How strict was your nursing school?

MamaTheNurse, BSN, RN · Oct 8, 2005

oh yeah, I forgot this one:

when I was at the second school, I had to get married during the school year to allow enough time to file the paperwork to get my green card so I could work when I graduated - I don't remember how much time we were allowed to miss but I do remember having to get special permission to miss 1 day of clinical (the only day I missed the whole time I went to that school) so I could drive 7 hours home to get married!!

one of my friends put off a much needed hysterectomy until last semester of senior year to make sure she had not used up too much time off - she was still at class and clinical the next week!!

queenbeelws · Oct 9, 2005

Sounds pretty much like my school too. We had to maintain a B average or we were dropped from the program and if we failed even one of the NLN tests we could be dropped regardless of your gpa up to that point. We could only miss 6 days over the whole year or we would be dropped. Whew, I'm glad those days are over but I think it instilled personal responsibility in all the students. The career we have chosen is not one to be taken casually in light of the responsibilities we have so our education should reflect what will be expected of us in the workplace.

no er holds · Oct 15, 2005

There are some things I don't miss about school...

1. Any time missed was to be made up in the form of a research paper, community service (verified), presentations to the class, etc. This included being 1 minute late.

2. No piercings, no jewelry of any sort, natural makeup.

3. Hair off the collar. If it was put in a bun, no scrunchies, and hair pins had to match the color of the hair and NOT BE SEEN. I lived an hour away and took the easy way out...I cut my hair short and kept it short all year!

4. Shoes all white, socks (for the guys) all white, stockings (for the girls) all white, undergarments all white.

5. Uniform dresses had to be pressed and clean at the beginning of every clinical rotation. And yes, we were inspected every morning.

6. No nail polish, period.

7. Before we were allowed to touch a patient we had to undergo a complete physical. All results had to be in quantitave values, no "positive", no "negative", no "within normal limits". This included urine, blood, TB.

8. Uniforms were supplied by only one place and were the "finest" polyster man can make. The darn thing had stripes and after graduation I feel I EARNED every single one. The students had a nursing school dress burning ceremony every year.

9. Having to know all the indications, contraindications, dosages and strengths available, reason, and how the med worked at the CELLULAR level prior to administration.

10. Written out care plans that were pages long and had to be proofread and finetuned prior to being turned in. Oh yeah, they also had to be handwritten!

11. Cumulative pharmacology tests throughout the entire year.

12. A minimum of one test daily for the first 12 weeks of the program.

Despite all this, I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Why? Because the discipline it instilled makes me a better nurse.

S.N. Visit, BSN, RN · Oct 15, 2005

Sounds very much like my nursing program, except we are allowed to wear our steth's around our neck, and the only hair ornament (rubberbands, scrunchies, baretts, clippies) that may be worn has to be small in solid white or solid navy.

I'm scared that if we get sick, we get sent home from clinical and it counts against us, no exceptions! (I'm getting a flu shot next week)

caroladybelle, BSN, RN · Oct 15, 2005

My upcoming assignment is an Adventist hospital that has many of the same appearance rules in place.

Your school is preparing you for safe and appropriate practice and reflecting what is actually practiced in some facility environments, though not all of them.

piercednurse · Oct 25, 2005

Well after reading some of these replys maybe my school wasn't that bad. I went to Central Georgia Technical College in Milledgeville, GA. To the person that said thank god about the body jewerly-- if you an't see it why should I take it out? Does it make me any less of a nurse? The reply about patients strangling you with a necklace or steth-- what about your scrub top. If they catch you from behind and pull. I guess I'm more laid back now, because where I work we can do what ever we want and where whatever we want...pretty much.. This includes flip flops, hair down, body jewerly, tattoos, blue jeans, tank tops. Whatever. It's pretty cool here. Nothing like nursing school.

Irene_ma7000 · Oct 25, 2005

Okay.. here goes I will try and school you from my own personal experience and with that experience you will be able to empower yourself, Its not all about you, I may sound a little blut but I understood as I continued in the nursing field.

