I guess it must be a function of the economy, but a very large percentage of my ABSN classmates are coming fresh off another degree or have graduated from college within the last year or so (from colleges that offer BSN programs). I'm not sure why one would choose to finish a BA/BS just to go back to school right afterwards, but I'm sure people make these decisions for a reason.
Part of the appeal of an ABSN program was that it was marketed towards people who were transitioning from another career and wanted to move towards nursing in as little time as possible. It assumes you have a certain set of life skills and experiences. I've been in the workforce for about 10 years and left because I didn't want a desk job. The people I worked with, while I didn't necessarily like all of them (but I certainly respected them), were smart, driven and very hard working and took a lot of pride in what they did.
Well, for a lot of these new grads, they have never held a job and it really shows in their work ethic. And by "a job", I don't mean any sort of employment - they've babysat, worked retail, flipped burgers. But they've never had a job where time management was required. Where messing up would mean you had to take personal responsibility and fix the situation. Where there was a clear chain of command and you defer to those more senior. Where you have to communicate with clients and coworkers and negotiate sticky situations in a tactful manner. Where you sometimes bite your tongue and just get the work done. Where failure to meet expectations had real consequences. I don't have a job now so nursing school is my job, and I take it with the same seriousness I took my paying jobs.
And when you have to work with these people, it's frustrating because it really shows. Emails aren't answered because "I don't check it much at all, LOL." They skip meetings for group projects and don't bother to tell anyone they're not coming, then get huffy that we're not more understanding and offer lame excuses. At clinicals they hog the chairs in the nursing stations and huff when the instructor tells them those are for people who are working ("This is hard work, I have a test on Friday - pout!"). When clear instructions are given about expectations and they fail, they blame everyone else--the test, the professor, mars in retrograde. You didn't check your emails and missed a meeting - that's our fault. We should have hunted you down and made sure your highness was kept informed on events and brought you a fresh copy of the syllabus with due dates highlighted. Oh, and nice cold diet coke as well. My bad. Everyone has a hard day here and there, but some people sure do seem to have more of them.
I normally would take a "dig your own grave" approach, but my school is very group work focused and their poor work ethics affect me. I am exhausted trying to work with these people (group work is a common frustration, I know). I understand that nursing is collaborative but I am just losing my patience and at the end of my rope--I cannot imagine a workplace that would tolerate no shows and not turning in work on time consistently or turning in low quality work. In every group there is always "one bad apple", but there are so many in this program and they have a 'no person left behind' approach this year (because of certain factors they are sensitive about drop out rates), so these people are being given even more rope to hang themselves and the rest of us in the process (here's where I mention one of them pulled a bad move that may result at our class not being able to get jobs at a certain hospital). I love my patients and I love what I'm learning, but the other part is giving me some doubts.
I'm starting to understand why nurses eat their young. I'm only 1/3 of the way to being a nurse and I want to do the same sometimes...get it together!
