Nurses attack 'shameful' training

I don't think they need a year, but we do offer a 3 month orientation (for both new grads and nurses from other specialties). It may not be "right", but it's smart.

I am a new grad and not all of us are that disrespectful to others. I value the experiences, techniques and any helpful or new information that anyone can share with me. I try not to take things personally, but if someone is attacking me of course I will get defensive. If someone offers me constructive criticism I take it just as that, then apply effort to correct my ways.

I am trying to prepare myself to be "throwen to the wolves", but all I want is to find a unit where I feel like I am part of the family. I plan on staying for many, many years when I find my home. I do not want to be jumping around for the rest of my career.

You know Sue, you may have 25 years experience as a nurse, but in todays' nursing I wonder if you would meet the standards to be accepted into nursing school.
The public has no idea what nursing education is about today. It is not just clinical skills in the healthcare setting anymore, it is much, much more. We now must have a diverse education in all aspects of the client's health. If the physican slips up we have to catch the slip, if the physical therapist slips we need to be there to get the ball too....Clients are more aware of their disease states now, we have to explain in detail medications, disease process, therapy..etc. And in order to explain we need to know the basics; chemistry, microbiology, child psychology, statistics, computer science... I hope that you are following me.
Clinical skills can be learned on the job later...the first year post graduation in fact. So the next time you question or are critical of a nurse..ask yourself:
"What kind of clincal skills did I have 25 years ago? Could I compete with 100 -200 students to get into nursing school? Would I be able to maintain the standards and still go to clinical and excel..while I am training with veteran nurses at clinical settings that do not want to train me?"
Don't be one of those "nurses that eat the young". Maybe you could be part of the solution...by becoming an instructor, do you have your MSN? If we continue to bash new nurses, no one will go into nursing.

Thank you marymary. You do see what I am seeing.

I think we need to stop thinking in terms of nurse's "training". Dogs are trained, seals are trained, nurses are educated. Nursing needs to make BSN the entry level - there's just too much to learn in 2 years. And I agree with the intern idea or making the last semester of school all clinicals. Pharmacy and physical therapy are make a doctorate their entry level. Everyone is raising the bar except nursing - does not bode well for the future of nursing.

Here we go again.

Oh Lordy I was desperately trying to ignore that too ....

This is another attitude I get from BSN grads...who wonder why I am not warmly encouraging towards them when their first question to me is 'Where did you graduate" followed by "Well it must be hard for you as an old diploma nurse to compete with today's university nurses. "

Almost similar to a LPN being asked where's the real nurse.

Sue Jenkins (the interviewee of the newspaper article referred to in the original post) is in the minority of nurses who disagree with the university model of nurse education. I have read studies that showed that while the nursing profession was split 50/50 on this model prior to its introduction, follow ups in the mid nineties showed that between 85-90% of nurses (in Australia) supported the move.

I have no doubt that hospital training prepared very resourceful and practical registered nurses, and I would be happy to have had a hospital trained RN look after me or my family. However the health care system (and society) has changed greatly since those times. Most notably are the advances in medicine (which do impact significantly on nursing practice), gender equality (although nursing is still suffering the effects of decades of opression from the patriarchal medical fraternity), and society's demand for occupational expertise. University training is an inevitability for nurses in this day and age(and I do agree with previous posters that the bachelors degree as an entry level qualification should be reviewed).

As for the matter of producing masses of useless nurse academics rather than clinicians - studies have consistently shown that within 12 months of finishing university, new graduates skills are comparable to those who undertook the older style training programs. Previous posters raised interesting points about nursing internships - some hospitals in my area have introduced these with varying success, although people I have spoken to claim that they don't get the experience of working in many areas (such as med, surg, psych, paeds, etc) as the internships tend to be streamed to a particular clinical area.

I suppose that in the rush to professionalise ourselves we have lost many of the good things associated with the older systems (such as cheap nurses homes/accommodation, respect for seniority, etc).