First week- will I die of boredom?

[gypsierose]

This is my first week of ADN nursing school and already I'm wondering if I will make it. Not because its hard or overwhelming, but because the intro to nursing classes are so unbelievably boring. Today we role played communication situations and I felt like I was in kindergarten. Nursing theory? That **** has to be BS. Someone tell me that it gets more interesting. Even hard would be good at this point. Yes, I have 20+ years of CNA experience and aced my pre reqs, have walked through the medical system with critically ill family, and have taken a ton of other college courses but I wanted to come into this humble and willing to learn. I want a challenge. I'm suddenly more worried about being bored than about being challenged. I don't have the option of another program or PA school or whatever right now. Advice appreciated. Anything so I don't fall asleep in class and never wake up.

[gypsierose]

"We?" You're a nurse already? I thought you mentioned being a CNA. Maybe I missed a post about us being a "we."

Yes "we"! This idea that nurses are a special secret society is a HUGE part of the problem. I didn't just walk into this not knowing what a nurse is or does. I'm 1000% sure that my opinion will not change once I get pinned.

[LittleOldLadyWho, ADN, BSN, LPN, RN]

Yes "we"! This idea that nurses are a special secret society is a HUGE part of the problem. I didn't just walk into this not knowing what a nurse is or does. I'm 1000% sure that my opinion will not change once I get pinned.

Let us know when you get pinned...

[AliNajaCat]

Thus speaketh someone who has no real practical knowledge of nursing, expects to have most of her professional training based on hands-on stuff to implement "doctor's orders," and is (by the sounds of things) not mature enough by half to understand the value of research and being in an actual, like, profession.

If you think nursing theory is boring, perhaps you'll never know the difference between two or three ways of how to teach and plan care for a complex or challenging patient. If you think nursing diagnosis is silly, perhaps you'll never learn about the power it will give you as a professional because you won't have a clue of how to seize and apply that power.

But we who have been around the block once or twice have seen many of you. Most of us were you once, and we outgrew it. I promise you that the faster you leave behind these adolescent, amateurish attitudes, the faster you'll learn to think like a real nurse. Check back in here in, oh, fifteen years or so and prepare to be embarrassed by your original post, because I can promise you that you will be.

[emmjayy, BSN, RN]

There's an LPN in my program who felt similarly to OP.... we're now in our 6th week and she's singing the same tune as the rest of us.... as in, this is hard work.

[jj224]

nursing theory is a joke.

[Horseshoe, BSN, RN]

Yes "we"! This idea that nurses are a special secret society is a HUGE part of the problem. I didn't just walk into this not knowing what a nurse is or does. I'm 1000% sure that my opinion will not change once I get pinned.

It's not a "special secret society," but just like an MD, the title of "nurse" is a legally protected term, and is limited to individuals who have passed NCLEX. That likely explains someone else's objection to your use of the word "we" when talking about "nurses." You are a "student nurse," nothing more.

[Horseshoe, BSN, RN]

I hated care plans and also questioned their utility. But it's not true that we don't use them in real life. At my last hospital job, we had to develop care plans and put them in the chart. Even if you don't have to do that, you actually ARE doing it when you prioritize your nursing care, take the time to anticipate potential problems, and develop strategies to prevent them. It's going on in your head most of the time, but you are doing it.

[vanilla bean]

Yes "we"! This idea that nurses are a special secret society is a HUGE part of the problem.

Nurses are not in a "special secret society," but we *have* completed a nursing program and passed the NCLEX exam. Also, what "problem?" How is your perception that nurses think they're part of a special secret society a "huge" contributing factor to your feelings of boredom in your nursing program?

[llg, PhD, RN]

Maybe you are just going to a bad school. Some schools are better than others. Are you sure that your school is of good quality?

Also ... the first week or two of any semester is usually a little weird as everyone settles in and orients to the course. Expect that -- and you won't be disappointed in the future. Wait until you are into the "meat" of the course to judge how it is run -- and wait until the end to see if the course has taught you anything. Sometimes, the pieces don't fall into place until the end or even later, after you have moved on and have to rely on what you learned previously to succeed.

[Harveyslake]

Nurses are not in a "special secret society," but we *have* completed a nursing program and passed the NCLEX exam. Also, what "problem?" How is your perception that nurses think they're part of a special secret society a "huge" contributing factor to your feelings of boredom in your nursing program?

But, but,.....what about the secret handshake?!!?

[AllOfMyWat]

Yes. This is how you are going to die.

[elkpark]

But, but,.....what about the secret handshake?!!?

SSHHHHHHH!! Don't tell anyone!! You know it's a secret!