What unique challenges did Hilary Erickson face during her nursing education at BYU?

Hi, I’m Hilary Erickson from The Pregnancy Nurse. How can I help?

During my nursing education at BYU, a few things were especially challenging and honestly pretty scarring at the time:

• Getting in was tough. I wasn’t accepted the first time, had to retake classes (like microbiology) and still only barely improved my grades. I also don’t test well, which made it extra stressful.

• The early semesters were intentionally brutal. BYU used a “block” system with very intense classroom and clinical periods that felt designed to break you down before building you up.

• I had a particularly harsh professor who:

  • Told me my papers were terrible and threatened my place in the program
  • Made snide comments about my dad being a dean and implying I got in because of him
  • Advised me not to get married because she thought it would ruin my potential

• The culture could feel perfectionistic and demeaning. Some professors seemed to believe it was their job to “shrink” students so they could mold us, which left me feeling marked as “the dumb one” and doubting I’d be a good nurse.

Despite all that, I did graduate, went on to work in multiple areas of nursing, and later discovered I was actually a very solid nurse.

Is there a specific part of nursing school you’re most worried about—getting in, surviving classes, or clinicals?