I need some honest opinions from people outside my circle, as all of my fellow students share my same opinion and all the faculty blow sunshine up my you know what, when I even hint that the situation isn't right. So here is the deal...
Me: Adult senior student in BSN program at local university
Preceived problem/issue: Clinical assignments
History:
Fall semester junior year - 10 wks clinical mostly focused on CNA duties w/some assessment
Spring semester junior year- 7 wks med/surg where I passed meds 3 times, then 7 wks mental health where I observed patients (not shadowing nurses) in different settings (eating disorders, adolescence, geriatrics, etc)
Fall semester 2011 -
14 wks med/surg at a nursing home, where I (a BSN student) shadow an LPN whose primary duties is to administer medications to 30-45 patients in their 8 hours shift.
*LPN's, please don't be offended or turn this thread into an arguement of LPN's vs BSN"s. I fully appreciate that I can learn a lot from an LPN and these people bust their A** all day, every day. My issue is that my university placed me in a clinical situation where I am shadowing a nurse who 98 % of the time is handing out PO meds to long term residents, who are primarily stable (because they take 17 meds 3 times a day...OMG).
Community clinical-public health nursing- 7 wks at a local health dept whose budget has been desimated, so we spend our time watching CD's, observing employees in the Lead Poisoning program, or shadowing health inspectors. One was lucky enough to do an at home visit w/an actual nurse meeting w/an at risk mother.
My feelings- I am ANGRY. My primary complaint is that I feel like I am paying a ton of money to learn how to do everyone elses job. My mental health clinical taught me the job of behavioral health specialist (the counselors), my current med/surg clinical is teaching me what it is like to be a full-time CNA (as when I am done assessing and medicating my patient I answer call lights all day, as there are never enough CNA's to help the residents and my community clinical, where I am learning the jobs of health inspector and other misc health dept personnel.
The final thing I will say is I appreciate that all of these people are part of the health care team and I need to have an understanding of what they do, but I have a finite amount of time to learn NURSING, and it feels like I am learning anything but. While I think every student nurse would do well to be exposed to a nursing home setting, I am spending the greatest chunk of my clinical experience there, while my classmates in other clinical groups are one on one w/ICU nurses, in IV clinics, and in hospitals with acute patients, experiencing hospital nursing.
Am I wrong? Should I believe my instructors who give me the party line of "it's a good opportunity to learn____" fill in the blank. I feel like the clinical portion of this nursing program is substandard and I keep getting sunshine in an attempt to deflect the fact that I am in fact right. Please tell me what you think, as I am about to lose it!
quit complaining . or is it because you are working toward your bsn .
listen to you talk "14 wks med/surg at a nursing home, where i (a bsn student) shadow an lpn whose primary duties is to administer medications to 30-45 patients in their 8 hours shift. "
reading this alone make me realize : you are too full of yourself and be careful before you hurt a patient in the process on your nursing journey .
you knew you were going off on your thinking so you asked in advance that this turn not into a discussion but really that what your entire post is asking for a debate i am guessing you see and think of yourself as being more than other nurses hun?
how do you explain what you wrote ? quote " where i (a bsn student) shadow an lpn whose primary duties is to administer medications to 30-45 patients in their 8 hours shift. "
this speaks volume of you again watch yourself not to wear that title over your head .
read again what you wrote below
" i fully appreciate that i can learn a lot from an lpn and these people bust their a** all day, every day. my issue is that my university placed me in a clinical situation where i am shadowing a nurse who 98 % of the time is handing out po meds to long term residents, who are primarily stable (because they take 17 meds 3 times a day...omg). "
are you serious ???? these people ???? bust their a** at your level ( bsn student ) shouldn't you know a proper way and language that will fit to adress any compliment if at all sincere to your fellow nurses ?
ok what wrong with lpn passing po meds 98% and you shadowing her ? are you sure you are in this field for your love of nursing or is there a hidden agenda? money may be ???? a nurse by heart will wipe butt with satisfaction a complete 8 hrs shift if that what requires for the pt comfort and no complaint.
you are complaining ????? you can take advantage of the time and learn all there is info ( action, adverse effect / side effect / drug interaction ect...all about those meds being passed and while there share your knowledge as a bsn student with the lpn who in view has no better things to do than pass meds 98% 8 hrs a shift.
did you had to end your quote with omg ???? really???????you sound like those nurses who wear their title on their head yet have no compassion for the patients and know little to nothing about hands on practical nursing care .
