of high school students to 50+yo grandmothers. The older you were the less you were valued by your classmates.

It truly was the hardest part dealing with the "cool gang" again!

MrsVP-LPN · Sep 12, 2006

For me and a lot of girls in my class IV Therapy was the hardest part. Just because in MO(not sure everywhere) you have 2 chances to pass with an 80% or you are no longer in the program. It wasnt the sticking part cause i got that the first try but it was the written test. I failed the first test and i think a lot of it was over analyzing and fluid and electrolytes. I passed it the 2nd time thank God but you really have to know it its not just memorization. My friends and i even got IVy(get it IV) tatoos to commemorate the event because it was that much of an important part of LPN school. Good luck and let me know if you have ne other questions!

pagandeva2000, LPN · Sep 13, 2006

For me and a lot of girls in my class IV Therapy was the hardest part. Just because in MO(not sure everywhere) you have 2 chances to pass with an 80% or you are no longer in the program. It wasnt the sticking part cause i got that the first try but it was the written test. I failed the first test and i think a lot of it was over analyzing and fluid and electrolytes. I passed it the 2nd time thank God but you really have to know it its not just memorization. My friends and i even got IVy(get it IV) tatoos to commemorate the event because it was that much of an important part of LPN school. Good luck and let me know if you have ne other questions!

It is interesting reading about the difference in state requirements. Here in New York, we did not have a mandatory IV training, because it is not required for LPNs to know it per se, but the JOB can require an LPN to be IV certified. During school, we learned a bit about piggybacks, but it was not made into a big deal, however, when I came back to work after getting my license, suddenly, this was a requirement for us. I did get certified in IV training, but, don't use it since I am currently working in ambulatory care. The films were a bit overwhelming to watch, re-learning about the fluid and electrolytes.