Don't know that 1oz=30cc/mls....and it's the Last Trimester?

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How could you pass fundamentals, med/surg etc.. and not know how to calculate a patients intake? one of my classmates and i were discussing intake for one of her patients when she asked me "how do you do that"? well, i was thinking she was talking about the intake/output sheet on where to put in the numbers. i showed her where to put it in. she says no how do you figure how much they drink with their meals? i'm like huh? let me add, this conversation was taking place in front of one of the CNA's at our clinical site. i told her how many ounces the juice glasses were and you multiply that by 30mls. she's listening and says "did we go over that"? i said YEAH and were where you during the first trimester? omg.... this girl is sooo not ready to be a nurse. i found out from her that she's barely passing exams and she's made it this far because of the low passing score, only a 74% needed to pass a course, and projects thats worth almost more than the exams. i've also noticed that she askes questions that we should automatically know like what does aspirin do? duh everything under the sun it's a analgesic, anticoagulant, antipyretic. she's always asking what is this or what is that, did we learn this? i understand that it's impossible to know everything about nursing but by this time you should know enough that you are confident and a safe nursing student. i am so mad that my school is letting her and others pass by a tiny % because they've done those stupid projects.

how is it in your lpn or rn program do you all have a ton of worthless projects to do?

Specializes in Wound Care, LTC, Sub-Acute, Vents.
how could you pass fundamentals, med/surg etc.. and not know how to calculate a patients intake? one of my classmates and i were discussing intake for one of her patients when she asked me "how do you do that"? well, i was thinking she was talking about the intake/output sheet on where to put in the numbers. i showed her where to put it in. she says no how do you figure how much they drink with their meals? i'm like huh? let me add, this conversation was taking place in front of one of the cna's at our clinical site. i told her how many ounces the juice glasses were and you multiply that by 30mls. she's listening and says "did we go over that"? i said yeah and were where you during the first trimester? omg.... this girl is sooo not ready to be a nurse. i found out from her that she's barely passing exams and she's made it this far because of the low passing score, only a 74% needed to pass a course, and projects thats worth almost more than the exams. i've also noticed that she askes questions that we should automatically know like what does aspirin do? duh everything under the sun it's a analgesic, anticoagulant, antipyretic. she's always asking what is this or what is that, did we learn this? i understand that it's impossible to know everything about nursing but by this time you should know enough that you are confident and a safe nursing student. i am so mad that my school is letting her and others pass by a tiny % because they've done those stupid projects.

how is it in your lpn or rn program do you all have a ton of worthless projects to do?

don't worry about why she is passing. worry about yourself! just because it was taught does not mean you automatically comprehend the whole thing about that subject. sometimes it takes "hands-on" experience to completely understand something. so what if she does not know what asa do. it's not the end of the world. no nurse knows all the meds and their functions.

she may be excellent in clinicals and i think that's more important. i've seen a lot of these "a's" students crumble during clinicals because all they have is "book smart" and no common sense and when they barely passed the clinicals and time for nclex, they failed. and the "c" students with ok-good clinical skills passed on the first try. go figured!

focus on yourself right now. finish the program with little drama. you are not there to worry about why this person and that person are passing. leave the "should" and "grading" to the teachers!!

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Specializes in Wound Care, LTC, Sub-Acute, Vents.
i'm sorry. there is noway you're gonna tell me that it's no big deal that she doesn't know 30mls = 1oz. and we're in our last trimester in lpn school. are you really kidding me here? the calculation of a person's i&o is very crucial and to say that she may have been "exhausted" is ridiculous. i witness everytime we're in clinical were she will ask something that she should know, if she's actually studying the material. i hate to see her and others like her take hesi and not pass after being in class for a year. i'm sure she would make an excellent nurse but you gotta know your fundamentals no other way around it.

you will be surprised even the doctors forget the "fundamentals". sometimes i call in critical lab values and the doctor will ask me for the normal range. now do i say "oh this doctor should have not passed the board". of course not! if you don't know something, you look it up!

please don't be the know-it-all student that you are making yourself to be based on your posts because i can tell you "real" nursing sometimes does not coincide with "school" nursing. you will see what i mean once you are working as an lpn.

