Hello nursing students!! I have a question for you...
I am currently working on my pre-reqs, and the sooner I get to applying, I am hearing more and more how "hard" nursing school is...how it "sucks"...and how it is "really hard on relationships"......
My advisor has even said you have no life while going to NS.
Please, please tell me what is it EXACTLY that makes them say this. Is it the work/study load? Is it clinical time? Is it that "hard"? what exactly? how is it different from what I am doing now with my classes?
I really appreciate what you have to say. At least I will know the whys of what I am hearing!
(I've also heard of how bad chemistry is, and I'm loving that...so it's all relative, isn't it??)
Please, please tell me what is it EXACTLY that makes them say this. Is it the work/study load? Is it clinical time? Is it that "hard"? what exactly? how is it different from what I am doing now with my classes?
It's many things.
Nursing school requires many different skills in different areas (academics, critical thinking, physical coordination, interpersonal skills, time management...), and most people are going to really struggle with at least one aspect of it. Someone who breezes through the tests may have a harder time with the physical mechanics of clinical skills, for example.
The testing style is different from most academic classes. You need to not only know the material, but be able to interpret the information and correctly apply it. For example - "You see symptom x, y, and z. Which of these would be the best response?" with one of the answers being the "best" response, two being appropriate responses but not the highest priority, and one response being appropriate if you misinterpreted the symptoms. Many people find their study times increase over what they did during prerequisites, or that they need to change their study methods entirely.
I don't think anyone got an A in our class third semester - and my school is one of the most selective schools in the area, so we all did very well in the prereq classes.
The workload is tough. In my school, it's common for students to finish clinical prep at 3pm, be up till midnight or later doing care plans... and then be up again at 4 or 5am for clinicals. This is pretty much unavoidable - the sheer quantity of information requested and look everything up is just time consuming, regardless of how smart you are (This improves over time, but it can be killer at the start). During first semester. I was convinced that this was intentional sleep deprivation as a brainwashing technique. I'm not entirely sure whether this was accurate, sleep deprivation induced paranoia, or both.
Clinicals themselves can be nightmares, depending on your clinical instructor and your own capabilities. At best, they're a lot of work, high stress, and exhausting.
It can be emotionally difficult. You're dealing with people in crisis, people who are dying, families of people who are dying, people with mental illnesses or addiction problem, etc. You're forced into a greater awareness of mortality and the things that can happen to people. You'll touch on a lot of difficult issues - chances are you'll have your buttons pushed somehow or other. You have to hurt people. People are (ideally) drawn towards nursing because they're caring, and doing things like giving injections to newborns or painful dressing changes can be hard to do, even if they are necessary and required.
There's a lot of responsibility. Even as a student, you have the potential to seriously injure or kill someone. That can weigh very heavily.
When you're frequently physically, emotionally, and financially drained all the time, relationships suffer. Kinda like when you have a new baby. Strong relationships can survive it - we've had several marriages in my class during school and (as far as I'm aware) no divorces.
All that said... I like nursing school overall. There are parts that have been truly horrible, but overall I enjoy it. The academics are interesting (most of the time!), I enjoy being in the hospital, and I like most of my instructors, fellow students, and the nurses on the floor. I am still married to my husband, and am still the primary force in homeschooling our kids, who continue to make academic progress despite me not being as present as I would like. It's definitely doable (and obviously all the nurses in the hospital managed it!), but don't convince yourself it isn't going to be hard because you did well in prereqs!
So, I just started nursing school this January, and I had these exact thoughts before I started.
I'm not going to lie, I'm an excellent student. I graduated magna cum laude with a B.S. in health from a top tier university in December (long story, but now I'm doing nursing school). My university is notorious for how well respected it is, and how difficult the curriculum is. I will tell you right now, that I was thinking that nursing school couldn't possibly be as hard as people were saying on these boards. I was convincing myself that these were people who came from high school or had gotten G.E.D.s and had a couple of community college classes under their belt (not to sound condescending, that's just honestly how I felt...).