it also clear from your wrinting that you went straight to the higher degree you never been in the cna's lpn's position to realize what nursing is truly about .
caring for the patient and that you can do whatever you are . in home, nursing home , in a car traveling... you don't have to be in the hospital to practice nursing .
it sad from your post i can feel resentment not just for the dedicated nurses you have to shadowed but for the patients as well .
did you realize that you have just said outloud that being there to help resident take their meds is a waste of your time omg!!!!!
being that you are a step higher in education take time to read about the resident hx and illness , discuss that with the lpn , help her understand and learn what you know and she may not about the various condition and disease process + tx . make your time there a learning experience .trust me you will do yourself a favor instead of being here complaining. you are missing the point of your clinical. i believe your assignment has to do with you taking on a role of supervisor, teacher , and perhaps to break you down who knows your instructor may have seen in you someone who 's full of herself forgetting that it all about the patient. therefore you need to walk in cna's , lpn's shoes just like you are and i am sure you feeling it !
whoa, wait a minute. we don't know if the op is already an lpn. a bsn student has no authority to "discuss that with the lpn, help her understand and learn what you know...." i am an lpn and a bsn student and i don't know anymore now as a student than i do as an lpn, except for having a broader knowledge of assessment skills! ltc is no place for med/surg clinicals. if the op is already an lpn, she doesn't need to spend clinical time doing the whole floor's vs like my class was. she doesn't need to spend her clinicals wiping butts. no where in her posts did i see that she felt she was "more than" other nurses. i will say it again....ltc is no place for m/s clinicals. i work in ltc, 16 hour shifts. i give meds to 28 patients, and do a whole lot more than just that. you can't teach med surg in ltc. you can't learn med surg in ltc. you can't be a supervisor or teacher when you are doing vs. in ltc you can't spend time with your patient just talking to them, or giving a backrub, or whatever. (nursing 101?) you have a state mandated time frame in which to get meds out to those 20-40 patients. bsn classes are preparing the student for the rn supervisory role. we don't need to re-learn vs, we need to learn rn skills. we need to learn how to prioritize critical patients, how to do a fast thorough assessment. we need to learn delegation skills. how do we learn that by shadowing an lpn who is passing meds?
i guess i am confused by your post but i don't read her post as complaining, after all, she is paying for the bsn and demands to learn and expand her knowledge, not do vs for a clinical rotation. that teaches us nothing. we already know how to spot inaccurate vs. too bad some of the cna's don't! what is wrong with that? a bsn is very expensive. if we wanted to do vs and pass meds and wipe butts for 8 hours with satisfaction, we'd stay a cna or an lpn. getting the bsn is no cakewalk! wanting to learn and having the courage to go back to school takes a lot of time and dedication.
Whoa, wait a minute. We don't know if the OP is already an LPN. A BSN student has no authority to "discuss that with the LPN, help her understand and learn what you know...." I am an LPN and a BSN student and I don't know anymore now as a student than I do as an LPN, except for having a broader knowledge of assessment skills! LTC is no place for med/surg clinicals. If the OP is already an LPN, she doesn't need to spend clinical time doing the whole floor's VS like my class was. She doesn't need to spend her clinicals wiping butts. No where in her posts did I see that she felt she was "more than" other nurses. I will say it again....LTC is no place for M/S clinicals. I work in LTC, 16 hour shifts. I give meds to 28 patients, and do a whole lot more than just that. You can't teach med surg in LTC. You can't learn med surg in LTC. You can't be a supervisor or teacher when you are doing VS. In LTC you can't spend time with your patient just talking to them, or giving a backrub, or whatever. (Nursing 101?) You have a state mandated time frame in which to get meds out to those 20-40 patients. BSN classes are preparing the student for the RN supervisory role. We don't need to re-learn VS, we need to learn RN skills. We need to learn how to prioritize critical patients, how to do a fast thorough assessment. We need to learn delegation skills. How do we learn that by shadowing an LPN who is passing meds?
I guess I am confused by your post but I don't read her post as complaining, after all, she IS paying for the BSN and demands to LEARN and expand her KNOWLEDGE, not do VS for a clinical rotation. That teaches us nothing. We already know how to spot inaccurate VS. Too bad some of the CNA's don't! What is wrong with that? A BSN is very expensive. If we wanted to do VS and pass meds and wipe butts for 8 hours with satisfaction, we'd stay a CNA or an LPN. Getting the BSN is no cakewalk! Wanting to learn and having the courage to go back to school takes a lot of time and dedication.
