What/why do they say our classes are fluff?

Specialties Doctoral

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I'm currently in an MSN program and not in a DNP program, but it seems like a common complaint on these threads here are about how our classes are bunch of fluff. I really haven't found any classes to be "fluffy" so to speak in that I thought all of them were in some ways relevant to learning how to be a good NP. However, I was wonder if you guys can clarify what exactly do you mean your classes are fluff? I can't imagine them legally teaching something totally left field and unrelevant like particle physics or something in class that would waste your time.....

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Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.

Are you being serious or just looking to stir the pot again? I'm not going to call out any particular school and this is just my opinion which started with the annoying fluff classes in my BSN program but every one I have checked out has these expensive courses designed to do little more than show how important we are now that we are "advanced" and can add another set of alphabets to the soup at the end of our name.

Anything with Nursing, especially Advanced Nursing or Evidence Based in the title is suspect, add to that list most anything with:

1. Community

2. Family Unit or Family Centered

3.Theoretical and Ethical

4. Professional Development

5. Health Policy

6. Nurse Scholar

7. Leadership

8. Nursing Roles

9. Perspectives in Nursing anything

I'm not saying these fluff courses are useless just that making them anything more than a lecture topic when NPs are getting so few credits in pharmacology is ridiculous.

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Specializes in Outpatient Psychiatry.
I'm currently in an MSN program and not in a DNP program, but it seems like a common complaint on these threads here are about how our classes are bunch of fluff. I really haven't found any classes to be "fluffy" so to speak in that I thought all of them were in some ways relevant to learning how to be a good NP. However, I was wonder if you guys can clarify what exactly do you mean your classes are fluff? I can't imagine them legally teaching something totally left field and unrelevant like particle physics or something in class that would waste your time.....

Well, although particle physicis would be a stretch, nursing theory is equally a stretch.

So for me

research methodology

advanced research utilization

nursing theory

advanced community health

Those were all fluffy and useless in practice. I screen articles no better (or worse) than I did as a graduate student. I am a practitioner, not a scholar, not a scientist.

What is community health anyway? As a master student, I had to design a heart disease prevention presentation. How scholarly is that? The same could be said for nursing theory? I can't even produce a list of theories in my head right now other than trans theoretical model which I happened to see listed on FPNotebook.com earlier tucked under the mental health section. I don't need a "theory" to address patients. I ask for symptoms, decide what neural pathways may be involved, and provide meds appropriate to those symptoms and circuits. That's it.

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I maybe one of the only ones but I do think all of those classes are important in some way. With that said I don't think I need a whole semester about research methodology, advanced research utilization, nursing theory, etc.

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Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.
I maybe one of the only ones but I do think all of those classes are important in some way. With that said I don't think I need a whole semester about research methodology, advanced research utilization, nursing theory, etc.

I'm sure you aren't the only one but do you really think those classes are worth the time and money when there could be for example an additional pharmacology/prescribing, diagnostics etc courses instead? I have always been cynical of much of our nursing education which I feel is geared toward self-inflation so when I look at med school courses vs NP I can't help but wish my time and money were better spent.

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Specializes in Outpatient Psychiatry.
I maybe one of the only ones but I do think all of those classes are important in some way.

How so? What am I missing?

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Specializes in Outpatient Psychiatry.
I'm sure you aren't the only one but do you really think those classes are worth the time and money when there could be for example an additional pharmacology/prescribing, diagnostics etc courses instead? I have always been cynical of much of our nursing education which I feel is geared toward self-inflation so when I look at med school courses vs NP I can't help but wish my time and money were better spent.

I know. I'm so jealous. I look at the time and cost of BSN and MSN on top of myroot education and am so mad that my five years doesn't compare to a PA's 28 months. All their classes "matter," and maybe five of my 40 nursing classes were relevant.

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man i come back after a 2 week break and the OP is at it again.

When people say fluff, they mean classes that don't add to ones ability to write up an H+P, diagnose, treat, or understand why illness occurs on a molecular or systems level.

Geez, nursing research lol. I almost failed that class and got laughed at by our instructor cuz my project was nonsense. Thought it would fit well bc the class was nonsense but her flawance night gale eyes saw right through it.

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How so? What am I missing?

your missing out on all of that philosanurse stuff that makes you think things through deeply on a spiritual level and getting in touch with your inner nightingale. Ive heard that people can use telepathy and make wipes move with their mind so they can clean 2 dirty rear ends at once. Apparently they also add 10 feet to your IV starting range, and let you feel peoples "bad blood" without having to order lab tests. I mean who orders labs anyway when you can simply conceptualize the patient's dilantin levels through cognitive....

ok I'm done.

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Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.

I believe this poster just enjoys creating drama. Every single post is something to ruffle feathers. I had plenty of fluff courses during a 4 yr BSN-DNP program. When a preceptor asked to look at our curriculum he called it PhD lite. I will never ask myself "What would Watson or Orem do?" when seeing a patient. I will never use the countless hours of research used on my almost 200 page Capstone. I don't plan on ever writing another APA format anything. I spent a lot of money on an education that had too many classes that will be of zero use in my chosen specialty. I don't recommend the same education to my children. I suggest they choose a separate path in healthcare.

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Nursing is a great profession and probably the most important single role in healthcare but I'm pretty sure the OP would buy a turd and wear it proudly if somebody stamped the word "nurse" into it.

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Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.
Nursing is a great profession and probably the most important single role in healthcare but I'm pretty sure the OP would buy a turd and wear it proudly if somebody stamped the word "nurse" into it.

I agree 100% that nursing is a great profession despite all the nitwits and foolishness. Bummed to surmise however that I probably shouldn't be proudly wearing the turd I got stamped:

Jules A, LPN, ADN, BSN, MS, CRNP-PMH, CRNP-FNP, BC

:roflmao:

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