Sounds to me that this is all money-based and that some for-profit schools have successfully scammed the powers that be in Florida.
If the situation is as grim as the OP states, don't take it lying down! An earlier poster suggested writing to the politicians, holding rallies, bringing the students' concerns to attention of the lawmakers. Why not take it a step further? Go directly to the stakeholders. Florida has a large elderly population. Can you convince the seniors that their care WILL be compromised by less-than-qualified nurses? Can you get the AARP to see your point of view on this issue?
How about the news media? Can students, instructors, deans of nursing contact the newspapers and TV stations, particularly the stations that have special consumer alert programs? Why not go as far as contact the national media? Surely someone's got to be interested in this story. Blog about it. Spread the word to other nursing forums. Have your Dean write about this on the school website. Have your Dean, your instructors, your fellow students inundate the media with letters to the editor. Even write out and distribute a short form email to have individuals send to your legislators and governor. I know people say that form emails aren't effective, but the sheer number of emails would have to have an impact somehow.
There are also some national advocates for nursing. If influential people like the editors of AJN and journalist Suzanne Gordon have time to comment on "Nurse Jackie" surely they have time to address an issue like this. Go to the ANA. Complain to the AACN. Even if you're not a member of Sigma Theta Tau, involve them. Of all organizations, STT should be involved in ensuring quality nursing education for the future.
If you're a member of a political party, bring this issue up at the county level. Find out who the county leaders are and mail them about your concerns. Get involved at the grass roots level to get this issue the visibility it deserves.
Educate your fellow students about these programs, and warn them to look closely at brand new for-profit nursing programs that spring up overnight because of this legislation. Urge other students NOT to attend these schools. If the fly-by-night schools didn't attract nursing students, they would be OUT of the business of nursing education in a hurry.
Get your student nurse associations ACTIVE on this measure. Network. Make sure other students are AWARE of what's happening. Make sure they realize that their licenses may not necessarily transfer to other states. Again, go national with your concerns. If this can happen in Florida, certainly some other rocket scientist politician will try it elsewhere.
Work against the idiots who voted this in. Find out---is Grimsley still an active registered nurse? If her license has lapsed, she really can't be calling herself a registered nurse now, can she? Work actively against her in her next re-election campaign. (BTW, her credentials scare me. I can see permitting someone with a nursing background and a BSN being allowed to teach SOME nursing courses with a master's in education---but not a graduate degree in some other field altogether. To call herself up as an example of someone who isn't "permitted" to teach nursing----ridiculous. Seriously, find out what her credentials REALLY are. Did she get an ADN and never work? Very different from someone who got an ADN and worked the floors for twenty years before getting her other, non-nursing degrees.)
Be loud, be forceful and do what you must. I know this is a commitment of time and energy but this is YOUR future. Just don't lie down and let the Florida legislature screw you---or the profession---over.
If that's true ... and I have no reason to doubt your post ... then that truly is terrible!
It's sounds like the kind of thing that happens because there were some powerful people behind the scenes who want to make a profit on offering low quality nursing education. Programs are being "dummied down" all over the country and some State Boards are trying to fight that trend and maintain high standards. It seems to me that they stepped on somebody's toes (or pocketbook, more likely) in Florida -- and that somebody manged to get something through the legislature.
I hope the nursing profession can band together and fight this in some way. We need high educational standards to maintain the public's trust and to maintain a strong nursing profession.
Can anybody fill us in on what happened to cause this retaliation against the board? ... And who retaliated?
Well, they have done it again! The politicians have stepped in and mucked it all UP!
In Florida HB 1209 goes into affect. This bill NOW takes all but two things regarding nursing programs away from the state board of nursing and places it in the hands of the department of health. Why does this matter you say...WELL they require LESS hours, LESS clinicals, LESS hands on experience, LESS LESS LESS.
What that could mean for Florida graduates, who graduate after July 1, 2009 when it goes into effect, is that due to these LOWERED standards, when and if we try to apply for licensure in another state, it may very well be declined! So all this money, all this time, and there is a large posibility that we cannot move from Florida if we want to practice nursing.
Nurses are in an uproar, we as students, already have an overwhelming feeling of "not knowing anything" when we graduate, but to DUMB IT DOWN is an INSULT!
