Whether is it from a Nursing Instructor or classmate, I keep hearing that Nursing School is HARD, HARD, HARD!!! This is no big surprise to me that is hard, but it seems strange that this is emphasized so much; it seems like people are trying to scare people away from Nursing, or maybe there are other reasons. I've never heard people emphasize this aspect of Medical School to the extent that I hear it about Nursing School. I think medical students know they are doing something hard, and I never hear anyone emphasizing again and again how hard medical school is. Why is Nursing School treated like the most difficult thing to do on the planet? OK, sure it is hard, but to keep emphasizing this makes it almost sound like the person saying it maybe didn't get any respect for how hard they worked, so they want everyone else to be impressed with how smart they are to have made it through. I just never hear Doctors going around saying how hard Medical School was, and I think it because everyone knows it is a hard thing to do. It sounds like Nurses have an inferiority complex. What gives?
lol VERY much agreed. Do people really think nurses are the only ones who think critically? That whole potassium and banana question, I'm just guessing but Pharmacists have slightly more complex critical thinking questions. Just imagine how much knowledge goes into...let's say, you're a pharmacist or MD looking at patient's labs, symptoms, trends, renal history, GI history, I&O, current meds, past meds, H&P, family history, weight, allergies, etc....then you have to pick out allllllllll these nutrients and elements to go into their quickmix or TPN, or you have to think about what meds you want to prescribe in the future, or what specific dialysis orders you want, or what labs you want to monitor based on the meds you just prescribed because their renal function sucks, or you realize as a pharmacist that the TPN the MD just ordered won't be compatible with the other stuff they just ordered. Then you have doctors who study solely infections and know about how every antibiotic will interact with certain potential bugs, what the next treatment will be, what labs to watch based on the antibiotic you just odered, etc. And it's not simply memorizing steps, it's knowing HOW all the stuff works. Not saying that a doctor or pharmacist is necessarily smarter than you or myself, but they do have a weeeeeeeeee bit more going on with their decisions.
Now as nurses it's up to you whether you become great at what you do and learn a whole bunch. There are some nurses who know so much it's not even funny. Some nurses are right up with the MD's and pharmacists on what they know and do. But then you have these other nurses who come straight outta school with the "eww poop, i'm goin to play with babies in the doctor's office all day" mentality.
I don't see where I said critical thinking is strictly a nursing program issue. When people come from certain backgrounds (such as mine, working in a finance dept in a home office of a retail company - never working in healthcare before), the thought process is different - it's a concrete, black and white (i.e no gray area)kind of thing and if you can't shake that, you're going to lose (I think folks who've been in the field for a while or 'forever' tend to forget that)...I think to state critical thinking isn't important is equally as ridiculous...but I agree with you that we're not the only discipline having to worry about it:rolleyes:
Semantics - it is indeed harder for individuals with more responsibilities to juggle...sounds like you basically agreed with my point but didn't like how I said it
So...if I were to work a full-time job, take care of children at home, and be a full-time nursing student, nursing school itself will be harder for me, than for someone who is 21, living at home, and not working?
So...if I were to work a full-time job, take care of children at home, and be a full-time nursing student, nursing school itself will be harder for me, than for someone who is 21, living at home, and not working?
So you're basically asking if there is a devised curriculum which is more difficult and is specifically intended for students who also have to juggle other responsibilities? Ok - I guess I'm checking out of this discussion...I can now see why some of you don't consider critical thinking important...anyway, good luck with everything:)
So you're basically asking if there is a devised curriculum which is more difficult and is specifically intended for students who also have to juggle other responsibilities? Ok - I guess I'm checking out of this discussion...I can now see why some of you don't consider critical thinking important...anyway, good luck with everything:)
That's exactly what I'm asking. And yes, I know you're taking a jab at me. My critical thinking skills are not lacking.
I don't believe it's nursing school itself that becomes harder when you're busy, not busy, etc. It's time management that is key.
The material itself will be hard or easy depending on the person.
However, getting through the rigors of nursing school while juggling children, work, a household, spouse, etc. etc. will, without a doubt, be more difficult than it would be for a student living at home with no job and full support from mom and dad.
It's more than time management. It's also having a lot more on your mind that school. You're thinking about your children and their needs. Your job and its needs. Your home and spouse and their needs. Your bills and on top of that nursing school, which is challenging in and of its own right.
So yes, I agree that in 'general', nursing school will be harder for this group of students over the group that only has to think, live, and breath nursing education.
So...if I were to work a full-time job, take care of children at home, and be a full-time nursing student, nursing school itself will be harder for me, than for someone who is 21, living at home, and not working?
As there is no quantifiable measurement of "hard," it's all perception of the individual. So, yes, a person who had to work a full-time job, take care of children at home, and be a full-time nursing student will likely find nursing school harder than someone with no other responsibilities.
I don't see where I said critical thinking is strictly a nursing program issue. When people come from certain backgrounds (such as mine, working in a finance dept in a home office of a retail company - never working in healthcare before), the thought process is different - it's a concrete, black and white (i.e no gray area)kind of thing and if you can't shake that, you're going to lose (I think folks who've been in the field for a while or 'forever' tend to forget that)...I think to state critical thinking isn't important is equally as ridiculous...but I agree with you that we're not the only discipline having to worry about it:rolleyes:
I don't think the point was that critical thinking wasn't require, yet we don't understand why it's stressed as it is. Like I said in a previous reply, nursing has no more ownership over critical thinking or time management or organization than any other professional program, yet as a whole the profession seems to really tout all of that rather defensively. It's kind of silly that any academic program would have to repeatedly tell its members to think critically. The idea here should be to generate an avenue in which students learn to apply and synthesize what has been learned.
As there is no quantifiable measurement of "hard," it's all perception of the individual. So, yes, a person who had to work a full-time job, take care of children at home, and be a full-time nursing student will likely find nursing school harder than someone with no other responsibilities.
Why is this a troubling concept to you?
It isn't troubling in the least. I completely understand that it will seem more challenging to a person who has a full plate to manage his or her time wisely while in nursing school, but I don't understand how the material itself is any harder.
It isn't troubling in the least. I completely understand that it will seem more challenging to a person who has a full plate to manage his or her time wisely while in nursing school, but I don't understand how the material itself is any harder.
My point is that there is no unit of "harder" for the material. It's all personal perception. So even assuming we have the same time to devote to the material....some things are going to be easier for me, others will be easier for you. There is no quantitative unit of difficulty. Since hard is only measured by perception....someone who has less time to devote to the material due to competing responsibilities will find it "harder." Thus, for them the program is harder.
I can't wrap my head around what the disagreement it. Is it harder for someone who has a full plate to get through nursing school than someone with no other responsibilities? Absolutely. The material is irrelevant.
I can't wrap my head around what the disagreement it. Is it harder for someone who has a full plate to get through nursing school than someone with no other responsibilities? Absolutely. The material is irrelevant.
semester1kid
215 Posts
I don't see where I said critical thinking is strictly a nursing program issue. When people come from certain backgrounds (such as mine, working in a finance dept in a home office of a retail company - never working in healthcare before), the thought process is different - it's a concrete, black and white (i.e no gray area)kind of thing and if you can't shake that, you're going to lose (I think folks who've been in the field for a while or 'forever' tend to forget that)...I think to state critical thinking isn't important is equally as ridiculous...but I agree with you that we're not the only discipline having to worry about it:rolleyes: