i hope i know SOMETHING when i graduate nursing school!

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hi everybody!

im 20 years old and about 8 months into a 14 month LPN program. the program has been pretty difficult so far (i had no medical background, nor did i take any anatomy or biology in college), but i've managed to pull myself through by studying very hard. i love nursing and im glad i got into this profession. HOWEVER... i feel like i dont know that much. yes, i study hard, but once the test is over, i dont feel like i retain the information. not only that, our clinical is moving as slow as a turtle. i am 8 months into nursing school and havent even done a urinary catheter yet. trust me, im not looking to dive right into something difficult, but i have barely done dressing changes. our LPN program is a fairly new addition to a technical school (about 5 years old). im just getting discouraged, and i feel like when i graduate and take the NCLEX im going to be out in the nursing field not knowing a thing!! its so much information, and yes thats part of the job, but im so worried. i dont want to be an incompetent nurse!

any advice or people in the same or were in the same situation?

thanks everyone!

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OMg i KNOW how you feel... im 7 months into my 13 month long LVN program and im in the same boat youre in... i studdy my butt off and get good grades... and my clinical instructors (even the "hard ones") like me alot. and youre right once the test is over it seems like the info flies out of your head to make room for the next mass of info... but i do think that even tho we dont feel like we are retaining anything... something in our brains is filing away all the knowledge and when something happens where we HAVE to make a decision or know how to do something... it will be there... and i know that all of my friends and classmates will agree and sympathize with our plight.... good luck...

i always try to remember the fact that so many other people went through the same process and schooling as me and if THEY can do it... for sure i can do it too

:yeah:

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i know EXACTLY what you are going through...I'm in my 7th month of my 13 month long LVN program and i really do feel your pain... you learn all this stuff you, study really hard, you do well on the tests and then you start a new subject and all the info you just learned seems to fly out of your brain to make room for all the new info... not to mention the care plans and the projects and the reading and the regular homework that you have to do in between... its a wonder we sleep right? but i have to tell myself one thing all the time... if all those other people graduated and passed their boards and became nurses... than I'm damn sure i can do it too... and so can you.:heartbeat you and i and ALL the other students out there WILL know something when we graduate and become real nurses.

you are not alone in your feelings of fear and frustration and everything... we all know how you feel because were going through it NOW or we went through it already.

When it comes right down to it, something will happen where we will be FORCED to make a decision or do some procedure that we learned how to do in SCHOOL and in that split second the file in your brain will open and.... you will just be doing it... everything is being filed away in our minds somewhere, even though we don't think it is...

:up: Good luck!

Let me know if you need to talk again... I'm busy, as you understand I'm sure, and don't get to come online much but ill respond when i can....

Samantha

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LMAO! i though my first post didnt work! hahahaha oh gosh... i look nuts... my mistake...:uhoh3:

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Specializes in PACU.

It's a lot to take in all at once. The reality is that you will forget a lot of the facts that you've learned (probably before the next test, even). The important thing is that you learn fundamental principles that will enable you to safely practice--and to know when you need to look something up or get help.

School is only the beginning of your education as a nurse. Once you get a job, you'll receive specific training relevant to your specialty. You will then be expected--by any organization worth working for, anyway--to maintain and gain knowledge and skills through continuing education.

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I'm in the 2nd semester of my ADN program, and I pretty much feel the same way. My grades are fine (A's and B's), but honestly, I get really scared during clinicals, esp during Med-Surg clinicals. And like you, I feel like I ought to be over it all by now, but it seems like we just get thrown out there on our own so quickly to do things that I would think the instructors would want to take more time and effort to make sure that we're doing it correctly.

Just yesterday, my instructor left the room while I was in the middle of a dressing change and told me to finish it on my own. That would have been okay, but another student was just standing there watching me. Then she started criticizing every little move I was making, and started giving me all these instructions which seemed totally unlike the way the instructor had just told me to do it. At one point I almost told her to do it herself if she feels that strongly about her own way of doing it, but I held my tongue.

Then later in the shift, it took me nearly 20 minutes to do a single blood sugar reading! First I couldn't even find a reading-device that was charged, then I accidentally grabbed one that was in the middle of downloading previous info (docking). I kind of freaked out, but I didn't dare ask anyone for help, b/c everyone seemed so busy with far more important things...so I finally figured out how to put it back into docking. Then when I finally got to my patient, I ended up breaking THREE finger-stick needles before I got one to work - and by that time, the reader had automatically shut off to save power. So THEN I had to go BACK to my instructor and have her badge-scan it again so it would work....*sigh*. Yeah. I felt pretty stupid. lol.

