I feel like nursing school didn't prepare me for work

floramary, RN · Mar 14, 2016

Times have changed and at times I feel that nurses need an internship similar to Dr's.I am a "old" nurse,3 yr RN from a hospital based program. We were trained to hit the hospital floors running.I agree with some of the comments that you learn to to pass the exams,only. Never stop learning, watch from the best and try not to pick up bad habits. Hang in there

Jwrnsktr · Mar 14, 2016

I've been a nurse for 28 years. I'm still learning! Most of what you need you will learn during your orientation to your unit from your preceptor. Then,once you are pushed out of the nest, ask questions if you get stuck. Never assume you know the answer when it comes to treating a patient. I have a lot of respect for the new grads that ask questions. We "seasoned" nurses, well, most of us, are only too happy to help. You will run into some who are burned out and just want to take care of their patient load and go home. I remember starting in my first nursing job and asking a simple question..."where can I get a large B/P cuff?" The nurse's response was, "I guess you'll just have to look around and figure it out." She was in the minority, however. Most will be willing to help you. Good luck!

rona1979 · Mar 14, 2016

:) :) :) :) :)

doxielover304 · Mar 14, 2016

I just started my first RN job and I feel clueless too. You are not the only one. You'll learn though, just keep telling yourself that!

Gem1984 · Mar 14, 2016

I just started my first RN job and I feel clueless too. You are not the only one. You'll learn though, just keep telling yourself that!

Thank you

GaleSRN, BSN, RN · Mar 15, 2016

I hope you can find someone to mentor you. Nursing is a wonderful profession and has many rewards. I started my career as a LVN. I completed my education and became a RN and have been a Nurse Manager for the past 13 years. Hang in there.

Gem1984 · Mar 17, 2016

I hope you can find someone to mentor you. Nursing is a wonderful profession and has many rewards. I started my career as a LVN. I completed my education and became a RN and have been a Nurse Manager for the past 13 years. Hang in there.

Thank you.

There is no one to mentor me. I have my preceptor and thats it.She's a nice person overall but she can get snippy at times and there is a big age gap, so we dont always see eye to eye on a lot(I don't say anything I just listen to her, but it does make it hard to learn at times). Hopefully Ill have my RN in 2yrs, so that I can have more opportunities especially more ops to work in the hospital.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Mar 23, 2016

Hello, I am new here to allnurses. I wanted to express my frustrations. I am a new grad LPN. I just started working in a speciality clinic a week ago, and I am really feeling like all nursing school did was prepare me to take the NCLEX. There is so much that I feel like I dont know or forgot or only have a vague understanding of. Its sad and its making me question my decision to become a nurse.
Has anybody else felt like this? Am I over reacting?

As an experienced nurse and experienced preceptor, I, too feel that nursing school prepares the new grads for taking the NCLEX and not much else. As long as you have a good attitude, are willing to learn and can take constructive criticism, we can help you learn what you need to be a nurse.

Gem1984 · Mar 23, 2016

As an experienced nurse and experienced preceptor, I, too feel that nursing school prepares the new grads for taking the NCLEX and not much else. As long as you have a good attitude, are willing to learn and can take constructive criticism, we can help you learn what you need to be a nurse.

Thank you so much. I have been studying things pertaining to my specialty along with nursing fundamentals, to give me a refresher. Its helped me out a lot. I have been taking every opportunity to learn things or do stuff that I either hadnt done or only did a few times in clinicals any time a chancr presents itself and it has helped alot, but I will admit that I still feel a bit out of place but I know I cant dwell on that. I can't wait until I get a few years under my belt and this feeling is a thing of the past!!!

Thank you again for sending your positive words, they are appreciated.

timeis · Mar 27, 2016

I am a nursing instructor so I am very interested in knowing what parts of your job are making you feel unprepared.

While I do prepare my students to pass NCLEX I also want to make sure that they can care for patients safely.

I would like to use your specific feedback to make my clinical better for students.

Kristiernbsn · Mar 27, 2016

I am a nursing instructor so I am very interested in knowing what parts of your job are making you feel unprepared.
While I do prepare my students to pass NCLEX I also want to make sure that they can care for patients safely.
I would like to use your specific feedback to make my clinical better for students.

One thing I think that's different from clinicals and real world is the huge shift in number of patients one is responsible for. In my current clinicals setting, I have one patient. Capstone students get 2. The nurses on the floor where I am have 5 or more. I don't know what level Gem has graduated from (ADN or BSN) but in my BSN program, I'm competing with several other students for procedures, so I might never get to place a Foley or start an IV. And yes, I am very proactive and vocal about wanting the experience-- and I am a straight A student, I just always seem to be the one who hears "next time". So far, my patients haven't needed much of anything except a few meds and a backrub, so I have done very little. I have had lots of time to talk to them, though and I have learned a lot, but I am in my mid-50s, and I have worked in nursing as a LPN, so I have done a lot of the TLC stuff already. I need some skills! It's mostly luck that determines it, but a clinical instructor who plays favorites (like mine seems to do) can ruin your experience. Even in checkoffs, I got one kit to practice with, one to check off. Hardly enough to get to feel comfortable with it. I'm sure Gem can add to this. That's my views--Thanks so much for asking!

vintagemother, BSN, CNA, LVN, RN · Mar 27, 2016

My 2cents, which won't help the OP, as it's too late to take my advice.

My LVN school didn't provide the most stellar clinical experiences.

My peers and I chose to be proactive by looking at the big picture of what was going on in the facilities.

Even if we couldn't participate in all the happenings, we were aware of this and tried to learn from more than just what the school provided us.

As an example, the youngest person in my class, around 19, noticed that we were only allowed to pass meds to 1-3 pts. She also observed that the nurses working passed meds to 25-35 people. She also noticed that our instructors allowed/forced us to pass those meds to 1-3 pts over the course of an hour or so. She then told all of us, I'm going to practice being fast!

I was so proud of her for taking the initiative!

She is still working at one of our clinical facilities, the same one she started with as a new grad, over 2 yrs later!

Make the best of your situation and try to find opportunities to learn outside of what your school offers.

As for myself, I recall being assigned to do pt care during term 1. After it was done, we were on our own and weren't allowed to do much.

I took the time to ask if I could peruse client charts. I explored common meds, dx, etc. just for my own enrichment.