After being in school, I'm going to tell you that these last 4 weeks have been the most challenging and educationally dense weeks of my entire intellectual curriculum. The material is not only massive, but it is very detailed and kinds of information you are required to know are difficult! I'm currently taking pathophysiology, pharmacology, dosage and calculations, foundations of nursing, and nursing assessment. We have two clinicals a week (as of now, they're just labs, we get patients in March).
What has really been trying for me is the fact I have at least two tests A WEEK. My classes each have about 6 tests not including the final and I'm soooo not used to that. For my undergrad, we would have like one midterm and one final, and then probably a project or paper or something. In nursing school, the fact we are tested so often makes it impossible to fall behind and get a good grade. So whereas I could cram for my midterms for my last B.S., in nursing school I have to make sure I get my reading done for that week, because I have to finish a homework set before I have to study for that test. If you fall behind, you fail. Half of my class failed our first test. HALF!! And that was only because they added 8 points to everyone's grade...
So, all in all, it is way more than you've ever had to do, I can say that for certain. BUT that doesn't mean you can't handle it! It takes adjustments, a new way of thinking, and some mad prioritizing, but it is doable. But don't underestimate it. I did, and now I'm paying the price by being behind. Stay on top of things and you'll be fine.
everything you hear is true, only thing is you cannot fully understand it until you experience it. it is so hard but so fun! the amount of info you are expected to learn is insane. what makes it hard there is not enough time to do everything expected of you: skills that need to be learned in exact order, medications that need to be memorized, thousands of pages that need to be read (never fully accomplish this one), lecture notes that need to be reviewed and memorized, papers to be written(in a very strict format), dosage caculations that need to be perfected, group teaching projects, preparation for clinical time, clinical time (easiest part!), patient care plans, discharge paper work, study groups, and some serious critical thinking! add to that sleep, eating, and any family time and your about -40 hours a week...yay for nursing school!!! can you tell i'm a little overwhelmed right now
I've never been so tired in my life. And I've done the 4 year degree thing already, I've done the working full time while finishing that degree, but this nothing I've ever experienced before. And I'm in an ASN program.
I work 16 hours, only on the weekend. Sometimes I wish I didn't work because I am tired and seem to have mini-breakdowns on Saturday nights when I get home wondering how I'm going to do it, but I don't think I would trade in work right now. It's nice to have that change of pace. I find the busier I am, the less time I have to procrastinate.
I see my best friend once every week or two, which I think is pretty good. I live with my significant other, and I know the only reason we are making it is because our relationship is very strong and we do live together.
It's overwhelming, but it's totally worth it. I feel a sense of accomplishment every week. Time management is key, and I have never been so organized in my life!
I haven't met anyone who isn't overwhelmed. But everyone is so excited about what we are accomplishing.
Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.
Yes, it is as hard as they say. No, it doesn't suck (at least not the majority of the time).
It is completely life consuming. The study requirements and time requirements are overwhelming. And if your family and friends aren't on board that EVERYTHING will be different, from meals to housework to partying to socializing to sex, your relationships WILL struggle as you try to cope with their demands and expectations within the rigors of school.
You have to re-learn how to study in nursing school. What has gotten most people As prior to nursing school no longer works. You are having to retain information on the application level, not just the information level, not just until the next exam, but FOR. EV. ER.
Honestly, it just consumes your life completely - and it is a wonderful feeling to me as I worked hard to get here and it has been my dream. But my whole family has been working to get me here too. Those without a support network are going to have a very hard time. Those who have to work are going to have even more of a challenge. Those with small kids are going to have a greater challenge. The time schedule is unpredictable and, at least in my school, the program emphasizes that it is your first priority. Missing class or clinical is unacceptable and will quickly get you kicked out. Those who get pregnant during nursing school will have a greater challenge. Basically anything that can take your focus off your studies is going to stress you out. Thus the term "hard". The material itself frankly isn't that hard. The volume of it makes it so. And re-learning how to study makes it so.
Specializes in Professional Development Specialist.