I am one of those who will graduate after July 1, actually July 21 go figure, and this is horribly disturbing. Why can our voices not be heard? There are millions of nurses yet these yahoos in the political arena make decisions like this that affect so MANY!
I am outraged..... I am insulted.... I am worried about the future nurses
Do you have sources? I would like to see exactly what will change.
I would be outraged, also! You would not have the option for reciprocacy, maybe not even transfer credits to another program for advancement and it shows that just about anyone can follow the tasks and steps to be a nurse.
Making statements such as "If he doesn't stay off of that light, I'm gonna kill him" causes said patient to code (not my patient, but I was working that shift).
The more a patient weighs, the more likely they are to seize on the toilet; additionally, this is more likely happen to occur on nights when only the smallest nurses are working.
When medical nurses get pulled to work tele, no matter how hard the charge tries to juggle the assignment, they are guaranteed to end up with the one patient on the floor who decides to have an acute MI/go into new onset afib w/RVR/go into third degree heartblock etc.
The more nights in a row you're working, the more likely it is that you'll have to report off to a nurse who is going to screw your whole assignment up before you come back.
A foley won't drain...until you take the bag off to inspect for obstruction, at which time it will flood -- all over you, the floor, your pants, your shoes...
The one time you complain about a PIA family member or patient, that person will be related to the nurse/unit secretary you're complaining to...
If your demented and confused patient is has been completely flaccid and hasn't flinched all shift, they will leap over the rails the second you forget to set the bed alarm.
I used to work for a Doc that resembles the above.
He got sick so much it was ridiculous (maybe he should remove his gloves before typing on his computer keyboard... ewwww!) Anyway, he would drag his sorry self down the hall and just stand there till I noticed him, and then tell me he felt sick, and that he wanted me to cancel the afternoon patients. I'd say no, you can stay till the end of the day... "man-up, Doc!" ... LOL. One time he was in his office and couldn't stop coughing, you know, the kind of itchy cough that won't stop. He yells from his office between coughs, "Isn't anyone going to help me out there, I'm choking!" So... I get him some hot tea, and bring it to him, tell him to drink it. He tells me no, that it won't help. I tell him to just shut up and drink it. The coughing stops. Then he tells me that I'm mean.:wink2:
Very odd indeed....Especially since you can tailor the questions to what your weakness areas of nursing are......I enjoy using the NCLEX-RN 3500.....I do a batch of questions before I leave for work in the am....but when I study after work I am using the Saunders 4th Edition as well as a book on Prioritizing..... I think that it has helped me feel more prepared this time......any questions with the rationale are useful....and its FREE!!!! Not much is these days.....
iv drips have to be rounded to whole numbers because drops of fluid cannot be cleaved into partial drops--there are whole drops and that is it. when you actually see an iv in action you'll understand.
the same applies to teaspoons and mls of things like syrups when you are using medicine cups in pouring them out. an exception would be if they are being measured out with syringes where they can be measured as accurately as to 1/10th of a ml (or cc). again, when you actually see one of the medicine cups or syringes you understand immediately why the math problem would be rounded to that specific kind of answer.
otherwise, follow the rounding principles.
when it comes to your individual instructors, ask each before a test what they will accept, or want, before turning your final answers in to each of them, so you minimize your chance of goofing up on the rounding. or, show all the answers, unrounded and rounded, so you can argue later for the points if an answer gets marked wrong.
As I complete the classroom part of my nursing degree this Tuesday, I want to thank you for your support during this horrible, wonderful experience. Support both financial, and more importantly, emotional. Without this support, I would never have made it this far.
I know it hasn't been easy these last 3 years. I know I haven't contributed enough financially, haven't done my share of the chores around the house, have been grouchy and groggy and basically hard to be around. Without your loving support and understanding, I'd have quit this thing and gone back to work in my old profession. Without your advice, encouragement at just the right moments, and the times when you insisted I just suck it up and get back to writing that case study, I might very well have given up.
If all goes well over the next week, I'll pass my last Final exam, pass the HESI Exit exam, and pass the NLN Exit exam. After that, it's the preceptorship, pinning, and graduation. Then NCLEX!
And finally, after such a long, hard journey, you'll be married to a Registered Nurse. And, a new journey will begin. As with the nursing school journey, I look forward to taking the next one with YOU by my side, showering me with love, understanding, and a well-needed occasional kick to the shins. With you, it'll be a fantastic journey, as always.
