Nursing students are not only occupied with academics but also tend to experience other challenges. They face challenges of all sorts like any other student doing any other course. The Challenges Facing Nursing Students may be physical, emotional, financially, or social. Aspiring nurses should know and prepare themselves psychologically and emotionally before they join the nursing field. Though nursing courses are wide, it’s still important for challenges general nursing students face to give a peak view of what to expect. Courses in colleges are so hectic once you get across your schedules. One must be ready to be occupied and have their hands full. They should know how to manage their time and plan their activities each day to avoid getting caught up with undone activities. Student nurses should join college knowing this to help them go through college easily.
One thing that tends to be challenging for a nursing student is the exhausting and demanding lectures that one has in a day or a week. The lectures involve grasping theories and nursing terms that may prove difficult if a student doesn’t take care of himself or herself. The tiring lectures also get a lot of assignments and research activities that require one to be focused, and engage with the lecturers and books to have a good grade by the end of the year. This is due to the limited time for other activities. The tests and assignments in each term are overridden with dreadful examinations. One must be prepared for nursing exams and study as hard as possible. Being a nursing student calls for more than just being a student, it’s a passion that one needs to drive them as individuals to be nurses of change, who impact lives for the greater good.
Moreover, the unforeseeable clinicals have a lot of pressure and a nursing student should be more adaptive since the patient time may change due to emergencies, one needs to be a quick learner. In addition to this, clinical students have a lot to deal with homework and takeaways that may be in different forms either as a report, or an essay that needs perseverance and focus for you to do your assignments well and correctly. One needs to get their facts right.
Furthermore, nursing students not only have challenges when they are doing their studies but also during post-graduation. They face challenges such as unrealistic and high expectations from people around them who give them pressure as student nurses. Some are uncalled for and may get when you are occupied and tending to other patients somewhere. It may feel like a disappointment on their side for you not to come through to a relative’s requests which also may be absurd.
It’s no easy job as a student nurse but with virtues such as patience, perseverance, time management, kindness, and respect. All these intertwine to give you an ambiance to do your student life personally and what is needed and academics.
In addition, the clinical environment also gives student nurses challenges. These include a lack of effective communication skills which may hinder social interactions and make it hard for a student nurse to manage her interactions and have a great time working with social pressure.
Stress and anxiety are also what come about as challenges in a student nurse. They come about before you have duties that may be academic or not. This may be due to the lack of experience in handling a lot of duties at once for first-timers.
In that case, in working conditions, nurses have challenges when there is inadequate staffing, which decreases the motivation of a student nurse and thus affects patient care. A nurse has to tend to many patients and may be overworked leading to him or her not doing her job well.
Safety challenges make the work environment unbearable. This is what could be termed as nurses working for the paycheck instead of doing it because he or she cares. Safe needles and patient handling should be taught to nursing students to ensure that they know how to care for patients well and how to handle the tools needed to be used on them. Safety precautions are needed to reduce stress and pressure on first-time nursing students who have not yet had the hang of it. The training will release pressure and ensure and prepare student nurses for the task ahead of them.
Moreover, student nurses should be given talks about improving self-care. Self-care is important for a student nurse so that he or she can care for their patient well. Work violence is another challenge student nurses face from visitors and co-workers. This might be from a misunderstanding that a student nurse needs to be kind, patient, and formal and exemplify professional virtues.
Furthermore, there is an examination that nurses take after graduation such as NCLEX that is intended to fully put and position the student nurse in the working field. This gives student nurses a lot of pressure that may pose a challenge for a student nurse. This may affect his or her responsibilities and roles one has in a working environment. This is a licensing exam undertaken to determine whether a student nurse has the necessary skills and knowledge to begin his or her career as a medical practitioner and that patients will be certain they are in good hands.
Some of these mentioned challenges may cause outcomes such as depression which may lead a student nurse to drop out of College. Nurses who treat and take care of others also need care. They need motivation and kindness to go through their day-to-day activities that help those in need. To help with challenges, the environment of the student nurse should be conducive to learning and training. Thus, challenges that affect student nurses should be addressed and made aware to anyone who intends to get into college and pursue nursing. All the very best!
