How hard is nursing school to get an RN degree?

An RN (Registered Nurse) license is issued by a state board of nursing authorizing the holder to practice nursing. It is not a degree. To qualify to apply for an RN license, you must graduate from a nursing school and pass the national NCLEX-RN exam. Three types of nursing schools give this eligibility: universities offering bachelor's degrees in nursing (required by many employers), community colleges offering associate's degrees in nursing, and rapidly disappearing hospital programs offering diplomas (but no degree). All programs are difficult and require much more intelligence than the general public realizes. Don't expect to be a nursing major and succeed while pursuing many of the extracurricular options other majors can handle, because nursing school is more like medical school or law school. Classes are long, you must spend many hours every week in clinical practice settings, nursing skills labs are high tech and nerve-wracking, and the amount of homework is overwhelming. The emotional toll of learning to cope with distraught, even dying, people is significant. For students who have never seen what really goes on in a hospital behind the bed curtains, the shock can be significant. Simple factual knowledge will not suffice. Exams are complex multiple choice tests in which every option may be correct, and you have to apply the facts to discern which answer is best for the scenario given. Many nursing students have an inaccurate view of what nursing is, and face a decision of whether to leave or revise their image of nursing. For those who persevere and succeed, they are rewarded with making a truly important difference to thousands of people over the course of their careers, always being able to find work, and knowing that what they do is a high noble calling.

I would say that nursing is one of the more difficult undergraduate majors. 1. In a nursing program grades are not typically curved and the passing score is usually around a 75%.  This means that while you may have gotten a C as a grade, you have to retake the class.  The pressure of this makes school stressful for students. 2. Nursing school teaches very mature topics to very young people.  It is difficult to teach students how to respect the field of nursing and the integral role nurses play in society. 3. Nursing school and licensing exams are intentionally made difficult because, as educators, we have the obligation to safeguard the public from incompetent nurses. 4. There is a large out of classroom commitment in the form of clinical and labs.  Again, many young people simply lack the maturity to invest the time it takes to become a minimally qualified nurse.

For an RN license qualification, one should graduate from a nursing school. There are 3 types of schools that are providing this eligibility: Universities offering bachelor’s degrees (nursing) Diploma programs offered by hospitals Associate degree offered by community colleges Becoming a registered nurse needs consistent hard work. Classes are long and it requires many hours every day to be spent on assignments, studying and practice settings in clinics. I would say that nursing is one of the more difficult undergraduate majors. But the good news is that job opportunities are expected to increase in the 2012-2022 decade in the US.  The FAQs section at http://www.excite.com/education/nursing maybe helpful for you. 

I didn't find the actual course work that difficult.  Biology and chemistry labs were a challenge but the bookwork was mostly about applying yourself and making a commitment.  The comments about essentially not having a life are fairly accurate for extended periods of time but it's about finding some sort of true balance that will be part of adapting to the career of choice.        You will probably find yourself challenged personally by some of the teaching staff.  It's because everyone wants to know how you're going to react to different situations and under stress.  Just humble yourself and don't respond out of rebellion.       The clinical hours are an opportunity for practical experience and you should have someone assigned to lead you through it rather than basically throwing you to the wolves.  Again, it's part of asking the right questions, finding a good resource person and learning to act professionally with your patient and their family.