What makes nursing school so hard for people ?

[EmBeMap]

Please don't FLAME me, I have recently finished my academics and just finished pharmacology at North Harris with an 86.6 for the semester. I did all this while working full-time as an ER tech. But as the title says.. what makes nursing school so hard for people. I was told to dread pharmacology, and to be honest it was enjoyable and not even all that difficult (could easily have pulled an A had I studied more). I'm just nervous about what makes NS that much harder than working in the ER. I mean we have to chart, draw labs, blood sugars, assess pts (in so much as check for comfort, sores, put on monitor, decide on O2 based on sats etc) we do wound dressings, assist docs and NP's with procedures, do splints, we take directions from RN's but as we see repeats often we know what to do before they ask. I notice the NS students get tons of paper work on labs and such from us.. but as techs we print these out as well to pass to RN's and docs. Seems like the only thing we don't do is any type of meds. So what am I missing ... what will we do in NS that is SO HARD ? I type 56WPM so papers aren't an issue, I read extremely fast with good comprehension and have dealt with all kinds of wierd and gross pt's. What else is next ? I'm excited but also worried..

[*Blessed2BaNRS*]

Wow, dltrahan, if it is so easy for you, why aren't you in medical school? :chuckle Just kidding, please don't get mad!!!

Seriously, a lot of people find it hard, simply because they are coming into NS at a later age, after being out of school for many years (like myself, who was out 20 years before starting NS.) It may seem easier to you because you have been working in the ER, so you are accustomed to what is going on and what nurses do. On the other hand, if a person goes through nursing school with never stepping into a hospital/clinic except as a patient, then they don't know what to expect and may find it way more difficult.

I work as an extern at my local hospital, so I am way more comfortable with nurses and have learned so much just being there, so I have a heads up on some of my classmates, who are terrified to take on patients at clinicals.

As far as NS being so hard, it all depends on how you learn and how much you can remember. Some programs are way more harder than others, and some have way better instructors than other programs. I have classmates who never crack a book and make A's while others study all the time and barely make passing grades. It all depends on the individual person and their situation.

I work full time, go to class, have a husband also in school while taking care of 4 kids. It IS difficult for me, simply because I don't have as much time to devote to studying and learning everything. There is a ton to learn and you will never learn as much as you need to before graduating and being thrust out into the nursing world.

As for pharm, it was difficult for my whole class to learn, because they put it online and we didn't have an instructor willing to work with us like we needed, and the way that she presented the material made it very hard to learn.

Once you get done with NS, you will be passing meds and having to watch patients responses to the meds, plus deal with family and doctors plus a whole lot of other things, including charting while making sure that you don't get sued. All combined, it does get very difficult.

Again, it all depends on the person and the situation.

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

dltrahan,

From your post, it sounds as though you're a "happy learner" (intelligence + ability & motivation to learn). That's wonderful - as an educator, I believe that you will thoroughly enjoy nursing school. Hopefully, you will go on to grad school.

Your question reflects a lack of understanding of what nursing is all about -- but that is to be expected if you haven't actually delved into it before now. Lesson One: Medicine and Nursing are 2 separate disciplines. We have a pretty good idea of what they (docs) do, but they usually don't have a clue about us. The "stuff" you have been doing/enjoying in your present role is primarily task oriented - things that can be delegated to unlicensed persons.

Nursing practice does include a certain amount of tasks, but that is not the central focus. Our scope of practice is all about managing human response to disease & illness. In order to do this competently, we have to understand not only the biophysical disease/illness trajectory, but also the psychosocial nuances that accompany changes in health status.

You will find that Nursing school is chockablock with 'concepts', theories and complex information (Kreb's Cycle anyone???). While you are in the midst of it, it may seem like arcane and sometimes like pointless information but . . . . it forms the basis of what nursing practice is all about.

RNs are accountable for patient assessment and intervention based on a deep understanding of all of the above factors as well as current technology and medical care protocols. PLUS: We are bound by licensure to uphold very specific clinical, ethical & professional standards. As you move forward in your education, you'll begin to distinguish aspects of nursing practice that may not be apparent now.

Welcome to the Tribe!!!!

[msleely]

As a recent grad(May 2007) I wanted to put in my 2 cents. I think that for some nursing school is hard because most of us have to continue to live regular lives(working, families) while in nursing school and it is so demanding. It is very time consuming. Even when you're not in class or in clinicals you still have tons of work to do. And the typing thing is good but for some of our papers we had to use at least 7-10 sources (credible sources) and there was a set of rules which made a source credible. You had to research journals, and organizations. (Just wait for the fun stuff).

For some people some classes are easier. I dreaded pharmacology but had an enthusiast instructor and I performed very well but I had to study my butt off. And with nursing school some things are not the real nursing world...it's the real NCLEX world. I believe you will do great, but don't overload yourself. It can be a very rewarding and stressful process, and also you may be a good study buddy for someone so share the wealth of knowledge.

[geekgolightly, BSN, RN]

It's so snotty to say all of this, really. I am not mentioning sour grapes, as I am like you and didn't see the big fuss over nursing school, but I was also happy with a 3.5 rather than a 4.0, so take that as you will. Those who readily absorb this type of information find it "easy." And really, you should be more gracious of your abilities, and more thoughtful of others. When others complained in nursing school of how hard it was, I would sympathize, and always be on the ready to help them study. I never asked what the fuss was. It's extremely difficult for me to learn math, so I know what it is like to struggle; I just found nursing school to be easy. Thank goodness!

[AdrianLU]

I find understanding the material "easy" due to my background in the sciences and social sciences. I understand the nursing process and health assessment. I have mid to high B's in every course and probably would do better if I really studied harder. I think the thing that makes it diffucult is so much to do in so little time. I type extremely fast so its not the typing of papers that makes them difficult but its the amount of research and prioritizing that makes it difficult to do in one night.

Your pretty much learning a majority of the info physicians learn + practical skills in a year and a half. You have to know the info and put it into practice. Also critical thinking is hard for some people, you have to get into the mode of "thinking like a nurse" b/c if you think any other way your answer is wrong!

And on top of that you have to do all that is required for NS school and try to maintain some sanity and find some time to get some sleep, do laundry, grocery shop, work, and maintain personal relationships.

[tea_leaf]

it sounds like you have a good healthcare background and you're a really really good student. 2 advantages that your classmates may wish that they have.

[NeoNurseTX, RN]

It's hard because it eats a ton of your time, there is a ton of paperwork for clinicals (so you don't really get to see what 'real'nursing is like), and there is way more information crammed into a few short semesters than is possible to learn without getting stressed. Pharm by itself is easy. AP is easy. When you put a senior level bio class with pharm..and with some sort of theory class, and a clinical class.. all reading is done OUTSIDE the classroom in very large amounts.. it gets to be a lot..

[NeoNurseTX, RN]

you said you assess patients as a tech? that's not legal..RNs can NOT delegate assessment.

[ifyouwereme]

Maybe you are a natural? I say, don't fight it, and if NS is not demanding enough for you, continue on. Reach for the top...or maybe consider teaching. Perhaps you hold some secrets that we'd like to know cus NS was the hardest thing I ever did, but I had some special circumstances going on in my life at the time which actually might have affected it.

[sbyramRN]

you said you assess patients as a tech? that's not legal..RNs can NOT delegate assessment.

I was thinking the exact same thing. Techs might observe but they are NOT ASSESSING... Only an RN can assess.