What makes Nursing school hard?

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I've always heard Nursing students complaining and losing sleep.What makes it so difficult? Is it the work load? Clinicals? I have a 7 month old and will be returning to school when she's 1 and a half yrs old.I graduated with my Associates degree in Liberal Arts last year so I have most of the liberal arts courses completed.I plan on apply to a ADN program.I took a look at the outlined courses at the school im interested in and it seems like I will only need to take a Nursing course and maybe one Liberal Arts course every semester.Will that make things easier for me? Plus I can chose to go just once a week for the whole day.I will not be working.What do you think?

Specializes in psychiatric, UR analyst, fraud, DME,MedB.
Yikes! I am taking Nursing I, A&P II and Developmental Psych. Goodbye life.

:coollook: Good luck !! Where there is a will there is a way !!

Specializes in psychiatric, UR analyst, fraud, DME,MedB.
ASN programs ARE hard, because they basically cram in 4 year's worth of learning into 3. I started nursing school later in life ( I was 38...oldest in my class ). I had 4 sons, youngest 5, oldest 12. I had already gone to an AA program and graduated with a 4.0 (going nights). I graduated from nursing with a 3.45 GPA, which took everything I had to do it. My most important piece of advice to you is to take all of your difficult mandatory pre-requisite courses before you begin the Nursing Process program ( i.e., Human Anatomy & Physiology, Organic Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, Math for Nursing, Human Growth & Development, Microbiology, etc). Then, you will have only the Nursing Process and the Clinicals you will be going to, to deal with (which are hard enough on their own). My second piece of advice is to immediately start a Study Group made up of 5-6 other students. Most Nursing Process courses are based on Modules, which you have to read, which are followed by many questions, which you will be required to write out the answers to....there are MANY of them. Our Study Group met after class, split up the Modules so everyone did one or two, and then made copies of what we did for the rest of the group. That way, we all had all Modules completed quickly, with less effort and stress, and had more time to study for the exams (which were based on what we learned in the Modules). Beware! Choose your Study Group partners carefully! They should all be intelligent, dedicated nursing students.

And, lastly, if it weren't for my dear husband (who passed away 5 years ago) I could have never made it. Many a night he made supper for the boys, bathed them, helped with homework, etc....while I was holed up in the bedroom studying. His mantra for 3 years was: "Please don't bother Mommy; she needs to study". If I had not had that support, I couldn't have made it through. I hope your partner, spouse, boyfriend...whatever...is 100% behind you in your endeavor, because he will need to be patient, understanding, and giving: men are needy little souls, and they will not be getting the attention they are used to, and love to have, while you are in nursing school.

But, the rewards are worth it: not only will you have a well-paying, portable profession, but you have so many options in nursing that other professions don't have, and the good salary can only help you and your family realize your goals in life.

Good Luck,

Monika Reed, RN, CCM

:redbeathe

so, so true ! Thank you Monica. Do not kid yourself. It is going to be hard work and a lot of sacrifice. I took my pre reqs one semester at a time, and my husband at that time thought that it is one of my passion that "I can never finished". Well , I made up my mind as to what I need to do and not be under his control. Very controlling and tied a couple of ugly stuff to stop me from finishing......well, we gott separated (and just as good )becaseu now I am going for the actual nursing class ( 55 were selected out of 300 applicants) this is the community college. so my taking the sciences and the labs paid off. this is the clinical and rotation stuff and my ex not being there helped me focus. I am so glad I did it , because I can support myself and not dependent on anyone, specially your ex husband ,for alimony. This is what makes it worth it. This is your ark and freedom from controling figures in your life, no money or late alimony , etc. so , I bless you all for the desire and to put the effort out for your nursing career ------ it is worth it! so many places to work , you do not have to be stuck in a hospital work .:nurse:

I think what makes nursing school so hard, for me, is that I am a huge procrastinator.

I think one other thing that makes it hard is that we only get about 4 grades for the whole semester, and those are tests. We do get a "clinical" grade but it's pass or fail. Our final grade has to be at least an 80. Anything below 80 is failing.

Specializes in psychiatric, UR analyst, fraud, DME,MedB.
I think what makes nursing school so hard, for me, is that I am a huge procrastinator.

