I have never ever been so frustrated in my entire life. I am a first semester nursing student. I am SO FRUSTRATED with this program I want to scream. I don't know why they are teaching students in their 5th week all the intricacies of fluid and electrolyte imbalance, but I am not wrapping my brain around this material, and I guess I need a pep talk. There are so many discrepancies between text books, they don't actually walk through any of the skills, we just read the book and then watch videos.
In the next 4 weeks, I have 4 different tests, which would be fine, if there was any consistency between what was being lectured on, and what we were reading. I also have a scenario involving an entire head-to-toe assessment and medication passing. Remember, this is 1st semester, week 7 starts on Monday. And they haven't gone through the basics of what is expected in a head-to-toe yet, just handed us a rubric, turned us lose for 45 minutes in lab to practice with each other and didn't walk around and give any direction. I have no idea if what I am doing is right or wrong.
Am I being a wuss? Is this normal? I just wish we had some kind of instruction and consistency between the instructors, and some actual hands on time before we get thrown into a huge scenario worth like half our grade. Sigh. I need a pep talk!
Our teachers always remind us that nursing school is "self directed learning". They will touch on subject matter, but it's up to us to decide what is important. Just hang in there!
Your concern about F&E being introduced early in the program is completely without merit. Did you or did you not take biology and A&P? You should be prepared to understand more advanced physiological concepts at this point. If your program didn't require these classes prior to entry, then your complaint is valid. Otherwise, buck up, buttercup, and put your nose to the grindstone. Don't think "it's too early in the program and this is too hard". That's a self-fulfilling attitude. Rather, think to yourself "I can understand this. This is a concept I can understand, because I have prepared for this. I have the background and the knowledge to do this."
Your second concern, however, I think is extremely justified. There should have been some sort of demonstration (either a video or in person) and then someone available to help you out in lab, to give you some pointers and encouragement.
I seriously recommend you google "nursing physical assessment". Youtube has a dozens of videos on this, as well as any other nursing skill or procedure you want. When you find a helpful video, pay attention to who posted it--most of the time, that poster has a "channel" to which you can subscribe, and it will have more helpful videos on related subjects. I am a nurse with 10 years of experience, and I still check Youtube for videos of procedures that I don't do very often, or don't do at all but want to understand, to be able to better educate my patients or to be better able to provide post-procedure care.
Any assessment videos may not be exactly like what your school requires, but I'd bet they're really, really close. Frankly, if you are having problems with ANY concepts (like fluid and electrolytes), check for explanatory videos on youtube. Sometimes a video representation, or just an explanation from a different instructor/publishing company/drug company clicks with you and makes sense. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by what you find.
We are already doing fluid and electrolytes in my fundamentals but like other posters have stated, you should have had this in anatomy and physiology and even freshman biology for some of it.
The physical assessment was one of our first skills learned and checked off, we started clinicals on week 4 and were doing physical assessments on actual patients then. We did have a large amount of lecture time devoted to assessment and had it demonstrated by an instructor. We get critiqued on our weekly patient assessment forms so we know if we are doing them correctly.
They should have spent more time on that, it has been a huge basis for our fundamentals class.
I cannot begin to tell you how much I love this post. This is EXACTLY what it feels like. The lecture feels so totally useless, because essentially my instructor is just reading all of the headings in the chapter, and not really covering anything else.
I know it will get better. Are there are good study guides that can be bought for fundamentals?
Yep, that post summed it up for my nursing program as well...perfectly!
It will get better. They may not improve their instruction, but you will get more used to the DIY aspect of learning as time goes on. I truly hate my school, but as long as I get through it I will be satisfied. Your experience sounds pretty much like my first semester. I never knew - and still don't know - if my assessment technique is correct, but I passed the head to toe practical so I must have done it correctly then. I have debated not attending my own pinning ceremony just because I hate my program so much...I'd love to be able to tell my director how I feel as soon as I get my diploma in hand. I get straight A's but only because of my own determination to do so, not because of any skillful instruction. I swear sometimes the instructors do things on purpose to knock us down.
I am third semester now and we are just now really hitting fluids and electrolytes heavy, but we touched on it superficially in first semester. I strongly recommend "Fluids and Electrolytes Made Incredible Easy." It really does break it down into something much more easily comprehended.
Hospice Nurse LPN, BSN, RN
1,472 Posts
Our teachers always remind us that nursing school is "self directed learning". They will touch on subject matter, but it's up to us to decide what is important. Just hang in there!