2nurse2teach

If this has been your dream, then absolutely go for it! I've had students in my ADN program who have decided to go back in their 50s, and they've done just fine. Nursing school is tough, but you are just as equipped as the next student to conquer it. Good luck to you. I really hope you give it a shot :).

This is the question of the day! I teach OB, so we periods of downtime depending on the census of the day, and I also really dislike seeing students standing around (as do the nurses and staff!). LPNs are always tough, because they have such a varied range of experience and tend to need more challenges to keep them learning and growing. A few ideas I've been trying in our downtime: - SBAR practice: I give one student a brief scenario requiring a call to a provider and ask them to prepare an SBAR report. I then have them report off to the on-call MD, NP, or nurse specialist (another student who is not familiar with the scenario) to see how they do. - I ask a student to share an interesting patient (or have one or a few of them look up information from a chart). The student will then give the group a handoff report on the patient (sharing facts from the patient case) and we go around asking each student to formulate a priority problem/etiology/supporting data; we then discuss and choose one priority as a group and the go around again formulating a plan of care for that problem - If you have access to Up-to-Date or even the internet, you can have the students look up interesting diagnoses, current practice recommendations, or meds in their free time. - If I have students without a patient, I assign them the role of "resource nurse" and ask them to assist others as needed. During that time I expect them to identify a learning need for the group (i.e. proper injection technique) and prepare an "inservice" for the others to present at a pre- or post-conference. - I make it clear to all students that we are never above stocking supplies, refilling pitchers, gathering trays, etc. I do encourage them to complete a quick general assessment (no need to touch the patient) in each patient's room and to be sure to ask the patient if he/she needs anything. It seems to be a great way to pick up some extra skills opportunities, plus we are proving ourselves to be a help to the floor :). Good luck to you! I hope it goes well.

Ugh! I am so sorry this happened. A personal attack is always hurtful, but even more-so when you truly do go the extra mile to promote student success (and it very much sounds like you do!). I'm trying to figure out if the above negative responses to your post are coming from other nursing faculty?! I have to doubt it, because anyone in a faculty role knows how difficult it is, and just how unfair and common something like this can be. I am in your shoes as a member of a high-fail semester team and I've seen, and experienced similar attacks in our program as well (you as team leader are a prime target -- special thanks for all the extra work that title entails, huh?!). Amidst our generally awesome group of students each semester, we always have those who somewhere between mid-terms and finals feel the threat of impending failure, and panic. In meeting with those students for retention or exit purposes, I would say the number of students who in the throes of this panic begin to throw blame around GREATLY exceeds the number of students who are able to self-reflect and identify personal factors (full-time+ work hours, personal crises, family issues, irregular course attendance, etc.) that may have negatively impacted their success. Most rant for a while and move on, but there is always that small handful who will resort to character attacks or legal threats as a last-ditch in preserving their status. Those emails almost always bypass the targeted course faculty and are sent right on to our program director. This email was surely generated by a student who does not have the personal tools for success right now and is grasping at straws to try to reconcile as it would be unlikely for someone with a legitimate complaint to have to resort to character/personal attacks. Someone was going to be a target, and it just happened to be lucky you. It's in your (and the school's) best interest to let it go and hope that this student will go away. Depending on the nature of the complaint, a response could be viewed as retaliation and create more trouble than one student would be worth. I know it's hard to take the fall for that, but you really do sound like a good teacher and all those years of positive evaluations will greatly outweigh anything one individual has to say. So in that: Keep your chin up; keep fighting to turn out great nurses (which certainly involves much more than teaching to a test -- what?!); and keep championing for all of those great students who deserve it! In what sounds like a culture of "weed-out" attitudes, they need your voice and your support. This will blow over. As far as this individual who was willing to make these comments without a signature? I predict a bumpy road ahead until (and if) he/she is able to develop better personal coping strategies.

Oh, my goodness! I remember those days as a student, and I've had more of them as a nurse, and even as the nursing instructor! Sometimes we are just off. What tells me you are going to be a great nurse is that you recognized all of those little mistakes; you didn't blame anyone else for them; and you CARE so much that you made them. Hang in there and keep moving forward. I'll bet you're going to have a great clinical day next week!

Is the direct-entry MSN focused on an FNP or other NP specialty? I completed a direct-entry MSN program that bridged me through BSN curriculum in 3 semesters to MSN (women's health NP specialty) that took 3 more semesters. I was not awarded a BSN, but qualified to take the NCLEX-RN after the first three semesters and then sat for my NP specialty certification boards after graduation with my MSN. The benefit of this for me was that I moved quickly through the program, and I was able to enter directly into an advanced practice role (but also qualified to begin practice as an RN, if I had so chosen). Although very costly compared to the traditional route, this path has served me well, and I'm happy to say that I've got 10+ years of NP practice, and now 7 years of teaching in an ADN program under my belt. If you are considering a direct-entry program and your goal is NP, then be sure the MSN is an NP focus. I think all accredited programs will offer the BSN component to qualify you to sit for the NCLEX-RN as well. As long as you maintain an active RN license in at least one state, it's pretty easy to transfer your license to another. NP licensure varies from state-to-state, but if you maintain board certification in your chosen specialty you should be ok to transfer that as well. I hope this makes sense, and helps you make a good decision for you. Good luck!

As a "head instructor" I would want to know, is this a skill/medication you were supposed to know? If so, and you weren't prepared, it would warrant a warning at minimum. My advice would be to hit that skills lab and those books extra hard and knock out that next medication administration opportunity!

Oh, my. I had no idea anyone had looked at my post :)! Study groups are different. Working together to help each other understand material or prepare for an exam usually enhances learning and would not be considered cheating unless you are sharing information on an assignment that is meant to be completed independently.

I am a certified women's health NP, and working as ADN faculty for the past 7 years. I am interested in moving into (or developing) a functional medicine/holistic type practice. What did you do for training? I'm looking at Functional Medicine University, and also aromatherapy certification.

Weighing in from an experienced nurse/nursing faculty of view. Say no. Sharing work that should be your own definitely qualifies as academic dishonesty (cheating) and both giving and receiving help can put your program status at risk. Think about it this way, if you aren't strong enough to say no to this "friend's" request for your work at this point, would you be strong enough to say no to a friend asking you to overlook a med error, or perhaps a couple of mgs of morphine he or she pocketed? There is no room for dishonesty in this profession. That said, it is absolutely fine to help a struggling peer in other ways. Maybe say, "I'm sorry, I can't share the work I've done, but I would be happy to study with you, or work collaboratively (if that is authorized for a specific assignment) next time." Remember, you are all there to learn as much as you can and become rock star nurses. Helping a friend in this way is not really helping anyone in the long run.