Do you think the Boards really mean your competent?

live4today, RN · Feb 25, 2002

Hi everyone! :)

Part of being a competent "anything" in life, is knowing when to recognize our own "special qualities" that we share with others each and every day whether in our private lives, or in our professional lives as nurses, or whatever else our career choice may be right now. It's also important to "stop and smell the roses" that are "freely given" to us from mere strangers or a simple acquaintance that comes into our life for a moment, a season, or a lifetime. Here is my own personal thanks to all of you:

Here's something I hope will brighten all of your days in the coming week ahead of us:

"I've learned that sometimes all a person needs is a hand to hold and a heart to understand." -- Andy Rooney

It's important for me to "stop and smell the roses" once in awhile, and show others how very much I appreciate them for simply being a part in someone elses "everyday world". None of us really ever know the full impact of our lives on one another, but somehow we mean something to someone who will never have the opportunity of knowing how very much their caring has truly meant to someone else and has really "touched other people's lives, and caused them to grow".

Thank you all for "holding my hand, as well as other's hands" who are members or visitors here during those times we needed it most. Thank you all for having "hearts that understand" the needs and concerns of others on the Allnurses BB. (((HUGS))) AND :kiss to you all! May God bless each and every one of you and your families!

Okay, now that I'm starting to cry here, I think I'll go fetch myself a kleenex or two and have a good heartfelt healthy old cry! No, I'm not PMSing today, I just woke up this morning with a very good feeling in my heart and soul about being alive here in America! Have a wonderful week everyone! :kiss

dstout-rn · Feb 25, 2002

That's one thing for sure the boards can't tell.....is a nurse going to have compassion. I even see it in the NICU, nurses who I wouldn't want to take care of my dog let alone my baby.

lever5 · Feb 26, 2002

Be careful when you quote Del beuno, her statistics are limited to a small population, and she has a test for competency that she markets (makes money from). Her competency test finds 68% of all nursing populations lacking. I am putting together a website to let other nurses know about this test. How to take it, and what to expect. The test is easily passed if you know what to expect. But it can catch you if you have never taken a test like it.

VickyRN, MSN, DNP, RN · Feb 26, 2002

Thank you, Lever!!! Great idea!!! Let us know when the web site is up and I'll pass the word along to every nurse I know:D

Q. · Feb 26, 2002

Hi - just had to add my opinion.

I don't think the boards mean you are a great nurse; I do however think they mean you are mininimally competent in that you are granted a license and are able to practice in the real world. True competence comes with experience and, and I must stress the word AND, an open mind. You can have all the "experience" in the world, but if you close your mind and don't allow yourself to learn new things, your competence comes to a grinding halt. Simply seeing the same types of clinical cases over and over again with years of experience doesn't make one competent in my mind.

I think the boards are meant to demonstrate a minimum level of competence; that you are "competent" in nursing theory and basic nursing knowledge. I don't think you need 200+ questions or days worth of testing to establish this. Test questions that are written well, but in smaller amount can be more valuable at assessing someone's knowledgebase than hundredds of poor quality questions. Less is more.

Finally, I believe that learning never stops. During the very early years of establishing higher education, the Bachelor's degree was so named because it prepped you for your "real" education, which was graduate level work. I think passing the boards and obtaining a diploma or ADN is only the beginning of one's education. There is so much more out there.

RoaminHankRN · Feb 26, 2002

I think the "real" education begins in the hospital. So what if you can write a research paper... the real question is can you start an IV or recognize and treat a lethal arrythmia? You don't need a BSN for that. As I have said all along... what about mandatory CEU's. Why aren't more nurses pushing for this???? Everyone gets in a big stink over boards, diploma vs ADN/BSN. But what standards are out there that insure we know what we are doing one year or ten years out of school?

Q. · Feb 26, 2002

I think that by limiting yourself to any one venue; be it strictly hospital or strictly classroom, you are limiting your knowledge and learning abilities.

Experience and education, the ability to know what you don't know, and the realization that there is more out there than what you've been exposed to, is REAL education.

Q. · Feb 26, 2002

Originally posted by RoaminHankRN
I So what if you can write a research paper... the real question is can you start an IV or recognize and treat a lethal arrythmia?

I can't recognize and treat a lethal arrythmia, as I am a Labor and Delivery nurse. Based on your logic, where does that leave me?

:devil:

4XNURSE · Feb 26, 2002

Originally posted by Susy K
Hi - just had to add my opinion.

I don't think the boards mean you are a great nurse;.....

I think the boards are meant to demonstrate a minimum level of competence; .....

Finally, I believe that learning never stops.....

There is so much more out there.

I couldn't agree more.

I taught for 2.5 years at a "for profit" LVN school. Their stated goal was to prepare their graduates with "...the minimum entry level...." I took their book, with that statement, to each class on their first day. I told my new students I wouldn't settle for them to meet the minimum . They had to be the BEST they could achieve.

just my $ .02

ken :devil:

Q. · Feb 27, 2002

I knew I liked you.

Not only do you have my father's name, but we think alike.

lever5 · Feb 27, 2002

Bedazzled,

I have been surfing this website for many years. I do not post a lot until recently. It took a lot to go through the process and it tends to cut me loose once in a while. I have moved and had different handles. This one is a combo of my first and last name. Having 2-3 hundred posts does not make you smarter or more valuable. As I have found out in online classes, written words hurt more than spoken ones. You really can't take them back. So swing at the idea the writer states, not the writer. It can be a lot of fun creating controversy. As I read through the posts, your ideas are the same as a lot of the posters. We are here to confirm that we are not alone. Gee, I wish they had a spell checker on this site.

Linda

hummingbird1 · Feb 27, 2002

I took my boards in 1985 over a 2 day period, four exams 90 minutes per session. Then we had to wait for 3 months to find out whether or not we passed. The waiting was terrible. I passed on my first try. My orientation time was just 5 weeks since I was employed at the hospital that I did my clinical practicum. I must tell you that I went to a 3 year diploma school and I loved it.

I am finishing my BSN in June and then it is off the graduate school in June too. I've been busy over the years raising my family and I am enjoying learning new things.

I find it unfortunate that our new grads are not at the level that I would expect from a new grad. This is due to the community focussed education experience from the colleges/universities in my area. I think nursing education needs to re evaluate our med/surg teaching environment, length of practicle application of the nursing process. I believe that a solid foundation in med/surg will prepare you for any discipline in the nursing profession whether it is in the acute/home care setting.