Help with a project

Editorial Team / Admin · Feb 6, 2015

Have you tried contacting nurses in your area? One of the downsides of asking people on an anonymous message board is that those who are responding may not actually be nurses. There are a lot of options you can look into: if you've started clinicals, what about the nurses on that unit? Have you tried calling the public health department, nursing homes, schools, hospitals?

It's never too early to start making networking connections. By getting out there and talking to people you can verify are nurses, either face to face or over the phone, you can start making connections that can help you when it comes time to apply for jobs. Sometimes, it's a lot more about who you know than what you know- take this assignment and turn it to your advantage.

OrganizedChaos, LVN · Feb 6, 2015

How can you say the "nurses" over the internet you questioned influenced you?

Nurses is in quotes because you don't know for sure we are actually nurses or not.

nurseprnRN, BSN, RN · Feb 6, 2015

three .... two ..... one ....

We get these requests a lot, so if there are any other students out there who might get this kind of assignment, listen up:

Part of your faculty's reason for giving you this assignment is to get you to go out there and speak to a nurse face to face. You also learn something about other places nurses work and what that's like. A big email blast is not a substitute for shoe leather. AN is not Google.

See, in nursing, you have to learn to speak to a lot of people you would not otherwise encounter; you might find yourself out of your comfort zone. This is part of nursing, a huge part. An anonymous respondent online, well, you don't really know who we are, do you? We could be the truck driving guy living next door for all you know.

So if all you do about learning new things is "Go to the keyboard and hit send," then you are limiting your chances of actual learning a valuable skill you will need all your working life. Also, your faculty will not be impressed by your citation of an anonymous person who may or may not be a nurse on the internet.

That said: Where will you find a nurse? Think outside the (computer) box.

Local hospital: go to the staff development/inservice education office and ask one of them. They value education and will be happy to chat or to hook you up with someone who is.

Go to the public health department downtown. Ditto.

Go to the local school and ask to speak to a school nurse. Ditto.

Go to a local clinic / physician/NP office. Ditto.

Go to the local jail and ask to speak to the nurse there. Ditto.

Notice all of these say, "Go to..." and not "Email..." Remember that part about meeting new people face to face, new perspectives, and comfort zone.

Go!