I attend a school that is a little scattered to say the least, and as hard as I tried to self study, I have fallen behind. Im in the ADN program, and will be graduating May 7 if all goes well...thank God!! As everyone knows, so much material is thrown at you in NS, and I feel like I haven't been able to actually retain the info before we go on to the next thing. I have felt very "thrown in without a paddle" the entire time I've been in school, and while I know that is normal at first, I'm wondering if it is still normal this late in the game?? They expect so much from us and teach so little... I think I would have been better off being home schooled lol. They dont tell us things until the last minute, change things constantly and we dont get the notes or resources we need in time to actually study them...and thats just one issue! Literally, not one person has been able to make an A, and 3/4 of the class normally makes C's which none of us are used to. I'm scared to death that when it comes time to work Ill freeze and wont remember a thing and be fired! I actually feel bad about trying to find a job since it will be hard for me to pretend to be confident, just to get there and be clueless lol. Did anyone else feel *this* unprepared going into their first job, or attend a school that made it harder on them? How do employers and co-workers handle the lack of knowledge, or do they expect it at first? Do you eventually just memorize the interventions of associated diagnoses, or do you have to comepletely understand the processes of the body in order to "figure out" an intervention every time? Obviously ppl and responces are all different, but in most cases does it just become auto-pilot? Just unloading some feelings, thanks for listening! Any advice or personal eperience to put me at ease would be great :)
Specializes in Long term care, rehab, memory care.
Congratulations to all of you nearing graduation. You haven't washed out which proves that you are smart enough to be good nurses. I've been an LPN for over 15 years and I'm still learning. I learn from other nurses, from my CNA's, and {gasp} from my patients and their families. Echoing someone else, don't be afraid to ask questions, no matter how dumb or stupid it may seem, because the only truly stupid question is the one you don't ask! I love it when others ask me questions & I have the opportunity to share my knowledge. You will learn many different things from many different people. In addition, any time you change your area of practice: office or clinic vs hospital vs home care & etc, you will feel inadequate all over again. That's okay too, because you will be using your skills differently, and all you have to do is ask questions again.
Grammyx6
16 Posts
Congratulations to all of you nearing graduation. You haven't washed out which proves that you are smart enough to be good nurses. I've been an LPN for over 15 years and I'm still learning. I learn from other nurses, from my CNA's, and {gasp} from my patients and their families. Echoing someone else, don't be afraid to ask questions, no matter how dumb or stupid it may seem, because the only truly stupid question is the one you don't ask! I love it when others ask me questions & I have the opportunity to share my knowledge.
You will learn many different things from many different people. In addition, any time you change your area of practice: office or clinic vs hospital vs home care & etc, you will feel inadequate all over again. That's okay too, because you will be using your skills differently, and all you have to do is ask questions again.
And yes, we've all been there.