What to expect

Expect to be far busier than you ever anticipated with homework and care plans. That little calendar thing they give you showing the hours you are in classes doesn't take into account time in clinicals, time picking up your patient info for clinicals, time preparing for clinicals, group work, study groups, mandatory volunteer work and all the other study and homework requirements.

Expect to need plan A, B, C and D in place for childcare and sick childcare if you have children. Clinical hours required to sit for licensure are dictated by the Board of Nursing. There is little to no wiggle room for missing clinicals, even for illness in yourself or your children.

you WILL need full time day care if you have kids in that age bracket. See the first point of this post.

Expect to never ever EVER take your kids to class, to clinicals or to your clinical site with you as you pick up patient information.

Expect whatever eating habits and exercise habits you have now to be a help or a hindrance, depending on which end of that pendulum you swing.

Expect more drama and politics during school than you anticipate. I would advise being friendly and approachable but keep your head down and get your own work done. Whatever it is, stay out of it and don't gossip.

Expect to have days of absolutely elated excitement over what you are learning and the potential it has for your career and your sense of self worth.

Expect to have days of crushing defeat and self doubt, fear, uncertainty, emotional and physical fatigue and loneliness. Nursing is hard. Being a nursing student is hard.

Expect to grow in a sense of belonging to one of the greatest careers in the world. Nurses are nurses everywhere you go. You will and should be proud of who you are and what you do.

Expect to get great use out of an Instant Pot, a slow cooker and take out menus.

Good luck and congratulations!

Peoples' nursing school experiences will vary depending on their degree of intellectual horsepower, coping mechanisms, and lifestyles outside of school.

Academically inclined students will probably not struggle as much as their classmates who lack intellectual horsepower.

Anxious students who are prone to worrying will probably waste time on overthinking and rumination, while their more relaxed classmates will likely utilize more adaptive coping skills.

Students who are parents and/or employed full-time will probably have more time constraints than their childless counterparts who do not work.