Wow, you didn't have to bite her head off, this is not a professional forum where APA format is required. When I read her post I saw a frustrated person who is probably just "venting" his/her frustrations with nursing school. Calm down it's ok :)
Hi
I am calm still i needed to express what i think of this post , see you right she is here to vent but read in between lines you will see i mean . Although i am ok with her being frustrated because she feels cheated on her learning she went wrong when talking about "Lpn"" Cna" duties and her shadowing an Lpn and all that OMG did she really need to put it that way ? trust me i worked under an RN BSN once and she was full of herself reminding everyone on the floor including family members coming to visit their loved one , of her BSN title Yet her simple nursing basic skills was pitiful ,she was the kind we call book smart and will shake and postpone a simple task when it come to hand on practical care until someone else will come to her rescue .
I am sure you understand what i am reffereing to but you want to encourage the original post i dn't think that right because she having her nose up talking about " I BSN student " did you read that line ??????what does that say to you ?
I am calm still i needed to express what i think of this post , see you right she is here to vent but read in between lines you will see i mean . Although i am ok with her being frustrated because she feels cheated on her learning she went wrong when talking about "Lpn"" Cna" duties and her shadowing an Lpn and all that OMG did she really need to put it that way ? trust me i worked under an RN BSN once and she was full of herself reminding everyone on the floor including family members coming to visit their loved one , of her BSN title Yet her simple nursing basic skills was pitiful ,she was the kind we call book smart and will shake and postpone a simple task when it come to hand on practical care until someone else will come to her rescue .
I am sure you understand what i am reffereing to but you want to encourage the original post i dn't think that right because she having her nose up talking about " I BSN student " did you read that line ??????what does that say to you ?
This is the sort of BSN that the OP is trying NOT to be. I am taking an educated guess that american english is not your first language, and with no insult intended i am saying that your comprehension may be lacking. This is the only reason i can see for your diatribe....
You sound too like one of them who get to full and confuse in their title as well. And you missing my point .
I am only saying LPN's are supervised by RN's ,BSN 's therefore the BSN student here could carry herself in that role ,she don't know much yet but whatever she got , she could find ways to test herself while SHADOWING this LPN ...i.e in between med pass , charting time , they can sit and as one of the post suggested here review the resident lab work , Dx, Hx , Tx plan and talk over making sense of the disease process and prescribed meds ,just being creative and making the best of her time instead of complaining ! Can you picture her on the floor ??? they way she presenting her post makes me think she wouldn't even get close to the resident being cared for since in her view being there is waste of time .....talking about " I BSN student " that one really got to me she is getting her nose up too high that she thinks the instructor made a mistake placing her on that assignment . did you read her update YES Now you can tell she had seen some stuff and therefore once she is fully BSN graduate on the job she will be able to tackle some things she wouldn't have know happen had she not been place on this assignment .tell me i am wrong on this one ?This my opinion anyway .
You sound too like one of them who get to full and confuse in their title as well. And you missing my point .
I am only saying LPN's are supervised by RN's ,BSN 's therefore the BSN student here could carry herself in that role ,she don't know much yet but whatever she got , she could find ways to test herself while SHADOWING this LPN ...i.e in between med pass , charting time , they can sit and as one of the post suggested here review the resident lab work , Dx, Hx , Tx plan and talk over making sense of the disease process and prescribed meds ,just being creative and making the best of her time instead of complaining ! Can you picture her on the floor ??? they way she presenting her post makes me think she wouldn't even get close to the resident being cared for since in her view being there is waste of time .....talking about " I BSN student " that one really got to me she is getting her nose up too high that she thinks the instructor made a mistake placing her on that assignment . did you read her update YES Now you can tell she had seen some stuff and therefore once she is fully BSN graduate on the job she will be able to tackle some things she wouldn't have know happen had she not been place on this assignment .tell me i am wrong on this one ?This my opinion anyway .
I might be missing your point but that's irrelevant because your rantings have nothing to do with the original post. The fact here is that YOU have completely missed the point of the original post.
The OP is upset because she doesn't feel like she is getting the clinical experience she deserves, which is exactly how I feel. So, you might want to go back and read the original post before going off on these half-cocked rants. This isn't an argument of ADN vs. BSN or LPN vs. RN or CNA vs. LPN or whatever.
