Does it seem like nursing school is only giving 1% of the picture?

[SentinelTruth]

Hello,

I'm in my 2nd semester of an ADN program...it's a good school that the hospitals in the area respect, however, it seems like we're only getting our toes wet... I'm a very hands on type of learner... granted, I'm going into Med-Surg next semester, but it just seems like we're not getting enough clinical time.

[Jensmom7, BSN, RN]

The point of Nursing school is not to give you all the knowledge you will need in the actual Nursing world.

The point of Nursing school is to teach you the minimum information you will need to pass NCLEX.

You will NEVER have enough clinical experience to learn all the things. Your analogy about just getting your toes wet is entirely correct. The majority of your hands on education comes after you have earned your RN license and are working in the real world.

[Libby1987]

And it comes at you like a freight train, I think that's what they don't tell you in school. Grads are not prepared to dedicate pretty much all of their time and energy, physically and mentally, to the first year or so in their first job.

It's pretty well known and accepted that Med school grads will get hammered in their first couple of years out, but grad nurses seem to expect a much smoother transition in a reasonably paced orientation program.

[RNperdiem, RN]

Nursing school has changed from the diploma school days.

In the beginning, nurses put on a uniform and were put to work on the wards from day one. They were taught by doing, much like an apprenticeship. Students provided a hospital with free labor and in return they got training. There was no mistaking what nursing was all about as a student.

Now, nursing belongs to the colleges and universities, and nursing is taught from a more theoretical point of view. College focuses on teaching knowledge and thinking. The hospital is expected to pick up the slack in new grads with underdeveloped skills.

If we could find a way to combine the best of both worlds.