carlsonc

I graduated in 1995 from Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland, OR, one of the top BSN programs in the country. I did not feel adequately prepared to practice nursing when I graduated. Faced with a patient in pain or need, I could analyze their condition, look up drugs, explain how they worked, calculate dosages, and I could write a hell of a paper about their condition , but I couldn't do one darn thing for this sick and needy person in front of me. We needed a lot more hands-on than we got, and the explanation was always that we would learn it all on our first job. I left nursing school without, I feel, the foundation of patient care that my ADN collegues had; was totally unable to chart; and I was woefully uninformed about the legal consequences of what I was doing. Sure, we talked about this in school, for an hour in one class. Nothing beats hands-on, in-the-hospital work, and I would rather have gotten that as a student with some oversight. I really did not feel ready to practice when I graduated.