Why does school have to be made to be (seemingly) unneccesarily difficult?

[Guitarstrings]

With all the reading we are giving and expected to memorize, paired with minimal guidance and classroom time, how do they expect us to succeed? 2 classes over a 3 week period followed by a 50 point exam? And if I have a question or don't get it, then what?

I'm just very p.o.ed right now and getting very frustrated/borderline discouraged. All this hard work and I'm getting nothing to show for it expect disappointment and more frustration.

makes me want to cry right now.

[akulahawkRN, ADN, RN, EMT-P]

Nursing School very much is necessarily tough. Something else that came to mind when I was reading this thread was that the reason NS has such tough prerequisite requirements is so that students arrive at the beginning of the program with a good grasp of things and that way NS only has to teach the nursing process, pharmacology (for nurses), pathophysiology, and basically how things interrelate. I came to NS with a very good, solid background in the medical end of things. Guess what? For as much as I knew and was able to do, had I taken the NCLEX back then, I would have flat-out failed it. It's not that I didn't know my stuff, it's that I didn't know how to apply what I knew from a nursing perspective. I actually spend less time studying than I used to. It's not that I'm "that good" it's that I only have to add some new knowledge to my foundation. Some of my classmates have never been exposed to any material like this outside of their prerequisites, so they've got to build a whole new knowledge base. The really hard part for them is that they do have to read a lot of material. The good news in all of this is that at some point, you'll come to really understand how you study best. Once you know what works for you, exploit it for all it's worth because that's how you'll retain the information.

Oh, and one more thing: Nursing School is very much unlike anything you've ever done, so just do your best to keep up. While I'm not a fan of reading 20 chapters a week, sometimes it must be done. You just have to read the chapters in a way that's meaningful to you so that you retain the information.

[loriangel14, RN]

I honestly don't see how some are doing it. I presume that the ones who can handle the extra course load must already be familiar with the material from previous healthcare or personal experience..that's the only way.

It's not the only way. Most students have no prior knowledge of the material.They are managing by learning the material.

[decembergrad2011, BSN, RN]

Do NOT attempt to read all of those chapters. Do NOT attempt to study all of the information. It hasn't been that long that I've been out of school, and I know all too well the pressures that are there. Anyone who claims they read all of the chapters in their entirety that were assigned is straight up lying. It's impossible.

The truth is that what you will need to know for the test that unit, what you need to know for the NCLEX, and what you need to know for working on the specific floor you are hired for are completely different things. I needed to know specific biologic information for my cancer unit test in pathopharm, I needed to know very basic information regarding cancer care for NCLEX, and these days I need to know the frequent chemotherapy regimens and protocols for my cancer floor where I work now.

People can get high and mighty about it, and yes nursing school is necessarily tough, but it's impossible to know everything and I wish they wouldn't pressure us to be super nurse right out the gate. It is something that comes with time and experience.

[LoriRNCM, ADN, ASN, RN]

If NS was all about cramming, I would get all A's. Instead I study for hours upon hours upon hours and try to really understand what I am reading, and I settle for high B's on all my tests, and A's on all my projects, which are a little less stressful for me than tests! I can understand why we have to self teach...... because there is TOO MUCH INFORMATION to be taught and we would be in class five days a week all day long if they had to teach us everything.

[HeartsOpenWide, RN]

When I was in nursing school they told us "we are not going to spoon feed you this information"...I use to joke and say "they should have said 'you have to buy the gun, assemble the gun, hunt the deer, skin the deer, and cook the deer yourself in order to eat it; we will just give you a 1000 page book on how to do it so you can figure it out' " remember, most of your teachers are nurses, just that...my best nursing instructors were the few that had a masters in education.

You have to learn to study smart. It took me several semesters to study the right way...no one can read all those chapters. Read the boxes and info in the margins, if it doesn't make sense THEN read the whole page, and always read the summary at the end of the chapter; and ALWAYS read before class, you are better prepared and can ask questions about things you didn't understand

[loriangel14, RN]

If NS was all about cramming, I would get all A's. Instead I study for hours upon hours upon hours and try to really understand what I am reading, and I settle for high B's on all my tests, and A's on all my projects, which are a little less stressful for me than tests! I can understand why we have to self teach...... because there is TOO MUCH INFORMATION to be taught and we would be in class five days a week all day long if they had to teach us everything.

You make an excellent point. There is too much information for the teachers to literally teach everything.We have to Take responsibility for our own learning.

