Why do they set you up to fail.

Nursing Students General Students

Published

Specializes in Ante-Intra-Postpartum, Post Gyne.

I have talked to several people and they have all said that Nursing schools are set up to try and get you to fail. I know they want smart competent people out there but why do they make every one feel like they are out to get them? I have had some one tell me that "You go two years with a brick in your stomach" I worked with a PA-C that told me she went on to Physician Assistant because nursing is set up that way.

Specializes in Cardiac.
I have talked to several people and they have all said that Nursing schools are set up to try and get you to fail. I know they want smart competent people out there but why do they make every one feel like they are out to get them? I have had some one tell me that "You go two years with a brick in your stomach" I worked with a PA-C that told me she went on to Physician Assistant because nursing is set up that way.

I think they want to make sure that when your pt is crashing, and everybody is in your room, and the doctor is screaming orders at you, that you will be able to handle the stress and still be able to care for your pt. It's like boot camp.

I agree that some stress is important. Just know that all schools are not set up to make you fail. It is important to be able to handle the stress level without losing it in class and at clinicals. If you are trying to decide on a program ask around. Others will tell you their experiences and their opinions. Just remember that it is their own thoughts. Everyone deals with stress uniquely and you may not have the same experience. Good luck to you!!!

Specializes in Telemetry/Med Surg.

I don't think they set you up to fail. If they did that, then they wouldn't have many students, wouldn't graduate students and may lose accreditation. Nursing school is difficult and some students just don't make it through; certainly not a set up or anything.

Specializes in Med-Surg.

I understand it feels like this sometimes, however I think that for the most part people are simply dealing with how different a nursing program can be from regular college. In nursing school the instructors have more of a vested interest in the students that graduate. In a way they are gatekeepers to their profession and some are simply unwilling to allow just anyone to walk through that gate. The bar is held high and those standards and expectations are often strictly adhered to in the interest of protecting both the public and the profession.

I'm not sure I believe that instructors pour on the stress in order to teach us how to deal with it... I think it's more that there is so much material that has to be covered in such a short time that they have no choice but to pour it on. Think of everything the NCLEX will be covering... They've got to address all of that PLUS cover all the skills we need to learn PLUS give us time to gain clinical experience. It's just hard period.

And I know in our program at least, our instructors work just as hard as we do and look forward to breaks just as much as we do. I know for a fact they don't go through all this stress themselves just to see us fail. But they take what they do seriously and require that we work very hard to acquire the competency and knowledge base needed to go out and work as a graduate RN.

Specializes in Hospice.

Nursing school is mostly awful, scary, and you often feel unsupported...but there's a reason for it. Nursing is wonderful/awful, scary, and you often feel unsupported......lol

They have so much information to throw at us as students and very little time to do it. When you test for boards, you'll be surprised how little of it is stuff you've memorized....you've learned it and more importantly, you've learned how to think critically AS A NURSE. It's kinda like the old saying that you are born out of the ashes from the fire...(hope I said that right).

It's not that I'm unsympathetic, heck I'm in my fourth (and last) semester of school myself. But when you're working, much of your work is independent. You learn how to work with many kinds of people, some supportive and some not.

The process of becoming a nurse is probably one of the most painful experiences I've been through, but it is necessary and well worth it. Use this opportunity to create strong friendships and contacts. You will be astonished how useful they are both in school and once you are out, and it happens so quickly that you're done with school. You know what being a student nurse is like, so reach back behind you and give those coming up a hand. They will benefit as will you.

Most of all, try not to feel like they're out to get you, even if they are. It only serves to make things harder for you.

Cheryl

Specializes in Med Surg/Tele/ER.

Mine doesn't. I have had more support since I have been in nursing school compared to pre-reqs. There is always someone there to help/cheer you on if you need it, I have had great instructors in spirit as well as academics. I do work my butt off & give it everything I have & feel very lucky to go to a great school. I hope thing get better for you! I don't understand why some schools would want to operate that way....

I beleive the people you were talking to were the ones who didn't study...took it for granted and basically weren;t cut out for it in the first place.

Don't listen to them.

Z

I beleive the people you were talking to were the ones who didn't study...took it for granted and basically weren;t cut out for it in the first place.

Don't listen to them.

Z

There are, certainly, those students. And they don't have any credibility when they make these arguments. But ...

There have been numerous research studies on the "Nurses Eating Their Young" phenomenon, which is an established fact. Over time, I've become convinced that this phenomenon applies to instructors and students as well.

I hate to say it ... but there are some instructors who are out to get you. No question about it.

:coollook:

+ Add a Comment