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Specializes in Psychiatry.

OP,

I'll bet your stress level would be exponentially lower if you would concentrate on your OWN education, not others'.

Best,

Diane, RN

PS That is how I made it through nursing school.. you have enough to worry about. Truly.

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Specializes in Med-Surg.
I'm sorry. there is noway you're gonna tell me that it's no big deal that she doesn't know 30mls = 1oz. and we're in our last trimester in LPN school. are you really kidding me here? the calculation of a person's I&O is very crucial and to say that she may have been "exhausted" is ridiculous. i witness everytime we're in clinical were she will ask something that she should know, if she's actually studying the material. i hate to see her and others like her take hesi and not pass after being in class for a year. i'm sure she would make an excellent nurse but you gotta know your fundamentals no other way around it.

It's really none of your business what she knows and doesn't know. She asked you a question. You knew the answer. Big deal. I bet you she knows something you don't. You might want to get over yourself. I guarantee you one day in clinical, or on the job, you're going to do something really stupid. Really stupid. Hopefully, it won't be dangerously stupid, but you're going to do it. You know why? Because everybody does. But, it's much easier to move on from your something stupid and you'll be forgiven much faster for doing it, if you aren't galloping around the hospital on your high horse trying to make everybody else look stupid when you do it.

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Specializes in Long Term, Psych, Dementia, Rehab.
it's really none of your business what she knows and doesn't know. she asked you a question. you knew the answer. big deal. i bet you she knows something you don't. you might want to get over yourself. i guarantee you one day in clinical, or on the job, you're going to do something really stupid. really stupid. hopefully, it won't be dangerously stupid, but you're going to do it. you know why? because everybody does. but, it's much easier to move on from your something stupid and you'll be forgiven much faster for doing it, if you aren't galloping around the hospital on your high horse trying to make everybody else look stupid when you do it.

tell me about it. amen...

:redbeathenina, spn:heartbeat

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OP.... who are you to judge what kind of nurse she is going to be. I would rather have a humble person over my bed then an arrogant know it all... because the humble person is more careful. Who cares that she doesn't know a cc conversion... their are about a million reasons why she might not know... maybe her teacher did not tell her... maybe she was in the can when they talked about it in class. Maybe it just slipped by... it happens... who are you to judge her.

If you are going to have that attitude why answer her question and then talk trash about her behind her back? Pretty lame dude, pretty lame...

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Specializes in Wound Care, LTC, Sub-Acute, Vents.
op.... who are you to judge what kind of nurse she is going to be. i would rather have a humble person over my bed then an arrogant know it all... because the humble person is more careful. who cares that she doesn't know a cc conversion... their are about a million reasons why she might not know... maybe her teacher did not tell her... maybe she was in the can when they talked about it in class. maybe it just slipped by... it happens... who are you to judge her.

if you are going to have that attitude why answer her question and then talk trash about her behind her back? pretty lame dude, pretty lame...

i don't think the op is a dude. but i agree with you dude! :D

anyway, some people have this misdirected superiority complex to mask their immense insecurities, so 'nuttin we can do about that dude.

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Specializes in RN Education, OB, ED, Administration.

Wonderful Nurses & Future Nurses:

I have to say that sometimes I have found myself in the position that I do not remember things that I should. For example, I took a break from the ED and went back to L&D for a while. On one of my first shifts back to the ED, I had to ask someone to remind me of the name of the artery that I just punctured for an ABG so that I could document! Radial, DUH! And, I have a Master's degree and have taken several pathophysiology classes. I would never be concerned of the skill of a nurse who was asking for guidance in remembering a name, value, or conversion. I would only be concerned when a nurse is unclear on matters that represent a safety risk to the patient.

