Why is nursing school so overwhelming?

**NICU Guy, BSN, RN** · Sep 7, 2013

I guess I thought nursing school would be more about learning nursing skills rather than studying every function in the body and receptors, neuron channels, etc. Stuff that I cant see the everyday nurse knowing or needing to know.
I have one week to drop out and get a full refund.

What did you think nursing was? They wipe people's butts, dressing changes and inject medicine without knowing why and how the drug works? Doctors only see their patients for 15 minutes at a time, the nurses spend their entire shift with them. The doctors depend on the nurses to keep them informed of changes in their patients condition. They are the eyes and ears of the doctor when he is not there. Your job is to determine if the change in the patient's condition is something that the doctor can address when they make rounds or is it something that needs to be addressed now. That is why you need to know pathophysiology. You are the one that needs to put all the subjective and objective data together and call the doctor at 2 am because you believe that the patient's stomach ache is more serious than an upset stomach. You need to be able to explain all the pertinent data to the doctor to give him a picture of the progress of the changes in the patient's condition.

IrishIzCPNP, MSN, RN, APRN, NP · Sep 7, 2013

I have worked really hard to get into a nursing program at a big ten university and just started my classes this week. I have never felt so overwhelmed and fustrated in my life. My classes are really hard. My physiology class is single handedly making me want to walk away from nursing school.
I guess I thought nursing school would be more about learning nursing skills rather than studying every function in the body and receptors, neuron channels, etc. Stuff that I cant see the everyday nurse knowing or needing to know.
I have one week to drop out and get a full refund.

So you want to be a nurse aid with the pay of an RN?

Dnap22 · Sep 7, 2013

So you want to be a nurse aid with the pay of an RN?

Hilarious!

Stephalump · Sep 7, 2013

I think people have that misconception quite often. We can teach a layperson to do most of the skills we do with not much effort. It's the knowledge that sets us apart from everyone else.

It's new and overwhelming, but it won't be that way forever. You might find you enjoy it :)

BeansMama · Sep 8, 2013

I can certainly understand how overwhelmed you feel. It seems like physiology may not pertain to nursing, but really it's almost the center of it. A nurse is pretty much the last line of defense for a patient. Doctors spend minimal time with patients compared to nurses. Knowing physiology is going to save your patients lives. Knowing how the body works and how the drug that you are going to administer to them is going to affect them is majorly important. Anyone can be taught skills. I used to be a hair stylist and we always said "anyone can slap some color on your head, but a hair stylist knows how to formulate it to compliment your skin tone, hair type and style" Same goes for nursing, you can teach anyone to insert an IV but knowing how your immune system works and how infection occurs and knowing what to do with all of the data you gathered in your assessment is what makes a nurse. Sepsis is a huge issue, knowing physiology will teach you how to catch it before it becomes severe.

Nursing is much more than a set of skills. It's critical thinking. The science classes and physiology are your foundation. If this isn't what you expected then maybe reconsider your major, BUT know that it is hard, it's supposed to be hard. Lives are in your hands. If you want nothing more than to be a nurse, you will make it through it.

Hope this helps! Good luck!

LoriRNCM, ADN, ASN, RN · Sep 8, 2013

Hmmmm, we learned physiology in our pre reqs..... I could see where having to learn Anatomy and Physiology at the same time as taking your nursing classes would be overwhelming. I am not sure I could do that! We had to have at least A & P I as a pre req, and we could take A & P II as a co req. Fortunately I got both out of the way before NS, because they are very intense and comprehensive courses. Don't give up, just buckle down and do what you have to get through it. There are tons of online resources to help you understand A & P.

Fin1216 · Sep 8, 2013

I felt the same way, I wanted to withdraw after the first day! Instead I took it one day at a time and now Im three weeks down. It is still a lot of work, but I dont feel as overwhelmed now as I did three weeks ago. And I bet it will be even better after a few more weeks. I suggest giving it a few weeks, long enough to figure out a routine that works for you, and then make a decision. And I am taking A&P II this semester along with my nursing classes, so I feel your pain! Hang in there!

meanmaryjean, DNP, RN · Sep 8, 2013

Nursing SCHOOL is overwhelming because nursing PRACTICE is overwhelming. If you are molly-coddled through school (and some schools do in my experience), how will you ever be able to deal with the reality that is nursing? The overwhelming-ness of it actually helps you develop those real-world skills you will need to be a competent nurse.

(A very well-known school near me produces grads who have never cared for more than one patient at a time, and they complain - loudly - about the 'unfairness' of assignments in the real world. I posit that this school does a massive disservice to its students by NOT being overwhelming to a degree.)

brockstetson · Nov 5, 2013

Nursing school was a piece of cake compared to FT practice. I'm almost done with my BSN... I wish I could get paid to take nursing classes!

krisiepoo · Nov 5, 2013

I wish I could tell ya it gets better, but it's going to get more difficult as you go. That pathophys is going to be used on just about EVERY SINGLE paper you write when you need to bring together acute and chronic diseases, why the meds affect a person this way, ... it's really the foundation of nursing, I wish I'd paid more attention to be honest becuse I soetimes feel like I'm having to reteach myself some of this stuff to understand the full picture.

it's a lot of fun once you see how it all comes together and you see it on a person and not a text book

nurseprnRN, BSN, RN · Nov 5, 2013

I have worked really hard to get into a nursing program at a big ten university and just started my classes this week. I have never felt so overwhelmed and fustrated in my life. My classes are really hard. My physiology class is single handedly making me want to walk away from nursing school.
I guess I thought nursing school would be more about learning nursing skills rather than studying every function in the body and receptors, neuron channels, etc. Stuff that I cant see the everyday nurse knowing or needing to know.
I have one week to drop out and get a full refund.

I have told this story before, but here it is again. Every year our program would admit about 25% more students than we knew we would be keeping, because no matter how well-qualified the applicants, in about three weeks about that many would be in our offices crying because they 1) didn't know they'd have to see naked old people, 2) didn't know school would be so hard, 3) thought it would be more like on TV, 4) thought they could just do mother-baby and didn't have to do med-surg and psych and all that other stuff too in school, 5) didn't know how much responsibility a nurse has, 6) were shocked that they had to see/hear/smell/touch things like .... etc., etc. "I always wanted to be a nurse like my mother/my auntie/my neighbor/my pediatrician's nurse/Cherry Ames," they wail as they come to withdraw.

I don't know what you thought about what nurses need to know to do their work but you are wrong if you think the "everyday nurse" doesn't need to know a great deal of physiology, the function of every system in the body, receptors, and more. We do, and a lot more than that.

Get your refund. You aren't ready to meet the challenge that is inherent in a scientifically-based major.