How Hard is Nursing School?

When I told friends and family I was planning on applying to nursing school, I distinctly remember the reactions. While many people were happy and excited for me, I also got a TON of the same responses from other nurses I knew: “Nursing school was the hardest two years of my life.”

And honestly? This might be an unpopular opinion, but …. I disagree.

I’ll preface this by saying that I think whether or not nursing school is “hard” will drastically vary from person to person. My third grade teacher frowned upon her students saying “that was easy” because other people might not think so and therefore feel bad. Nursing school is obviously not like third grade (unfortunately,) but I agree with the sentiment and want to acknowledge that there are so many factors that influence if nursing school really is that hard, including (but not limited to):

• Your support system throughout your nursing program.
• Your ability to maintain a healthy work-life balance and have hobbies outside of being a nursing student.
• Your time management and study skills.
• Whether you are working / have other life obligations or are focusing on nursing school full time (there is no shame in the latter by the way – I did this and am extremely glad I did, but that was possible for me at the time and is not the case for everyone.)
• Your nursing program. This is arguably one of the biggest factors and why I think it’s so important to choose your nursing school wisely. How much support you are getting, the class sizes, and the way the classes are taught can make a huge impact in how easy it is to absorb the immense amounts of information you are expected to know.

A little bit of personal background on this topic

Those of you who know me know that I am a graduate of the University of San Diego Master’s Entry Program in Nursing. This program was designed for those who have an undergraduate degree in something else and are pursuing nursing as a second degree / second career. Students are not allowed to repeat any courses and only pass if they receive an 80% or higher. It is a 5 term, 21 month program, and I completed 71 credits and over 1,000 clinical hours in order to graduate.

Between classes and clinical days – many of which were night shifts – I was constantly busy and out of the house for 12 hours at a time, 3-4 times a week. The other days were spent studying, completing assignments, and trying to remember to breathe. Because I knew I wanted to work in Intensive Care, I was told that my grades mattered, so I hauled a** to get a 3.99 GPA (glaring at you, A minus in pharmacology.) SO, I will happily acknowledge that that s*** was hard!

But what exactly is it that makes nursing school hard?

Again, this will vary for everyone, but I will say that in my humble little opinion, the top two things that make nursing school challenging are:

1. The sheer amount of information you have to know, be constantly tested on, and somehow absorb for the NCLEX.
2. Having to be somewhere (what feels like) ALL the time and somehow still have a social life, pass your classes, and try not to lose your mind. For me, time management was really the biggest struggle and was harder than learning the content itself.

If I’m being totally honest, I found the first 1-2 years of my actual nursing career (as a baby new grad nurse) MUCH more mentally and physically draining than I found nursing school. I’ve talked to tons of nurses about their experience as a new grad nurse, and almost all of them said the same thing.

So no, I wouldn’t call nursing school the hardest few years of my life by any means. Here are just a few reasons why.

The information you have to know throughout nursing school will oftentimes be an extension of  topics you already have a basic understanding of.

I want you to first start by giving yourself some credit, and acknowledging that you had to do A LOT of things to make it to the starting line of nursing school. You are a bada**, and if you made it to this point, there’s a reason for that! So here’s the thing.

Obviously, there will be new information or it wouldn’t be school, but the information itself is understandable, doable, and you CAN do it. Again, there’s a reason you’ve made it this far. Take it one day at a time and remember that you already know a lot of what you’re learning. You’re just expanding on it!

Once you get through the first few weeks to months, you will have a much better grasp of what YOU need to succeed.

Do you write things down to remember them? Or are you a flashcard king/queen? Do you need to be part of a study group or re-listen to lectures? While there might be an adjustment period, you will figure out what a typical week looks like for you and what you need to do to learn and absorb all of the information. As with anything else, once you get into a routine, it will all feel much easier.

A lot of the work you will be given is busy work (cue the dreaded care plan,) which is a blessing and a curse.

Papers, projects, and presentations may make up a portion of each class, so you will not be sitting there trying to learn copious amounts of information all day everyday. Between the random assignments and the natural breaks between each semester or quarter, you will get breaks from all the learning. It will not always be a constant bombarding of information, and it does get better the more comfortable you get with being a nursing student.

Every clinical experience and quarter / semester is different.

This means you always get to start fresh, which is amazing if there is one topic that you really struggle with or one area of nursing that you really aren’t interested in. Know that it won’t last forever, and once the next semester starts you get to wipe it all clean (until the NCLEX, but that’s an issue for a different time.)

You also always get to be the newbie(s) in the room, and – along with your classmates – are just there to learn, observe, ask questions, absorb, and practice. Your instructors and preceptors know this. By all means, please don’t hurt anyone, but be mindful that much of the pressure that we feel in nursing school comes from pressure we place on ourselves. Be kind to yourself and remember that you are in SCHOOL. You are learning. That’s the whole point. You will not be perfect and that is okay (and normal.)

Your classmates are going through the exact same thing as you.

While your friends and family might not understand exactly what you’re going through, chances are almost everyone in your nursing school program does (and that they’re feeling the same way.) This means you have built-in support almost all the time, with people who get that this can be a stressful season in your life. I made some of my best friends ever in nursing school. They were bridesmaids in my wedding and 6 years later, our kids now hang out. Nursing school friendships are a different breed of friendship!

If you pick your nursing school right, they WANT you to succeed (and will help you do so to an extent.)

Not just because they care about you as a person, but because (selfishly) it reflects better on them to have people in their program who are supported. Why? Because supported students pass the NCLEX, keep student retention rates high, and encourage the next set of applicants to pick that school. While it is important to take your time to do your research on nursing schools, it’s even more important to make sure you seek out the resources available to you at whatever school you end up at!

So to answer the question “How hard is nursing school?” I would say: It’s hard, but it’s not as hard as you think. 

Will it challenge you? Yes. Will it change you? Probably. Will it be a walk in the park? Probably not.

But is it doable? Yes. Is it possible to still have a life, take care of your mental and physical health, feel joy and happiness, and still excel as a nursing student? Yes. Is it so hard that you have to be miserable the whole time? No. 

Remember: You got this. You can do this. You are here for a reason. Go get ’em!