Nursing School Needs Repair (And Why I Quit)

roser13, ASN, RN · Nov 25, 2017

You dropped out of THREE programs because they didn't meet your standards? Are you sure that your standards are set correctly?

seaofclouds21, BSN, RN · Nov 25, 2017

The problem is I've been accepted into (and dropped) 3 programs. All 3 were disorganized messes with confusion about books, remedial dosage calculation problems where the answer keys were wrong, surprise projects not on the syllabus, and confusion about whether or not we would be injecting each other with solutions that may or may not be sterile??? There has GOT TO BE A BETTER WAY TO EDUCATE NURSES. And there needs to be greater focus on nursing students taking care of themselves rather than being stretched like a banjo wire and expected to take care of very ill patients. OMG. This system is in chaos.

Were these programs accredited? Were they for profit? What is the attrition and NCLEX pass rate for these programs? What did you know about nursing school before you went into these programs? What confusion did you have regarding your books? What was the source of the remedial calculation problems/answer key? What kind of project was added to your course that wasn't on the syllabus? Did they fully explain the project and give you a rubrix for it? Who had the confusion about whether you would be injecting each other? What do you expect from a program in regards to focusing on student's taking care of themselves? What did you experience in these programs that didn't encourage the student's to take care of themselves?

caliotter3 · Nov 25, 2017

Agree with roser13. Nothing you mention meets reasonable criteria to use as a reason, and not an excuse, to drop from three programs. At some point an adult learns to successfully navigate non-life threatening obstacles in the pursuit of a goal.

JKL33 · Nov 25, 2017

What happened between June and now??

Been there,done that, ASN, RN · Nov 25, 2017

There are over 3 million nurses in the USA. We all managed to navigate the educational system.

Perhaps the problem lies with you.. and not the system?

Emergent, RN · Nov 25, 2017

It sounds to me that you are at a stressful life transition. I don't know if you've just lost your mom, but my sense is that you are grasping toward nursing to fill an emotional void.

You might want to take stock and reevaluate the direction you want to take. There are many other paths that involve assisting people. It sounds like nursing school is not for you.

elkpark · Nov 25, 2017

I went through a hospital-based diploma program and a B&M BSN completion program (state uni), and have taught in a few different nursing programs since then. None of them suffered from the concerns you express about your previous programs. I have to wonder about what schools you attended. In my experience, they are not representative of all nursing programs. There are a few bad apples in every barrel, as the saying goes, and we all know there are marginal programs that offer low quality nursing education, and the larger nursing community would benefit from those programs being shut down. But those programs are a small minority of the overall population of nursing programs.

MilliePieRN · Nov 25, 2017

Nursing school is brutal, mostly by design. It weeds out the weaker students and only the strong survive. I thought it was terrible as a student, but as a nurse I appreciate that I am well prepared and people who need handholding/coddling and folded under stress didn't become responsible for lives. It absolutely can be done, but it's a whole different world.

I work now with some non-nursing students (of a very technical/high responsibility medical field) and the low standards of acceptance and retention scare the crap out of me. Their board pass rates suck and they are graduating students who have no ability in their field. Glad nursing isn't so much like that (at least in the not for profit schools).

meanmaryjean, DNP, RN · Nov 25, 2017

I'm a 56 year old former Industrial Engineer and Project Manager who was previously accepted into several accelerated 2nd bachelor degree nursing programs in Florida. Having been a full-time caregiver to my mom for 7 years, I wanted to help people with dementia on a professional level. The problem is I've been accepted into (and dropped) 3 programs. All 3 were disorganized messes with confusion about books, remedial dosage calculation problems where the answer keys were wrong, surprise projects not on the syllabus, and confusion about whether or not we would be injecting each other with solutions that may or may not be sterile??? There has GOT TO BE A BETTER WAY TO EDUCATE NURSES. And there needs to be greater focus on nursing students taking care of themselves rather than being stretched like a banjo wire and expected to take care of very ill patients. OMG. This system is in chaos.

I think this post reflects the OP's engineering background more than anything else. He expected ducks in a row, being able to predict how your day will go to the minute, and when that didn't happen, well- it becomes intolerable. He has spent decades in this environment, and cannot adjust. Because honestly "Being expected to take care of very ill patients" is what we DO.

And there is no shame in not being able to handle that.

Guest123456788, MSN, RN · Nov 25, 2017

Sounds like you don't actually want to be a nurse and want to blame the school for your decision to leave instead of admitting it wasn't for you

umbdude, MSN, APRN · Nov 25, 2017

Your goal should be to become a nurse, not to revolutionize nursing education. Consider your priorities.