Jipped at rural nursing school

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Specializes in Operating Room.

So with 3 out of 5 semesters of my BSN progam nearing the end I can not help but feel jipped. We are located in a small community with one large hospital and two smaller hospitals. I have yet to start an IV or even attempt to start one, in lab last semester we "ran out of needles" and not all of us got to practice on eachother. Have not even attempted a catheter, finished pediatrics rotation without ever having a pediatrics patient, and overall feel I have not done much skills wise. Sorry to vent here, but I feel like when I do get hired somewhere (in two semesters), I am going to be completely inexperienced and not know what the heck I am doing! Does anyone else feel this way?? Or is it just me?

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Specializes in Ante-Intra-Postpartum, Post Gyne.

I graduated from the same school as you; but I did the 6 semester program. I through our school I only did three catheters and a handful of I.V.s before I graduated. Take a preceptorship through Chico State, they have positions at MRCH. You will get a lot more experience when you are with a nurse one on one. I did two in L&D and got WAY more experience than my regular rotation. Some of my friends did it in the E.R. and got TONS of experience, including lots of I.V.s and caths!

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What you describe is what my program was like, except that I had peds patients during my peds rotation and my program was in a large metropolitan state school (15 years ago, if that matters). Our final rotation consisted of being babysat somewhere where our preceptors were saddled with a document indicating that there were eight procedures that we were not allowed to do, even with supervision. My preceptor and the other nurses on the unit asked me how did they expect me to be a functioning graduate nurse if I never did anything of any importance? One time my preceptor pulled the curtains around a patient and brought me in to do a procedure. She said that I had to learn sometime. I really wished that I could have gotten a job working on that unit with the great group of nurses that were there. I got more support from them on that rotation than I ever got at any other time while in school, or for that matter, since I've been on the job. You just have to realize that you will not get your real introduction to the job until you are on the job. It is a shame when the school artificially restricts your learning opportunities.

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Specializes in Management, Emergency, Psych, Med Surg.

It is a problem when you come from a small community with a limited number of hospitals and kinds of patients. You just don't get the kinds of experiences that you need. The only advice that I can give you is to look for an internship program after graduation where they will allow you time to get more experience and to get up to speed before they put you out to take care of patients. And as for starting IV's, a lot of students come out of school never having started an IV. You will learn that skill on the job. Just let people know you need to learn it and they will help you and if they have an IV team, ask to spend a day with the IV nurse.

I was VERY lucky. I went to nursing school at TWU at the Houston campus in the Texas Medical Center and we went everywhere. Plus I worked as a student nurse in my senior year and the nurses took me around and let me do all kinds of stuff. So when I got out of school I just jumped in there.

Where do you live? What school are you attending?

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Hi HeartsOpenWide,

could you please tell me about you experience on rural preceptorship with Chico state?? any good or bad,

I really appreciate that.

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Hi HeartsOpenWide,

could you please tell me about you experience on rural preceptorship with Chico state?? any good or bad,

I really appreciate that.

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Specializes in Ante-Intra-Postpartum, Post Gyne.
Hi HeartsOpenWide,

could you please tell me about you experience on rural preceptorship with Chico state?? any good or bad,

I really appreciate that.

It was a wonderful experience and it is very affordable! I got to do a lot more hands on stuff than in my regular nursing school. Its very affordable too! There are several hospitals and departments to choose from. They place you with a preceptor nurse to train with so you get one on one. It can be a little nerve-racking because they do follow you more closely than when you are with a group of students; but the attention allows you to do more hands on stuff. There is a winter session and a summer session. In the summer you can sign up for two full sessions or one; it just depends on how many hours you want to put in. You do real nursing hours...12 hr shifts three days a week; or eights five times a week if that is what the hospital does...but either way you are not doing your regular few hours a week like in nursing school. You show up, get report, train with your nurse, then give report at the end of the shift. There is always assignments, usually journaling and writing a paper related to your experience. It looks great on a resume. Its first come first serve so sign up early.

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Specializes in Operating Room.
It is a problem when you come from a small community with a limited number of hospitals and kinds of patients. You just don't get the kinds of experiences that you need. The only advice that I can give you is to look for an internship program after graduation where they will allow you time to get more experience and to get up to speed before they put you out to take care of patients. And as for starting IV's, a lot of students come out of school never having started an IV. You will learn that skill on the job. Just let people know you need to learn it and they will help you and if they have an IV team, ask to spend a day with the IV nurse.

I was VERY lucky. I went to nursing school at TWU at the Houston campus in the Texas Medical Center and we went everywhere. Plus I worked as a student nurse in my senior year and the nurses took me around and let me do all kinds of stuff. So when I got out of school I just jumped in there.

Where do you live? What school are you attending?

I am at Humboldt State University. It is located in northern California, where the redwoods grow. It is really pretty up here, but as far as technology goes, we are way behind everyone else!

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Hi HeartsOpenWide,

Thank you so much for the quick respond. Could you also tell me what is the chances to get a job after one done with the preceptorship in these hospitals?

Thank you again for the reply!

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Specializes in Ante-Intra-Postpartum, Post Gyne.
Hi HeartsOpenWide,

Thank you so much for the quick respond. Could you also tell me what is the chances to get a job after one done with the preceptorship in these hospitals?

Thank you again for the reply![/QUOT

They were only hiring for one position in the department I was training at; they gave it to another girl in my class who was a tech there before and all throughout nursing school. I imagine if she was not working there I would have been offered a position. I took one closer to home at a very desirable L&D unit. I am sure my preceptorship helped me to get the job I have now. Anything extra other than the required things of nursing school are always a plus; especially in this job market.

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Don't feel bad....we practice IVs (next year) but will not be allowed to do them on an actual pt until we're out in the workforce. My prof said it's because every facility has a different policy so they don't want to teach us one way and have to re-learn another way when we work. I kinda understand their reason but then again I don't like the idea of the 1st IV I do is when I'm working, ya know? Anyway, good luck!!

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Specializes in Ante-Intra-Postpartum, Post Gyne.

CaliLVR

I tried to reply to your IM. It would not send, says you do not accept messages.

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