I'm taking pre-reqs right now. My Nutrition class is the worst because there are so many side effects (toxicity/deficiency) of vitamins, minerals, or other nutrients and all these numbers about suggested intake and chemical reactions and ... *breathes* just so many details. I take the exams online so that I can cheat and use my notes- I'm sorry but I have to! There is no way I can memorize a hundred different details in such a short amount of time, especially when they are overlapping details (A is true for 1, and both A and B are true for 2. But for 3 only A is true.)
It seems this way with most medical/scientific things like pharmacology and the proper diagnoses of illnesses: rather than straightforward details, it's a bunch of overlapping symptoms and rules and numbers.
Ramble ramble ramble. My point is... I know I have to learn and memorize something while I'm here. I should have some recall when I attend school to learn something. But am I really going to be expected to run off exact lists of all symptoms of a drug or all signs of a disease at the drop of a hat? Do you guys recall all the medical info you need to treat your patients like it is second nature? Surely you guys get to look things up and make sure you got the details correct, right? You aren't expected to be a walking reference book... are you?
I would hope the answer is "of course not," but my dad was a nurse and is now a P.A and he really is a walking reference book. He knows all the numbers and details off the top of his head... sorry but if that's what it's like working in the medical field forget it!
There is sooo much info you need to learn during nursing school it is impossible to remember ALL of it. You will remember the basics because they will be reviewed in almost every class. When you are a new grad you are orientation for a while. This is where you get to revisit a lot of info from school and you can brush up on the topics that are relevant to your specialty. You will also become familiar with the common drugs, side effects, therapeutic ranges etc. Also when you get out of school and start working you will be surprised how many random things you remember from school that you thought you would never remember. You will know more than you think you do. No one knows everything. That is why we are always asking eachother questions if we are unfamiliar with something.
Do I? Heck no! As soon as I passed the boards, I proceeded to forget and thank the heavens that I would never (hopefully) touch adults again! It all really depends on what kind of nursing you want to do and let's face it, you learn most of your job while actually on the job. A gerontology nurse doesn't have to know stuff about labor and delivery, for example. Nursing school is designed to give you a little taste of everything--jack of all trades, master of none.
Critical values for your types of patients are stuff you'll learn and look out for as you're working--which is why you'll be on orientation for awhile. Look up everything you don't know (WITHOUT exception, your meds), ASK questions, and don't be afraid to look dumb--advocate for your patient if something doesn't feel right! Those are the rules of being a smart and safe nurse.
Don't sweat the memorization stuff too seriously. Yes, there is some memorization, but that's not the bulk of your job.
Good luck!
p.s. I always thought you were allowed to check your notes for online courses while taking tests???
Just to answer one of the above questions, its a distance learning on campus class with actual assignments completed online with the warning that you not use your notes as this is cheating (silly). I'm 20 and have been aimlessly attending college(s) since 17.
Online-is kind of expected you will use your notes unless they give you a time limit.
However wait till you get to pharamcology, and it's ten times as bad with drugs that all look the same but different and you can't pronouce have of them. You have to remember the indications, side effects, adverse effects and contraindications! All with no notes! Psht
As a nursing student, this is what I can tell you:
Will there be times when you are required to learn massive amounts of very detailed information? Yes. Nutrition is one of the worst in my opinion, right up there with pharm. Although pharm has lots of "big picture" thinking mixed in there as well.
Will you retain 100% of this information after you are tested on it? Probably not. We do a lot of looking things up in nursing school. That's why you are required to go to the clinical site to get your patient assignment the day before, so you can look up all the necessary info about the patient's meds, diseases/disorders, lab values, etc. and write it all down so its at your fingertips. Some schools also encourage the use of nursing reference apps on a phone or PDA.
So basically, don't panic. You don't become a walking encyclopedia overnight; your knowledge will grow along with your clinical practice. It's hard to imagine remembering details because they have no practical significance to you right now. Once you get to nursing school and have, for example, a patient on dialysis with a BUN value of 65... it's no longer an insignificant detail. It's an important piece of information that fits in with the rest of the clinical picture for your patient. And suddenly, it all makes sense!
I'm surprised no one is bringing up the topic of ethics. It doesn't matter if no one will find out, you clearly know you are not supposed to use your notes and yet you continue to do so.
I'm sorry, but like you said, you are cheating.
Being a recent grad, I'm really saddened that this type of behavior is being condoned and accepted on here. As you are thinking about a career in the healthcare field, I would strongly urge you to re-think your ethics, because there won't always be something to prevent you from cheating (i.e. if you were in an in-class nutrition course would you bring notes and try to use them? Probably not, so use your moral compass and do the right thing). How you act as a student WILL translate to how you will practice as a nurse, it comes down to you. /end rant, sorry i had to get that out.
p.s. No you don't need to remember every single detail from NS or pre-reqs, you will remember what you need to know. Your Dad knows all those values and information because it's probably relevant to what he does on a day to day basis. Like most things, you use it, or you lose it.
