Can you become a nurse without making the effort?

belgarion · Oct 21, 2009

I had a few classmates who put forth no effort in class and still aced everything. They then managed to "hide out" during clinicals by staying out of the instructor's way and doing the bare minimum patient care. Sadly, they all found jobs after graduating while a few who busted their butts to squeak by with a 75 and worked their tails off in clinicals struggled to find work. So the answer to your question is yes, you can become a nurse without putting forth the effort. The answer to the question you DIDN'T ask - Can you become a GOOD nurse? - is Hell No!

pagandeva2000, LPN · Oct 21, 2009

I think that to make it through nursing school, you have to know how to play their game; may it be to answer the tests and do the assignments with the answers they want to hear. As mentioned, does it make one an efficient one? Probably not.

systoly · Oct 21, 2009

Belgarion hit the nail on the head. Becoming licensed is academia. Becoming a valuable, positive outcome producing nurse is an attitude. Any nurse striving for positive outcome will realize that a solid knowledge base and continuing education are part of it. I am in a position to somewhat answer your question. During the first part of school, textbook and theory, my motivation lacked (I did not have to pay for school or books). I had prior experience in the medical field, and I am a master of last minute cramming. I had no interest in pursuing A's when I could easily get a B with little or no effort. At one point, I informed one of my instructors that I had no plans to turn in a term paper since, by my calculations, getting a 0% score on the term paper would still yield a final grade of B for the class. The instructor was quick to point out the error in my calculation. She explained that she didn't care how many tests I had aced and that I had better turn in the paper the next morning ( with an automatic 25% deduction for being late) if I wanted to pass her class. This all changed when clinicals started. I wanted to know everything about my patients problems and I found myself reading way more than the assignments and became a regular at the library (no internet back then). So the answer is: I tried, but it didn't work.

sasha2lady · Oct 22, 2009

I came to the same conclusions. I HATE working with this nurse! Seeing her name on the schedule with mine makes me sick. She has such a negative person ALL THE TIME with her nasty attitude and comments. Im pretty sure she wont last through December....or that is my hope. It just aggravates me because I worked nonstop through school..not to get an A but to gain as much info as I could. I actually wanted to be good at nursing. Plus...I had to pay out of pocket for every single thing, unlike her. I literally lived on spare change. even though I was working weekends as a cna. My paycheck was a joke. Less than 200 every 2 wks but I made it through somehow. I honestly dont remember her being this bad when we were in school. She has gotten progressively worse over the past few years. However, I realize that shes not the first nor the last nurse Ill work with thats like this. I miss my old crew so much! The only one left is me. Things went so smooth at one point. Now I just try to keep my distance and stay quiet.

caliotter3 · Oct 22, 2009

Judging by how some people act on the job, it seems lots make it through nursing school just to become like the nurse you describe. I know I've had to work around several of them and it is downright degrading to have discussions with CNAs or others who notice how deficient these nurses are and talk about it.

KAYBDT6, BSN, RN · Oct 23, 2009

I don't think so.....................we all need to make effort in other to succeed nursing school.

Cherybaby · Oct 23, 2009

I had it pretty easy in nursing school. I am one of those people who you would call "book smart". I aced every exam with very minimal effort while my classmates struggled. I graduated top of my class. Did it with ease. Put forth just enough effort to impress my instructors. Always said and did everything "by the book". Perfect little student.

Enter the real world. Wow. Talk about a lesson in reality? I was so overwhelmed that I nearly passed out on my first day on the floor where I worked. It's great to be a fantastic student...but what I didn't take the time to learn was "critical thinking". My careplans were always perfect. My instructors loved them. All color coded and neat and nice.

But, was I actually LEARNING from those careplans? No. I wasn't. I wasn't making the effort to absorb more than just the words I was writing or the text I was reading. My fellow students thrived in the real world setting. I struggled. They came prepared with gifts that I had not acquired during school...things like empathy, compassion, devotion. These things can't be taught out of a book. They are a HUGE part of what nursing consists of. And, it was their love, empathy, compassion and devotion that made them better nurses than I. Why? Because they had to work THAT much harder than I did. They appreciated it a lot more than I did. They absorbed more than I did.

I had to re-evaluate my entire learning process once I got out into the real world of nursing. Simply being book smart was no where near good enough. When I dropped the books, I started nursing from the heart. It was like re-education for me.

So yes, while I believe that some people can put forth a minimal amount of effort in school and still do very well...it doesn't bode well for that nurse to do so. I wish I had a harder time than I did so I would have appreciated the experience far more.

Boy, did I wish I could re-do nursing school once I graduated! Knowing enough just to "get by" really doesn't cut it. Not by a long shot.