Okay, so I'm a junior in a BSN program and am really wondering if my school is taking things too far and here's why; first, we were required to purchase 16 books, that's right I said 16, and that's just for one semester! I paid somewhere around $1200 for the used version of all of them! Then they gave us five more ati study guide books. To this day, I have only utilized three of the totaled 21 books and the others haven't even been opened. Second, the amount of material is almost impossible to manage. Every week we have five chapters worth of end of chapter questions, a small 2 page paper, and care plans from clinicals (18-36 pages!). We have an exam just about every other week and now we've been told that not only are we having class tests for grades, but we're having to do these ati tests and get at least a 75 to pass the course! That means, if you have an A average, but get a 70 on ati you won't be able to continue to next semester even though your average would be passing! I currently have 2 A's and 1 B (that's the other thing, 21 books for 14credit hours!), that's medsurg, pharm, and nurse concepts, I have a 3.9 gpa, and was just inducted to Alpha Chi National Honor Society (top ten percent of juniors from all disiplines across America), I haven't really been challenged by the content of these courses, but more so the quantity of it. It literally takes between 12 and 16 hours to complete care plans alone! There is, quite frankly not enough time in a week for anyone to complete all assignments and study for exams simultaneously, especially now with ATI! Did any of y'all go through anything like this? I feel as though I have so much on my plate that I'm learning less by simply trying to finish everything. Advice?
Specializes in Intensive Care and Perianesthesia Care.
Hello all and thanks for your replies! It's seems as though everyone has experienced similar situations, except for the care plans. It's not really the care plan that takes so long, it's all the things that go with it. We are required to do a summary of each medication that our patient is taking, summarize all the possible interactions and their adverse effects, why the pt is taking it, summarize their abnormal lab values and reasons for those values, and all the tipical clinical documents, and some professors that want all this in APA! Some students turned in 36 pages all together and failed. I agree nrobinson7, that's exactly how I feel, there is so much these people want from me that i actually learn less. At our clinical sites, I spend more time getting all this info before the shift is finished than I do seeing patients. Otherwise I wouldn't have the info I am required to have to pass. Sorry NurseAshley, I would like to keep the institution anonymous, but I will say that it is a new program and I am in the third class to ever enroll. Thanks again everyone, it makes me feel better knowing that other schools are the same, even though it is insanely stressful!
Hello all and thanks for your replies! It's seems as though everyone has experienced similar situations, except for the care plans. It's not really the care plan that takes so long, it's all the things that go with it. We are required to do a summary of each medication that our patient is taking, summarize all the possible interactions and their adverse effects, why the pt is taking it, summarize their abnormal lab values and reasons for those values, and all the tipical clinical documents, and some professors that want all this in APA! Some students turned in 36 pages all together and failed. I agree nrobinson7, that's exactly how I feel, there is so much these people want from me that i actually learn less. At our clinical sites, I spend more time getting all this info before the shift is finished than I do seeing patients. Otherwise I wouldn't have the info I am required to have to pass. Sorry NurseAshley, I would like to keep the institution anonymous, but I will say that it is a new program and I am in the third class to ever enroll. Thanks again everyone, it makes me feel better knowing that other schools are the same, even though it is insanely stressful!
Again, what you're describing is pretty typical. One difference is that more and more schools have eliminated the requirement of going to the hospital in advance to collect clinical data and have students do that during the clinical day, which, IMO, significantly detracts from the clinical learning that takes place during the clinical day. When I was in school, we went to the hospital the afternoon or evening before clinical, picked up our clinical assignments, reviewed the charts of our assigned clients, and then had to come to clinical the following morning with all the info you list (diagnoses, medication, labs, and complete care plan). We were then free to focus on actually providing nursing care during the clinical day(s). However, most schools seem to have done away with that, and students seem to now spend half (or more) of their clinical days looking at charts.
Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.
One reason my school stopped preclinical (aside from not wanting to pay instructors to supervise students as required by the facility) was that too often there was a status change and the patient was transferred or discharged before we returned in the morning. Lots of wasted time & effort
Specializes in Intensive Care and Perianesthesia Care.