I think one other thing that makes it hard is that we only get about 4 grades for the whole semester, and those are tests. We do get a "clinical" grade but it's pass or fail. Our final grade has to be at least an 80. Anything below 80 is failing.

me too , a big procrastinator !!! Butsomehow I made it.....with God's help I am sure, otherwise .............. and what propelled me was to get my financial independence----- this is one of the greates freedom you can give yourself !!!!!!

Specializes in OB/Gyn, L&D, NICU.

I am extremely intelligent, but have difficulty processing information at first. When I took U.S. History from 1776 to present, my only class (plus 2 kids as a single parent and 4 hours of commuting to & from school), I had to study all day!! Granted, it was a difficult course and 1/2 the class failed (100 students), but I got an A. I had to get tutoring to pass college Algebra. I do great on exams and SATs, getting perfect scores, but cannot process information auditorily and cannot understand the way info is presented in textbooks. I always have to do my own research, and then I get it, but it takes much much longer. I wonder if I can do this. I do have a lot of drive, but I also have a lot on my plate and no support from family or friends as a single mom. I want my kids to eat (they often will not eat if I am not home), shower (need reminding), get good grades (they do not study unless I make them!), and go to bed on time, not play with matches, give each other concussions, or super glue their eyes shut (my son), and I am afraid they will go downhill if I am not here to help them. They are very independent and do a lot of chores, but they need to be constantly reminded to take care of these things. They are 11 & 13 and I think that is pretty normal. They are good kids and far more responsible than any of their friends, but I just don't know how they are going to fare.

Specializes in psychiatric, UR analyst, fraud, DME,MedB.
I am extremely intelligent, but have difficulty processing information at first. When I took U.S. History from 1776 to present, my only class (plus 2 kids as a single parent and 4 hours of commuting to & from school), I had to study all day!! Granted, it was a difficult course and 1/2 the class failed (100 students), but I got an A. I had to get tutoring to pass college Algebra. I do great on exams and SATs, getting perfect scores, but cannot process information auditorily and cannot understand the way info is presented in textbooks. I always have to do my own research, and then I get it, but it takes much much longer. I wonder if I can do this. I do have a lot of drive, but I also have a lot on my plate and no support from family or friends as a single mom. I want my kids to eat (they often will not eat if I am not home), shower (need reminding), get good grades (they do not study unless I make them!), and go to bed on time, not play with matches, give each other concussions, or super glue their eyes shut (my son), and I am afraid they will go downhill if I am not here to help them. They are very independent and do a lot of chores, but they need to be constantly reminded to take care of these things. They are 11 & 13 and I think that is pretty normal. They are good kids and far more responsible than any of their friends, but I just don't know how they are going to fare.

Your plate is real full lady ! :heartbeat and I bow to you for doing the nursing school , inspite of ....it does pay off , I guarantee you. there are so many areas to work as a nurse and not just the hospital . ( I did not like it becaseu that was the time of extreme understaffing , and I do not want to risk my license to a hospital understaffing......I worked for my nursing license hard enought to value it this much! sorry , got carried away tere. How about approaching your kids and establish some sort of a "team " -- they do their share of assigned work , and how important it is to help you , a team member ... I do not know , but I think if you can find something to make them feel responsible and able , they just might, and you will be teaching them the semantics of what a team is all about? Let them be aware fo what you have to go throu so they can understand as to why mom may have "abandoned" them for a pile of nursing books? I wish you the best girl ! I know you can ! :wink2:

Specializes in OB/Gyn, L&D, NICU.

Thanks, Maritesa. I am in the process of teaching my kids how to cook, prepare meals, do more chores and do them without being told, and take more initiative. I will be doing prereqs for the next year, so hopefully things will have kicked in by then. I have had the "team" talk with them, but I think they are overwhelmed with things right now. We had to switch schools last year (due to my teaching there it was a requirement()after being in their school system all their lives. It was a strict academy 3 hours of homework every night and on weekends, and I worked until midnight (from home after 7 pm) every night and all day Sat & Sun. Their dad lives out of state. Hopefully it will get better over the next year and things will go smoothly. We are back at our old schools and my son will have to learn to walk to school & dtr will be eligible for the bus next year when she is in jr high. She will have to quit cheerleading since that is 20 hours a week for me. slowly but surely.

