What the heck do these people think?

Nursing Students General Students

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Is it just me, or has anyone else encountered people (non-nursing students) that make comments like :angryfire"Oh, ns can't be that hard" or "Why do you have to study so much" or "She doesn't need anything for test anxiety". Unless you are in ns, or been through it, these folks honestly don't have a clue. One of my fellow students has really bad text anxiety. On the scantron she marked 14 answers "off a row" and missed them all and actually had them correct. Her spouse told her to just shake it off that there isn't anything wrong, she just needs to re-adjust her test taking skills - that doing poorly on one test isn't a big deal. Well, one poor grade in ns can be difficult to pull up. I know I am rambling on, but I sure wish there was a way for people to see the sacrifices we as students make in order to make it through ns. It just burns me up! What do y'all think?

Specializes in Telemetry & Obs.

Honestly, I didn't find NS all that hard. I paid attention during lecture, took good notes, studied a bit each day...and did well. I never spent HOURS on care plans. I had so much "spare" time that I was asked to put organize appreciation lunches, special projects, etc. :) I also was involved in the Assoc of Nursing Students and fundraisers.

Oh, and I'm married and have children. I also worked part time doing accounting and bookkeeping for my hubby's business.

I agree with the poster that mentioned self-fulfilling prophecy.

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I also have two kids under 4 years old and am married and run the house in addition to NS, however i dont spend hours studying. I do however record lectures to listen to and listen to each weeks lectures every day twice a day till the next lecture and then review all the relevant ones befor a test. as far as care plans, once you learn how to write them it shouldnt take hours. if it does you might want to ask for help in that area.

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Just Curious what school did you go to that did not require that much studying? How many chapters per test? It is just hard to believe that you don't have to study very much. What kind of grades do you get? I have to work very hard to get my A's. Our chapters avg 10-12 per week. We have tests every week.

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;)If you are asking me, I didnt say I dont study at all but i also dont spend hours each nite pouring over my text books. third semester we had 4 tests and a final in addition to med/surg clinials and 6 test outs in lab. I get a's and B's. Im not trying to say its easy but everyone learns differantly. i suppose listening to the lectures several times is equivilant to others reading. I am more of an auditory and visual learner. I also can usually retain something after only hearing it once. I think its each persons perspective as far as how hard or easy things are. if you convince yourself its hard it will be. I have decided that no matter what I would make it thru. just like levels of pain. its the individuals own perception. I just decided that even if my class mate thinks rolling the huge boulder up that hill is super hard, im going to think pushing that same boulder is do-able and not as hard.

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Specializes in LTC.

I know how the OP feels. It irks the heck outta me when My cousin said nursing school is just like any other class ! I said NO IT ISN'T. I don't care what other people say. Nurses have peoples lives in their hands ! You can't learn everything from a book ! It takes critical thinking, judgement, practice, compassionate, caring and so much more ! I'm not down playing any other course, however I just don't think nursing classes should or could be compared to any other classes. It really is a matter of life and death sometimes. I have heard of nursing students being suicidal due to the stress that comes along with school.

With that said " I love nursing school" I really do. I think all the blood,sweat, tandrums, and everything else is worth it. Yes, it can be stressful but its doable.

I love my BF, because when ever I yell " You just don't understand" He calmly says you're right I don't understand, but I'm here to support you all the way. When my mom was in NS, she would often get offended when I tried to understand, Only nurses and nursing students can really understand what its like to be a nursing student :)

Further more, each person is different. I'm a great test taker and seem to grasp many of the nursing theories. When there are other people who can't make if pass their first nursing class. I work full time and pass, others don't work at all or have kids and fail. Nursing school comes easy for some and hard for others. We may never understand the success of some students and the failures of others,because we are all different and learn differently as well.

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What ive noticed with nursing compared to my roommates is the amount of paperwork, and seemingly mindless repetition of care plans, concept maps, assessments, and flow sheets. After med surg and AP i dont feel that the work is difficult at all, just time consuming.

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I can tell you that not all degrees are equal---even within the sciences. While my prior degree earned 12 years ago (Bachelor of Science) did require a lot of work....I got by with little to no reading, being able to skip class here and there, etc. I am not even IN nursing school yet and I already know that is not a reality (not that I would do that...I'm not 18 anymore--I've matured as a person and a student).

I'm taking 4 classes this year before applying for Spring 2010 admission--I'm at a community college. But so far, even this is way different---and I previously went to a very large state university. It is much more demanding already and I know it will only get more demanding, as I have a few friends who are RNs, CRNAs, and MDs. It IS a lot of work and dedication.