I agree just about everything posted, esp that your family/sig other must be on the same page because it is HARD on everyone. My program was notoriously tough. When I was one of 7 of the 25 passing mid fourth semester I went and talked to my instructor. When she found out I was studying 20-30 hours a week she said that wasn't nearly enough by half. Yikes! Plus 24 hours of clinicals and 8 hours of class time a week. For clinicals there was also 2-3 hours of prep and sometimes more, depending on the clinical site. The reading was a good couple hundred pages a week. But you couldn't just read it and remember it, you had to fully understand it on the application level, and be able to relate it to everything else you've learned and know how that piece of information may interact with everything you've already learned. It's an entirely new way of studying, thinking and learning.
Like others have said, it's lots of things that make nursing school difficult.
For me, one of the worst is the amount of reading. Reading is the most difficult thing because you just want to get through it, but you need to take time with it to really get the material.
Time management is another huge issue. Just trying to stay on track for classes, giving yourself enough time to go over the material and study for tests.
This one is different for everyone, depending on your program. I'm in a "traditional" undergraduate liberal arts college (with one of the oldest and best nursing programs in my area), where most of my peers are 18-22. That being said, there are a ton of liberal arts general college requirements that we must finish. Not just math, writing and psychology. Sociology, communication, computer tech, fine arts, ethics/religion, history, and about 6 electives, in addition to the nursing pre-reqs, co-reqs and major courses. It's not the hardest part about nursing school, but it does stink when you're taking 5 classes a semester, and you really need to study for a fundamentals test, but you have a project for communications that's due as well. I guess it falls under time management as well, but it's frustrating having to take "extra" classes that 1) I'm not all that interested in, and 2) take away time from my more difficult nursing classes.
Also, your friends and family don't "get it" - the amount of time you need to put into school. My mom understands, but my friends are always asking why I can't go out, and it does suck to have to turn down fun things on Friday and Saturday nights to stay in and study. But it will be worth it when you get good grades on tests, and pass all your classes and graduate!
I guess the final thing would be pressure. Pressure from the department with passing standards (skills labs, exams, med math exams, etc) and being terrified to fail a course. Pressure from scholarships to keep a certain GPA so you can afford to stay in school.
With all that said, yes nursing school is stressful and can suck at times, but you need to just breathe deep, get yourself organized before you begin, and work as hard as you can.
Hello nursing students!! I have a question for you...
I am currently working on my pre-reqs, and the sooner I get to applying, I am hearing more and more how "hard" nursing school is...how it "sucks"...and how it is "really hard on relationships"......
My advisor has even said you have no life while going to NS.
Please, please tell me what is it EXACTLY that makes them say this. Is it the work/study load? Is it clinical time? Is it that "hard"? what exactly? how is it different from what I am doing now with my classes?
I really appreciate what you have to say. At least I will know the whys of what I am hearing!
(I've also heard of how bad chemistry is, and I'm loving that...so it's all relative, isn't it??)
regardless, I still cannot wait!!!!!!!!
ay
It is really the individual person what seems hard to someone else may not seem hard to you. I am in nursing school and have mde it to my 2 semester you have to stay focused and keep up with your studying because you have a test every week in your classess If you need help you need to help as soon as possible You will be fine
Specializes in SNU/SNF/MedSurg, SPCU Ortho/Neuro/Spine.
if you don't have to work full time, than... it is not too time consuming, when you do have to work full time while going to school, prepare to become a zombie
It's hard because of the volume of information you have to learn. The toss an avalanche of it at you. The actual information itself isn't rocket science but there's just SO MUCH of it to read, study, and understand for the exams. On top of that you're learning new skills, learning how to deal with patients, learning your way around the hospital, and how to utilize theraputic communication. Basically you have to pick up very quickly on new ways to do everything. Don't let people discourage you because they say it's too hard or you have no life, it's not too hard as long as you keep up with all the readings, study, and practice in the skills lab. Yes it takes up a lot of your time but it's well worth it.
Before nursing school, I got straight As in all my prereqs without having to do much more than review the material 30 minutes or so before the test (almost never read the textbooks unless it was a subject I found interesting). Now I review the material for at least an hour or so every single day, and that doesn't include the reading material (60-250 pages per week) and am happy to get Bs. The sheer amount of material is what I found almost overwhelming.
