Which was more stressful: nursing school or actually working as a RN?

Libby1987 · May 27, 2015

They had different types of stress.

The academic part of school wasn't stressful for me and neither was writing care plans but clinicals were stressful, felt like a nincompoop most of the time.

Work had its stresses initially but it wasn't because things weren't doable back then, it was trying to function on nights that was tough for me and I took first day shift offered.

Karou · May 27, 2015

I felt like nursing school was more stressful than working as an RN.

Academically, school was not difficult for me, but clinicals were torture. This was only true during my LVN-ADN bridge and not my LVN program (I enjoyed everything about my LVN). I would have severe anxiety before and during clinicals, to the point of throwing up and having diarrhea. I became very depressed and would soothe myself to sleep by imagining all of the horrible accidents that could happen to me to cause me to miss clinicals, or the ways in which I could kill myself. Not that I would, because I could never actually do it, but thinking about it made me feel better in a really messed up way.

Getting a job and working as an RN was a huge relief to me. I was still scared to make mistakes and hated my first job, but I wasn't nearly as stressed as I was during school. I knew that everything would fall into place after time and that I would feel more comfortable eventually. Basically, I could see the light at the end of the tunnel when I could not in nursing school.

I would say that had things been different with myself and my nursing program, I would probably agree that work is more difficult than school.

One thing that I remember is being afraid that I wouldn't finish school, that somehow all of this time and effort was wasted, that I would let my family down. After I did get through, that fear was gone. I know now that even if I end up in a situation that I don't really like, that I am a nurse, and I have options.

Mavrick, BSN, RN · May 27, 2015

Your vs you're. There's a difference.

Nothing in real life is like the perfect scenarios in school. Always varied circumstances. And a typo is just a typo not a medication error.

Morphine vs hydromorphone. There's a difference.

icuRNmaggie, BSN, RN · May 27, 2015

Another student wanting nurses to write her paper?

OrganizedChaos, LVN · May 27, 2015

Another student wanting nurses to write her paper?

I was starting to think that too, after I had commented of course.

SubSippi · May 27, 2015

My life is much less stressful now that I'm out of school. When I'm not at work, I can do whatever I want to. When I was in school, I felt guilty just going to a movie sometimes (although I was always glad I did).

Pangea Reunited, ASN, RN · May 27, 2015

As a new grad, work was definitely more stressful than school. Now that I have a few years of experience, it's not as stressful and I'd say school was worse. I was broke as a student, so it was extra difficult for me. It took hours to get to clinic sites on the city bus and my water and electricity got turned off on a regular basis.

Seas · May 27, 2015

As a RN who went to school all the way up to MSN, also with 4 years of bedside experience in 3 different specialties, I think school was more stressful.

Dogen · May 27, 2015

Man... I think you could ball up every ounce of stress I felt in nursing school and it wouldn't total the way I felt my first shift off orientation as a new grad, when suddenly I was responsible for everything.

Which is funny, because now looking back at it I had a great orientation and have awesome coworkers who jump in when anyone needs a hand. But still, that first day was rough.

eroc · May 27, 2015

I think it can depend greatly on where you work also. High flow critical care areas seem to triumph any memories of nursing school.

Farawyn · May 27, 2015

I think I found school more stressful. At the end of a work day, I go home and I get to forget all about work. But in school, I go home and there's papers and studying and care plans. It never ended.

Noting your BSN and RN, it DID end!

kidzcare · May 27, 2015

For me, school was more stressful. I think because of deadlines and the constant threat of failing.

Today if I have to give a medication that I am unfamiliar with, I look it up. In school I would have to memorize 20+ unfamiliar meds (because they were all unfamiliar to me then) as well as research a patient's condition in one night and if I couldn't recite the med book verbatim to my instructor at 0645... failing grade for the day. If it happened twice- failure of that class.

I also had a lot going on in my personal life that was very stressful while I was in school. 3 kids under 4, an unsupportive spouse, working. I will always remember nursing school as one of the worst times of my life.