Do you think nurses aren’t taught enough about general emergencies/basic info about emergency medicine?

[stacylethani]

Random question, do you think we don’t get enough training on basic emergency medicine/situations? For example, when you’re in a focused speciality, you know so much about your particular specialty but when a patient comes along with another issue do feel like you know enough basics to provide proper care? For example, I’m a peds cardiac nurse and I know a lot about my specialty but if someone is my family is having neurological issues, I’m almost no help. It feels kind of pathetic to be honest. Because of it, some family members like to make rude comments saying nurses don’t know anything and I’m useless when someone is having a medical issue because I don’t know anything. It’s so frustrating to be so belittled all the time, especially because I’m the only one in the family who is in medicine.

[Workitinurfava, BSN, RN]

Until the nurse is in a real situation enough times to perfect what they know, practice on dummies and unreal situations are only so helpful.

[Guest219794]

1 hour ago, Workitinurfava said:

Until the nurse is in a real situation enough times to perfect what they know, practice on dummies and unreal situations are only so helpful.

Which is why trainings should be scenario based, practiced in real time, and hands on. This is the model used in the outdoor industry with excellent results.

Wilderness first aid has been taught this way for years with excellent results. Wilderness instructors and guides with appropriate training can competently manage medical and traumatic emergencies despite minimal real world experience. (If your raft guide is an expert at dealing with rafting injuries, she/he isn't very good at guiding.)

True- you can not teach expertise: That is gained through experience. But good instruction goes a long way to developing competence- As nurses, we have been subject to a lot of crappy instruction.

Even marginal instruction can have some decent results. Many CPR classes are not taught at a particularly high standard, yet thousands of lay people with no expertise have successfully contributed to resuscitations.