Nursing Needs To Get Back In The Hospitals

Nurses General Nursing

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I saw a nurse post this last night on somewhere else I frequent. She said nursing needs to get back in the hospitals and out of the universities.

Why would she say that? For all of you older nurses who may know, was it more hands on?

And when they did teach in the hospitals, were classes held in the hospital as well?

I was gonna ask her, but she would probably never see my question since it's not really a message board like this site.

Specializes in Critical Care, Capacity/Bed Management.

It goes both ways; I'm currently in my last year of nursing school and for the past two semesters we have not been allowed to administer any medications outside of the PO route as per our clinical sites. We are also not allowed to access the computers, although they are paperless and have very little information in the chart.

I've had nurses say in front of patients that they don't want students taking care of anyone in their assignment, because they don't want to clean up our mess. They have taken away materials for teaching because they haven't been looked over (they were hospital issued). It is incredibly frustrating that this is the culture in which we must learn now and practice.

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It goes both ways; I'm currently in my last year of nursing school and for the past two semesters we have not been allowed to administer any medications outside of the PO route as per our clinical sites. We are also not allowed to access the computers although they are paperless and have very little information in the chart. I've had nurses say in front of patients that they don't want students taking care of anyone in their assignment, because they don't want to clean up our mess. They have taken away materials for teaching because they haven't been looked over (they were hospital issued). It is incredibly frustrating that this is the culture in which we must learn now and practice.[/quote']

I went through the same thing!!

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Everyone looks at me like I have ten heads when I say how much I would've loved a hospital based nursing education with tons of clinical hours!

IMHO, nursing students are totally ripped off these days.

I wish I could have gotten my nursing education this way as well. I am more of a hands on learner myself. Clinicals were my favorite part of school and what I did best in.

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Specializes in Acute Care, Rehab, Palliative.

I know that my older colleagues that went through hospital based live in programs said that when they graduated they were capable of running a floor. They had been working hands on from the first week of school.It's too bad that type of program was done away with.

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Nursing school is a huge rip off because its geared at making money for the college and those who sell NCLEX geared curriculum. Honestly, I found NCLEX to be rather ridiculous. Nursing school was all about books. Fundamentals are great, but you learn everything after you graduate. My hospital had me in orientation for over 3 months to train me. They place all new grads that way. I learned more in those 3 months than I did the entire time I was in school.

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I teach nursing students everything I can when they spend the day on our unit. I make it a priority.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.

I would hope for a hybrid of sorts for the betterment of the preparation for the profession. I had a hospital based program as a PN student-we spent time in nursing homes, OR, IR, ER, vent floor, trauma floor, med-surg, L&D (saw a C-Section) post partum, newborn nursery-no NICU. Mental Health (which included being at a crisis center).

My clinicals were average 3 days after the first quarter, so I found myself having a "hands on" nursing education.

I found myself being very prepared in my first job in pedi home health, and in Rehab; meaning, I felt comfortable in the basics, as well as asking questions and putting it together.

I'm fortunate that I had that foundation; my BSN program emphasized "immersion" in clinicals; I honestly think my clinical instructors wanted to give that "hands on" approach from the hospital education days; my clinicals were average 12 hr shifts, so 24 hrs/week was the average.

There is one program that has a option for a one or two semester preceptorship at a local university in my area-I think having a semester or two of strictly clinical would help nursing students; I think bridging the gap and helping nursing students transition should be the rule, not the exception; even if it means having an extra semester. The clinical experiences would include nursing homes, shadowing a home health nurse (an option that was a part of my BSN program that many of is were able to experience) school nursing, LTCAH as sites, to provide exposure to those areas.

I would hope that would include securing agreements to the educators as well as the facilities (especially when a percentage is litigation-sensitive) to prepare future nurses-that would include allowing to pass meds, etc.

I find it disheartening that there are students that aren't being allowed to even pass meds in clinicals; even though it is not something that can be handled as a licensed nurse; it should be with some form of familiarity once the first job is begun.

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I don't think the comment has much to do with nurses education but more with those educators being away from the bedside for so long they have little clue what the low guy on the totem pole(bedside nurse) actually now goes through. I can think of many things I know how very educated nurses say how I should do things and all the theory behind why they might say it but some of those things would require me only having a couple patients when sometime you have 7 high acuity patients. So you continually feel guilty for not doing things "right" when, in fact, you are just trying to keep your head above water. It is no longer possible for 2 nurses and one lpn to care for 40 patients like we did when I got out of school. What those educators remember and what is today possible can be 2 worlds apart.

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I agree with the motive behind this author's comment. We're churning out worse new graduates ,because instructors fail to allow them to hone their craft. I remember being in nursing school and ******** my professor out for not allowing me to do IV set ups and starts until my 4th semester. They take Nursing students in the hospital, but train them fundamentals the entire time. I've seen senior students come onto the unit & still have no idea how a bladder scanner works, how to start an IV, how to safely turn the patient, how to critically think lab values through. (these are the fundamentals of nursing) You shouldn't be asking your professor if it's ok to turn your patient as a senior.

I become upset with my coworkers who become ecstatic for nursing students to come onto the unit, but only want them to place the patients on bedpans. I mean, seriously?

My school told us any skills we did not learn in clinicals was going to be learned on the job.

Meanwhile,employers expect students to know clinical skills.

Its an endless cycle.

I was not allowed to give any Iv meds during clinicals.

I had one clinical instructor who was adamant we do nothing without her,even if staff Rn's observed us. She said we were under her license.

According to another instructor,we were not allowed due to the hospital's insurance carrier.

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I forgot to add this above but hospitals are becoming obsolete.

I think new grads need more clinical experience outside of hospitals these days.

I meet so many nurses who have never worked a day in a hospital and those numbers are increasing.

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