Looking back, nursing school sometimes seems like it was more of an introduction to nursing than actual training to be a nurse. We got a glimpse of most everything (insert one foley, remove stitches once, witness one childbirth, ten days with oncology patients, ten days with orthopedic patients, etc). It teaches the WHAT of nursing and WHY of nursing. If you make it through, THEN you start the process of learning HOW to be a nurse.
I realize that some programs are more clinical focused than others, with hospital-based programs generally providing the most clinical experience. But is is realistic to expect someone to pick a diploma program over, say, a BSN program? Especially if local diploma programs have waitlists and the BSN program is affordable and one will graduate in the same amount of time, or faster?
Just frustrated that my own program was clinical-light and sad to hear that so many others seem to be as well. And by "clinical-light" I don't mean the number of hours on the floor. We spent many hours on the floor, but had to share the clinical instructor and had limited opportunities to practice our skills.
I can see where new employees get the boring, mundane stuff dumped on them. Was the work you were given just as important and difficult as the work of the experienced staff? Did they seriously have you doing the exact same things as the experienced folks without extra supervision within 6-8 weeks?! How about classmates' experiences?
this is the same with most majors. i have a bs and ms degree in other fields. the programs give you theory with a chance to practice some application. the on the job experience is a place to master the theory and application.
within in the first 2 months I was already the expert on one of our environmental controls and negotiating a 20 year contract for a chemical no one in compay had any experience with... also, i was the only chemical engineer in my department so i was given all the stuff the older engineers didn't understand.
i didn't like to talk about work when i wasn't at work, so i don't really know about my classmates experience. but i can tell you they all had that "thrown into shark infested waters without even a life preserver" feeling that i did and many of the people on here did.
although fairly unrelated fields, i think there are similar experiences for new grads regardless of their profession.... but just like you, if i had a question there were people i could turn to and they would try to point me in the right direction. most places are sink or swim these days, especially w/ all the "restructuring" and "downsizing" going on in the corporate world.
Specializes in ER, Occupational Health, Cardiology.
My LPN training was superb, I feel. We had LOTS of clinical exposure, as well as classroom preparation. My program had always scored 98% or better pass rate on the NCLEX, and our class kept the trend going. I bridged to RN through the same school. I felt that I was waaaay better prepared to be an RN than some of the folks in my ADN class because of the LPN instruction I'd had, plus 4 years actively working FT. Then when I later saw the minimal amount of clinical exposure some BSN students had ( 3 different Universities) I was astonished. My clinical instructors actively sought out exposure for us-if we were on Med/Surg rotation and had been there a while, and a baby was being born, we were pulled to the delivery room to watch. If we were in L & D and it was a slow day and there was an interesting procedure (endo, specialty dressing change, etc.) to watch, they would get us there to see it, or participate in it. When I was a Charge Nurse on a Medical floor, I saw the difference-some Clinical Instructors made their assignments and came and SAT for almost the entire day. Others made their assignments and were at least as active as their students throughout the day, helping them and seeking exposure for them to whatever might be happening. I think the key to the whole thing is the Clinical Instructor. The better and more active THEY are, the better their students are likely to be.
Nursing is too varied a profession to produce ready-to-work nurses. For the most part I think students in this area get enough clinical. Sometimes it's just the luck to the draw what experiences they get, some get more than others.
I think most of nursing is learned on the job. I can't come up with a better system than we have now. Nursing school already is hard enough.
I guess I just need training wheels longer than some...
When I was teaching ESL to adults, my first few terms I was able to team teach with an experienced teacher. After that, I was confident enough to work on my own. However, if I hadn't had that opportunity to team teach, I might not have made it through those first few terms. I ended up teaching for several years and loved it.
Another job (college degree required) supervised my work for the first 3 months and didn't demand that my overall work productivity equal my co-workers til 6 months. There was a readily available "trainer" who could answer questions. I was up to speed well ahead of their deadlines.
I also had a nice temp nursing job with a private well-staffed hospice but they would only consider hiring me as charge nurse (because I had RN) and I wasn't comfortable with that. They filled my temp spot with an LPN.
The nursing jobs with long preceptorships (4+ months) demand payback if you don't work with them for at least 2 years... but what if I still don't cut it? Then I owe them $10,000+... I don't want to take that chance.
Since there doesn't seem to be a way to "ease" myself into a nursing job, I wonder if that's indicative of my overall poor "fit" with nursing.
It is true that school does not teach what is actual happening in the real world....it is part of nursing life....
Good luck!
Right!!!! That is where I think nursing programs do a great injustice to students by not letting them get more "hands on" anymore. How sad it is to see postings from new grads that are totally disillusioned after they get out in the real world and find things a lot tougher than they thought they would be.
jjjoy, LPN
2,801 Posts
I can see where new employees get the boring, mundane stuff dumped on them. Was the work you were given just as important and difficult as the work of the experienced staff? Did they seriously have you doing the exact same things as the experienced folks without extra supervision within 6-8 weeks?! How about classmates' experiences?