Keep on Learning.....

Nurses General Nursing

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Specializes in Psychiatric Nursing.

I have been out of school now for a little over 2 years now and find that part of me really does miss it. As intense as nursing school can be it really does force you to learn a lot of really interesting things in a fairly short amount of time. So I make it a habit of learning new things everyday and try to push myself but I feel like as time passes the things I am not using on a regular basis... such as L&D or pediatrics I am loosing. :eek::eek::eek:

Anyone have any good tips or tricks of how they continue to keep up? I have been reading old textbooks and journals and while that is helpful I can't help but miss the structure of having study packets, quizzes, and study groups that really push you to absorb the material....

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When I read, I read books that have nothing to do with nursing. There's a lot to know and learn in life, and I'd hate to be a one-trick pony.

But, if you must spend your time-off on nursing, journals are the way to go. But me, I like to have other interesting things to talk about. :)

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Specializes in ED, ICU, MS/MT, PCU, CM, House Sup, Frontline mgr.

when i started working i was a med surg nurse who started to lose (well lost) just about everything i knew of peds and l&d. it was not until i started to work in the ed that i started to refresh my memory. as you said, it is easier when you have a purpose and a need to retain the information that you actually are able to do so. my need is my job.

if you are not exposed to peds and l&d patients at work right now, then try seminars and certifications throughout the year to force you to relearn and retain information. acls, pals, nals, etc. are good certs. join an organization related to peds and/or l&d so that you receive information on the latest seminars that you can attend throughout the year.

i love taking classes related to trauma nursing. i am such a geek i use my vacation time since my place of work does not pay for us to attend classes, travel, eat, or stay in hotels. gl!

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Specializes in Psychiatric Nursing.
When I read, I read books that have nothing to do with nursing. There's a lot to know and learn in life, and I'd hate to be a one-trick pony.

But, if you must spend your time-off on nursing, journals are the way to go. But me, I like to have other interesting things to talk about. :)

I absolutely get what your saying and I really do agree with ya. It is important to be well rounded as individuals. I am not looking for this to take over my life but at the same time I really do enjoy nursing/pathophysiology/pharmacology... just science in general really. I also am very much an awe of the nurses who work in a certain facets of nursing but are able to carry with them a great deal of knowledge from other specialities. I currently work in psych and while the majority of issues that walk through my door are mental health related I also get combo patients such as the pregnant women who also happens to deal with schizophrenia or the bipolar patient who has some sort of compromised cardiac function. I'd like to know that in the back of my mind I am comfortable and knowledgeable in both areas of nursing. With being out of school now over 2 years I find its getting harder and harder keeping up with the different areas in nursing and want to work on being a well rounded nurse. :nurse:

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Specializes in Psychiatric Nursing.
when i started working i was a med surg nurse who started to lose (well lost) just about everything i knew of peds and l&d. it was not until i started to work in the ed that i started to refresh my memory. as you said, it is easier when you have a purpose and a need to retain the information that you actually are able to do so. my need is my job.

if you are not exposed to peds and l&d patients at work right now, then try seminars and certifications throughout the year to force you to relearn and retain information. acls, pals, nals, etc. are good certs. join an organization related to peds and/or l&d so that you receive information on the latest seminars that you can attend throughout the year.

i love taking classes related to trauma nursing. i am such a geek i use my vacation time since my place of work does not pay for us to attend classes, travel, eat, or stay in hotels. gl!

thank you, very excellent advice....i am totally with you on the geek thing... probably part of why i miss school so much. :lol2::lol2::lol2:

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.

Well, you can always go back to school!

MedScape for nurses is a good site. I'm not on my home computer so I don't have a link.

Also, getting certified in your specialty really forces you to learn the nitty gritty. Plus keeping up a speciality requires a lot of CEUs, so you learn that way as well.

One reason I love floating is that it keeps me on my toes taking care of patients outside of my home unit. But I will never go to L&D and we have no Peds, so I don't worry about that lost knowledge.

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Specializes in Hospital Education Coordinator.

become an Educator. You will continually be learning. Even if you are not in the Education department there are ways to contribute

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