Oh please do get off your high horse. I "cheated" when put on a 24 hour time period to memorize 20 pgs of unfamiliar material. I consider it a sign of devotion to learning at the least that I revisit the material after making the grade to learn it on my own terms. I'm sorry you find it unethical to go against the unfair ruling of a teacher to make ends meet, but I hardly would equate that with some sort of unethical treatment of pts- who are human beings, not test deadlines- or some other sort of "unethical behavior" in the health care field. I realize I'm being defensive but seriously? Come on. Are you sure you've ever been to college? Sometimes teachers are irrational, and you have to find a way to solve the problem. May I also add my version of "cheating" involved meticulously handwriting pages of notes, pouring over them, and then using them as an aid on a test. Its not as if I was sitting in a classroom saying "psst what's number one?"
From what I've heard, roughly 1 in 3 nurses abuse drugs and/or alcohol. And you want to talk about what's ethical? I think those who use the ethical argument are a bit naive if you ask me. Cheating happens, especially at the undergrad level - and its the least of most people's worries. You will learn, study, and retain the information that is necessary to be a good nurse - not what some college syllabus says you need to know.
Relax! It is impossible to know everything about everything in a field as wide as nursing. My trick for retaining all the information provided was to group things together into classes(like in pharmacology) learn the basics about the "class" (say, fat soluble vitamins) then learn what was unique about individual items in the class. I found it much easier to recall info if I used an outline framework to organize it in my thoughts. I would also suggest a traditional classroom setting. The classes do not get easier, and the support of classmates can be invaluable!
honestly no one can remember everything taught in school, but with experience and in the right situation, your brain WILL click and you'll somewhat remember. I'm more of a hands on person - NOT a book person. When working, you will remember what you're told and as long as you have common sense you should do fine....
Specializes in Labor and Delivery, Newborn, Antepartum.
I felt like nursing school gave me lots of information in all kinds of disciplines. I work in OB, a very specialized area, and would not feel very comfortable assuming care of a patient that had a hip replacement. But my skills and my knowledge have sort of developed towards my specialty. I think that's the case with a lot of nurses. Its not that we CAN'T care for other types of patients, and yes, we were required to learn that stuff at one time, but over time, as we specialize in different disciplines, so does our knowledge.
You're right, I never want to put a patient's life in danger! Ever! Maybe my brain just isn't cut out to retain this kind of info. May I just say though... I want to learn the material, I'm not "cheating" (use the term loosely) because I'm lazy. Lol. This morning I was lectured on 20 pgs of notes with contradictory and info with lots of numbers to remember. I must finish an exam over this tonight. I have one day to memorize it all. Hence, I use my notes because I want that A! I go back over it later and try to really learn it. But summer classes demand you learn it perfectly in a day. I'm sorry but I need to refer back to my notes..... which is "cheating." My question was essentially, do nurses get to use "notes" in their profession? Surely you don't remember every detail perfectly every time... =\
Nurses have to look things up- especially medications. No one can remember everything they have learned in school. I think if you have at least studied it once for a test you will be able to pull something out of your brain about it to at least have some sort of idea of what is going on. Always look things up you are not sure of and ask questions.
When your out there in the real world just remember your 'Scope of Nursing Practice' and only do what you are competent to do. There are a million resources out there to help you, including your fellow nurses! What you dont remember your colleague will and vice versa and it all comes with experience anyway. Also i agree with previous posts that you will get amazingly great in your speciality but know nothing of another, simply because you dont work there... and thats ok!
And good on you for sticking up for yourself in you reply post above, its not really cheating, you obviously work hard. Stick with it and good luck!
Maybe my brain just isn't cut out to retain this kind of info. May I just say though... I want to learn the material, I'm not "cheating" (use the term loosely) because I'm lazy. Lol. This morning I was lectured on 20 pgs of notes with contradictory and info with lots of numbers to remember. I must finish an exam over this tonight. I have one day to memorize it all. Hence, I use my notes because I want that A! I go back over it later and try to really learn it. But summer classes demand you learn it perfectly in a day. I'm sorry but I need to refer back to my notes..... which is "cheating." My question was essentially, do nurses get to use "notes" in their profession? Surely you don't remember every detail perfectly every time... =\
divaRN*
85 Posts
There is sooo much info you need to learn during nursing school it is impossible to remember ALL of it. You will remember the basics because they will be reviewed in almost every class. When you are a new grad you are orientation for a while. This is where you get to revisit a lot of info from school and you can brush up on the topics that are relevant to your specialty. You will also become familiar with the common drugs, side effects, therapeutic ranges etc. Also when you get out of school and start working you will be surprised how many random things you remember from school that you thought you would never remember. You will know more than you think you do. No one knows everything. That is why we are always asking eachother questions if we are unfamiliar with something.