Does it make me a bad nurse if I'm not book smart?

[Hellostudentnurssee]

Nursing has been in my family. My own mother has been a nurse for more than 30 years and is still working on the ICU floor - has never gone into management, teaching, etc... She is passionate about it and very book smart. As kids, we had the health lectures everyday and would correct any piece of wrong information. She's grown to become very caring and less critical... except on me :) I have other family members who are also nurses - cousins, aunts, and friends.

I just graduated and I was talking with some instructors and the director. I feel like many of them see me as their "daughter" and see themselves in me... a twenty something - spazzy nursing student, enthusiastic about the profession. I am very aware of my weaknesses and one big one is that I'm not a very book smart person. I learn BEST through experiences and cannot just "get it" with text books and tests. That stuff is reserved in my short term memory and after that, I don't know anything. Being a CNA for years before nursing school, I was working alot with mental health patients and with that, I did very well in mental health. Regardless, I suck at taking tests and am not the smartest. ALL my instructors, including the director (I'm sure are very aware of this as well) know I'm not the best at this... HOWEVER, during clinicals, I do well. Apparently, there were nurses on the floor who have told my instructor good things about me, on the first day of our clinical; I had family members of patient tell the facility (who then, told my instructors) how I was "there" for them, etc... I'm also a very energy sensitive person and when there were times when patients were so frustrated, I literally became anxious and frustrated. There were 2 or 3 clinical instructors saw me cry at the back because of this. They've also told me I'm a great public speaker, which is a rarity. So I guess in terms of nursing, I'm good at "the art" but I suck at the science. Is this a bad thing? I feel a bit embarrassed about my weakness....

[Cuddleswithpuddles]

Everyone has a weakness. What matters more is how you deal with it. I say if I can't be as smart, I'll just work twice as hard. If I can't work twice as hard, I'll show up earlier than everyone else. That kind of thing. Figure out how you can directly address your weaknesses. Nursing cannot live without the science. You cannot always compensate for it with art.

As an aside to your thought about being "energy sensitive": I am a very emotional person and easily affected by the moods of people around me. Although this has its advantages, it has posed more of a liability to me in times when I needed to be cool-headed and professional which is... every day. So, slowly but surely, I am learning to draw that line between myself and my patients. Does that mean I still don't get punched in the gut by the cries of a grieving family? Heck no. So I have learned that even though I am very sensitive to the energy around me, I also have to be mindful of the energy I send back out. I choose that energy to be one of calm.

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

you write like somebody with a good brain. i'm only concerned that you're selling yourself short. who says you're bad at science? it seems to me that if you have somehow allowed enough of it to stick to graduate from nursing school, the experiential part will be forthcoming when you have, well, more experience. ask a lot of "why" questions, and things will start falling onto place for you. go for it.

[Hellostudentnurssee]

Great comments. Thanks for your feedback - I appreciate it!

[GitanoRN, BSN, MSN, RN]

first of all,not being book smart doesn't make you a bad nurse, let's get that out of the equation. unquestionably, everyone is different and learns in different ways. therefore, some of us might like to learn through books, and others are more hands on per say, and others like the combination of both, that doesn't make them any more savvy than yourself. having said that, i'm quite sure that you do have some books that you like to read, or even magazines, we all have our likes and dislikes. following this further, i for one didn't care to have my nose buried in high school books. however, when nursing came along my way i couldn't get enough of the subjects, relating to nursing and how the body works etc. furthermore, now a days with all the technology at the palm of our hands, they make it easier to for those that are less interested in books. on regards to your sensitivity i would say don't ever lose that human quality. although within time and experience you'll see this too diminish. consequently, i still get watery eyes when i see a young child suffering from the effects of chemo, it's only human nature and i'm glad to admit that throughout my career i still have these feelings. in the same way, i ask of you not to be so judgmental of yourself, because patients can detect these feelings, learn how to utilized your gifts to pursue your goals in life. wishing you the very best in all of your future endeavors...aloha~

[Merlyn]

I worked around the Princeton area. You talk about book smart. I knew a guy that for fun used to play 5 other people 5 different games of Chess in his head and win every one of them, but he couldn't master driving a car. I had a genus in rehab. He had on leg, one foot and kept putting the wrong shoe on his foot. These were book smart people. Then there are the rest of us. We can do things. You can do things. Come on, Kid. Knowledge never comes easy. You have to work for it.

If you want it, work hard for it.

[Hellostudentnurssee]

Oh yes! I have my handy dandy "reviews and rationales" books that break it down for me! I was always the girl in class who brought her extra resource books. Security reasons and to better my learning. If I had a question or thought with anything I did in clinical, I always went to my resource book right after the incident and it locks in my mind.

[Horseshoe, BSN, RN]

As long as you always continue to "think" rather than just "do," you can become a great nurse. It is important that you understand anatomy and physiology, pathology, the implications of lab values, patient trends and the importance of same, and pharmacology (once you find a specialty, this becomes easier than in nursing school, where you are expected to spread yourself over all the disciplines). Understanding these things will help you anticipate problems and therefore head them off before they happen. Some nurses are all about the books, and others think only in terms of skills. The best nurses are those that utilize both knowledge and skills; add common sense, the ability to think on your feet, and ability to work well with others, and you have a winner.

[healthstar, BSN, RN]

you write like somebody with a good brain. i'm only concerned that you're selling yourself short. who says you're bad at science? it seems to me that if you have somehow allowed enough of it to stick to graduate from nursing school, the experiential part will be forthcoming when you have, well, more experience. ask a lot of "why" questions, and things will start falling onto place for you. go for it.

oh wow! i was thinking the exact thing when i was reading her post. :)

[Guttercat, ASN, RN]

I've said it here in these forums and I'll say it again, the best (and possibly the most clinically "smart") ER RN I ever worked with, barely passed nursing school and had to take the boards twice. She sucked at booksmarts on paper, but her clinical application was bar none.

She was the cool cat; could perform some obscure procedure once and years later, repeat it without hardly thinking.

[MN-Nurse, ASN, RN]

Forrest was right, "Stupid is as stupid does."

Get through it, you'll be fine.

[Seas]

I never measure "being a good nurse" as getting along with patients, or getting tasks done right. Those aren't too hard to accomplish.

If you can think and act as needed, you may be a good nurse. After all, everybody has a different learning style, you may learn best after doing it. There is nothing wrong with this.