This is the sort of BSN that the OP is trying NOT to be. I am taking an educated guess that american english is not your first language, and with no insult intended i am saying that your comprehension may be lacking. This is the only reason i can see for your diatribe....
You guess is right , . i can understand you saying my comprehension lacking but i doubt it is the case because i know what i am reading on these post and what my response are . I am aware that my way of writing( structures& sentences ) may not be clear enough for you but trust that derives from my ability to speak 5 different languages and it takes a well trained brain to switch in and out from various languages therefore i don't need to excuse myself for having that much knowledge. American English is not my first language but i graduated in the United State of America from an accredited Nursing college. i only have 2 more semester left before i can enroll for the BSN program in question here lol...So leave the language out of this ! let talk Nursing ,knowledge and education
You guess is right . i can understand you saying my comprehension lacking but i doubt it is the case because i know what i am reading on these post and what my response are . I am aware that my way of writing( structures& sentences ) may not be clear enough for you but trust that derives from my ability to speak 5 different languages and it takes a well trained brain to switch in and out from various languages therefore i don't need to excuse myself for having that much knowledge. American English is not my first language but i graduated in the United State of America from an accredited Nursing college. i only have 2 more semester left before i can enroll for the BSN program in question here lol...So leave the language out of this ! let talk Nursing ,knowledge and education[/quote']
OK So when you start your BSN program, tell us what your clinicals are like. I am willing to bet that you will then understand what we are talking about......after you have walked in our shoes for a bit. And make sure you don't become one of those nurses who are "full of themselves" and have a big head because of the BSN title, and want everyone to know that. I work with a nurse like that, and trust me......she isn't the leader she should be, and she is definately the leader I DON'T want to be! The letters behind your name don't matter if you can't be a caring and compassionate nurse. And, money is usually not why someone goes into nursing in the first place.
I might be missing your point but that's irrelevant because your rantings have nothing to do with the original post. The fact here is that YOU have completely missed the point of the original post.
The OP is upset because she doesn't feel like she is getting the clinical experience she deserves, which is exactly how I feel. So, you might want to go back and read the original post before going off on these half-cocked rants. This isn't an argument of ADN vs. BSN or LPN vs. RN or CNA vs. LPN or whatever.
I get her frustration .... anyone would ....i too had moment of frustrated during my first clinical rotation times when i would be expecting to learn how to start an IV and they will have me take care for the whole 8hrs shift of a pt on isolation giving Po med .putting on & off those gloves , mask ect...only to see the pt swallow their meds .. i didn't think that was learning .... but instead of feeding my frustration , i had to pause a minute and realize that this too was and will forever be part of my duties as a nurse . Not every pt need to be sticked So i resolved to take care of this pt the best i could doing so with love and compassion and that is what i learned .
I don't have a problem with the entire post , See you are advocating for her but read the post again and you will see she started the BSN vs LPN , CNA , ADN thing
her quote says it "14 wks med/surg at a nursing home, where I (a BSN student) shadow an LPN whose primary duties is to administer medications to 30-45 patients in their 8 hours shift. "
And her other quote "" I fully appreciate that I can learn a lot from an LPN and these people bust their A** all day, every day. My issue is that my university placed me in a clinical situation where I am shadowing a nurse who 98 % of the time is handing out PO meds to long term residents, who are primarily stable (because they take 17 meds 3 times a day...OMG). " NOw you tell me what she implied ??????
I get her frustration .... anyone would ....i too had moment of frustrated during my first clinical rotation times when i would be expecting to learn how to start an IV and they will have me take care for the whole 8hrs shift of a pt on isolation giving Po med .putting on & off those gloves , mask ect...only to see the pt swallow their meds .. i didn't think that was learning .... but instead of feeding my frustration , i had to pause a minute and realize that this too was and will forever be part of my duties as a nurse . Not every pt need to be sticked So i resolved to take care of this pt the best i could doing so with love and compassion and that is what i learned .
I don't have a problem with the entire post , See you are advocating for her but read the post again and you will see she started the BSN vs LPN , CNA , ADN thing
her quote says it "14 wks med/surg at a nursing home, where I (a BSN student) shadow an LPN whose primary duties is to administer medications to 30-45 patients in their 8 hours shift. "
And her other quote "" I fully appreciate that I can learn a lot from an LPN and these people bust their A** all day, every day. My issue is that my university placed me in a clinical situation where I am shadowing a nurse who 98 % of the time is handing out PO meds to long term residents, who are primarily stable (because they take 17 meds 3 times a day...OMG). " NOw you tell me what she implied ??????