I do think you can totally hurt yourself by lots of negative talk about how hard it is, etc. For those who aren't supportive like the OP is talking about---I would say just ignore the comments as much as possible. Really. Or if you are feeling a bit *feisty* you could always say "Oh, I didn't know that you'd gone to nursing school!" When they say they haven't, just look at them and say "OH--so you really don't KNOW. Okay..."

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Specializes in acute care.

I'm not ready yet to say that Nursing School is hard. Easy? No. Stressful at times with the amount of work? Sure. Hard? Not yet. Calculus, to me, was hard. Physics, to me, was hard. Heck! Statistics, to me, was hard. I've had NS classes that I've had to work harder for and NS classes that I barely had to break a sweat for. But I just don't find nursing school hard enough to the point where I can say yes, NS is hard. At least not yet.

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Some of these folks making these comments don't have a clue. There no extra credit in NS. Every little points on exams count. Doing poorly on an exam IS a big deal, since that can determine whether a student can continue in the program or not. And since it's so difficult to get in to nursing schools these days, folks really don't have time to play around and risk having to loose their spot. I'm not surprised though...Unless someone has experienced NS for themself, they will never get it.

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Specializes in Pediatrics.
I don't look at NS as being any different than going to college for any other degree. I've compared experiences with my siblings, cousins, & friends. They had the same issues with study time, test anxiety, tons of paperwork, etc.

Whatever degree a person is going for, I'm sure they feel like they are making huge sacrifices as well. And, believe me, no matter what program you're in school for, if you bomb a test, it's a big deal to you.

If someone asks me about NS, I tell them how I feel about it. I've had way more free time than I was told I'd have. My paperwork hasn't been near as overwelming as I was lead to believe. Overall, it's been a pretty pleasant experience. Going back to work is when the stress will begin!

When people say, "I'm interested in nursing, but I've heard NS is so hard", I always tell them not to put too much stock into the horror stories they've heard.

No one should try to scare someone away from their dream based on their own difficult experience.

If I'd listened to the doom & gloom predictions about NS, I'd have never got this far.

Remember, you don't have to convince someone else how hard you worked or what you went through. The only opinion that matters is yours. If you're proud of your accomplishments, you're on the right track!

Wow, I wish I went to your school! "Pleasant" is not at all how I would describe my experience so far and I think school was a heck of a lot easier when I was taking classes toward a psych degree than it is now. And free time is a thing of the past for me, I think. Good for you, though. I am glad to see you have such a positive attitude and you're not as jaded as some of the rest of us, lol! I hope the rest of your nursing school experience continues to be as good as it has been so far!

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Specializes in Pediatrics.

I'm not exactly dumb. I used to be the president of my college's honor society and I had almost straight A's, with the exception of one semester before I started ns. I am married and I have a daughter, and when I started ns I was working 40hrs a week. I have been fortunate enough to be able to quit my job and go to school full-time, but I still feel like I have no time. I don't really encounter others who tell me ns isn't hard, etc. I know for a fact that at least at my school it is difficult. We don't really get "lectures" that we can tape. There is some discussions, etc, but nothing that I would find that valuable to record and listen to over and over. For us, it's pretty much an insurmountable amount of reading and mostly self-learning. So in addition to class time, I'm constantly at school or at the library studying. I need to spend at least 3-5 extra hours on most days either studying or practicing to even feel like I'm keeping up in class.

For those of you that are having an easier time with this, I'm truly very happy for you and I wish you the best. But I definitely identify with those of you who are struggling through this program. And IMHO, it does seem drastically different than many other degrees. A lot of medical programs are probably similar in the demands they put on people.

Keep up the good work, everyone. Don't let others get you down. Nobody can understand what you're going through unless they walk in your shoes. I'll be honest, what annoys me more than the people who act like ns isn't difficult are the people who ask me why I'm not going to PA or medical school, because I'm "smart enough to be a doctor!" :angryfireYes, and I'm also smart enough to know the difference between nursing and being a physician and I know I just want to be a NURSE!! What's wrong with that?? You do have to be intelligent to be a nurse as well, as you have people's lives in your hands daily, just as much as physicians do!!

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Im not in nursing school yet and havent even done my PREREQS! but i know what i am going to do and i agree with the original poster there are some who think that it is soooooo easy well let me tell you to those in nursing school and graduates. I look up to you so much you have worked so hArd to be at where you are now and you have to deal with people disrespecting you everyday. my mom was in nursing school when i was really young so i know that it is very hard but also very rewarding. Im starting my prereqs this AUGUST in memphis tennessee. Any nurses in tennessee or nurses AIDES know of any good nursing aid programs out there?

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