Female nursing student with questions

SoxfanRN · Nov 6, 2008

Hello gents! So... I'm a 30-something year old mom, and in my first nursing class with the assignment of asking a few questions for a presentation I'm doing on any nurses who have graduated from any of the following; LPN, RN, BSN, MSN, PHD, and Nurse Practitioner.
I have a few interviews from female nurses but none from the guys and I'm REALLY curious about your take on these things and any information that you feel I may have left out, being female and all!
So, I hope I can get some of you to answer these 12 questions for me! Thank you a TON!!!
What was the hardest part about going to school?
What is most memorable about your initial licensure nurse?
Where was your first job? What kind of feelings did you experience?
What other places have you worked?
What kind of nursing job do you find most enjoyable?
Why did you get into the profession?
What do you wish you had known before you got into a nursing program?
What suggestions do you have that would enhance the success in nursing school?
Is there anything specific that you feel nurses need to have more emphasis on in their training?
If you were training nurses, if you had it your way, they’d all learn a lot about....
What kinds of things in your profession make going to school to be a nurse worth the while?
What is nursing education like now compared to when you went to school (if a long time ago)?

1. The curriculum. I still refer to it as "hell."

2. Initial licensure nurse?

3. Inpatient psych. I thought I was awesome at first and knew everything. That lasted a week. After that I was convinced I was too dumb to work with people.

4. Visiting nurse, research, education in an acute care hospital.

5. Education

6. A lot of options. I liked working with people. I still love psych.

7. I wished I knew all the content. It would have saved me a lot of studying! I also wished I knew that I wouldn't be fired for small mistakes I made. That would have saved me a lot of anxiety.

8. Know your A & P. If you know body systems, you can figure out any disease and what symptoms to look for/treat.

9. Get the skills down. You will not be able to think critically, prioritize, manage time, or delegate very well as a GN. Get the skills down first, and the rest will come in time as you feel confident that you won't kill someone.

10. Patient advocacy and everything that entails, including caring.

11. Everything!

12. Nursing schools are focused on the NCLEX because pass rates keep them open. Unfortunately, that causes nurses to be less prepared for actual clinical practice after school. New nurses need to know that they will feel overwhelmed and like they don't know anything sometimes. The real learning for the job comes on the job. Stay with it and don't get discouraged. You have to be pretty darned smart to pass nursing school, and no one can take that away.

Jaybird310 · Nov 10, 2008

Hello gents! So... I'm a 30-something year old mom, and in my first nursing class with the assignment of asking a few questions for a presentation I'm doing on any nurses who have graduated from any of the following; LPN, RN, BSN, MSN, PHD, and Nurse Practitioner.
I have a few interviews from female nurses but none from the guys and I'm REALLY curious about your take on these things and any information that you feel I may have left out, being female and all!
So, I hope I can get some of you to answer these 12 questions for me! Thank you a TON!!!
What was the hardest part about going to school?
What is most memorable about your initial licensure nurse?
Where was your first job? What kind of feelings did you experience?
What other places have you worked?
What kind of nursing job do you find most enjoyable?
Why did you get into the profession?
What do you wish you had known before you got into a nursing program?
What suggestions do you have that would enhance the success in nursing school?
Is there anything specific that you feel nurses need to have more emphasis on in their training?
If you were training nurses, if you had it your way, they'd all learn a lot about....
What kinds of things in your profession make going to school to be a nurse worth the while?
What is nursing education like now compared to when you went to school (if a long time ago)?

Here ya go:

1) Mine was finding a balance between school and play. Sometimes school was so consuming while play was so tempting that when I gave in it was usually a bad idea and I went and played too hard. Or school was so consuming that I neglecting everything else. I never did get the balance down.

2)I'm with the other guy initial licensure? If you mean that period between graduation and the neclex when I had a temp license well then to be honest I didn't work as an RN until after the Neclex, I studied and rested during that time

3) My first job was in the ER, at Charity Hospital in New Orleans pre Hurricane Katrina. Everyone I knew tried to talk me out of the job but it was what I wanted. I wanted to be in the heart of the action and see all the ugly stuff, or so I thought. My first day I was excited walking in, within an 1 hour I felt completely lost and terrified like I had gotten myself in over my head and had no idea what I was doing. By the end of the day I was exhausted and questioning myself. I last a big whooping total of 3 months before I went to another hospital.

4) Jobs I've worked outside of nursing? Or within nursing. Within nursing I've worked ER and Peds ER, with a brief stint in med surg telemetry/oncology. Outside of nursing I've worked a little bit of construction, framing and landscaping and a CNA.

