Frustrated in BSN program

Wooh- I'm getting straight A's and the research just tells me what I already know. hypertension is dangerous. Obesity is bad. It's nothing new.

Wooh- I'm getting straight A's and the research just tells me what I already know. hypertension is dangerous. Obesity is bad. It's nothing new.

Well said.

Right, because that's all you need to know, just what everyone knows...There is then no difference between the professional nurse and the patient with regard to illness.

I can totally understand wanting your BSN. Is it possible for you to look for a different RN to BSN program that is more affordable? I attended an in-person 18 month program at a state school where I live (only met one night a week, which was convenient enough for me!) and it was much more affordable than the 'convenient' online programs that advertise constantly, plus I felt like I got a lot out of it.

They aren't teaching me anything besides how to use their library for searching and how to write papers and do APA citations. Last week's assignment- assessment of cranial nerve function- Yeah, I learned that in my ADN and have done it in clinicals and then in my workplace. It's just a repeat. I haven't learned anything new in the BSN program at all. It's covering the same exact material I've already done. If it was new information it would be different but it's not.

My program is less expensive than most, but seeing as I am paying a ton still (let's face it, there's no really "affordable" courses. if it's over 100's of dollars it's too much but that's higher education).. I've shopped around for other programs as well but they all seem the same. I really don't want to be driving to classes either with gas the way it is, and they cost just as much in this area.

They aren't teaching me anything besides how to use their library for searching and how to write papers and do APA citations. Last week's assignment- assessment of cranial nerve function- Yeah, I learned that in my ADN and have done it in clinicals and then in my workplace. It's just a repeat. I haven't learned anything new in the BSN program at all. It's covering the same exact material I've already done. If it was new information it would be different but it's not.

If you plan to go to grad school someday (and even if you don't, plans change), won't library skills and writing skills be useful? What if you get involved in research in the new hospital job your BSN helps you to get, and you decide you want to publish an article about your findings to help other nurses improve their practice? I'm sorry you are so frustrated by the process, but as you've posted previously, in your area a BSN is going to be needed if you want to work in a hospital. Do you want to work in a hospital or are you happy with where you are? It's not a decision you have to make now, you know. Maybe if you wait a few years, you can approach it in a better frame of mind, or maybe all the review of stuff you already know and recently learned will be a welcome refresher. Maybe if you wait a few years the tide will turn again and hospitals will have more openings than applicants and will embrace ADNs again after requiring BSNs before. And look around at other RN-BSN programs to make sure you're in the most affordable, best fit for you.

A bachelor's degree implies a liberal education- it's not an supposed to be an advanced trade school degree. If exposure to the liberal arts is a waste of time, then maybe physicians should just go from junior college right into med school. After all, what do they need history, literature or philosophy for if they just going to be a doctor? Actually why require a degree for anyone? An astrophysicist can just take some physic and astronomy courses at a junior college and then learn the rest on the job. Learning another discipline requires brainwork. What if all practitioners of the medical arts didn't have to take any of these pesky liberal arts courses? Your neurosurgeon could be up and running in 7 or 8 years out of highschool without any loans to pay! Why even bother to work in a "profession" based on science when you haven't had a statistics course to evaluate whether a study is useful or useless? If ADN students aren't learning ANYTHING in BSN program then either; 1. They are happy to remain limited or 2. The college has dumbed down everthing to accomodate a flux of paying students who have no business in university. I even read a prevous post on the thread which mentioned the "dumming" down of college courses. Ironic error in spelling.

I even read a prevous post on the thread which mentioned the "dumming" down of college courses. Ironic error in spelling.

That made me literally LOL, thanks for that :) And I agree with the rest of your post as well.

I don't understand all of these posts about people taking courses and learning NOTHING. Even if you've had the material in some shape or form before, I think you'd have to be trying pretty hard to learn absolutely nothing. I feel like my brain is a sponge, it just wants to soak up new info! But then again, if something strikes my interest, I do research in my spare time :)

I even read a prevous post on the thread which mentioned the "dumming" down of college courses. Ironic error in spelling.

Haha...I know. I noticed that, and I spelled it correctly when responding to that post, but I've learned very quickly what happens when you point out spelling mistakes in these discussions. So, I didn't bother.

"Spelling doesn't matter. It has nothing to do with intelligence. It was learned in elementary school. You're so judgemental. Blah blah blah."

Sure. Whatever. If I were a doctor and one of the only ways I could judge nurse's intelligence was by their charting, then I'd think they were idiots if the posts here reflect their charts. I'm sure they do.

I think it's funny that people find these classes a waste of time because they already know how to "write a paper" and "use APA format."

I had to take a research class after I already had one bachelor's degree and I didn't find it a waste of time at all. Not only did I already know how to "write a paper," but have had articles published and also taught other people how to write a paper! Sure, a lot of people in the class (including me at some point, I'm sure) said, "We shouldn't have to do this. We've already taken these classes, etc."

In reality, I learned a lot by the time it was over. I had no idea about measurement reliability and validity, effect size, the different groups of samples and the impact they have, p values, etc, etc.

Will that help me? I don't know. I'm glad I learned it. I do find myself saying, "I read a study once..." quite a bit! At least NOW when I read a study, I can take the time to see for myself if it's a reliable source or not. You know, based on actual facts, and not whether or not I just really like the author or if it agrees with my views.

No wonder there are so many people who think that reading an article and having an opinion about it is "research."