Whats so Hard about Nursing School and the profession?

by whipwreck82 Sep 29, '12 | 5,738 Views | 18 Comments

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12 I thought I would share my 2 cents on what I feel is the toughest part of Nursing School, and the profession......and i'll give some nice advice along the way as well....

You know, im amazed at how some students will say or claim that they never open the textbook...... that all they do is read powerpoints, and note sheets......I guess that for any student, the thing to note is, this is going to vary from school to school, every program is very different, and every student learns differently.

Some programs are "care bare schools, some programs put less of the reading responsibility on the student and more on the teachers, and others are completelyt self taught"

You know when I was in LPN school, I read everything, ....but I paced myself to 1 chapter a day.... my philosophy was
"One Chapter a day, keeps the grades of "F" away"

The Biggest thing though, no matter what was at end of the day, you have to really understand Nursing truely is its own art, and its own subject....its unique from other medical professions on that, your not just remembering whats normal and abnormal, and applying it to your patient and problem solving....what your doing is ultimately managing the patients response to illness and taking into account the entire holistic picture, the psychosocial and all, which is Nursing's most distinguishing feature a.k.a "the Nursing model"

I went to LPN School, and RT School, and I will say for me LPN School was very frustrating because of the type of NCLEX-PN style questions that have more than 1 right answer, sometimes 2 or 3 right answers and this is where you are constantly using that Nursing Process ...that ADPIE, and your remembering your ABC's and Maslow or Orem, or whatever theroist your school abides by....and of the 2 or 3 right answers, you have to pick the better one. I always criticzed this method of questioning because truthfully, ...you'll never really know if a student was right or not because you'll never know the rationale on why the student arrived there.

When I went to RT School, there was only one answer for a majority of the questions, and we were assessed from a totally different prospective,....we had NBRC style questions which are also critical thinking as all health care fields were, but instead we were assesed on treating and managing our patient. ....Personally I found the medical model much easier, and RT in general, mainly because I was better in the physical sciences, and RT is much more science orientated. Plus with Nursing, you have to know so much more such as, charting and documentation, and the psychosocial and family issues.

That dreaded Nursing model, I hated, and for me I felt like that was the hardest part of Nursing school....and you know what, some people never get it, .....thats why Fundamentals or the very first semester of Nursing School is so important, and possibly the most important level of nursing school.

If you fail Nursing,.....your not stupid, and it doesnt mean your not cut out for anything medical....I mean theres RT, X-Ray, Paramedic, Radiation Therapy, Med Lab Tech, PT.....plenty of options to go to....and dont think its your fault, ....in some cases, it could be your school, especially if you tried.....most people bash me for saying this, but personally, Im a firm believer of "theres no such thing as a bad student, just bad teacher", and if your in a program that graduates less than half of its students and has mediocre NCLEX Scores below 85%, then it could be your school.... so hope you pick a school with good NCLEX pass rates, an attrition rate of less than 40% and a good track record.

Lastly, Survival of Nursing school is not the last step......after you graduate, you have to survive the profession....and thats why I choose not to go get my RN and went to RT school instead. I know plenty of Nurses who have been in the job a while, and plenty of them want out....so be sure Nursing really is for you. If you wonder why some instructors and Nurses are so mean, and tough sometime, its for a reason...believe me I know.
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#1 2

Sep 29, '12 by seriouslyserious

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... when health care professionals start to not give a sh*t, that is when quality of care suffers. during my volunteer in the ER, I had a registered nurse tell me to go take a wheelchair from a patient. when the ***** is it ever ethical to take a wheelchair from a patient who cannot stand "because that is our property." i sprinted down to the entrance and grabbed a couple of wheelchairs to bring back. my favorite is the emphasis of teamwork... (sarcasm). good luck getting assistance with anything unless you have authority over them.

as far as nursing school goes... i will not be able to comment until/IF i finish. all i have to say is INSTEAD or IN ADDITION to the TEAS/HESI (entrance exams) they should have an intense psychological evaluation to weave out those people i listed.

Last edit by Esme12 on Sep 30, '12 : Reason: TOS/profanity
#2 5

Sep 30, '12 by whipwreck82

Yes, money alone is no reason to become a Nurse!

I cant tell you how many people have told me, I should have been an RN instead of an RT because "i'll make bank", and because of the advancement oppurtunities.

I'll tell ya, for the amount of crap (literaly) an RN puts up with daily, the extra 2-4 an hour isnt worth it, and as far as advancing? The higher authority positions are hard to get, unless you know someone or youre well liked, ....right now I make 51k/yr for 36hrs a week, and hold a second per diem job for fun lol, ....and im quite happy.

