REAL NURSES, REAL CONVERSATIONS
advertise with us find a job post your topic join the community log in
RealityRN
Rookie Wit & Wisdom
How Hard is Nursing School?

What is Nursing School Like?


Nursing schools tend to be impacted programs these days. This means that most students need to complete a list of courses and take an exam before being admitted to the major. This leads to the question, How hard is nursing school? The preparation courses are not major level courses, so most nursing candidates if they have done well in school should be able to handle the subjects. Areas include biology, pharmacology, communication, social studies, human development, history of nursing, and mathematics. If you completed the courses in high school necessary for a four-year college, you should do well. Make the most out of this review of the subjects that form the basis for nursing theory. A further suggestion is to attempt to complete most of your general education before starting the major, as nursing majors take many hours of classes each week due to their clinical obligation at the hospital.

What Happens When You Are In the Nursing Program?


Once in the program, you will need to become efficient at memorizing lists of drug effects, symptoms and treatments for diseases for your nursing courses. Are you wondering how to study in nursing school? Using 3 x 5 cards and group study is a boon here. Writing becomes important for you will also have to master the written nursing document called nursing plans. These plans require you to learn how to put together an in depth review of your patient’s symptoms, use resources to come up with nursing plans and solutions. You will them have to show how you implemented these plans with your patient in the clinical area.

In addition to the scientific part, you will need to take a nursing course to learn the skills needed to treat your patients. You will need to learn how to transfer your patient from the bed, in the bed and back to bed. You will need to learn how to prepare the bed, feed your patient, handle their waste and keep the area around your patient clean or sterile as the case may be. You will need to learn various procedures such as catherizations, managing intravenous therapy and IV insertions, blood transfusions, injections, preparation of medicines, verifying and carrying out doctor’s orders, performing patient assessments, and the checks needed for administration of certain medications such as insulin.

A Great Nursing Career


As you can see, there is much to learn, but this is what the major is for. Most nursing programs have a lab where you can work on models and other students before you work with patients. It also helps to be computer literate these days as most hospitals are putting all their medical records and medication sheets on computers. Yes, there is a lot to learn, but the reward of sending home a well treated patient is well worth the effort. Plus, the benefit that you have the knowledge to help treat anyone who becomes ill. And, you can find nursing jobs all over the world.


Read more Rookie Wit & Wisdom articles

One Response to “How Hard is Nursing School?”

  1. Daymar College Says:

    We have a high graduation rate even though are curriculum is challenging.

Leave a Reply

search realityrn


sign up for weekly cartoons, tips, and blog posts
email
first name
last name

Register to win a pair of RX Medical Silver Fox Crocs


Nursing Jobs