5) ER and Ped ER is the only thing I've really done. The little bit of floor work I've done I find that it's just not my thing.

6) I went into nursing for 2 main reasons. One is that I was pre med but I thought that as soon as I finished school my then girlfriend and I were going to get married and start a family therefore I needed something quick that could support a family. And the second is that I'm someone who needs to always have someone to take care of, and nursing gives me that.

7) I wish I had known how truly difficult and time consuming it was going to be. I lost a lot of friends, and it was the beginning of the end for my relationship, all due to the time and energy and effort you have to put into school. By the end of the day on most days I felt like I just didn't have the time or the energy to put forth an effort for anything else. If I'd have known how truly difficult it was going to be I think I could have better prepared myself and the people around me

8)Study. That's my first suggestion. I went in thinking I was going to whiz through it like I had everything else as far as school was concerned. By the end of week one I was kicking myself in the ass and putting it all in gear. My second suggestion is strength in numbers. I know during some of my clinicals if it hadn't been for others in the group I'd have had a nervous breakdown twice. And I actually remember having to calm a couple of crying girls in the group down a time or two. Make your clinical groups your mini support system. You're going to need each other.

9)I would give the students more an a true working environment while in clincals. I walked in and felt completely unprepared and lost. It took me a few months to build up decent confidence in my job. Therefore I'd prepare students more for what actually working is going to be like.

10) Same answer as my answer to the question above. There needs to be more preparation for life after school.

11) I love my job. Sure there are days when I wake up and don't want to go to work. But I think everyone has those days. But I get to wake up and go to work and at the end of everyday I know that I've helped people. I get paid to help people. I get paid to do something that if the world went into apocalypse and I could get paid to do it anymore. Well I'd do it for free. That's what makes nursing school worth it. And hopefully the day never comes where I hate my job.

12)It hasn't been that long since I finished so the program really hasn't changed much. What I have noticed is the difference in the education in new grads depending on the area and place they went to school at least as far as new grads coming into the ER is concerned. I've found that Bachelor RN's don't seem to be as ready to adapt to a faster pace of work as those with associates degrees.

Roy Fokker, BSN, RN · Nov 10, 2008

1. What was the hardest part about going to school?

A: I worked 2 jobs to put myself through school. I suppose the constant lack of reliable sleep and the total absence of a 'social life' rank high on that list. Plus, it was a demanding program.

In fact, I still state that if I had the choice between re-doing nursing school or boot camp, I'd do boot camp any day....

2. What is most memorable about your initial licensure nurse?

A: I'm not sure I understand the question. I guess it was a sense of personal accomplishment or 4 years of sweat and toil. And ofcourse like any new nurse, I felt ready to take on the world. To cure all sickness and eradicate suffering...

3. Where was your first job? What kind of feelings did you experience?

A: My first job was a small community hospital, working third shift on an ortho/neuro/med/surg floor. It truly was baptism by fire (we were chronically understaffed - sometimes as much as 50% for RNs. Some nights we'd only have 1 tech for 38 patients).

The one positive thing about that experience? Besides the cameraderie, was the realization that "if I can work in this hell hole, I can work anywhere!"

4. What other places have you worked?

A: Currently I work in a super busy ED (the second busiest ED in the entire state!)

5. What kind of nursing job do you find most enjoyable?

A: I admit to being a trauma junkie. I love codes and split-second decisions. ED has been a great fit for me so far. I also love working with kids.

6. Why did you get into the profession?

A: I initially started out in college to do Biotechnology (because I couldn't - and still can't - afford med school). A semester in, I realized that slaving away at a desk or in a lab was not my cup of tea. Given my natural affinity to biology and fascination with the human body, my sister-in-law (a physician), suggested that I try Nursing.

7. What do you wish you had known before you got into a nursing program?

A: To try and take it a little more seriously than I did. I didn't do horrible in school, but I know I could have done better. If I had to repeat it, I'd probably be more disciplined.

8. What suggestions do you have that would enhance the success in nursing school?

A: Don't you dare miss a single lab or class. Pay attention in class. Give your textbooks a 'once over' (just like you would read a novel for example) before the semester starts. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Volunteer/participate in class. Form a study group.

And finally - Discipline! Discipline! Discipline!