OP: I hope you have learned a valuable lesson in this forum. That is, we all make mistakes and forget things. I know that it is common to see nurses tear each other down. Think about how you, a future nurse, can become a part of the change that many of us are seeking. That is, taking care of each other.

Be the change!

Tabitha

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Specializes in Critical Care-Neuro/Trauma ICU.

Our program doesn't have "projects"...we pass based ONLY on our test averages...must have an 80% to pass...the only other thing that counts is care plans and they count for 5% AFTER you already have a passing test grade. This girl needs a wake up call on dosage calculations if she plans on not killing someone. We are required to pass a drug calculations test every single semester until we graduate and if we fail that test we fail the entire semester.

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Our papers are all pass/fail and count in clinical. Which if you can't do the physical skills it won't matter if you wrote a stellar paper, the instructor has to pass you based on your ability, or not. Lecture is testing only mostly, some quizzes and occasionally a very low point piece of homework. Or my favorite, homework with no points except for point deductions if you don't do it - so basically docking you a question or two on an exam. Bah.

No matter what, ya gotta get over it. Nursing school is not fair. Pass it pass the NCLEX wait to find a job!

And keeeeeep on dancing!

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Specializes in Critcal Care.
How could you pass fundamentals, med/surg etc.. and not know how to calculate a patients intake? one of my classmates and i were discussing intake for one of her patients when she asked me "how do you do that"? well, i was thinking she was talking about the intake/output sheet on where to put in the numbers. i showed her where to put it in. she says no how do you figure how much they drink with their meals? i'm like huh? let me add, this conversation was taking place in front of one of the CNA's at our clinical site. i told her how many ounces the juice glasses were and you multiply that by 30mls. she's listening and says "did we go over that"? i said YEAH and were where you during the first trimester? omg.... this girl is sooo not ready to be a nurse. i found out from her that she's barely passing exams and she's made it this far because of the low passing score, only a 74% needed to pass a course, and projects thats worth almost more than the exams. i've also noticed that she askes questions that we should automatically know like what does aspirin do? duh everything under the sun it's a analgesic, anticoagulant, antipyretic. she's always asking what is this or what is that, did we learn this? i understand that it's impossible to know everything about nursing but by this time you should know enough that you are confident and a safe nursing student. i am so mad that my school is letting her and others pass by a tiny % because they've done those stupid projects.

how is it in your lpn or rn program do you all have a ton of worthless projects to do?

Some things when stirred smell even more. But, I will say that some students have learned the 'help me, tell me' habit very well. This learned helplessness is sometimes deliberate, and sometimes not. Just stick to your own knitting. Helping her might be enabling her. As for the extra points, I believe that they should be carefully calculated so as not to inflate a score too much and should be used very judiciously to help keep students in the game who have potential and who might be having a bad week. As for worthless projects, I'm totally against assigning projects without real goals and real-life purpose. There is too much in nursing school that requires group work. You don't take the boards as a group. A little is okay, but sometimes it smacks of simple work reduction for the professor instead of a good exercise for the students.

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Specializes in RN Education, OB, ED, Administration.
Some things when stirred smell even more. But, I will say that some students have learned the 'help me, tell me' habit very well. This learned helplessness is sometimes deliberate, and sometimes not. Just stick to your own knitting. Helping her might be enabling her. As for the extra points, I believe that they should be carefully calculated so as not to inflate a score too much and should be used very judiciously to help keep students in the game who have potential and who might be having a bad week. As for worthless projects, I'm totally against assigning projects without real goals and real-life purpose. There is too much in nursing school that requires group work. You don't take the boards as a group. A little is okay, but sometimes it smacks of simple work reduction for the professor instead of a good exercise for the students.

Hi Bonnie Nurse:

I am very interested in projects or activities that you feel might have "real goals" and "real-life purpose." What sort of projects would really make a difference in your nursing education and future career as a nurse. I am an instructor and I am always looking for ways to engage students. I am NOT a fan of busy work!

Thanks for sharing!

Tabitha

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