I'm sorry but I'm in school to become an RN and yes, I would be unhappy to be placed with an LPN for clinical. LPNs are nurses too but RN is a higher level nurse. This is akin to an LPN student being put with a CNA for a "learning experience".
I don't think the OP was trying to start a degree battle. She was simply stating her position. I see this on this forum all the time.
I'm sorry but I'm in school to become an RN and yes, I would be unhappy to be placed with an LPN for clinical. LPNs are nurses too but RN is a higher level nurse. This is akin to an LPN student being put with a CNA for a "learning experience".
Let clarify something when RN's in clinical rotation are put to work with LPN's it not so that the RN could learn from the LPN but for the RN to get comfortable in her new supervising position observing the LPN ,verifying that she does things correctly. You may not like spending your days and hrs shadowing a lower level nurse but it is what it is and it is part of your learning process into your new duty role. I don't even know why i am explaining this because clearly if doing so was not part of the curriculum why would your instructors assigned you to that in the first place??? I know one RN BSN who worked as Cna at a LTC , she worked her way up to LPN , than RN and got her BSN . She will come back for her clinical at the same facility . She told me every time it was different because with her new knowledge her thinking ability was also upgraded , she was watching the nurses not as to learn from them but this time to verify and test her own knowledge vs what the lower level nurse was doing while training herself to teach and supervise base on whatever mistakes or lacks she would observed during her assignment period. So you don't need to be unhappy about it when or if it happens, just know your objectives going in there and you will have fun.
OK So when you start your BSN program, tell us what your clinicals are like. I am willing to bet that you will then understand what we are talking about......after you have walked in our shoes for a bit. And make sure you don't become one of those nurses who are "full of themselves" and have a big head because of the BSN title, and want everyone to know that. I work with a nurse like that, and trust me......she isn't the leader she should be, and she is definately the leader I DON'T want to be! The letters behind your name don't matter if you can't be a caring and compassionate nurse. And, money is usually not why someone goes into nursing in the first place.
I was born to be a Nurse that is why my language barrier never come in between while in the schooling process . nursing is my Passion . I have it in my heart.... love , care , compassion that always been my motivation in becoming a nurse . Remember i never said her frustration had no base . being a nurse i know she got a point . It is the way she went about it in her various quote , i felt she spoke bilittering others health care workers who happened to be in the same field as her . Now that was the reason of my diatribe ......as for the rest i understand and rendez-vous when i am in my BSN program .
.thumb.gif.557c5203bd6f06724ecab47703960500.gif){kind=small}
SE_BSN_RN, BSN
805 Posts
whoa, wait a minute. we don't know if the op is already an lpn. a bsn student has no authority to "discuss that with the lpn, help her understand and learn what you know...." i am an lpn and a bsn student and i don't know anymore now as a student than i do as an lpn, except for having a broader knowledge of assessment skills! ltc is no place for med/surg clinicals. if the op is already an lpn, she doesn't need to spend clinical time doing the whole floor's vs like my class was. she doesn't need to spend her clinicals wiping butts. no where in her posts did i see that she felt she was "more than" other nurses. i will say it again....ltc is no place for m/s clinicals. i work in ltc, 16 hour shifts. i give meds to 28 patients, and do a whole lot more than just that. you can't teach med surg in ltc. you can't learn med surg in ltc. you can't be a supervisor or teacher when you are doing vs. in ltc you can't spend time with your patient just talking to them, or giving a backrub, or whatever. (nursing 101?) you have a state mandated time frame in which to get meds out to those 20-40 patients. bsn classes are preparing the student for the rn supervisory role. we don't need to re-learn vs, we need to learn rn skills. we need to learn how to prioritize critical patients, how to do a fast thorough assessment. we need to learn delegation skills. how do we learn that by shadowing an lpn who is passing meds?
i guess i am confused by your post but i don't read her post as complaining, after all, she is paying for the bsn and demands to learn and expand her knowledge, not do vs for a clinical rotation. that teaches us nothing. we already know how to spot inaccurate vs. too bad some of the cna's don't! what is wrong with that? a bsn is very expensive. if we wanted to do vs and pass meds and wipe butts for 8 hours with satisfaction, we'd stay a cna or an lpn. getting the bsn is no cakewalk! wanting to learn and having the courage to go back to school takes a lot of time and dedication.