First-Generation Nursing Students Challenges & How to Overcome Them

First-generation nursing students come from many different backgrounds and cultures. While first-generation is not synonymous with low income, many of these students tend to be from lower-income families, according to the Brookings Institution. This fact often contributes to the difficulties they face navigating higher education.

With the need for diversity in the nursing profession more pressing than ever, first-generation nursing students must prepare for the challenges they will face and empower themselves by understanding the tools and resources available.

If you’re a first-generation nursing student, learn what challenges to expect in nursing school and how to overcome them.

Nursing school is notoriously difficult, and being a first-generation college student can add to that. While the experiences of first-generation students are not the same, they may share common obstacles when applying to and attending nursing school.

If your parents (and their parents) are college graduates, you have some framework of knowledge for what to expect with the college admissions process. First-generation students, however, don’t have that luxury.

This makes applying for and attending nursing school all the more stressful. Higher education is a massive web of frustrating bureaucracy that can be difficult to navigate under the best circumstances — one missing form or typo can have major consequences.

First-generation nursing students must learn every single step of the process from scratch throughout their college experience. They’re left to navigate tricky situations like issues with paperwork or dealing with a difficult nursing professor alone. This adds a significant amount of stress and mental load for these students.

The Brookings Institution highlights additional financial challenges first-generation students may face compared to non-first-generation students:

Nursing students face even more financial pressure than students in other degree programs due to the cost of uniforms, books, clinical tools, lab fees, and NCLEX fees after graduation.

If you’re the first person in your family to go to nursing school, chances are that many people are proud of you. They may also be counting on you to succeed.

Depending on your culture and relationship with your family, their deep love and pride may add additional pressure on you to succeed. Especially, if other people sacrificed for you to get there or if you are financially responsible for others.

Being the first in a family to go to college and climb the career ladder can be a significant burden.

Because of these additional financial obstacles and the lack of information, first-generation nursing students are more likely to hold down a job — or several — throughout school to make ends meet.

This can have dire repercussions for their academic performance and social life. The added stress and logistics of struggling to pay the bills and keep up with nursing school requirements can leave students feeling isolated.

It can be hard to connect with your peers if you’re the only one worried about money or always working. These different financial realities and cultures can make it even harder for first-generation students to connect with peers and find community support.

First-generation nursing students may face many hurdles in nursing school, but they can thrive with the right resources and support.

We spoke with Jada Sims, a first-generation nursing student who graduated in 2020 and has a successful career in critical care. She is also earning her master’s degree.

Sims credits her positive experience to her highly-supportive program that helped to facilitate connections between first-generation students and mentors who supported her along the way.

Sims acknowledges that nursing school is different for first-generation students and encourages students to use their resources and ask questions often:

By connecting with additional resources early in the program, Sims believes she was primed for success and had a better experience than those who did not take advantage of the program.

Most nursing programs have a variety of resources, including dedicated academic advisors, tutoring services, and peer mentoring programs. Sims encourages first-generation students to take advantage of all of the resources offered to you, and don’t wait until you’re struggling to ask for help.

The financial obstacles for many first-generation nursing students are significant, so you want all the help you can get.

Numerous scholarships are available to nursing students, especially those from underrepresented backgrounds (and many first-generation students also come from those communities).

While searching and applying for scholarships and grants is time-consuming and labor intensive, the payoff for first-generation nursing students can be worth it.

Sims recalls the difficulty of navigating nursing school as a first-generation student, but she found support through community with her first-generation peers.

“My school had the University Success Scholars, a club that met monthly to connect first-gen students. Each meeting had a different topic to gain more information, and we even got a gift card to use for textbooks,” she shares.

The pressure of being the first person in your family to attend college can lead to stress and anxiety. Remember that you proudly represent your community and family, but you’re also an individual.

You are one person doing your best to navigate a complex system without many of the privileges your peers enjoy.

Sims shares, “Be willing to fail but do not dwell on it, use your failures to inspire you to be better.

Lastly, remember that many first-generation nursing students have walked this path before you. Nursing school is tough under the best circumstances, so take every opportunity to build connections with others who can offer your wisdom and support during the hard times.

A mentor provides guidance and emotional support, regardless of their formal title. It can be a professor, an advisor, or a nurse who is farther down the career path than you.

“You are not always going to know the answers, so find a mentor to help you along the way,” Sims says.

The most important thing about choosing a mentor as a first-generation nursing student is finding someone who can see and appreciate you as a whole person and acknowledges your complete identity, culture, and struggles.