It's about your safety, many many moon ago as a nurse fresh out of college

I was running late My DON notice I had a pair of red silk panties on underneath my nursing uniform, to sick patients it frighten them, think about it the illiusion of your bottom all red.A fine young physican told me

there are some things that would not be taught in class, why nurse in the old days wore all white uniforms was beacuse, when a pateint is approaching death you the nurse wearing the white make it easier on the patient to make that easy transition.working with patents,

it is easy on their frail eyes,heavy perfumes, lots of make up

is a no, no, patients have allergies, wearing large hoop, I know of one nurse

having her ear split down the middle, jewlry can injure you, you are a easy target if you work at night walking to the parking lot and all those diamonds bling bling all over the place.Here's another point and case from the school of hard knocks a orderly and myself walked into a room of a new patient we talked to the patent, to see if he was cohered,the orderly wearing the stethoscope around his neck just like you see in the soaps well as we helped the patient up out of the blue he grabed hold of the stethoscope cris-crossed it dragging the orderly down and underneath the bed, let me tell you I had superwomen strentgh to push the bed back

call for back up and remove the patients hands off the ordely.

Best of Luck.

loquacity · Oct 25, 2005

..and we are all in what grade? grade 7? I couldn't do that school.

In gernal about the alteness, if it is on a regular absis i understand punishments, but the teachers shoudl learn this is the real world, and stuff happens. If you are alte occasionally or by a minute or 2, they should be understanding since not everyhting goes as pallnaed always, and it is not affecting anythign in a abd way...so why fuss. As for the dress etc. guideleine, sound alittle strict but in gernal it make sense, my schools are just much more lax.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Oct 25, 2005

I attended a respected school in the greater Los Angeles area.

The cleanliness of the uniform really didn't matter, and neither did the color of an individual's undergarments. We were allowed to wear one studded pair of earrings on the earlobes only and one ring. The shoes had to be leather and mostly white; a colored stripe or heart on the shoes was acceptable. It was mandatory that we wore a wristwatch to our clinical rotations. Nail polish, if worn, had to be clear or natural pale pink and not peeling. No rules existed on the lightness or heaviness of applied cosmetics.

Most of the instructors were lenient on tardies, as I lived ninety miles from the school. If a student accumulated 3 absences she was placed on attendance probation, and the fourth absence meant expulsion from the program. Some instructors permitted us to take ninety minute lunch breaks, while others gave us thirty minutes. The enforcement of school rules was not consistent.

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · Oct 25, 2005

if you an't see it why should I take it out?

If it's under clothing, that's one thing. Visible body iercings are typically a violation of rules, yet some people think that they are the exception. Which is why i said "thank god".

A scrub top can be used as a strangling device, but why hang the steth around your neck and give a choice for them to grab onto?

xavieray2k · Oct 25, 2005

My school isn't as strict as yours. Perhaps in the past it was, when it's still in the old school whereby nurses are to stay in the hostel and it seemed to be like "military nursing" as you mentioned. The uniform, then, must really 'stand' to show that you've ironed it.

As for now, although students are told not to dye their hairs, you will still be able to see a handful of them with other hair colours other than black. And we don't wear nursing uniforms unless we are on clincal attachments so it's not much of a problem. During our days in school, we've got 10 mins grace period for us to be 'late'...I think it's kind of 'toilet break' between lessons for us.

Well, after all, I enjoyed these 2 1/2 years of school life and soon i got to miss it after i graduate.

mickeygirl · Oct 28, 2005

:uhoh3: Wow! Yours are a little bit stricter than ours but what really bugs me are the people that abuse the system. We just got yelled at today (and trust me the majority of us that don't do this protested the tongue lashing we received), but yesterday 7 people walked in late (and I don't mean 2 minutes late I am talking 15 to 30- no real excuses) They knew we had an instructor that not only locked people out if they were late last year but would start right on the dot of the start of class!!! Now we have been there 2 months and the 15 minute leway is being totally abused and is truely disruptive for the rest of the class and quite frankly very discurteious to the teacher. We have a point system and if we get 10 points in clinical we are out of the program and if we get 10 points in theroy we get a point off of our highest grade.

As far as the rest of the rules we have to wear white undergarments- they don't care if you wear a thong but because we wear white pants be aware that it will probibly be seen by eveyone.:chuckle We have to keep our hair off of our sholders and no wild piercings but we can wear as many earrings as we like as long as they sit tight on our ears and don't dangle. White shoes- if it has an emblem or anything they don't sweat us and I think I must be the only girl in the class without a tatoo.

I belive our school is well thought of- I know the hospital staff where we do our clincals all think highly of us and a large percent of our classes get hired there even though they have thier own nursing school. So as far as the rules are concerned I think that alot are put down to abide by our hospitals regs AND the integrity of the school. But there are alot of people out there that are immature and have no work ethics. Some of these rules may be there to weed them out.JMO