Whats so Hard about Nursing School and the profession?

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charli_appleRN

95 Posts

I'm one of those who might open her text book the first few weeks but I eventually ditch it. I do read the ATI book cover to cover, though. I've found that the textbooks contain mostly prerequisite review. So far, Ive had at least 4 classes in which I had to seriously study fluid/electrolye balance. Did I read the 300 pages in my Med-surg book devoted to fluids/electrolytes this semester????? NO, I DID NOT!!!! lol Did I pass the test??? Yes, and with a very good grade. I have to critically think my way through reading assignments just like I do exams; otherwise, I'd NEVER get finished reading.

Specializes in PDN; Burn; Phone triage.
in my opinion, the (licensed) nurses that burn out chose this profession because of reasons other than a genuine interest in people... income, job stability, etc...

Most of the burnt out nurses that I know burned out *because* they completely embraced that selfless, compassionate, empathetic nurse archetype. Which is what I assume you're referring to because I'd wager that the majority of the world population has "a genuine interest in people." (We're social creatures, after all.)

I've been blessed in my job with the opportunity to work with a half-dozen or so nurses who have been doing critical care for 15-25+ years -- and each one will give you a variety of reasons why they went into nursing, and why they chose to stay in bedside nursing.

Stephalump

2,723 Posts

Specializes in Forensic Psych.

Most of the burnt out nurses that I know burned out *because* they completely embraced that selfless, compassionate, empathetic nurse archetype. Which is what I assume you're referring to because I'd wager that the majority of the world population has "a genuine interest in people." (We're social creatures, after all.)

I've been blessed in my job with the opportunity to work with a half-dozen or so nurses who have been doing critical care for 15-25+ years -- and each one will give you a variety of reasons why they went into nursing, and why they chose to stay in bedside nursing.

I totally agree with this. Burn out can come from caring too MUCH. Or people get into the profession because the have dreams of saving the world one pt at a time and have a rude awakening when they spend a whole lot of time charting pushing med carts and playing the customer service game.

Specializes in LTC, Med-surg.

I think the reason why its so hard is because there are so much information to cover in such a short amount of time.

Also, imagine learning over 500 pages of stuff and having to sit down for an exam that only has about 70 questions.

70 questions is somehow equivalent to over 500 pages of reading...

do you see where I'm coming at here?

Add to that this very exam could be worth 50% or more of your grade...

Yes...that is why I think its hard.

whipwreck82

10 Posts

Yes Working is Nothing like Nursing School.......I said it, ....once you survive the school, ....dont think youre done, cause youre not.....far from it.....Now you gotta survive the profession,

Nursing simply isnt get out and make 25/hr.....people never understand how difficult Nursing really is until they do it....thats why I became an RT instead of an RN.....after working as an LPN, I saw all I needed, .....At my facility, Nurses make 3-4 more an hour, and just for the amount of crap that a RN needs to deal with, it just isnt worth it to me,

Bless the people that are doing it, because, your PT's need you

whipwreck82

10 Posts

Well there are always questions where there 2 or 3 like answers in very subject and you need to pick the best one. Or the Subjectiveness. To me Nursing just relies more on this particular style of question because the nature of practice is focused on the patients response...including the psych, emotional holistic picture. ....the Medical Model is much more science based, and doesnt rely on this method as much, but its there on occasion,....but I had an easier time, because its more science and medically based.....at least thats how I intrepreted it?

The Medical Model and Nursing model are just completely different to me, based on my own expierences...... maybe I just had an easier time with it? Like I said, Nursing really is its own art and subject and is unique....to some people, its common sense, to others like me, its frustrating, and some, just simply dont get it....

The one thing about Nursing Theory and the Nursing Model is Nursing also has its own special things that are added to it like Fundamental Concepts, lifting and transferring, safety, charting, care planning and the Nursing Diagnosis....

This is not meant to be a flame, nursing diagnosis is a joke. It is like trying to reinvent the wheel. I became aware of this the first day it was brought up in nursing school. I was thinking, what the heck is this trying to do? After further analysis, all I could think of was, "trying to reinvent the wheel". Why would one describe dehydration as alteration in hydration status as evidenced by poor skin turgor or whatever?

I have a lot of respect for nurses and the nursing profession in general, but nursing diagnosis......There is no need at all for it. Just my humble opinion.

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nursel56

7,078 Posts

Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
Well there are always questions where there 2 or 3 like answers in very subject and you need to pick the best one. Or the Subjectiveness. To me Nursing just relies more on this particular style of question because the nature of practice is focused on the patients response...including the psych, emotional holistic picture. ....the Medical Model is much more science based, and doesnt rely on this method as much, but its there on occasion,....but I had an easier time, because its more science and medically based.....at least thats how I intrepreted it?

Here is why I think saying the medical model is more like RT than nursing because they are both "science-based" doesn't capture the whole picture. All of that science knowledge is not learned so the doctor can name every bone in your hand or learn to read a rhythm strip. It's learned because that knowledge is crucial to his or her ability to accurately diagnose illness when the sum of science-based observations could mean 10 different illnesses or possible "right answers". It's a part of a process, just as nursing is and both encompass the patient's response as intrinsic.

I'm not sure of your familiarity with using NANDA on the job - but I do believe many people haven't had it explained very well. I would recommend that you read this page, post, #16 before you pass judgement.

Some nursing dx are silly, but should nurses throw out the only truly unique framework available to differentiate ourselves from other professions? I don't think so. It's as if nursing theory is a book that has many pages yet to be written. Let's not throw out the book, but continue the conversation.

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