Anyone here go through school with no medical background?

southernbelle08 · May 4, 2009

Other than coming from a family with many medical problems and being exposed to hospitals and watching others perform skills that way, I had no medical background either. I did and am doing just fine, I think. You will too!! Just keep on giving it your best and you'll be fine!

Sarah Hay · May 4, 2009

I am in the ADN program and prior to this I had to medical background/expierence ETC other than going to the ED to get stitches in my hand and I was like 15 so I don't remember anything but pain and getting a shot in the cut. OUch!

bcskittlez · May 4, 2009

Thanks for the responses! Good to hear you all are doing well, Thanks!

jjjoy, LPN · May 5, 2009

Everyone learns differently and develops feelings of competence and confidence on different trajectories. Some folks seem to thrive in sink-or-swim learning situations and others prefer a more graded approach to learning. Schools have differing approaches as well. While there's a minimum number of clinical hours required by the state for licensure, some schools may offer more clinical exposure than the required minimum. Some schools offer/require an intensive one-on-one clinical experience for a term, others don't and you're always sharing an instructor on the floor. Some schools push students to take on several patients during a shift and others won't allow students to work with more than two patients. Some clinical instructors may be hands-off, leaving students to find opportunities to practice new skills (and such opportunities can be limited in some settings meaning a student may have to be quite assertive to do more than bed baths). Other clinical instructors may be more facilitative, actively looking out for practice opportunities and pushing for clinical environments that welcome and support students (in some clinical settings, the regular staff is so overwhelmed with their own work or may be unwelcoming if they have different students from different schools with different expectations constantly rotating in and out of their unit).

So, one thing you can do is find out as much as you can about the nursing programs that you are interested in (don't just read the curriculum, but also try to talk to students and get working nurses' opinion of the programs). Do certain schools seem like a better match for your learning style? One thing I really appreciated at a school where I took a refresher course was an open skills lab where students could go on their free time to practice skills with an experienced nurse on site who could critique your practice. At my own nursing school, the lab was only open during our lab periods, which meant that practicing skills on one's free time meant using pretend supplies and hoping that one was practicing it correctly.

Still, nothing compares to being able to have opportunities to practice skills on patients and many students these days graduate having only performed MANY skills just once or only on a plastic mannequin. So if skills practice is important to you, that's definitely something to find out about the various programs you plan to apply to.

Another thing you could do is find any kind of experience that will bring you in close contact with hands-on patient care. Take a nursing assistant class. Get a job as a nursing assistant. Get a job as a patient care tech (usually an NA trained in extra skills). You wouldn't be practicing complex, high risk skills, but you'd be nailing down basic skills which can free you up later down the road to focus on other skills instead of trying to juggle mastering both simple skills AND advanced skills at the same time. By working alongside nurses as a NA, you also would have more opportunity to observe various different skills in context.

Take a phlebotomy class if one's available and get certified. Learning and practicing any hands-on clinical skill will build your confidence and your overall ability to learn other new clinical skills. Any chance to start getting comfortable actually touching patients would likely be of benefit.

Unfortunately, many volunteering positions won't give you such experience. If that's all that's available, though, ask to be placed where you'll be with nurses and patients (eg not the gift shop) and don't get so caught up in whatever the volunteer work is (eg talking to lonely patients, filling water pitchers) that you forget to pay attention to what the clinical staff is doing and to ask questions of the clinical staff.

Good luck with your pursuits!

jjjoy, LPN · May 5, 2009

Oh yeah, the short answer to your question is that YES, MANY people have gone through nursing school with no prior medical background.

Do be aware you DON'T graduate as an accomplished nurse, you graduate with a license to START your practice in nursing. It's the not the goal of most schools to train up skilled clinicians; it's to train up clinicians with a basic foundation to build on and an ability to learn so that graduates can *become* skilled and ever-learning clinicians.

RedhairedNurse, BSN, RN · May 5, 2009

I didn't have any experience in medical. I learned the skills and practice makes

perfect. There are times I can start an IV when even a 10 yr veteran can't.

LocoStrange · May 5, 2009

The only "experience" I have in the medical field is having an older brother who is a doctor and caring for myself when I would cut my fingers off when I was a Chef. Currently, I am in school without any problems.

changeofpaceRN · May 6, 2009

You sound like me a few years ago :-) I couldn't get into the RN program because the wait list was too long so I went for LPN. You should have seen me in my 1st semester clinicals. It was a joke. I was afraid to hurt people by turning them to change them, I had no idea how to give a bed bath ect.. I was even scared to walk into the room. Oh man the stories I have forgotten! Anyway, that was then.. with each new day that passes, I become better and better. My first year of actually working the floor was a real eye opener. Then I went on for my RN and I can say that I'm pretty proud of myself and how far I have come. Just know that you aren't alone but do you best to learn and follow others to observe and pitch in. Always act confidently in front of the patient even if you have no clue! I did think I had a harder time than others in some situations. Those who worked as CNA's could run circles around me with pt care.

LocoStrange · May 6, 2009

You sound like me a few years ago :-) I couldn't get into the RN program because the wait list was too long so I went for LPN. You should have seen me in my 1st semester clinicals. It was a joke. I was afraid to hurt people by turning them to change them, I had no idea how to give a bed bath ect.. I was even scared to walk into the room. Oh man the stories I have forgotten! Anyway, that was then.. with each new day that passes, I become better and better. My first year of actually working the floor was a real eye opener. Then I went on for my RN and I can say that I'm pretty proud of myself and how far I have come. Just know that you aren't alone but do you best to learn and follow others to observe and pitch in. Always act confidently in front of the patient even if you have no clue! I did think I had a harder time than others in some situations. Those who worked as CNA's could run circles around me with pt care.

I start clinicals in exactly one week from now and I am very exciting. It will be at a retirement home but I still very excited. Not to mention, until I get there, I think a good eye opener for me was watching "medical shows" like House or Scrubs where I can actually understand their lingo/jargon

bcskittlez · May 6, 2009

You sound like me a few years ago :-) I couldn't get into the RN program because the wait list was too long so I went for LPN. You should have seen me in my 1st semester clinicals. It was a joke. I was afraid to hurt people by turning them to change them, I had no idea how to give a bed bath ect.. I was even scared to walk into the room. Oh man the stories I have forgotten! Anyway, that was then.. with each new day that passes, I become better and better. My first year of actually working the floor was a real eye opener. Then I went on for my RN and I can say that I'm pretty proud of myself and how far I have come. Just know that you aren't alone but do you best to learn and follow others to observe and pitch in. Always act confidently in front of the patient even if you have no clue! I did think I had a harder time than others in some situations. Those who worked as CNA's could run circles around me with pt care.

Yes! This is it! This is exactly how I feel. I'm also concerned about being able to find a job with no past in the medical field before nursing school. I really love it and I feel i'm more interested than anyone else. Everything is so new and amazing LOL. I'm in a class FULL of CNA's and Medical Assistant's, so that doesn't make it better. I will just bear down and practice on everything that moves. I might even by myself a blow up doll.

Sarah Hay · May 6, 2009

I had ZERO experience when I started the ADN program as well, so imagine my nerves come first couple of clinicals. I still get a little nervous, but after doing it more and more, you make mistakes, you learn and you don't get nervous (okay, maybe a little...). [= Keep at it!