Hey Nurse

Yes, nursing programs really are that hard. Don’t bother with the program at all if you’re not ok with spending a majority of your time studying. You have

 to learn anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology, pharmacology, microbiology, nutrition, chemistry etc. And then there’s the actual nursing courses where you learn how to document, how to set up chest tubes, the correct way to clean and lift and walk patients, start IVs, administer meds, how to recognize when a patient is crashing and what to do when that happens (because a doctor is usually not going to be there when it does and it’s your job to keep them alive until they get there)…the list goes on and on. The truth is, you won’t get how much it takes until you are in the middle of it, but yes, it is hard. Having bad grades now doesn’t mean you’ll make a bad nurse, but you better be prepared to work your ass off. Also, many programs are very competitive and/or have waiting list due to the growing number of aspiring nurses. The harder you work now, the better chance you'll have to get accepted. 

TLDR: your advisor ain't lyin’