When I was working as an LPN, I had the interest in the patient care, but the b.s in the workplace, .....the coworkers, the management, on top of the physical stress, and the burnout.....truth be told, ...no psychological test in the world will ever help determine who's fit and not fit to become a nurse?

Plus im sorry to say, but money does motivate a ton of people......anf those people just have no idea what their in for?

Lets do an experiment? Lets pay Nurses like Social Workers, and then lets see how much we can contribute to the Nursing shortage lol?
#3 2

Sep 30, '12 by Orange Tree

The questions with three right answers drove me crazy!! They called it critical thinking, but I called it fluff.
#4 1

Sep 30, '12 by elprup

Quote from whipwreck82

YesLets do an experiment? Lets pay Nurses like Social Workers, and then lets see how much we can contribute to the Nursing shortage lol?

Funny
#5 2

Sep 30, '12 by SE_BSN_RN

Haha....what's the toughest part of nursing school.....having 8 months left. Feels like its gonna be forever......
#6 5

Sep 30, '12 by nursel56 Guide

Quote from lvn2bsoon

Haha....what's the toughest part of nursing school.....having 8 months left. Feels like its gonna be forever......

Yes, but the beauty of it is that nursing school is a temporary affliction. :-)

It's quite true that nursing school attempts to impart a completely new way of thinking to the student. Thank God for that.

I wouldn't say that medical school model differs all that much from the nursing model if by that you meant the "2 or 3 right answers" aspect of it. They generally have more information to process and apply "critical thinking" to arrive at the differential diagnosis. When the Chief Resident or Fellow grills the first year (interns), he or she is prodding them to think, and the questions are often open-ended.

Not only that, but the relative newbies are treated like dog-doo until they (or if they) manage to survive that year, get their ticket punched and move on up the ladder where they are treated less like a sub-human, and so on. Yet you never hear it said that "doctors eat their young" which is an interesting sociological topic to ponder.

Glad you found a niche you enjoy, whipwreck! Nursing is not for everyone, and it;s good you were able to determine that without wasting time in school learning to be an RN, and finding out on the job what it's really like to be one.

In my job as a private duty nurse to patients on ventilators, I'm fortunate to be able to do things that would be in the RT's turf in the hospital. I like it. I love to pester the RT from the vent company with lots of questions when he comes by every few weeks.

Last edit by nursel56 on Sep 30, '12
#7 0

Oct 1, '12 by samadams8

Seems like a poor use of resources, but whatever. I agree with the other poster. If they did this on a regular basis, it would be a problem. Every once and a while, may you could use the break. No offense, but it's a lot less responsibility and stress. I really wonder on a regular basis where this "profession" is going. I also think if they routinely pulled this stunt, it will be very sour for morale. It's one thing to function is a modified primary care role--I'm an ICU nurse. I have no problem with that. You do that plus everything else. But to just use someone like this in this manner is kind of stupid. I'm sure people are thinking, "I'm paying how much toward my $60,000-$80,000 worth of education to do this?
#8 4

Oct 1, '12 by Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN Senior Moderator

Quote from Orange Tree

The questions with three right answers drove me crazy!! They called it critical thinking, but I called it fluff.

But is it? Think of this....you walk into a patients room and find one of those scenarios? You need to know which one you need to do first. Every patient is different.....there will a many things that you need to simultaneously, the SKILL of being a good nurse is learning which one do you need to do first.

I will admit it gets easier with a real patient in front of you and they are diaphoretic, blue, and slumped over in the bed....that the right answer seems to scream in your head. But....did the right answer scream in your head by instinct or because you've already been asked that question and learned it in school?

Just a thought.....
#9 1

Oct 1, '12 by Mrsladysoul83

"one chapter a day keeps the grade of F away"! LUV IT! Im gonna say that to myself on those days i feel lazy!
#10 0

Oct 1, '12 by mmc51264, BSN, RN

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.

I am burning my self out in the 3 months that I have been out and working because I try to do everything that I am supposed to. NOT because I chose for other reasons. I average 15 pts. I am working as an RN in a rehab facility, and trying to assess and do what I need to do as if I am working on a med/surg floor with 8 pts.
Please don't generalize.
Working is NOTHING like nursing school. Sure, NS is the most stressful thing I have ever done, but working, until you get there, you won't understand.

Good luck!!
#11 1

Oct 1, '12 by LCinTraining

Quote from whipwreck82

Lets do an experiment? Lets pay Nurses like Social Workers, and then lets see how much we can contribute to the Nursing shortage lol?

in order to do that nurses first have to all have at the very least a bachelors degree. Most a masters. Human services is notorious for requiring the most amount of education with the lowest pay grade. Says the woman married to a guy in human services.
#12 0

Oct 1, '12 by charli_appleRN

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.