Nursing school can be tough, and many students struggle with feelings of anxiety and fear before starting the nursing program.
Thankfully, I survived my 4-year BSN program just fine. However, if I could go back, I wish I would have known these four things before I ever started the nursing program.
4 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Nursing School
#1 Organization is Key to Success in Nursing School
One of the keys to success in nursing school is staying organized. I wasn’t a super organized person when I first started, but by the time I graduated, I was using planners / calendars, and different folders with the papers labeled and organized inside. That helped me so much!
You can use folders with dividers, paper planners, digital apps, or whatever you want. It doesn’t matter so much how you organize things. All that matters is that you create some system to track all of your assignments, clinicals, tests, etc. that works for you.
A lot of people think you have to be some Einstein genius to pass nursing school. Not true. Don’t get me wrong, you definitely need some level of intelligence, but having a hard work ethic and staying organized is more important than just raw intelligence, in my opinion.
#2 It’s Normal to Have Periods of Doubt
You may question whether you really have what it takes to pass, or whether you even want this anymore. All of that is pretty common. Just because you have moments where you feel down or even cry, it doesn’t mean you should drop nursing as your major and move on to something else.
I wish I would have known that those emotions and feelings are common because you can get swept up in them. Just because something is hard or you’re feeling bad, it doesn’t mean you need to give up. Life is hard, and it’s okay to get down or question things sometimes.
#3 Nursing School is Going to Push You to Your Limits
I wish I would have known how far my brain would be pushed during nursing school. Many of you will be AMAZED at the amount of information you’ll learn in such a short time. You’ll also be amazed at how much of that information you will remember.
Nursing school will push you very hard. In the moment, it’s horrible, but in the long run, you’ll be better prepared for the real world of nursing. You’ll grow stronger and more efficient from the process.
I once worked alongside a brilliant nurse practitioner who once told me that NP school was a breeze compared to her nursing school program (BSN). She said that nursing school was one of the hardest things she’d ever done. In her experience, NP school was a nothing compared to that undergraduate nursing degree!
#4 Nursing School is Definitely Worth It
Even though nursing school can be tough, and even though you may question yourself along the way, it is totally worth it. You are going to earn a very good salary for a 2-4 year degree.
You have so many specialties and career options to choose from. Even if you literally hated every single specialty of nursing and wanted to leave the profession altogether, you can still use your nursing degree to open doors into other careers.
Conclusion…
If I had known those four things before I started nursing school, I think it would have comforted me a lot. It would have been a little easier going through the program.
I hope those four things will put things into perspective for those of you who are about to embark on your nursing school journey.
In summary, get organized, don’t waste too much time questioning things, realize that it will be tough but prepare you for what’s ahead, and realize it will all be worth it in the end!