Does it really have to be this hard?

Is it really about making great nurses or just about the school making money?

Meh. Both. If you're BSNing, money is a bigger part of the equation. There is a huge emphasis on the "science and theory" of nursing. Its crap. From EMT through 20 years on to RN, I have had less than a dozen instances where my "critical thinking" was challenged; more commonly, it is a conflict in time management and/or task completion.

Best of luck, & Godspeed!

thanks preacher! Great pep talk coach! Right on! :)

no, but seriously, thank you

sandan rnstudent

"from emt through 20 years on to rn, i have had less than a dozen instances where my "critical thinking" was challenged; more commonly, it is a conflict in time management and/or task completion."

sorry to hear that. i used mine every day when i worked at the bedside, and use it still in my present career as a certified life care planner and case manager. if somebody wants to focus on time mgmt and tasks, s/he can do that; lord knows that's all many nurses do. that outlook'll getcha through the day but it's not the best you can do for your patients or yourself; it's a reflection of shallow focus and limited aspirations, in my opinion. ymmv.

"from emt through 20 years on to rn, i have had less than a dozen instances where my "critical thinking" was challenged; more commonly, it is a conflict in time management and/or task completion."

sorry to hear that. i used mine every day when i worked at the bedside, and use it still in my present career as a certified life care planner and case manager. if somebody wants to focus on time mgmt and tasks, s/he can do that; lord knows that's all many nurses do. that outlook'll getcha through the day but it's not the best you can do for your patients or yourself; it's a reflection of shallow focus and limited aspirations, in my opinion. ymmv.

ow, i think. my point was that critical thinking should not be hard, it should be the norm. the patient who walks in, spontaneously loses consciousness and collapses, has variable arrythmia and respers, with no clear mechanism of injury/intox/condition is far more rare than having two co-workers call in and expecting 3 admits.

the call-ins are not (to me) a ct issue, but a prioritization/management issue.

my epilepsy patients, needing med management, having "compliance issues", needing med assistence or transportation are ct, but hardly challenging.

this gets back to the nursing dx debate. ct, ime, comes into play when you are able to converse with the care team, as peers, and arrive at a common pathway. because of disciplinary divisions, that is not the case, in many facilities.

the most common complaint i've heard, both from my classmates, and new grads, pre and post my own licensure, was the lack of training in prioritization. hours and hours spent on ct, but oh-so-little on the day-to-day practice. this is the problem. when new grads enter the workforce, then become hesitant and fearful because of overload, their ct narrows, until it is defined by what the unit expectations and the docs orders are.

edit: oh, heck, i'll be blunt. a good rn should be able to hold their own in a differential dx discussion with two attendings, having differing opinions. that is ct. careplanning,etc., as taught, was a glorified mechanism for putting beautiful/professional-sounding names on interventions that good techs were already doing "in support of" nursing. my primary argument for diploma-degree programs...

Meh. Both. If you're BSNing, money is a bigger part of the equation. There is a huge emphasis on the "science and theory" of nursing. Its crap. From EMT through 20 years on to RN, I have had less than a dozen instances where my "critical thinking" was challenged; more commonly, it is a conflict in time management and/or task completion.

Best of luck, & Godspeed!

I agree with what you're saying but never using it because I've heard that so many times but...where I live the cc more of the "money making" I feel. Two of the biggest ones by which one takes in over 200 students per years both graduate about 25% of them. Two of the university's by me have a completely different attitude with under 10% losses. My school even has a retention officer that you can go to when you're struggling and she will try to figure out a way to help you.

To the OP

I agree, I don't think it's making better nurses. I don't mind learning difficult coursework and actually tend to better in my more challenging classes but I think the attitudes of many nursing schools and professor's is ridiculus. Sometimes I almost feel that its like a older sibling thing-you know my older picked on me so now I have a little sister and I'm gonna do it to you, since they got treated that way in school now they are gonna do it to you.

I don't mean to ruffle any feathers, but I take solace in the fact that nursing school is challenging because that means that only the best and most committed students are becoming nurses, which means better patient safety and overall healthcare. Getting into nursing school has become extremely competitive in the past few years, and for every student that can't cut it in the classroom, there are several others who CAN and are jumping at the chance to get that opportunity.

Of course, I do agree that some nursing schools are finding sneaky ways to drain the money out of eager nursing students, which is a shame. But stick to it! It sounds like you have a great positive attitude, and that will really help you not only throughout school, but throughout your career as well. I am 2 weeks away from graduating from a 12-month ABSN program that challenged me in ways I never could have imagined - but it has all been worth it!

And as for critical thinking, I see it used every day, heck, every HOUR, by nurses in any setting. Even tasks as menial as prioritizing your day on the unit and deciding which medications to administer first to a patient, etc. etc. utilize critical thinking. And while some people have been blessed with the ability to think critically as second nature, it is not always a concept that comes easily, and it MUST be practiced by and engrained into the heads of all nursing students to make future competent nurses.

Just my !

I agree with H0pefulStdnt

I'm about to start my school's 18 month RN program. It's gonna be hard, I know that. But I also know that when I get through it, I'll be that much stronger