The goal of this interpretive research study was to articulate the lived experience of students in an accelerated master’s of nursing entry program learning the practice of nursing within a clinical setting. Specific questions included: How did previous life experiences, education, and career choices influence the experience of second-degree students? What were the potential effects on learning of condensing and accelerating the curriculum as is requisite in second-degree programs? Data from small group and individual interviews were collected and analyzed using interpretive phenomenological methods. Akin to the experience of tourists or new immigrants, students were confronted with new physical demands, new equipment, new time patterns, and most importantly, new ways of relating to people, all within a condensed time frame. What stood out most in these students’ accounts was the ubiquitous context of inpatient nursing care in which lives were at stake.