Surviving Nursing School
Surviving Nursing School: A Guide for LPN, RN, and BSN Students 🩺📚
Nursing school is one of the most rewarding journeys you can take, but let's be honest, it can also be one of the most challenging.
Whether you're an LPN student learning the fundamentals, an RN student navigating clinicals and care plans, or a BSN student balancing leadership projects and evidence-based practice assignments, there will be moments when you question yourself, your abilities, and sometimes even your sanity.
The good news?
Thousands of nurses have stood exactly where you are today, overwhelmed, exhausted, and wondering if they could make it. And they did.
You can too.
1. Remember Your "Why"
When exams pile up, clinicals get stressful, and life feels overwhelming, reconnect with the reason you started.
Maybe you want to provide a better life for your family.
Maybe you want to care for patients during their most vulnerable moments.
Maybe you're the first person in your family to pursue a nursing career.
Your "why" will carry you through the difficult days when motivation alone isn't enough.
Write it down. Put it on your mirror. Keep it somewhere visible.
2. Stop Trying to Study Everything
One of the biggest mistakes nursing students make is trying to memorize entire textbooks.
Nursing school is less about memorizing every detail and more about understanding concepts.
Focus on:
Disease processes
Nursing interventions
Medication safety
Prioritization
Clinical judgment
Patient education
Ask yourself:
"What do I need to know to safely care for this patient?"
That question will often guide your studying better than highlighting every sentence in a chapter.
3. Learn in Small Chunks
Many nursing students think studying only counts if they're sitting at a desk for three hours.
That's simply not true.
Ten focused minutes reviewing a concept can be more valuable than an hour of distracted studying.
Try studying during:
Lunch breaks
Waiting in the pickup line
Before work
Between classes
During downtime at home
Small efforts add up over time.
This is one reason microlearning can be so effective for busy nursing students.
4. Find Your Study Style
Not everyone learns the same way.
Some students learn best by:
📖 Reading
🎥 Watching videos
🎧 Listening to lectures
✍️ Writing notes
👩⚕️ Teaching concepts to others
🧠 Practice questions
Experiment until you find what works for you.
The goal is not to study harder.
The goal is to study smarter.
5. Practice Questions Are Your Friend
Reading content is important.
Applying content is where real learning happens.
Practice questions help you:
Identify knowledge gaps
Improve critical thinking
Develop NCLEX-style reasoning
Reduce test anxiety
Don't wait until the week before an exam to start practicing.
Make practice questions part of your weekly routine.
6. Clinicals Matter More Than You Think
Many students focus heavily on exams and forget that clinical experiences are where nursing concepts come alive.
Ask questions.
Volunteer for opportunities.
Observe procedures.
Learn from nurses, providers, respiratory therapists, pharmacists, and patients.
Every clinical day is an opportunity to connect classroom learning with real-world practice.
7. Protect Your Mental Health
You cannot pour from an empty cup.
Nursing school is demanding, but burnout helps no one.
Make time for:
Sleep
Exercise
Family
Friends
Hobbies
Rest
Taking care of yourself is not selfish.
It's essential.
Future nurses need to learn self-care just as much as patient care.
8. Stop Comparing Yourself to Everyone Else
There will always be someone who seems smarter.
Someone who finishes faster.
Someone who gets higher grades.
Someone who appears to have everything figured out.
Comparison steals energy that could be spent improving yourself.
Focus on your progress.
The goal isn't to be better than someone else.
The goal is to become the best nurse you can be.
9. Ask for Help Early
One of the strongest things a nursing student can do is ask for help.
Reach out to:
Instructors
Tutors
Classmates
Mentors
Academic support services
Don't wait until you're failing to seek assistance.
Successful students use resources.
10. Believe That You Belong Here
Imposter syndrome affects students at every level.
LPN students feel it.
RN students feel it.
BSN students feel it.
New nurses definitely feel it.
The fact that something is difficult does not mean you're incapable.
It means you're growing.
You earned your seat in that classroom.
You belong there.
Final Thoughts
Nursing school will challenge you academically, emotionally, and personally. There will be long nights, difficult exams, stressful clinicals, and moments of self-doubt.
But there will also be victories.
The first time you pass a difficult exam.
The first patient you help.
The first skill you master.
The day you walk across the stage and become a nurse.
Keep going.
Take it one lecture, one assignment, one clinical day, and one exam at a time.
Because one day, you'll look back and realize that every challenge helped shape the nurse you were meant to become.
Remember:
Progress, not perfection.
One lesson at a time. One patient at a time. One step closer to your goal. 🩺✨
Written by Dr. Monique Prince, DNP, MSN-Ed, APRN, FNP-C
Founder, Nursing Help Now
Helping Busy Nursing Students Succeed, One Lesson at a Time. 📚💙
