Does this bother you?

Published

I read an article in the local paper about a proposal from a prospective governor to create a five-year high school plan in which a student could graduate from high school in five years with an associate degree. In the article it made mention of how nursing could "lend itself" to the five year program, and that being an RN is great if you want to work. For some reason when I read that it really bothered me, and I don't understand why. I don't want to say that it cheapens the title of RN (the proposal was for RN, not LPN), but if this is something one can graduate from high school with, it seems like it would cause our profession to be looked down upon even more so. It just makes me think about all of the people who struggle to get in an RN program at the CC or university explaining to others how competitive it is to be accepted in a program (and how challenging nursing can be), just to have them open one up at a local high school. To top things off the only profession they mentioned was nursing, they made no mention of other associate degree programs being "added" to high school curriculum. Is it unreasonable to feel this way? Am I making a big deal about nothing? I can definitely see the benefits of this type of program, but somehow it seems to take away from "something" (can't put my finger on it).

I actually wish that sort of program was available when I was in school. I could have possibly been in CRNA School by age 21 (with ICU experience and everything). It would have been great to graduate at 18 or 19 and start out making 30-40,000 a year. Maybe I'm just jealous. :)

It could work on certain jobs that do not require a great deal of maturity, say Lawyer, for example, but not nursing.

LOL! I hope you were being sarcastic when you said this. While I have sometimes questioned the ethics, motives and intelligence of various court officers, an immature lawyer is an unemployed (or jailed for contempt) one. And a 17 year old who is studying law as an alternative to dropping out...?

You must have been sarcastic :)

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My first thought was, according to federal law, you have to be 21 years old to be an interstate truck driver. I would think, given the amount of responsibility a nurse has, that similar reasoning would apply. On another note, why is it that truck drivers have hours of service rules that limit how long they can be on duty (14 hours), but nurses are routinely left on duty much longer than that. Makes no sense to me!

Unfortunately, that age requirement isn't there for nurses. I can only speak for New York, but here the minimum age for LPNs is 17 and for RNs, 18. Yes, a person who has managed to get through an accredited nursing program, clinicals etc is eligible for licensing by the State at 18. Doesn't mean we have a real population of 18 year old RNs, but the possibility exists.

Does make me wonder what hospital administration in their right MIND would allow a 16 year old to do clinicals there (med admins, pt care)??

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My first thought was, according to federal law, you have to be 21 years old to be an interstate truck driver. I would think, given the amount of responsibility a nurse has, that similar reasoning would apply. On another note, why is it that truck drivers have hours of service rules that limit how long they can be on duty (14 hours), but nurses are routinely left on duty much longer than that. Makes no sense to me!

This brings to mind a job listing for truck drivers that I read in the classifieds (in the same paper the article was in) and the company wanted people over 23 to apply (yes 23, not 21). Then on the front page, the governor is discussing adding RN programs in high schools...

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Specializes in ob, med surg.

The governor dosen't have a clue! I don't have alot of experience with this but it seems to me that MOST high school drop outs don't drop out because they are BORED, they drop out because they don't want to do what it takes to graduate. Of course I realize that there are exceptions to this. If you can't graduate high school as a teenager, you'll NEVER get through nursing school. Our CC nursing class lost almost 50% of those who started, and guess what? Almost all of them were under 25, and some had graduated near the top of their high school class, leaving 2-19 year olds and us old fogies to get our RN's. I don't know!:uhoh3:

But ya know, why not let the governor try? I bet the atrition rate would not make the effort worth it!

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Specializes in ER, Teaching, HH, CM, QC, OB, LTC.

Yes, this bothers me. In very sad ways.

1. I completed CNA classes & EMT -Cardiac by the time I was 17. I had delieved a baby before I had my 1st period, coded (trauma & cardiac)multiple patients & mostly to watch them die. I was not mentally ready for this and put on alot of false bravo. It took a few years & one very understanding nursing school instructor to give me back my humanity.

My point here is: Are high school students emotionally (maturity may not be the only issue) ready for what they will face in nursing school.

2. I understand that many high scools still have vocational tracks for CNA & even LPN...But RN's are the leaders of the profession. Can we afford to keep lowering the entry level for our nursing school just hoping someone gets by?

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Specializes in previously Med/Surg; now Nursery.

Bah! I think this prospective governor is ignorant to the amount of responsibility that nursing carries. I'm not overly concerned that this type of program will ever be developed because many universities want to expand their RN programs, but can't because there are not enough RN instructors. Where would the instructors come from for these high school programs?

Yes, a program like this would bother me very much especially since just a few weeks ago my DD was the victim of nursing malpractice and negligence. One of the nurses involved has only been out of school 6 months. It is a long story and I won't get into all the details, but my DD went into septic shock and the new grad nurse insisted she was fine and had gas. A nurse interpreting the signs and symptoms of shock as gas pain is pathetic.

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On second thought, I think the governor may have invented "Candy Strippers". Algore is from Tennessee too isn't he. He invented the

internet.

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I agree that this governor has no idea what classes are required to bcome an RN. An associate degree RN takes at least 3 years here in CA, so I don't see how you could just add an extra year of high school and squeeze in all those classes!

I do however think that there should be more options in high school for vocational training. Certifications like EMT, CNA, cosmetology, etc. Not everyone is cut out for college, and most of us take more than 4 years, so it would be great if high school grads could make decent money.

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I agree that this governor has no idea what classes are required to bcome an RN. An associate degree RN takes at least 3 years here in CA, so I don't see how you could just add an extra year of high school and squeeze in all those classes!

I do however think that there should be more options in high school for vocational training. Certifications like EMT, CNA, cosmetology, etc. Not everyone is cut out for college, and most of us take more than 4 years, so it would be great if high school grads could make decent money.

Our area high schools have a partnership with BOCES vocational school (I have NO idea what BOCES stands for!). Eligible students go half a day to "regular" school and the other half to BOCES programs. There's cosmetology, auto mechanics, computer programming; a whole host of things from "don't need brains just determination" to "definitely need brains AND determination". They're geared for kids who are not on the college track (either can't or won't or whatever).

I don't know what the healthcare options are, if any, but I can easily imagine CNA on the agenda. Probably already there. It's a popular school; I would hope more regions would have it.

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Specializes in Day Surgery/Infusion/ED.
On second thought, I think the governor may have invented "Candy Strippers". Algore is from Tennessee too isn't he. He invented the

internet.

Al Gore never claimed to have invented the internet. That's an urban legend; a simple trip to snopes.com will tell you as much (plus a host of other sites if you Google it).

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Specializes in Day Surgery/Infusion/ED.
I agree that this governor has no idea what classes are required to bcome an RN. An associate degree RN takes at least 3 years here in CA, so I don't see how you could just add an extra year of high school and squeeze in all those classes!

I do however think that there should be more options in high school for vocational training. Certifications like EMT, CNA, cosmetology, etc. Not everyone is cut out for college, and most of us take more than 4 years, so it would be great if high school grads could make decent money.

I don't know. Personally, I wouldn't want some teeny-bopper responsible for putting the chemicals on my head that make my hair its lovely "natural *****."

We have to advocate for our profession without diminishing others'.

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When you consider the developmental tasks of a teenager and the generalization that most of them appear more concerned about what their peers think than about what is morally or ethically right or wrong, then the thought of a teenaged RN making decisions requiring critical thinking is a disturbing one. Just a thought, IMHO.

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