How much information do u really retain

[shynurse]

hi everyone. this is my very 1st thread. i am a nursing student entering my final semester starting september hopefully (if god is willing) to graduate in december 2009. i just wanted to know truthfully. how much of your nursing education did u or do u actually retain. can u say that u remembered everything u were taught. honestly "i dont", sometimes i feel like everything is jumbled up in my head.

once when i was in the er during clinical 2 of my classmates & i spoke to a nurse that prevousily graduated from our college and we asked if her education prepared her to transition into a working nurse and she said no it only helped her pass the nclex.

honestly when she said that i felt much better because i dont feel like the clinical experiences that i have had helped me to pratice or retain much of the information i was taught. also i dont and never have worked in the health field. what ur take on this.

[NurseThis21, BSN, RN]

:spnngwlcm: To AllNurses!

Let me tell ya, that nurse was right! Our education is based on "cram everything they can into our little heads, sit back, and watch it all explode!". I seriously haven't the faintest memory of anything I learned in school. :brnfrt:

This might sound terrifying to a patient, but I think everyone (or mostly everyone) feels that way. A lot of seasoned nurses say that New Grads have a "two week" education, meaning we only remember the first two weeks of our education! Womp Womp! However, that doesn't mean that we will never remember. Once we get into practice, the stuff we studied long hours for will slowly come back to help us ... or haunt us!

That's the only reason why I think we "think" we don't remember anything; our information hasn't been put into practice and therefore it just lies dormant until you have to save someone's life!

So don't worry, you may come out of Nursing school saying "Der da Der!" just like me, but in the long run, all of that hardwork will pay off and mental skills will slowly but surely manifest into the technical skils that we all know and love!

Have fun in your last semester! Remember, it's the last time you can get away with silly mistakes and blame your instructor! ::Hoepfully, I'm not instilling bad habits! Tehehe!:: :idntdt:

NurseThis21, BSN, RN

UIC Alumna

[shynurse]

THANKS for ur honesty... i thought i was the only one. U know what actually since everyone at my job knows i am attending nursing school they are constantly throwing questions at me that i answer confidently (and i am sure that they rush back to google it to see if i know wat i am talking about because i rush back and do the same thing:roll:roll) most of the time i am exactly on point.

[Jules A, MSN]

I'd agree that much of it was just NCLEX prep but you will be pleasantly surprised at the stuff that comes back to you while you are working. If nothing else there are many times when I will have an inkling of something even if I can't remember exactly what it is I know enough to flag it in my mind and research it. Good luck!

[sweetpeanurse]

I personally think nursing school is to STRESS U OUT, and SHOVE as much info they can at you for NCLEX. If you can handle the stress then you can be a nurse, and the info comes back and slaps you on the forehead after you ask the question to someone else. I know it does me.

[SummerGarden, BSN, MSN, RN]

much of what i retained as a student came from being a nurse extern. in other words, while i was in school i learned a lot of information but when i was able to apply the information at work it stuck in my head and am able to recall it as a rn. therefore, if it was not for that experience, i doubt i would have retained much from nursing school because we were exposed taught too much at once.

[prudence09]

I have to agree with the nurse you spoke to. I really don't remember much. Every now and then something will pop into my head. I went to my doctor the other day and he asked if I was still in school and I told him I graduated and was an RN now and I'm working and that school doesn't teach you crap. He just busted out laughing because he knows it's true. Now that I'm working the facts they teach in school are right but it's presented as if we will be nurses in the ideal world. We are not nurses in the ideal world. It's just that schools can't teach the real world.

[Bobylon]

Me thinkst ye remember a lot, and "forget" even more .... but what ya need to know comes back right quick during the daily (or nightly) grind. I did really well in school, but felt like I knew NOTHING when I hit the floor, and now, 3 months or so later, realize that I did indeed learn/retain a lot, but have learned oh so much more. Nothing like hands on exp to teach ya right quick !!!

[learningriss]

i knwo this is an old thread but how do learning disabilities retain all the information? i feel like i got short term memory thats why i struggle with highschool even had these people that help me, reading a book i forget whath appens a week and they do pop quizes on that.