I oriented a new graduate nurse today and was absolutely flabergasted. She graduated in May and passed her boards easily in July of this year. This nurse somehow got through nursing school observing but not performing anything. She was so proud of herself for dc'ing her first IV today. She had never emptied a foley bag, drawn up medication from a vial, done a blood sugar....the list goes on.
She is slated for up to 8 weeks of orientation to the facility. This is difficult because its really not orientation to the facility she needs right now. She needs hands on nursing skills. I've been out of school for quite a while but I vividly remember the HOURS/WEEKS/MONTHS spent in clincals. Are nursing schools skimping on clinicals? Are they more worried about their stats on passing the boards--and producing nurses that are book smart and not clinically savvy?