Thanks Again! My main concern was that I enrolled in a sub-par program and wanted to hear from other students/nurses about their experiences. I feel much better now knowing that y'all suffered the same torture! Jk, but really thanks you guys.
Again, what you're describing is pretty typical. One difference is that more and more schools have eliminated the requirement of going to the hospital in advance to collect clinical data and have students do that during the clinical day, which, IMO, significantly detracts from the clinical learning that takes place during the clinical day. When I was in school, we went to the hospital the afternoon or evening before clinical, picked up our clinical assignments, reviewed the charts of our assigned clients, and then had to come to clinical the following morning with all the info you list (diagnoses, medication, labs, and complete care plan). We were then free to focus on actually providing nursing care during the clinical day(s). However, most schools seem to have done away with that, and students seem to now spend half (or more) of their clinical days looking at charts.
This is what we do...we get our clinical assignments the night prior (although there have been many a days when we show up for clinical to discharged patients!) and show up with all this info completed. Probably the single best thing I did this semester was do all of my meds in an office document...I can make new documents with existing information on the drugs, double-checking dosages and routes. It has severely cut down on the time I spend on meds. So many meds are repeated constantly and you get to know them merely by having them every.single.clinical. LOL
I am a senior in a BSN program and what you are describing is very typical compared to the experience I have had so far. Also, ATI can be taken more than once. We have weekly assessments on ATI. We don't have a minimum score until a certain point in the semester, and then we have to get at least an 80. I do spend that much time on careplans, still. I know I don't have to, but I do. And I do not do well on them, which is frustrating, but I'm trying. I do find that the less effort I put into them, the better I score. Anyway, it'll get better. And those books will carry over and be relevant in other semesters. I think between books and other materials, I put in $2k before the first semester.
This was years ago, but I figured if I learned what was covered in class I did not need textbooks. It helped that my state required the school to have a copy of each book in the library. So I would copy pages I wanted to review and then read some in the library, or purchased used, or just waited to see if it was really needed. My study group got together and each of us bought a different text then shared the book.
Skip the school bookstore. Even used books there are going to be astronomical, and they'll pay you pennies on the dollar when it's buy back time. Go to the internet for your books, and honestly, it can pay to wait to buy some of the books, just to make sure you're really going to need them.
Twenty-one books for ONE semester? Does your school get commissions?!!
That's what I thought! They must be making some serious money off all the books they're making them buy. There is no reason for that many books for 3-4 classes.
there is so much these people want from me that i actually learn less. At our clinical sites I spend more time getting all this info before the shift is finished than I do seeing patients. Otherwise I wouldn't have the info I am required to have to pass.[/quote']
Thats awful, I cant imagine being in a program like that. My instructors want us spending as much time learning from the patient and doing hands on assessments and skills as possible, not looking up crap we can find on google our whole shift. The emphasis should be on the patient just as it is while working as a nurse. I learn so much from doing one care plan the best and most detailed I possibly can per rotation than I ever would trying to pump out one a week as fast as possible just to keep from failing.
Sounds familiar. I was an accelerated program only we used HESI. We lost half of our graduating class so yes, they can do it. You will have to find which books you can get away with not buying or rent the books.
WalterWho
1 Article; 57 Posts
Hello all and thanks for your replies! It's seems as though everyone has experienced similar situations, except for the care plans. It's not really the care plan that takes so long, it's all the things that go with it. We are required to do a summary of each medication that our patient is taking, summarize all the possible interactions and their adverse effects, why the pt is taking it, summarize their abnormal lab values and reasons for those values, and all the tipical clinical documents, and some professors that want all this in APA! Some students turned in 36 pages all together and failed. I agree nrobinson7, that's exactly how I feel, there is so much these people want from me that i actually learn less. At our clinical sites, I spend more time getting all this info before the shift is finished than I do seeing patients. Otherwise I wouldn't have the info I am required to have to pass. Sorry NurseAshley, I would like to keep the institution anonymous, but I will say that it is a new program and I am in the third class to ever enroll. Thanks again everyone, it makes me feel better knowing that other schools are the same, even though it is insanely stressful!