9. Is there anything specific that you feel nurses need to have more emphasis on in their training?

A: I know I'll probably catch some hell from others here but I gotta say it: a lot of the emphasis on 'nursing theory' is a bunch of bull. A waste of time. It's great for academia (and please understand, I'm not 'dissing' academia) but I think it's the wrong emphasis.

More clinical time. Absolutely. All the theory and textbook knowledge is useless unless you practice it. In fact, I really think nursing should have internships - and not just 6 weeks of it either.

10. If you were training nurses, if you had it your way, they’d all learn a lot about....

A: Critical thinking. I can't emphasize this enough. If you can't think critically, then you can't be a nurse. It's that simple.

That and "assertiveness". I don't think we as nurses are assertive enough and too often cave to pressure from our colleagues in other health care departments.

I never realized this until I quit my soul destroying job and started working at my new job where nurses have far more autonomy and are not only encouraged to share their opinions and thoughts on treatment plans but in some cases are required to do so.

11. What kinds of things in your profession make going to school to be a nurse worth the while?

A: Many moons ago, I once wrote a post about 'why I do what I do'. Allow me to represent it here (typos and all :chuckle):

It takes a special kind of person to be unbiversally accepting of others.
To love and care for another human being just because they are human beings.
To seek out and help those in desperate need.
To heal wounds - both mind and body - caused by self or others.
To be responsible for the life and well being of another.
To be truly blind to all matters of caste, creed, colour, wealth or race when dealing with another.
To know deep within your heart that what you do everyday makes a positive impact on the lives of many, often total strangers.
To spend life in the service of humankind (and occassionaly, the animal kind too!)

I'm not Jewish (or religious for that matter), but to paraphrase a part of the Talmud: "He who saves one life... it is as if he saves an entire universe."

Every day, nurses save lives.

I recall a semi-humorous incident with my cousin who was all of 13 years of age. There was a huge blizzard in town. The roads were closed down and so was every business in town, including the giant insurance and auto manufacturer companies. I was getting ready to go to work. My cousin noticed this fact and in a state of amazement, he asked: "Where do you think you are going?!"

"To work", I replied nonchalantly.

"But there's a blizzard outside! Everything's shut down! Even my parents are home and they didn't have to go to work!"

I laughed and said "Yes, but I work in a hospital. There's people who need to be taken care of. People don't stop being sick just because there's a blizzard outside."

It was a simple answer to a complex situation... but it helps identify what makes some of us nurses tick.

We are there 24/7/365. At the bedside. Patients go to hospitals not for health care but for nursing care.

We are the safety net. We are the 'teachers' - we help demystify complex medical jargon and conditions into terms you and I or our grandparents can understand. We are the 'doers' - all the others are pencil pushers, along merely to hand us the saw, we do the work.

We often see humanity at it's worst - the sick, the injured, the dying. We deal with crises - medical, psychological, social (sometimes a combination of all three). Nurses are the very embodiment of the "CAN DO!" philosophy.

All these and more, are the reasons I do what I do.

And why it was worthwhile that I went through four years of tough, hard school for.

12. What is nursing education like now compared to when you went to school (if a long time ago)?

A: N/a

cheers,

twistedpupchaser · Nov 11, 2008

what was the hardest part about going to school?
working and studying fulltime and still trying to find time for the family.
what is most memorable about your initial licensure nurse?
?????
where was your first job? what kind of feelings did you experience?
my first nursing job was on an ortho ward. my first job outside of nursing was as an army medic.
what other places have you worked?
medical and med/surg
what kind of nursing job do you find most enjoyable?
i prefer broken people, i am not keen on sick people
why did you get into the profession?
i saw it as an expansion of knowledge and skills from my army training.
what do you wish you had known before you got into a nursing program?
how to sort the usefull from the not so usefull information
what suggestions do you have that would enhance the success in nursing school?
do the practice exams from previous years a couple of weeks into the semester, it lets you know how much you are going to have to learn. a great motivator.
is there anything specific that you feel nurses need to have more emphasis on in their training?
more time on ward with a proper pt load to learn time management, with the right backup to ensure meds and procedures are done correctly.
if you were training nurses, if you had it your way, they'd all learn a lot about....
i would write a subject on how to handle real world problems such as difficult pt's & families, lack of sleep due to shift work, avoiding political intrigue at work. i would bomb it up with guest lecturers to teach different coping mechanisms and strategies.
what kinds of things in your profession make going to school to be a nurse worth the while?
watching someone you have cared for since admission walk out- against the odds
what is nursing education like now compared to when you went to school (if a long time ago)?
they are upgrading the programme here so i don't know.

i hope this helps.