Perpetuating the myths

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I was just thinking about some rumors/false information that we hear before, during, or after nursing school that we believe only to find out our beliefs were wrong. I'll give a couple examples:

1. I thought that if you get retested for TB too soon, the 2nd test will come up positive.

2. I also thought some NCLEX-RN test takers are randomly selected to take all 265 questions.

What about y'all? When did you fall for the hype?

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Specializes in ICU, M/S,Nurse Supervisor, CNS.

Actually some NCLEX-RN takers are randomly chosen to take the entire 265 questions.

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When I was a pre-nursing student, I was told that getting admitted into nursing school/program is piece of cake. Also, a person with no or lack of CNA skills will not be a good nurse in the long run.

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Actually some NCLEX-RN takers are randomly chosen to take the entire 265 questions.

o goodie...I get to bust the myth

http://www.nsna.org/pubs/imprint/jan05/jan_NCLEX.PDF

go to page 40 (p. 3 of the PDF); left column under: "Are some candidates chosen at random to answer 265 questions?"

btw...NSNA is the National Student Nurses' Association, so I consider them a good resource.

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Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

This is a good idea for a thread. Sometimes, when I read on allnurses.com what certain students and/or new grads believe, I think ... "Where are their critical thinking skills? How could they fall for a rumor like that? Why don't they check out these rumors from a legitimate source before assuming they true?" etc. etc. etc. I actually worry about some people and what kind of nurse they will be if they can't evaluate the quality of the information they hear through the rumor mill.

This thread may do such people a great service. :yeah:

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This is a good idea for a thread. Sometimes, when I read on allnurses.com what certain students and/or new grads believe, I think ... "Where are their critical thinking skills? How could they fall for a rumor like that? Why don't they check out these rumors from a legitimate source before assuming they true?" etc. etc. etc. I actually worry about some people and what kind of nurse they will be if they can't evaluate the quality of the information they hear through the rumor mill.

This thread may do such people a great service. :yeah:

honestly, i don't think that many students can grasp or appreciate the full implications of "critical thinking" until later in their schooling.

so if they're just starting out, i cut them a lot of slack.:)

leslie

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This is a good idea for a thread. Sometimes, when I read on allnurses.com what certain students and/or new grads believe, I think ... "Where are their critical thinking skills? How could they fall for a rumor like that? Why don't they check out these rumors from a legitimate source before assuming they true?" etc. etc. etc. I actually worry about some people and what kind of nurse they will be if they can't evaluate the quality of the information they hear through the rumor mill.

This thread may do such people a great service. :yeah:

Thank you. Hopefully I will have unprecedented success with this thread at garnering responses (my threads tend not to gain much discussion) because i too think it could be very valuable (and fun for those of us who were became victim of the rumor mill, to look back and think..."what was I thinking?". Maybe bring a little humility to one's life. And look, I've already helped bust a myth someone else shares with me (if that individual read my response) so I've done a good deed...yay me.

We'll see if others have any examples. Of course, if I come up with anything, I will add them.

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Specializes in ICU, M/S,Nurse Supervisor, CNS.
o goodie...I get to bust the myth

http://www.nsna.org/pubs/imprint/jan05/jan_NCLEX.PDF

go to page 40 (p. 3 of the PDF); left column under: "Are some candidates chosen at random to answer 265 questions?"

btw...NSNA is the National Student Nurses' Association, so I consider them a good resource.

Wow, good to know. I was told this by several people including instructors and NCLEX review instructors that this was true when I was about to take the NCLEX-RN five years ago. I never bothered to look this info up, though cuz I guess it really didn't matter in the long run.

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Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.

I was told that once a person receives a positive PPD reading, that they can NEVER, EVER have another one in life. But, I see it done often, because now, I'm learning that the BCG vaccination is not life-long as originally thought, for one, and that also, it depends on who did the reading...if an unexperienced person read the redness rather than the induration, it may have been documented as positive, when, in fact it was not. Because of this, many physicians probably prefer to obtain their own for their personal records.

You can NEVER administer Azactam (not sure if I spelled it correctly) if a person has allergies to penicillins. Now, I am reading that it is considered safe to give, but monitor the person.

You can NEVER give a cephalosporin to a person who has penicillin allergies...now, I am reading that 3rd generation cephalosporins may have less of a cross sensitivity than the 1st and 2nd ones.

Some days, I walk away totally confused...

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pagandeva

sounds like you are a victim of the info available at that time rather a rumor per se...another example is with chest compressions and CPR; initially it was different for kids and adults, but with research, it became standard across the board; and then in a few years, it'll probably change again

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Specializes in Psych..

Before I started nursing school, I thought everything nurses did was dictated by doctors. Now I know nursing has its own scope of practice.

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Specializes in Hospice, Critical Care.

Myth: That the Trendelenburg position should be used in hypotensive patients:

"The Trendelenburg position is taught in schools and on the

wards as an initial treatment for hypotension. Its use has

been linked to adverse effects on pulmonary function and

intracranial pressure. Recognizing that the quality of the

research is poor, that failure to prove benefit does not

prove absence of benefit, and that the definitive study examining

the role of the Trendelenburg position has yet to

be done, evidence to date does not support the use of this

time-honoured technique in cases of clinical shock, and

limited data suggest it may be harmful. Despite this, the

ritual use of the Trendelenburg position by prehospital and

hospital staff is difficult to reverse, qualifying this as one

of the many literature resistant myths in medicine."

Canadian Journal of Emergency Medicine. January 2004.

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