Thank you, sweetheart, for this and for everything else you bring to my life. It's meant more to me than words can ever say.
AMEN!!! I like the old saying " Doctors save lives; Nurses save Doctors". I dont think they realize the impact we can have on the patient's perception of them. I quit "covering" for Doctors a looong time ago - mainly because of the lack of respect they showed toward the nursing staff. Of course, there are a few doctors who are the exception to the rule.
Sounds to me that this is all money-based and that some for-profit schools have successfully scammed the powers that be in Florida.
If the situation is as grim as the OP states, don't take it lying down! An earlier poster suggested writing to the politicians, holding rallies, bringing the students' concerns to attention of the lawmakers. Why not take it a step further? Go directly to the stakeholders. Florida has a large elderly population. Can you convince the seniors that their care WILL be compromised by less-than-qualified nurses? Can you get the AARP to see your point of view on this issue?
How about the news media? Can students, instructors, deans of nursing contact the newspapers and TV stations, particularly the stations that have special consumer alert programs? Why not go as far as contact the national media? Surely someone's got to be interested in this story. Blog about it. Spread the word to other nursing forums. Have your Dean write about this on the school website. Have your Dean, your instructors, your fellow students inundate the media with letters to the editor. Even write out and distribute a short form email to have individuals send to your legislators and governor. I know people say that form emails aren't effective, but the sheer number of emails would have to have an impact somehow.
There are also some national advocates for nursing. If influential people like the editors of AJN and journalist Suzanne Gordon have time to comment on "Nurse Jackie" surely they have time to address an issue like this. Go to the ANA. Complain to the AACN. Even if you're not a member of Sigma Theta Tau, involve them. Of all organizations, STT should be involved in ensuring quality nursing education for the future.
If you're a member of a political party, bring this issue up at the county level. Find out who the county leaders are and mail them about your concerns. Get involved at the grass roots level to get this issue the visibility it deserves.
Educate your fellow students about these programs, and warn them to look closely at brand new for-profit nursing programs that spring up overnight because of this legislation. Urge other students NOT to attend these schools. If the fly-by-night schools didn't attract nursing students, they would be OUT of the business of nursing education in a hurry.
Get your student nurse associations ACTIVE on this measure. Network. Make sure other students are AWARE of what's happening. Make sure they realize that their licenses may not necessarily transfer to other states. Again, go national with your concerns. If this can happen in Florida, certainly some other rocket scientist politician will try it elsewhere.
Work against the idiots who voted this in. Find out---is Grimsley still an active registered nurse? If her license has lapsed, she really can't be calling herself a registered nurse now, can she? Work actively against her in her next re-election campaign. (BTW, her credentials scare me. I can see permitting someone with a nursing background and a BSN being allowed to teach SOME nursing courses with a master's in education---but not a graduate degree in some other field altogether. To call herself up as an example of someone who isn't "permitted" to teach nursing----ridiculous. Seriously, find out what her credentials REALLY are. Did she get an ADN and never work? Very different from someone who got an ADN and worked the floors for twenty years before getting her other, non-nursing degrees.)
Be loud, be forceful and do what you must. I know this is a commitment of time and energy but this is YOUR future. Just don't lie down and let the Florida legislature screw you---or the profession---over.
If that's true ... and I have no reason to doubt your post ... then that truly is terrible!
It's sounds like the kind of thing that happens because there were some powerful people behind the scenes who want to make a profit on offering low quality nursing education. Programs are being "dummied down" all over the country and some State Boards are trying to fight that trend and maintain high standards. It seems to me that they stepped on somebody's toes (or pocketbook, more likely) in Florida -- and that somebody manged to get something through the legislature.
I hope the nursing profession can band together and fight this in some way. We need high educational standards to maintain the public's trust and to maintain a strong nursing profession.
Can anybody fill us in on what happened to cause this retaliation against the board? ... And who retaliated?
I would be outraged, also! You would not have the option for reciprocacy, maybe not even transfer credits to another program for advancement and it shows that just about anyone can follow the tasks and steps to be a nurse.
Making statements such as "If he doesn't stay off of that light, I'm gonna kill him" causes said patient to code (not my patient, but I was working that shift).
The more a patient weighs, the more likely they are to seize on the toilet; additionally, this is more likely happen to occur on nights when only the smallest nurses are working.
