My nursing program was terrible and I was too incompetent but I still graduated

[Matilda191]

My skills sucked, I constantly screwed up med orders, and I had huge, gaping gaps in my knowledge, but I graduated and then passed the NCLEX (because I do very well on tests).

So technically, I am an RN, but it's been over a year, and I have done something else as a job mostly because I did not feel I could be a nurse with the skills I had.

I really did enjoy working with patients, I just wouldn't trust that they'd be safe with me as a nurse, and most everywhere I looked, the openings seemed to be for acute care or emergency room nursing where I'd be likeliest to do harm.

Anyway, so given the gap in time, I am sure most all of my knowledge has eroded...

But I did love caring for patients. I know there are training programs for experienced nurses who have been out of the field for a while. Is there anywhere in the country I could go and just get all that nursing knowledge I didn't learn well enough in the first place? (Like repeating RN school for someone who already is a RN?)

[leslie :-D]

like a refresher course?

go to your state's nursing association's website.

they should have info there.

good luck.

leslie

[caliotter3]

I agree that you should look into taking a refresher course. Or, if you find a school that is willing to allow this, ask if you can audit or just sit in on courses. I would approach the Director of a school of nursing and ask, or, you could look up the class schedules and approach individual instructors to see if they would mind. I highly doubt that any nursing school would allow you to be formally enrolled. Or, self teach yourself the theory portion and find a job where you can pick up the clinical knowledge while being around others that you could gain support from, perhaps a long term care facility might be better for this. Good luck.

[AZMOMO2]

There are refresher courses usually under the continuing education departments at a school that offers a nursing program. Usually a Community College. They usually even have a clinical component attached to it. I would recommend that if you feel this way that you should take a course with a clinical component.

There are many sites online that offer skills reviews as well. Things that you are weak on you can practice at home using the clinical kit you had from school. I found many creative ways to practice skills at home to enhance my skill set. It doesn't hurt to pull out those textbooks and notes and start studying again either!

I found that a Nursing Education was/is only as good as the student's dedication to learning!

[Quickbeam, BSN, RN]

If it is truly a skills issue then I think a refresher course would be a great idea. Have you worked before nursing school? Maybe it is a time management or prioritization issue. There are great classes for that out there apart from nursing.

You may just find that acute care isn't for you. You'd not be alone. (In a normal economy) there are a lot of opportunities without quite so much drama.

[netglow, ASN, RN]

I think that paying for more class time is a waste.

Here is what you need to do. You need to set yourself up at home and practice. I did while I was in school. I had a makeshift dummy and everything. I collected supplies, but started up with a "student kit" that had just about everything in it. You can do most everything.

There is nothing to gain by a refresher course for you, it's all about practice on the things you feel you are not getting clearly, or confidently. It's up to you to make yourself comfortable with the kind of stuff you are talking about.

[Hygiene Queen]

I have been graduated since July and working as a nurse since October. Every night I fall asleep with my drug book and texts from school.

I, too, get this horrid panic that I did not learn enough.

I also get frustrated at work because I cannot take the time to really think through things. I ask a gazillion questions and try to rationalize everything on my own first, but I do feel that there was a deficit in my learning that I am always trying to make up for on my own.

I can only figure that one must learn by fire... and boy oh boy... I've nearly burnt myself a few times.

If you can't find a refresher course, take your education into your own hands.

I humiliated myself with an antibiotic and a IV pump yesterday... what can you do, but fight your way through such episodes and learn the hard way.

So, I'm saying, you might need to take your own time to teach yourself more and just bite the big one through on-the-job experiences (and steel yourself for learning things "the hard way").

We've got to be brave, now...

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

if the op thought she was going to learn enough in nursing school to be a real nurse, she's wrong. she learned enough in nursing school to pass nclex to allow her to be a novice, newbie, inexperienced new grad.

the first year of practice is where you get your feet underneath you. as hq, above, demonstrates, you never stop learning. hell, i've been out of school for donkey's years and i am still studying and learning.

so, op, do what you have to do-- take a refresher course, hit the books, visualize tasks, take an entry-level job, or even get a cna job for practice on time mgmt and basic physical care skills. but don't waste your time dallying; if you don't really want to be a nurse, go do something else.

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

Moved to our Career section.

Check our sticky thread located bottom forum on nurse refresher programs -some include didactic skills that will boost your confidence boost.

Refresher programs: My licence has lapsed, ugh, retesting sounds challenging, advice?

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

Hmm - I just want to point out to the OP that her/his fellow grads may have felt just as incompetent. There's basically no way to objectively compare levels of perceived competence between individuals. Heck, I'm pretty sure that ALL grads share the same "AWK! I'm not ready!!" feeling at first. But they take the leap and put themselves into the workplace anyway... And you know what?? We all went through the same thing. Nursing has never been for the faint at heart. It takes guts. At some point, we have to trust the process. We (hospitals and health care employers) know the capability of new grads (nursing & other disciplines) and know how to safely integrate them into the workplace. I know that it's not fashionable these days, but new grads need to have a little more faith in the system.

IMO, NCLEX has nothing to do with clinical competence. It is only a measure of recall & identification of appropriate 'factoids' without any real context. This is not a new argument -- Dr. Dorothy del Bueno PhD, RN has been pointing this out for decades & has data to prove it! (but I digress)

[LuLu2008]

Just another thought for you to chew on: Take the nurse refresher course, because it will include clinical experience and will put you back in the mindset of anatomy, medications, procedures, etc. The university where you take this will have a practice lab. When you do your clinical rotation(s) you will make contacts with at least one hospital or clinic in your area. Use this as a stepping stone to applying for jobs where you do your rotation(s). Make sure when you are hired that you will have an adequate orientation period in which you work together with an experienced nurse until able to handle the job alone. I think you will do fine.

I don't know if all refresher courses are like the one I took, where there was an academic component and a clinical part. We got to choose among many different clinical environments.

The fact you like working with patients is SO important. Without that, nursing would be drudgery.

[ilmbg]

Oh... I feel your pain. And it has been many years. One of the posters was 'right on'. The first year is just getting your feet wet and learning how to organize your time/skills! You can't expect to have the skills that come only with time/experience! I can still remember my first job in a very large hospital in Detroit....how I would forget something when I was at the patient's room...at the very end of a long hall. I would waste time going back to the med room, going back for SOMETHING that wasted time. It is just learning. I realize that it is probably even worse today- institutions expect more and more from nurses, sicker pts, more rules, etc...... Don't quit yet- it is too soon! Try a different job. Something that isn't as pressuring- maybe a long term care. Home health. Something where you are not as pressured for time possibly. Not everyone is cut out to be under the stress of 'get it all done by the end of the shift'.

Unfortunately, the attitude of a workplace is hurting RNs. We are so stressed now- make more money for the workplace/hurry/work harder/work longer... that it is really only biting the institution in the butt. We CAN't what we should be able to, to the pt. We can only give 'our best', which isn't what it should be. We ARE more apt to make mistakes. We are treated as crap now. Nursing isn't what it once was- it is only a 'money maker'. What about working for a doctor? Make sure you interview HIM/HER, not the other way around. You want to work for someone who is a very good doc, who is compassionate to pts/staff, who pays a decent wage... essentially someone that YOU WANT to work for. Then you will feel better about your job and will automatically do your very best! Don't take a job 'just because they offered you a position'.

I hope you take the time to see where your niche is. There is a place for you.

Chin up!