Is nursing school hard?

Cleaning bedpans, giving meds, dealing with patients, advocating for the patients, assessing and documenting, saving them from doctor's mistakes, yeah that's easy. That's what people think. I know it for certain because that was what I thought also before starting nursing school.

*For simplicity, undergrad means my first 2 years in college which comprised of the prerequisite classes. The final 2 years is nursing school.

I did well in my 2 years of undergrad with a 3.91 GPA and a 4.0 science GPA at TU, but nursing school was still difficult for me. My presumption was that nursing school was going to be easier than undergrad because I was "already in" the program. I was less serious than I was in undergrad and did not really try hard enough. I am also the type of student who does last minute studying and still get an A, which does not work in nursing school (sometimes). My flawed mentality after getting in, and very bad habit of procrastination bit me in the ass in nursing school. By the way, some of the nursing students who did better are the ones who did poorly in undergrad because they feel they have something to prove (either to themselves or others). So study study study and don't lose focus! All in all, nursing school is hard, I don't care who says otherwise. :)

So far, my grades suck compared to what I used to get. I have not gotten below a B though (Thank God!), but gone were the days of straight A's. Just accept the fact that you'll need gallons of coffee, a dead social life, and the brain of that one classmate of yours who always aces the exams to make that possible (unless you are that genius classmate who always aces the exam), because the truth is, we all have weaknesses, an A is a grade of 95 and above, and instructors like to take off points making it more impossible. And another truth is, a high GPA doesn't necessarily equal a good nurse.

I have a lot of things to say about the career I have chosen. The regrets, the frustrations, the pressure, the annoying stereotypes, the good, the bad, the funny, and the craziness but I'll save those later. It has been a roller coaster ride, but hopefully I finish and graduate this May. :)