some in nursing is screwing us all.

[alansmith52]

I have been talking with some fellow nurisng staff tonight and we have that someone withing nursing is screwing us over. we thnk its likley political.

here are the roots of our conversation.

1. we researched some nursing schools that are "internet based in nature". the schools claim is that you can get your RN in six months no clinical. upon further review we found that the school is acredited by the leauge. We thin the league or someone inorder to get kickbacks is making it possible for nurses to get through faster.

2. someone probably the ana has made the process for forgien nurses obtaing liscences easy. should it be easy

should be easy to become a nurse? that is what all of these campaings are aimed at. and it has to be some entity within nurisng.

I know you will think these accusations are unfounded. but just think about it for a minute.

[pebbles, BSN, RN]

These are pretty bold claims for you to make without offering supporting evidence.

No offense, but you sound a wee bit paranoid to me.

[sjoe]

You can fool all of the people some of the time, etc.

[alansmith52]

so have none of you gotten the feeling that inorder to become a nurse. requirments have been eased.

you know it happend durring wwII thats how we got the two year program

[psychomachia]

Isn't there a newsgroup called alt.conspiracy.nursing-requirements-erased?

Remember, the answer is "42"

Be careful what you say here, they are watching us...

[alansmith52]

lol

[caliotter3]

I laughed also at the paranoid reference. During an official session at the Employment Development Dept., an employee commented to me about the practice in a certain country that supplies nurses to the US of "selling" false credentials. He stated that this practice is so prevalent and successful, partly b/c of the cooperation that occurs at this end of the nurse "pipeline". Food for thought. (This employee was not laughing or joking when he told me about this. I got nauseated.)

It only stands to reason that there would be schemes at this end also. I wish I could scheme all my education money back into my pocket.

[MollyJ]

Alan,

I agree.

However, I don't think it's a conspiracy. I think it's just routine, shooting-yourself-in-the-foot, nursing behavior.

One of the tasks of a professional nursing organization (in this case, the NLN) is to protect access to the profession, that is, to delineate who and how people become nurses. The doors have been flung wide open in the name of the nursing shortage.

Pretty soon, the main requirement for nursing school entrance will be LACK of PEA (pulseless electrical activity).

Every fiber of my being deplores the idea that you can "make a registered nurse" by taking a well intentioned LPN, Nurse aide, paramedic, military medic and "sprinkle" on a little extra book learning.

I think a Registered Nurse is a separate body of knowledge, both broad and deep, that requires a solid foundation of knowledge (preferably that associated with the BSN) with specialized courses of education in the presence and company of other nurses. Because it is knowledge PLUS enculturization PLUS skills, it takes exposure to the situations in a protected environment under the direct supervision of a clinical nursing instructor. Nursing is not a see-one, do-one, teach-one endeavor.

I think 1 + 1 programs and internet programs FOR THE ADN CREDENTIAL are serious dilutions of this concept. I support the notion of BSN completion via the internet, though I am awed by what I got by doing it through a flexible, university based BSN completion program.

For those of you who are out there doing clinical nursing who have come from these beginnings, God Bless You. It would be my contention that profession of nursing failed to represent YOUR best interests when they approved your educational TRAINING program and you are a victim of this broken system.

Now, I will sit back to be called a snob and an elitist. Probably guilty.

[Flo1216]

I don't think it is easy for foreign nurses to become licensed. We had recruited 30 nurses from the Phillipines but only got 6 because they didn't pass the boards. They take the same boards we take here. Also, the online nursing courses are usually for RN to BSN career ladder programs. and there are SOME classes that you have to show up for in person. I can't imagine that a computer can graduate someone from RN school with no clinical experience and no nursing experience in six months. Calm down.

[SmilingBluEyes]

I don't buy this. the online programs I see all require local clinical components w/preceptor. I think this is a misunderstanding. Oh and what is wrong w/two year programs, exactly? Can we quit being so divisive when it comes to ADN versus BSN already?

[JailRN]

Don't know-except in our state, the ADN has to take 2x as many units than others. You could almost get a BSN as fast. You need about 2 years of prerequisites before you can get into the 2 year program-my hubby, the SN is about to loose his mind. Told him to take a number.

[pebbles, BSN, RN]

Every few months someone will tell me the old story about the janitor that impersonated a doctor and somehow was able to even do surgical procedures...

I think part of the problem is NOT how easy it is to become a nurse - but how easy it is to stay a nurse, even when you are a BAD nurse. Because we are so varied in the types of people we are and types of care we provide, stricter control over who gets to be an RN isn't necesssarily a solution. We need to have employers that hold us accountable to good nursing care, not pandering to families, etc. And employers with the guts to do something about nurses who really are not providing safe or good care to patients.

There are many ways to look at the problem of standards within the nursing profession.