So what DO they teach you in nursing school?

RedBait · Aug 24, 2004

Hi Everyone,
I am a senior psychology major and have recently decided that I want to go to nursing school after graduating with my B.A. in Psychology. I am also an active EMT-B and have asked various nurses (and people in RN school) what exactly they learn in school. When I ask them "so, what exactly do you learn in nursing school?" they always tend to give me some vague, general answer such as "not much" or "I learned most of my patient care skills in clinicals; the classroom didn't teach me all that much." So I ask you, exactly what kinds of skills DO you learn in nursing school? What does "nursing theory" consist of? Do you learn a lot more in clinicals (compared to classroom and labs-I'd imagine so)? What do "nursing assesments" consist of? Also, did your nursing program teach you to do skills such as ECG interpretation and I.V. starts? Or did you have to learn that once you got jobs as hospital RN's? Any information would be appreciated.
Ian

I suppose you could say I learned to identify normal and abnormal human physiological function from the cellular level to the whole organism level, and think using the the scientific method. How: College courses like: Anatomy & Psysiology, Organic Chemistry, Physics, Microbiology, Nutrition, Psychology, Sociology, Growth & Development, Genetics... I learned to communicate with courses like Rhetoric and Speech...I took more nursing care specific courses like Physical Assessment and Pharmacology...two years worth of college credits. Then, because I went to a hospital based diploma program in the '70's, I spent over 3000 hours at the bedside learning to think critically, synthesize, and apply my academic knowledge in real situations, how to be a member of the team, how to write a nursing care plan, a teaching plan, and a discharge plan.

I was exposed to technical skills, like drawing blood and starting IV's, but there is so much science to master, and technical stuff changes over time. Example: if I understand the physics of treating a pneumothorax, it doesn't matter what is on the floor at the end of the chest tube, I will be able to figure out how to use it because I understand the goal of therapy. (In my practicing years there have been three distinctly different things at the end of the chest tube!)

I also learned the value of professional society affiliation, specialty certification, and lifelong learning.

I have used this knowledge base every shift I have ever worked from the late '70's until yesterday. I learned to describe normal human physiology (wellness), identify pathophysiology (illness), evaluate the effectiveness of treatment modalities, communicate all of this to other team members, teach it as it applies to my patients and their families, precept new nurses, take responsibility for the therapeutic milieu, eat dinner, and finish on time.

Are you up to the challenge?

babynursewannab · Aug 25, 2004

I think I'm gonna cry.

That was beautiful!

Nurse Ratched, RN · Aug 25, 2004

Holy cow.

Can we copy this and post it in every nursing school?

That rocks, and so do you.

mattsmom81 · Aug 25, 2004

Holy cow.
Can we copy this and post it in every nursing school?
That rocks, and so do you.

ITA...well written and thanks for sharing..I loved it!

CCU NRS · Aug 25, 2004

BRAVO BRAVO!!!

RNKITTY04 · Aug 25, 2004

That was really awesome redbait. I just graduated this month and you brought a tear to my eye, reconfirming for me why I am doing this when the general public basically has no respect for us. Thanks!! :)

RedBait · Aug 25, 2004

...thanks y'all...