What was the toughest part of Nursing school for you?

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For all of you that have graduated, tell me what was the worst or most difficult part of your Nursing school experience?

It was doing my pediatric rotation. I did a day in the dialysis department and seeing those children in so much pain made me cry and I had to leave! Eventually, I came back but that experience made me realize that pediatrics was not my thing.

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the worst part was staying up late working on stuff to prepare for clinicals, then getting up at 0430-0500 (i don't live in town) for clinicals the next morning (i am not a morning person).

one of the hardest parts was near the end of each semester when we were all so tired but still had projects, exams, lab/clinical competencies, etc. it was so hard to keep studying when we all had major burnout.

oh, another 'worst' for me was when we did our iv lab and i missed on my partner, so they made me stick my instructor (who we were all afraid of b/c we had heard from other classes how mean she was), then i missed on her, and they made me stick her again!!! i finally got it, and she wasn't mad (at least she didn't show it if she was), but i was just about sick by the time it was over. :barf02:

yikes!! good for you!

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Specializes in Infection Preventionist/ Occ Health.
Dealing with inconsistencies from professors. I can't even count the times they were wrong according to Perry and Potter and other text references; and believe me it was hell...

PersistantLeader, that is so funny because there were many times in lab when the instructor said "Now the Potter and Perry book (or video) said this, but here is how you really perform this skill". I got to the point where I wondered why we even bothered so spend so much money on the them when the instructors had their own way of doing things anyways.

I think that the toughest part of nursing school is being new to the clinical environment and trying to maintain some level of self confidence in the face of a critical instructor. Skills tests come in a close second for me. I actually don't mind care plans too much :)

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Racism :angryfire in a top private catholic university in this country, but then you can't expect anything better from a country that hides it racist practices in general. I once had an anglo nurse co-worker that said nursing was hard, well I replied to her you yes that is very true, but try being a person of color in this field, that was far harder than any other obstacle, as with just living in this racist country is. I was a young nurse and later learned that not only was there racism from anglo( and any other person that thought they could pass for anglo co-workers), but from administration,physicians,patients etc. To top that off I found out that nurses ate their young and from I hear they still do.

Nursing was a very traumatizing experience for me, the only part that was rewarding was being an advocate, but I was a called nurse, so all a university and state boards did was make it legal according to today's standards. Thank goodness I didn't let it steal my spirit from me. :mad:

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Lack of sleep to keep up with the studies, clinicals, and being grilled and expected to know it all! Looking back it was tough, but I am thankful now. It prepared me for a profession that is physically and emotionally demanding. It also made us extra vigilent to ask questions, continue to learn, and not cause any harm to patients.

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Specializes in None...YET!.
Racism :angryfire in a top private catholic university in this country, but then you can't expect anything better from a country that hides it racist practices in general. I once had an anglo nurse co-worker that said nursing was hard, well I replied to her you yes that is very true, but try being a person of color in this field, that was far harder than any other obstacle, as with just living in this racist country is. I was a young nurse and later learned that not only was there racism from anglo( and any other person that thought they could pass for anglo co-workers), but from administration,physicians,patients etc. To top that off I found out that nurses ate their young and from I hear they still do.

Nursing was a very traumatizing experience for me, the only part that was rewarding was being an advocate, but I was a called nurse, so all a university and state boards did was make it legal according to today's standards. Thank goodness I didn't let it steal my spirit from me. :mad:

WHOA!!! Frightening. I'm glad you got past all of it! Thanks for sharing!

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Specializes in Ob/Gyn & Pediatrics.

I am surprised. What most people said was, clinicals, and I would have thought that most people would say something like, "trying to cram so much information into the brain and remember it all." That, to me, seems like the hardest thing to do. Try to remember everything they teach you and then when it is all said and done, to take the test at the end and have remembered all it from beginning to end.

Tina

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Specializes in HIV care, med/surge agency.

Every teacher had the one right way to do things. Their was neither rhyme nor reason to it and the one right way varied from one teacher to the other.

I am so glad it is over.

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persistantleader, that is so funny because there were many times in lab when the instructor said "now the potter and perry book (or video) said this, but here is how you really perform this skill". i got to the point where i wondered why we even bothered so spend so much money on the them when the instructors had their own way of doing things anyways.

i think that the toughest part of nursing school is being new to the clinical environment and trying to maintain some level of self confidence in the face of a critical instructor. skills tests come in a close second for me. i actually don't mind care plans too much :)

not sure if you're still in nursing school. but one advice for taking the nclex - answer based on textbook references, not "how you really perform this skill." in other words, the nclex "hospital" bases the answers on nursing text books.

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well i guess, the toughest part for me, is whenever i was assigned to a new client, for i don't know what's ahead of me... i always have this 'stomach-lurching' feeling and a thought of, 'will my client happily respond to the due care i would give for him/her?' hehehe... i don't know... :trout: eventhough i can interact to my clients, i'm still a bit wary whenever they complain angrily because of their pain... ;)

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Specializes in Pediatrics (Burn ICU, CVICU).
For all of you that have graduated, tell me what was the worst or most difficult part of your Nursing school experience?

Worst: Careplans

Most difficult: OB

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Specializes in oncology, surgical stepdown, ACLS & OCN.
By far, the absolute worst part of nursing school for me was writing all those CARE PLANS!!! I would take a test any day over doing care plans.:uhoh3:

I agree, CARE PLANS were the worst, I managed, but I think they were invented to justify nursing interventions, which is unneccessary!::monkeydance:

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