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I promise you that by the time you graduate school you will know how not to kill people; whether you know how to apply what you've learned in real life I can't say for certain

for example, if you are giving an antihypertensive you will know that you need to check their BP prior to administration, because if their BP is 104/62 and they take a couple BP meds, you will know to check the previous VS (if available) and contact the MD to get them held (or at least one of them); same with insulin; if their accucheck is 65 and they are scheduled an am dose of regular insulin, you'll know that it would not be safe

keep in mind this simple statement: once you graduate your program and pass your board exam, all you've done is earned the right to learn how to become a nurse; in other words, that's when the true learning begins and continues, hopefully for the remainder of your career

good luck to you all

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to begin with, i am not a very confident person... and when your in nursing school... wow, what personalities! everybody knows more or has more expierience than everyone else... so this does not help when your nervous at clinical or are unsure of how to do something very simple. and ive had similar situations where im doing a dressing change, the instructor leaves the room, and i have 6 other peers watching over me critiquing my every move. just the other day, i was doing a dressing change, and as i went to date it i wrote out "april 14th 2008"... one of my peers snapped at me and told me "writing the year isnt necessary, speed it up!"... its just ridiculous but i look at it now and laugh a little bit.

a lot of nursing graduates, and even some of my instructors have told me that you do a lot of on the job learning/training... im just so afraid!

i BETTER know something! afterall, im paying a pretty penny for school.

thanks guys!

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to begin with, i am not a very confident person... and when your in nursing school... wow, what personalities! everybody knows more or has more expierience than everyone else... so this does not help when your nervous at clinical or are unsure of how to do something very simple. and ive had similar situations where im doing a dressing change, the instructor leaves the room, and i have 6 other peers watching over me critiquing my every move. just the other day, i was doing a dressing change, and as i went to date it i wrote out "april 14th 2008"... one of my peers snapped at me and told me "writing the year isnt necessary, speed it up!"... its just ridiculous but i look at it now and laugh a little bit.

a lot of nursing graduates, and even some of my instructors have told me that you do a lot of on the job learning/training... im just so afraid!

i BETTER know something! afterall, im paying a pretty penny for school.

thanks guys!

in your example, you proved that you knew to date a dressing change--fageddabout whether you need a year or not--putting a date is better than nothing at all; maybe next time you'll think to write it in numerical form (e.g., 4/18/08 ) but in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't matter as long as you do it

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Specializes in Ortho, Neuro, Detox, Tele.

I'm gonna be honest...I'm graduating on may 16th, and I feel like i know some stuff...just not how to be a nurse....

I work as a CNA...and get really good marks in clinicals(although those are over now)....first, relax. when you get to be a nurse, the only ones watching will be patients...or familes...

Part of learning how to be a nurse involves critically thinking......and you'll pick that up eventually.....

It does get easier, and you have to get the baseline knowledge before you can string things together....trust me, you'll get there....

And jedi? How about going to get a blood sugar...and sticking yourself through the glove....cause the colored end at work is what you push...and the colored end at clinical is where the needle came out...and he was a carpenter so I had to stick him at the base of his finger(cause the pads were like sandpaper...) I win....;)

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Specializes in neuro/ortho med surge 4.
to begin with, i am not a very confident person... and when your in nursing school... wow, what personalities! everybody knows more or has more expierience than everyone else... so this does not help when your nervous at clinical or are unsure of how to do something very simple. and ive had similar situations where im doing a dressing change, the instructor leaves the room, and i have 6 other peers watching over me critiquing my every move. just the other day, i was doing a dressing change, and as i went to date it i wrote out "april 14th 2008"... one of my peers snapped at me and told me "writing the year isnt necessary, speed it up!"... its just ridiculous but i look at it now and laugh a little bit.

a lot of nursing graduates, and even some of my instructors have told me that you do a lot of on the job learning/training... im just so afraid!

i BETTER know something! afterall, im paying a pretty penny for school.

thanks guys!

I am sorry you have had this experience. Some of your classmates do not sound like wonderful people. Your peers probably are nervous too but just hide it better. At least you wrote the date that is probably a lot more than some of your classmated may have remembered to do. Because you are a nervous person, some people who have these "stronger" personalities (I call them bullies) will zero in on it and make you feel bad because it makes them feel good (raises their self esteem).

If it makes you feel any better, I have my final in 18 days :yeah:and feel like I do not know enough. But you will find as time goes by how much of the "pieces" have fallen in to place.

I have also heard that you learn more in a month as a new nurse than you do all of nursing school.

Keep doing your best and study hard. I can tell you will be a conscientious nurse as you are already worried about not knowing enough.

Good luck.

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