When medical nurses get pulled to work tele, no matter how hard the charge tries to juggle the assignment, they are guaranteed to end up with the one patient on the floor who decides to have an acute MI/go into new onset afib w/RVR/go into third degree heartblock etc.
The more nights in a row you're working, the more likely it is that you'll have to report off to a nurse who is going to screw your whole assignment up before you come back.
My humble additions....
Briefs always fall "butter" side down
A foley won't drain...until you take the bag off to inspect for obstruction, at which time it will flood -- all over you, the floor, your pants, your shoes...
The one time you complain about a PIA family member or patient, that person will be related to the nurse/unit secretary you're complaining to...
If your demented and confused patient is has been completely flaccid and hasn't flinched all shift, they will leap over the rails the second you forget to set the bed alarm.
Oops sorry Roy you too most definately
I used to work for a Doc that resembles the above.
He got sick so much it was ridiculous (maybe he should remove his gloves before typing on his computer keyboard... ewwww!) Anyway, he would drag his sorry self down the hall and just stand there till I noticed him, and then tell me he felt sick, and that he wanted me to cancel the afternoon patients. I'd say no, you can stay till the end of the day... "man-up, Doc!" ... LOL. One time he was in his office and couldn't stop coughing, you know, the kind of itchy cough that won't stop. He yells from his office between coughs, "Isn't anyone going to help me out there, I'm choking!" So... I get him some hot tea, and bring it to him, tell him to drink it. He tells me no, that it won't help. I tell him to just shut up and drink it. The coughing stops. Then he tells me that I'm mean.:wink2:
thank you all for the great advice
I used the NCLEX 3500 CD as well as Saunders 3rd ed., and passed with 75 questions on my first try.
thank you
Very odd indeed....Especially since you can tailor the questions to what your weakness areas of nursing are......I enjoy using the NCLEX-RN 3500.....I do a batch of questions before I leave for work in the am....but when I study after work I am using the Saunders 4th Edition as well as a book on Prioritizing..... I think that it has helped me feel more prepared this time......any questions with the rationale are useful....and its FREE!!!! Not much is these days.....
iv drips have to be rounded to whole numbers because drops of fluid cannot be cleaved into partial drops--there are whole drops and that is it. when you actually see an iv in action you'll understand.
the same applies to teaspoons and mls of things like syrups when you are using medicine cups in pouring them out. an exception would be if they are being measured out with syringes where they can be measured as accurately as to 1/10th of a ml (or cc). again, when you actually see one of the medicine cups or syringes you understand immediately why the math problem would be rounded to that specific kind of answer.
otherwise, follow the rounding principles.
when it comes to your individual instructors, ask each before a test what they will accept, or want, before turning your final answers in to each of them, so you minimize your chance of goofing up on the rounding. or, show all the answers, unrounded and rounded, so you can argue later for the points if an answer gets marked wrong.
As I complete the classroom part of my nursing degree this Tuesday, I want to thank you for your support during this horrible, wonderful experience. Support both financial, and more importantly, emotional. Without this support, I would never have made it this far.
I know it hasn't been easy these last 3 years. I know I haven't contributed enough financially, haven't done my share of the chores around the house, have been grouchy and groggy and basically hard to be around. Without your loving support and understanding, I'd have quit this thing and gone back to work in my old profession. Without your advice, encouragement at just the right moments, and the times when you insisted I just suck it up and get back to writing that case study, I might very well have given up.
If all goes well over the next week, I'll pass my last Final exam, pass the HESI Exit exam, and pass the NLN Exit exam. After that, it's the preceptorship, pinning, and graduation. Then NCLEX!
And finally, after such a long, hard journey, you'll be married to a Registered Nurse. And, a new journey will begin. As with the nursing school journey, I look forward to taking the next one with YOU by my side, showering me with love, understanding, and a well-needed occasional kick to the shins. With you, it'll be a fantastic journey, as always.
Thank you, sweetheart, for this and for everything else you bring to my life. It's meant more to me than words can ever say.
-Love, Tim
AMEN!!! I like the old saying " Doctors save lives; Nurses save Doctors". I dont think they realize the impact we can have on the patient's perception of them. I quit "covering" for Doctors a looong time ago - mainly because of the lack of respect they showed toward the nursing staff. Of course, there are a few doctors who are the exception to the rule.