I hate nursing school (and it is not because it is hard)

[baleen]

I am in one of the top nursing schools in the country, and, coming from the interesting pre-reqs like chemistry and A&P, to the nursing model, which, I am sorry to say, is devoid of any real medical knowledge.....is heartbreakingly frustrating.

Pharmacology is not about pharmacology...its about a few specific drugs and memorizing things about those few specific drugs.

Pathophysiology is barely about physiology at all, its about how to nurse someone with a pathology more than anything.

My issue, is, I am 32 and afraid of getting back out there to get pre reqs for PA school or med school. What if I run out of public loan funding halfway through...I'm stuck. (I cant get private loans)

How do I pay for my life while I go back to school for a year for pre reqs?

All of this momentum and fear has kept me in a nursing school I hate more and more.

And no, it is not hard at all. I get straight A's. And god I wish I was bragging, but it just feels sad.

Its a rant. I am frustrated.

[bgxyrnf, MSN, RN]

I just read this different list from U.S. News of the top 10 nursing schools:

Top 10 Nursing Schools in the US | NurseBuff

Any list that does not define criteria for ranking is meaningless.

Even doing that just presents the opinions of a publisher, editor, or author as to what criteria characterize a "top" program.

All of these rankings are meaningless.

[baleen]

It is impossible to really say what I mean about the superficiality of Nursing classes without offending many people who think that they are difficult or in depth. It's my opinion. Period.

I look forward to more interesting stuff to come in clinical hopefully.

[LessValuableNinja]

Using a word ass (intentional) a sentence just makes you appear more douchey (intentional). If you're competing for a chip on your shoulder, you win. I have an MS. My GPA is marred by a guitar class. Because I am not that great at guitar but wanted to learn. You, my friend, are a gem. I am smarter than you. It is not up for discussion. It is a fact. I'd like to say you came off unintentionally as you do, but we both know it was intentional. If you want to better yourself, do it. Stop whining like a toddler about how you were too inept to grab your big boy panties and research something on your own. You complain about the problems with your education, but are too busy doing things other than educating yourself. If you are actually intelligent and interested in improving yourself, this holds no water. If it is as you portray yourself, grow up and accept responsibility.

It is impossible to really say what I mean about the superficiality of Nursing classes without offending many people who think that they are difficult or in depth. It's my opinion. Period.

I look forward to more interesting stuff to come in clinical hopefully.

[baleen]

It is early days in my program. It is getting better and so is my attitude. I think I may be dissatisfied anywhere. That may be my nature. But I am happy to be here today. I just want to make an addendum, for the record, because I cant delete these posts....my pharmocology teacher is wonderful and very knowledgeable. She just starts off at a lowest common denominator. She can meet you at any level though. I hope anyone who knows who I am talking about reads this because,she is a sweet and smart person, and quite a good teacher.... I was frustrated at the whole teaching to the lowest common denominator of the beginning of nursing school.

[Horseshoe, BSN, RN]

That's definitely not from U.S. News...U.S. News only ranks graduate nursing program but most of these schools have undergrad as well so it's pretty accurate either way.Best Nursing School Rankings | Nursing Program Rankings | US News

I don't see the OP's school at the "TOP" of that list. Not even in the top 25.

OP, if your school is using sock puppets to teach, you are only learning "a few drugs" in pharmacology, and you are not getting in depth in any of your classes, I would dispute your view that you are at one of the best nursing schools in the country, no matter what some ranking outlet is telling you.

Get through nursing school, get hired into an ICU (that should be no challenge, given that you are smarter than your instructors), and then go to CRNA school. I guarantee your opinion that you are the sharpest tool in the shed, that everything nursing is easy and "dumbed down," and that your professors aren't "clear thinkers," and can't "think with logical detachment" will be knocked down in very short order.

I graduated from nursing school with a 4.0, and there is blood on every A I made. My program was vigorous from day one and there was NO ONE who just breezed through it. We therefore graduated with quite a bit more humility than you are displaying here. Maybe your program really is that bad, but I suspect that's probably not the case.

[Horseshoe, BSN, RN]

By the way, the OP has stated in another post where he goes to school. Given the other facts he has revealed about himself, he would not be hard to identify. If any of the professors from that school read this thread, he may well end up with a target on his back.

Just saying it's not good to give so many personal identifiers about yourself on line, all the while criticizing the powers that be at your institution.

[Horseshoe, BSN, RN]

Okay, I now see that the OP has backpedaled a bit on his criticisms/complaints. Perhaps he has changed his views so radically, or perhaps he realized how easy to identify he has made himself.

In either case, I will be interested to see which path the OP decides to take in the long run.

[baleen]

Both. I appreciate the heads up btw. As for me, I will try to remember to update in 2 years. I was serious about my radical shift. Perhaps that says more about my internal vicissitudes than any of my comments should say about my program. Who knows....only me!

[bigskygirl]

You should pick a profession you enjoy doing... because you will be doing it for 90% of your life. If you dislike it that much, move forward onto the profession that would make you happy.

[baleen]

I feel I should update this now....for the record.

I had a lot of passionate intensity at the beginning of nursing school and I think that would have been served in an Accelerated program. However, after getting through the early stages of the program, and particularly, getting onto the hospital floor, I have changed my tune. Nursing is such a vast field, which I can only see from the floor. Therefore, I now understand why the curriculum has to be so broad and perhaps shallower (in pathophysiology) than I was rearing for. Seeing how broad the field is, how deep and broad the knowledge one learns on the floor, and the difficult to describe good feeling I get from helping patients and being trusted during their neediest and most vulnerable time, I am happy where I am. Advancement can come, curiosity is satiated for now, and a knowledge of my own tendency rush to judgement (about life decisions) is logged. Thank you to all the people that did not take my comments personally and were compassionate in their responses.

[baleen]

An update, to whom it may concern.

It seems, after being a CNA during this summer, that I may not be the "nursing type". I hate the job. I am a hard worker. That is not it. It is being pulled in many directions. Never focusing on a task for any length of time. I like to go deep and think. I hate the idea of waiting tables of health. I really dread going to work.

[Orion16]

"Pathophysiology is barely about physiology at all, its about how to nurse someone with a pathology more than anything."

No, patho is about learning everything you can about patho. THEN you utilize that information to "nurse someone."

I've had plenty of classmates who got A's in the sciences. I was one of them, but I learned not just from class, but any resourse I could get my hands on.

But did they truly understand the Krebs Cycle? Did they truly understand multi system organ failure? No, and that was made clear when those A students in the science prerequisites didn't fully comprehend the

Core nursing material. They had simply memorized instead of learning to the extent of what a nurse should learn.