Specializes in psychiatric, UR analyst, fraud, DME,MedB.
Thanks, Maritesa. I am in the process of teaching my kids how to cook, prepare meals, do more chores and do them without being told, and take more initiative. I will be doing prereqs for the next year, so hopefully things will have kicked in by then. I have had the "team" talk with them, but I think they are overwhelmed with things right now. We had to switch schools last year (due to my teaching there it was a requirement()after being in their school system all their lives. It was a strict academy 3 hours of homework every night and on weekends, and I worked until midnight (from home after 7 pm) every night and all day Sat & Sun. Their dad lives out of state. Hopefully it will get better over the next year and things will go smoothly. We are back at our old schools and my son will have to learn to walk to school & dtr will be eligible for the bus next year when she is in jr high. She will have to quit cheerleading since that is 20 hours a week for me. slowly but surely.

:heartbeatWow BabyCatchr , you are amazing. Yes, a lot of things going in your household.....hold steadfastly , this nursing is really worth it. I never though I would be a nurse..I graduated w/ a Journalism , but you just can not find a job in this area unless you know some people or have to kiss as.... of which I am not the type to do that.....I had some stories to tell you about an instructor who had a vendetta against me , fo no reason that I know of. She made it really hard for me....so one day I walked away from a clinic tour , 'cause I was ready to hurt her bad.....so I left before it gets out of hand. this is from an RN class, and I dropped out. I was lucky enough that the nursing director convinced me to go to the LVN program of which will only take me one semester to be done....and so I did and worked as an LVN for a long while before I decided to go back and finish my rn in another Community college , and I am so glad put up w/ all that to be where I am now. an RN !!!! Diverse experience, psych nurse, med surg, Insurance UR, CM (very short time in a hospital -- the place was crazy and the system is not in place and yet they expect perfection from us! ) and been a Medicare medical reviewer, and now learning the DME pre pay review. so what next ? I am thinking of working w/ the elderly and chnage gear towards this direction....who knows??? :wink2: Just keep plugging and believe and love yourself. You sound like a wonderful person to me!!! I know you can !!!! Blessings to you and your family.:D

One way some of us get through this is by just concentrating on each 8 week course, and the time off after each. Knock yourself out for 8 wks, rest.

Specializes in OB/Gyn, L&D, NICU.

So, would it be worth it for me to pursue a BSN vs a 2 yr RN since I already have a bachelor's degree? I am a single mother of 2. It would take me 2 years just to get the prereqs vs 1 yr for 2 yr RN, but then 2 yrs of school to get my BSN (same as RN). Is the nursing portion of a BSN much harder than the 2 yr RN degree?

Specializes in ER/Ortho.

At my nursing school you do NOT pick your schedule, they do not really tell us anything concrete until maybe a week before each semester (and then even that is subject to change). Then its the shear volume of work. For example last week was my last week of peds. I had three back to back 10 hour clinicals (Tue/Wed/Thur). During those 3 days I has to pick a patient and, and do a major care plan that was due on that Sat. A group of us had to pick a patient that Wed and do a group project that was due that Sun. In adddition, I had to do a major check off on Tues, do narrative assessments, and an observation paper that were due that Sat. I also had a quiz that Friday, and discussion questions to complete and turn in that day. I had extra credit due no later than that Sunday, and had to squeeze in studying for the 3rd major test which was coming up that Monday, and the final on Wednesday.

All of this with 3 kids, an hour drive time to and from the hospital, and a need for at least a few hours sleep. It makes it very hard.

Yikes! I am taking Nursing I, A&P II and Developmental Psych. Goodbye life.

I'm in the same boat. I have Nursing Concepts 1, Issues and Trends in Nursing 1, Clinical, Chemistry, and Pharmacology this fall!!!! :uhoh21:

Plus I have 2 boys (4 and 7) and hubby who works 3pm-12am!!! I've thought about pushing back starting for another year but my family REALLY needs me to finish and start bringing home the $$$.

I knew going into this it was going to be A LOT of work, I'm hopeful that I will be ok. If I don't make it, I'll go down fighting... :wink2:

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