I have been a Medical Assistant for the past 24 years. Since graduation, I have worked primarily in Pediatrics.
At this point in my life (41 years old) my husband is ill and currently undergoing Chemo. If he survives this or if he doesn't, I am going to have to take on the role of primary wage earner.
That said, I have decided to return to school to further my career. For many years now I have worked closely with diabetic children. So I have decided that I would like to become a Diabetes Educator. This requires me to get a masters in either nursing or some other health related discipline.
I know I could breeze through the RN program. My problem is....I just don't look forward to clinicals. I am beyond the "hands on" desire I once had in my younger years. Being brutally honest here, I am very anxious about having to clean up bodily fluids and do catheters and phleb etc. It not something I am interested in anymore.
So without sounding haughty, since my goal is to go beyond physical nursing....how involved must I get in clinicals? Is there any way to bypass this? Are there programs that will allow me to get my RN from an administrative viewpoint?
If not....what exactly should I expect from clinicals? How much "hands on" does it require? Can I be a quiet observer rather than actually performing?
Nursing school is not a breeze for anyone. It wouldn't be a breeze for us RNs if we had to do it again... and I doubt any of us would be willing to go through it again. Nursing school is rough, no matter your background or how smart you are.
Clinicals can be a pain. The hospitals use nursing students as free slave labor, as far as I'm concerned. You get to spend 10-20 hours per week being an unpaid CNA. I did not enjoy most of my clinicals, but I put a smile on and did it anyway. You don't have to enjoy clinicals to get through it, but you do have to show up and do it.
My fear for you is that you have an unrealistic expectation of what awaits you in nursing school. I feel like nursing school is 2 years of hazing, 'cause that's what it feels like. It's even worse if you have to work and/or raise children at the same time. But if it gets you where you really want to be in life, it is worth it.
By the way, even though I never liked clinicals, I love my job as an RN.
I disagree with the "slave labor" aspect, at least from back when I did clinicals, and the groups of clinical students I've seen over the years and currently. They are learning the job. They do more than a CNA would do, they practice IV starts, foleys, NG's. They give meds. They do all of the aspects of care on the patients they are assigned to, which is.....what an RN does. How else would you learn patient care, how to manage your time, and your skills?
Yes, nursing school is hard, but I personally don't feel it's harder than going to school for anything else you're serious about.
OP, I'm curious now...in the thread about dress code changes (can't remember where off the top of my head), you posted about wearing caps back in school. It sounds from this post that you didn't ever go to nursing school, though?
Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
Nursing school is not a breeze for anyone. It wouldn't be a breeze for us RNs if we had to do it again... and I doubt any of us would be willing to go through it again. Nursing school is rough, no matter your background or how smart you are.
Clinicals can be a pain. The hospitals use nursing students as free slave labor, as far as I'm concerned. You get to spend 10-20 hours per week being an unpaid CNA. I did not enjoy most of my clinicals, but I put a smile on and did it anyway. You don't have to enjoy clinicals to get through it, but you do have to show up and do it.
My fear for you is that you have an unrealistic expectation of what awaits you in nursing school. I feel like nursing school is 2 years of hazing, 'cause that's what it feels like. It's even worse if you have to work and/or raise children at the same time. But if it gets you where you really want to be in life, it is worth it.
By the way, even though I never liked clinicals, I love my job as an RN.
This isn't always true, I think a lot depends on your schools program, CI and mainly, your co nurse.
I LOVE clinicals. In fact, I faced the possibility of having to retake one of my classes and the only redeeming part for me was having to redo those clinicals if I did. (thankfully I didn't have to retake the class though) but now that we are done with our Med/Surge clinicals and won't have those ones again until Oct. I am sad. My hospital clinicals I started really feeling like a nurse and majority of my Co-Nurses were awesome and let me do a lot of things I also sought out every opportunity I could
Another poster stated that clinicals were only about 6 hours a week. In my first semester my clinicals were at a LTC facility, they were 1 day a week for 8 weeks 8 hours those day, 2 of the hours were our lunch and post conference. Second semester for Med/Surge hospital clinicals, they were a longer (10 hours, with a 30 mins lunch and 1 hr pre conference) twice a week for 6 weeks. 2 of those weeks it was 3 days. That was have a semester, second half of the Semester we have Peds/OB and it's 3 days OB, 3 days peds 10 hour days and 1 8 hour day of respite care. 3rd and 4th semester we have a lot more clinicals.
OP, I'm curious now...in the thread about dress code changes (can't remember where off the top of my head), you posted about wearing caps back in school. It sounds from this post that you didn't ever go to nursing school, though?
I went to a very stringent MA program back in the 80's. We were trained to be fully professional. We wore whites head to toe, white caps, blue cardigans. No nail polish, minimal makeup. I was a very tight program. We did clinicals as well. Nursing homes, community clinics....EKG's, BP's, Phleb, etc. We had a lot of hands on training. Followed doctors around. I did my final internship at with a Pediatrician. Which is where I developed my love for the field. I learned way more than my contemporaries today do. After I finished the program I was a little upset that I didn't do an LPN program instead. As many people who go into allied trades, I felt a little duped when all was said and done. I was very young and very ignorant to the heirarchy of nursing. When I explored school options I didn't have the money to enter college. I was enticed into MA school under the guise that I could "work my way up".....HA!!! Live and learn I suppose. I ended up staying on with the Ped. I luved it. He taught me to cath, to set in office IV's, suture etc. It was amazing. I had kids and life went on. I never went back to school. I've since moved onto a different job and really enjoy working with Diabetics. Which makes me want to get a CDE. An RN is the best route to that endeavor.
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cherrybreeze, ADN, RN
1,405 Posts
I disagree with the "slave labor" aspect, at least from back when I did clinicals, and the groups of clinical students I've seen over the years and currently. They are learning the job. They do more than a CNA would do, they practice IV starts, foleys, NG's. They give meds. They do all of the aspects of care on the patients they are assigned to, which is.....what an RN does. How else would you learn patient care, how to manage your time, and your skills?
Yes, nursing school is hard, but I personally don't feel it's harder than going to school for anything else you're serious about.
OP, I'm curious now...in the thread about dress code changes (can't remember where off the top of my head), you posted about wearing caps back in school. It sounds from this post that you didn't ever go to nursing school, though?