Things You Didn't Learn in Nursing School

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ErikaBrodie

1 Post

So sadly true. We have to bend over backwards sometimes just to keep patients happy and hence the hospital happy with "good ratings"

PMFB-RN said:
*** Nursing students are not demanding enough of the nursing school they are paying for their education. It's abserd that nursing schools are no longer teaching basic nursing skills and instead transfering the responsibiliety to employers. Is it any wonder there is so much reluctance by hospitals to hire new grads? New grads have alwasy been expensive to train, having to train them in the most basic and fundamental skills only adds to the expence.

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Oh, but don't be too assertive with seeking out learning opportunities or procedures, because then you're labelled "too aggressive" and a "know it all" by your instructors.

I wish I would have known that the world outside my ivory tower nursing school was cutthroat and full of nurses that would throw a new grad under the bus in a heartbeat.

PMFB-RN, RN

5,351 Posts

Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.
ChristineN said:
Nursing school never taught me this either, not even in lab on dummies. It sure would have been nice to have at least been introduced to the skill

I too have noticed the recent trend of nursing schools failing to teach basic nursing skills.

My hospital expects new grads to come to us with basic skills.

I don't expect a new grad to be skilled at something like IV insertion, but I would expect them to understand what would be appropriate sized IVS to choose, where they are likely to find good veins, and know enought to at least make an attempt or two on thier own before calling me.

The fact that nursing school are often failing to teach basic skills really puts new grads behind the 8 ball and increases our cost to train them, thus more reluctant to hire them in the first place.

There is one particular DEMDN who doesn't teach and basic skills and nobody wants to hire their grads.

Loracs72

65 Posts

Specializes in OB/GYN, Home Health, ECF.

I graduated from a 3 year nursing school and have 40 years under my belt. We also practiced skills such as insertion of NGs, IM injections and that really helped when starting as a new grad. In our senior year we had " Team Nursing" where the students were "in charge" of the unit ( on all shifts ) with backup from the RN's It was a valuable experience and gave us a realistic view of nursing. It takes a lot of practice to start IV's. Fortunately most hospitals have IV teams, but then when you need to start an IV, most nurses don't have that skill. And you need to keep doing that skill to keep your skills fresh. When I was a new RN, the older nurses on the unit were the best preceptors and would give us the confidence we needed ! That doesn't happen anymore.... It seems most new graduates want to be in charge or managers without the hand son skills, which is sad.

SuzanneP54

10 Posts

No one I know in MI has been able to start an iv during nursing school.

I never had the opportunity to insert a ngt in nursing school. I was given that opportunity as a new grad.

Nursing students don't come into the job well prepared at all.

While I was in nursing school, I never started an IV, drew labs or inserted any tube into any orifice. That was all done in the lab at school. The learning curve at my first job-oh my! I landed a job in the "hell-hole" of the hospital, but I have damn good skills now!

styler-blood

7 Posts

I think it might depend on the school. I am not super educated on other nursing schools in general . I have seen in my area though where there are two bsn programs from universities and two community colleges that the community colleges do get a little more hand on experience. First semester the skills that we learned were IM subQ's intradermals foley insertion, tube meds, and wound care even how to work with the different drains and vacs. Even in second semester we did Iv fluids and piggy backs ng tube insertions which student were able to do on the floors and. We also defiantly started IV's on the floors I seeker them out and would go around the nurses stations asking anyone if they had one to let me know. One of our specialty rotations was short stay. One girl in my class started 13 IV's there in one day

PMFB-RN, RN

5,351 Posts

Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.
cerupp said:
Fortunately most hospitals have IV teams, .

I find this to be highly regional.

PMFB-RN, RN

5,351 Posts

Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.
styler-blood said:
We also defiantly started IV's on the floors I seeker them out and would go around the nurses stations asking anyone if they had one to let me know. One of our specialty rotations was short stay. One girl in my class started 13 IV's there in one day

Good for you and her. That's what we do with our new grads who haven't learned. We send them to day surgery to get lots of practice.

It's an expensive thing to do with a new grad. Instead of learning what we would like them to know, we are paying them to learn what they should have learned in school.

Specializes in Cardio-Pulmonary; Med-Surg; Private Duty.
PMFB-RN said:
Good for you and her. That's what we do with our new grads who haven't learned. We send them to day surgery to get lots of practice.

It's an expensive thing to do with a new grad. Instead of learning what we would like them to know, we are paying them to learn what they should have learned in school.

While we did have a lab day doing IVs on dummy arms, it wasn't a huge focus in my school. A local hospital told my nursing school's dean that they can teach any nurse to put in an IV -- what they really want is new grads who can THINK.

deminurse

4 Posts

42 ;)