allnurses or allSTUDENTnurses?

[inshallamiami]

Is it my imagination, or has allnurses become predominantly a forum for students? I dunno, it seems like I have to wade thru tons of threads about nursing schools or nursing instructors, or new grads, in order to find a thread about nurses who already working. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE and feel for students, it's just that the site is being overwhelmed with them. Maybe it''s because they are sooooo stressed out now so they need to vent more?

I realize I'll get flamed for this, but I have noticed this trend.

[nickos]

I know I'm just a CNA and not even a nursing student yet, but what Leslie said is right. I appreciate that I can come here and read the responses from the experienced nurses. I put a lot of thought into the threads I make and where they should go. Sometimes it needs to go into General because an opinion from a nursing student is not the same as an opinion from an experienced nurse in some cases. Not to offend any pre nurses by saying that, I just think that sometimes you need an opinion from someone who has been in the profession for sometime, not someone trying to get into it.

:yeahthat:

[BCgradnurse, MSN, RN, NP]

I first came to this site as a student and greatly appreciated the insight, support, and advice I received from both students and experienced nurses. Now that I've graduated and am working I still need that support, and I'm happy to share my limited experiences with current students and anyone else who's interested. I'm not sure if that's paying it forward or paying it back, but it's all good.......

[fiveofpeep]

"new and sparkly."

It's definitely the new and sparkly. I combed through these forums all through nursing school (although I often lurked). I attribute much of my success in nursing school to the random kernels of knowledge and advice I have attained here.

I agree that students should be mindful of the forums in which they post.

[gentle]

Some of the students these days are coming to nursing as a second or even third career choice. One day, I checked the student nurse forum and found soooo many people visiting or viewing that forum that I was absolutely astounded.

Geez, I don't remember how many people were viewing that forum; but it was high enough for me to understand why I was seeing so many questions regarding NCLEX exams, HESI exams, and opinions from other student nurses regarding specific colleges. And it helped me to understand why all the above information kept appearing on the home page when I came to the board.

My personal solution was to take a break from allnurses. This helped me alot. About the time, I decided to stop returning to the board, Brian and colleagues created allnurses central and changed a few of the forums within the board. Needless to say, investigating these new areas peeked my interest and didn't highlight the student concerns necessarily. Once again, I found a small place for my interests.

As I continued to return, I found something else interesting to me . . . the news. I discovered that I like reading the news articles and using those to anticipate what is "coming down the pike" in healthcare. This new interest has led me to different places on the internet, which has allowed me to not be as surprised by hospitals' choices to decrease the use of CNAs.

(Right now I'm questioning if healthcare is really bouyant in the recession. Or is it that Winter has arrived bringing with it colds, pneumonias, flu, and other problems that have increased hospital censuses (?) especially in the New England states of the USA. I'm sure there are other streamline measures healthcare corporations are taking to weather both the seasonal winter and the financial winter though.) The news articles posted have spurned me to remove allnurses from my "box of thinking" what the board is to be. Hope that makes sense.

Meanwhile, I've also re-discovered the humorous stories section. Lately, I've been reading a few of the younger nurses views on similar situations that I have encountered in my nursing career or some ridiculous situation unique to their facility (i hope anyway).

It is hysterical to read someone elses perspective on a stressful day. I absolutely love this and have even drawn my husband from the bed, down the hall, and into our small office by my laughter in the middle of the night. (thank goodness, I didn't wake up the kids.)

So, yes, I agree with the OP and the above how I navigated that experience.

OBTW, when I have the energy to respond positively to a topic, I do try. If I don't, I don't even open the thread.

[Quickbeam, BSN, RN]

This is one of the reasons I as an old dog have sort of faded away from this forum. I've tried to fashion helpful posts based upon my experience, only to have someone (or many people) who have never even practiced discount me. Often I later find out that the person dissing me isn't even a nursing student, just a wannabe gadfly. The nursing students I don't mind so much. None of this existed when I was a student or I'd have been all over the place.

A few years ago there was a poster looking for input as she tried to make a career decision. She had a well paid, secure professional job with M-F hours, hour off for lunch, no weekends,holidays, nights or emergency call-in responsibilities. She insisted that she was going to become a nurse and duplicate her current work conditions. Many of us told her she needed to do a reality check. She'd wait a week and post the same thing over (and over) again. Then she changed her screen name and did it again. A lot of us want to help those interested in nursing get a decent idea of what to expect. It isn't all fairy princess happy time, tho!

[canoehead, BSN, RN]

I'm old and crabby. God love the students, they need all the support we can give them. If I had to start from the beginning again it would scare the pants off me, I'd be working at a nice clothing store within a few days.

Yep, the students can get repetitive. I'd like to be able to ignore whole forums, but until that is possible I'll just click quietly by.

[NeoNurseTX, RN]

I see a TON of non-student posts..but maybe it's because I mostly hang out in my specialty's forum.

[PureLifeRN]

I agree. I hardly ever post on allnurses (even though I check it every day) because I can find most of the answers I need by simply SEARCHING for the topic. I never click on the "help me with my homework now", or "My instructer hates me," or "Does the Pearson trick work?" lol.

[freefalr]

quickbeam said: "It isn't all fairy princess happy time, tho!"

that made me snicker. could i borrow it?

[misslo]

I know I'm just a CNA and not even a nursing student yet, but what Leslie said is right. I appreciate that I can come here and read the responses from the experienced nurses. I put a lot of thought into the threads I make and where they should go. Sometimes it needs to go into General because an opinion from a nursing student is not the same as an opinion from an experienced nurse in some cases. Not to offend any pre nurses by saying that, I just think that sometimes you need an opinion from someone who has been in the profession for sometime, not someone trying to get into it.

There is no such thing as "just a CNA"! Other than that statement, I agree with everything you said!

MissLo

[patrice meursault]

I've browsed thru this sight from time to time over the past many years, and I noticed that the majority of posters are students or people looking to go into the profession.

I want to emphasis THAT THIS IS NOT A COMPLAINT or a gripe, just an observation.

Is there a link or thread I may be missing to go directly to threads geared more for working RNs? I've been out of school too long to be much help to any new students.

Again, not a gripe, just an observation.

Thanks, and cheers to all!

[caliotter3]

The site is cumbersome for those who have specific interests. Probably the best thing to do is to make a list of your favorite forums under your account and just go to your favorites link each time you access the site.