Although I enjoy clinicals and look forward to them, the 6 hours of prep work the night before is just enough to get me feeling comfortable about taking care of my patient and giving them meds.
I used to work full-time, but have taken a part-time job so I can increase my study time and bring back my As that I was used to. One thing to remember is that when I complain that I used to be a straight-A student, about 90% of the class can sympathize with me - they too used to be straight-A students.
In our program we have one 10-11 credit class a semester, with 3 exams plus a final. On our first exam of the second semester, we were tested on Anticoagulants, Electrolytes, Parenteral Nutrition, Enteral Nutrition, Psychosocial Needs, Gastric Tubes, Alternative Medicine, Diabetes, Team Building, IV Math, Nursing Informatics and Neurological, Musculoskeletal & Gastrointestinal Assessments. That is a lot of material to review!
Specializes in Triage, MedSurg, MomBaby, Peds, HH.
My prereq's did not impact my personal life in the least. Nursing School, however, has proven to be a different ball of wax.
Everyone will find their road/experience different. Don't get caught up in fears and trepidation about nursing school, this will only undermine your efforts. Simply prepare yourself to make whatever adjustments or sacrifices necessary in order to be successful. Whatever sacrifices you make, assure yourself that they will be well worth it in the long haul.
benegesserit
569 Posts
It's many things.
Nursing school requires many different skills in different areas (academics, critical thinking, physical coordination, interpersonal skills, time management...), and most people are going to really struggle with at least one aspect of it. Someone who breezes through the tests may have a harder time with the physical mechanics of clinical skills, for example.
The testing style is different from most academic classes. You need to not only know the material, but be able to interpret the information and correctly apply it. For example - "You see symptom x, y, and z. Which of these would be the best response?" with one of the answers being the "best" response, two being appropriate responses but not the highest priority, and one response being appropriate if you misinterpreted the symptoms. Many people find their study times increase over what they did during prerequisites, or that they need to change their study methods entirely.
I don't think anyone got an A in our class third semester - and my school is one of the most selective schools in the area, so we all did very well in the prereq classes.
The workload is tough. In my school, it's common for students to finish clinical prep at 3pm, be up till midnight or later doing care plans... and then be up again at 4 or 5am for clinicals. This is pretty much unavoidable - the sheer quantity of information requested and look everything up is just time consuming, regardless of how smart you are (This improves over time, but it can be killer at the start). During first semester. I was convinced that this was intentional sleep deprivation as a brainwashing technique. I'm not entirely sure whether this was accurate, sleep deprivation induced paranoia, or both.
Clinicals themselves can be nightmares, depending on your clinical instructor and your own capabilities. At best, they're a lot of work, high stress, and exhausting.
It can be emotionally difficult. You're dealing with people in crisis, people who are dying, families of people who are dying, people with mental illnesses or addiction problem, etc. You're forced into a greater awareness of mortality and the things that can happen to people. You'll touch on a lot of difficult issues - chances are you'll have your buttons pushed somehow or other. You have to hurt people. People are (ideally) drawn towards nursing because they're caring, and doing things like giving injections to newborns or painful dressing changes can be hard to do, even if they are necessary and required.
There's a lot of responsibility. Even as a student, you have the potential to seriously injure or kill someone. That can weigh very heavily.
When you're frequently physically, emotionally, and financially drained all the time, relationships suffer. Kinda like when you have a new baby. Strong relationships can survive it - we've had several marriages in my class during school and (as far as I'm aware) no divorces.
All that said... I like nursing school overall. There are parts that have been truly horrible, but overall I enjoy it. The academics are interesting (most of the time!), I enjoy being in the hospital, and I like most of my instructors, fellow students, and the nurses on the floor. I am still married to my husband, and am still the primary force in homeschooling our kids, who continue to make academic progress despite me not being as present as I would like. It's definitely doable (and obviously all the nurses in the hospital managed it!), but don't convince yourself it isn't going to be hard because you did well in prereqs!