[SopranoKris, MSN, RN, NP]

I also think nursing school is tough right from the get-go because they want to see who has the mettle to go all the way. There was a person who quit the 2nd week of school because it was "too much". Actually, that's best for everyone involved. No one is wasting their time going any further.

Yes, nursing school is tough. Yes, there is a LOT of information to digest and then you have to turn around and not only demonstrate you understand it, but you're expected to think in a whole new way. It's difficult. And frankly, it SHOULD be difficult. We have our patients' lives in our hands. We have to be able to recall information at an instant. We have to absorb what we're learning in order to make crucial decisions.

You can wallow in "it's too hard" all you want, but it's going to get you no where. The first week of school, I thought to myself "what have I gotten myself into?" You either have to adopt a "bring it on" attitude or you're going to constantly struggle with feeling overwhelmed.

If your program offers Study Skills for Nursing workshops, I would highly recommend attending one. If you don't have access to this type of support, then look online for resources that will help you determine the type of learner you are. Are you visual, auditory, kinesthetic, etc.? Once you pinpoint the way you learn best, you can determine what helps you learn best. For example, I'm an auditory learner. So, I learn best by being able to "teach" what I learn verbally. So, I get together with my study group and we discuss what we've read. We each take turns teaching a chapter to the group. It helps me immensely.

Be proactive about your learning and you'll find it doesn't control you. The sooner you accept the fact that this fast pace isn't going away and do something to help yourself through it, the better it gets. It doesn't make it easy, but it sure does make it bearable. The semester is almost over and you can look back and see how far you've come :)

[TheERMurse]

I will chime in as well. I have gone to school for a couple things now and would say nursing school is about medium difficulty in the grand scheme of things. I would rate my experience in Electrical Engineering has hard for comparison.

There is a lot of information to absord and understand during nursing school. There are a lot of papers to write, discussions, and care plans as well. The speed at which all this comes at you is part of a plan, even if many don't realize it. You are being conditioned to absorb and process the information quickly, to prioritize, to plan, to finish the paperwork(charting), etc.

The best advice is not to give up and keep trying your hardest. If you have problems, there are lot's of resources you can turn to for help and advice.

[missmollie, ADN, BSN, RN]

I studied using quizlet.com

I would post my feeds on here, but it would give away my identity. However, if you search for fluid and electrolyte imbalances, fluid and electrolytes, fundamentals of nursing fluid and electrolytes, and acid-base questions or acidosis vs alkalosis, you'll find a wealth of knowledge in ready to study flash cards. Just review the cards against your book as you go so you know the information is congruent with what is being taught.

Study hard and I hope quizlet will prove to be helpful. Best of luck!

[ixchel]

I find the more effort I put in, the worse I do. I have no idea why and it's frustrating as hell. My best grades are on exams that I don't study for, and care plans I don't obsess over. My worst grades, I spent days and days studying on, and dozens of hours reading and writing. Back away from it. Step back. Draw lines for yourself where you put down the books. Listen well to what they say in class. I do my best learning by listening in lecture. I'm one semester from graduating, and the program has taken me from being a straight A student to being a B to C student. I HATE that, but it is what it is. I'm tired of feeling so defeated, so I step back. It's the only way to keep my sanity.

[THELIVINGWORST, ASN, RN]

I'm finishing Nursing school this week and I have been done with the didactic part of it since Halloween. I have gotten B's in everything except OB and Peds (Ironically I will probably start in Women's health when I graduate), and every single instructor and Nurse I have worked with think I will be a wonderful and thorough RN. Why? I always did NCLEX questions on the subject matter before exams and when writing notes I would put it into ADPIE form so I always knew what to look for, what to do about it and how to tell if my interventions worked. This helps with care-planning and testing.

Instead of reading the patho sections, watch videos or make concept maps for the major processes on each exam. And then you can focus on the nursing process. That first semester is tough because you are adjusting to the nursing model and you have a million things thrown at you.

You are not stupid and this show ain't over yet! This fast paced program WILL get less overwhelming, but if you do nothing else, ALWAYS think ABC"s, patient safety, maslows (physical over psychological), acute vs chronic and least invasive measures first.

[applesxoranges, BSN, RN]

Goin through a paramedic program that used practical questions like nursing saved me. Even a few years ago, nursing school tested in a different style. However, sometimes it's good to learn what teachers to take if possible.