Student nurses why do we take it?

fergus51 · Mar 18, 2002

Students take it because it is your job as a nursing student to get through the program. Often that means taking a lot of bs. Standing up for yourself in every case will often be more trouble than it's worth. I remember eating a lot of crap as a nursing student because like it or not, the power relationships NEVER favor the student. Your teachers and other nurses are way higher up on the totem pole. It took me a long time to see that it was just another hoop to jump through to get my liscence. I became selective about when to make a stink and when to let it go..

SparkleQueen · Mar 18, 2002

I know that some profs tell students whether or not they are cut out for nursing.....gimme a break, as if they really get to know you on a personal level. They dont have any right to make such a judgment. Everyone is there to learn and make mistakes (hopeful not serious ones...heh heh)From my experience, I feel as if they know who they want in the progroam and who they dont, and go after those unfortunate ones. Since I'm already venting, I want to add that SOME nurses I come across in my clinical rotations aren't any better....they have been in our shoes at one time or another...Can we be a little more empathetic!?!?! :rolleyes:

Just my .02 cents

~*SPARKLES*~

shay · Mar 18, 2002

I kind of think of nursing school like military school....the kind you VOLUNTARILY go to, that is...:). Like VMI, the Citadel, Westpoint, etc.. You go in KNOWING what you want and what lies ahead to get you there. Nursing sure as h*** isn't the military (you know what I mean.....), but the principles are the same...think about it. Look at the parallels between nursing and the military:

Someone else's life will be in your hands. Someone will ALWAYS be giving you orders, and they may or may not 'Bark' them at you. The profession is not glamorous, clean, easy, or low risk, thus neither should be the training. It is not for the faint of heart or thin skinned. The treatment you get from your superiors may not be fair, justified, or right, but like Fergus said, the power relationships NEVER favor the student. And just like at the military academies, whenever there are serious charges of abuse and mistreatment, they are usually investigated and stopped. But for the most part, it's kind of an unofficial 'hazing,' I suppose.

That's my take on it, anyway.

betts · Mar 19, 2002

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delirium · Mar 19, 2002

This kind of thing totally gets on my nerves.

I wouldn't take that kind of treatment AT ALL.

The way I see it, I am paying for this education. As such, I am employing the instructor to teach me how to be a competent and safe nurse, how to perform certain skills, how to critically think and be able to do the best thing for my patient. And... if I feel that I am not getting the best possible education for my tuition dollars, you'd better believe I speak up and advocate for my needs.

And, in viewing an instructor as you would any other employee, I wouldn't tolerate the bad treatment, the emotional abuse, the superiority complex, etc. It is ridiculous. The way to teach, assist, guide a student is to lift them up, show them the positive things about themselves and the way they can improve, not to tell them how much they suck and what a bad nurse they are going to be.

This is true of nursing students also.

I can't tell you how many students told us when we were first coming into the program how horrible it was, how we should pick a new major, how we were all going to fail. We should all take it upon ourselves to make people feel better about themselves and their abilities, not worse.

I don't buy the whole I have to take it because nursing school is like bootcamp bullsh!t. Whatever. I'm not doing a single push up for these people.

:roll

fergus51 · Mar 19, 2002

Just tell us if you keep that attitude after a year of school...

meownsmile, BSN, RN · Mar 19, 2002

I have to agree with Fergus. All instructors have certain things they concentrate on with their students. They want to know that you can think outside the box. Critical thinking is one of the best assests a nurse can have, and until they feel you are heading in that direction some will ride you until they do see it.

Dont think of it as instructors being difficult, think of it as them wanting to graduate the best nurses they can.

Give them more than what they ask, show them that you are thinking 2 steps ahead of where you are and they will move on.

Also, dont think of it as you hiring them. Think of it as a two way street. After all we had to meet their requirements to get into THEIR program, if money was the only issue anyone could get into nursing. They wouldnt have entrance exams, pre-reqs, or anything else. You were chosen to attend their program because they felt you had the knowledge and the personality traits to succeed.

paula4ms · Mar 19, 2002

I am so sorry to hear that you are all having such a bad time in school. My program is totally different. I have made some lifelong friends and our instructors are very supportive. Every instructor that we've had has made a point of telling us that they are there for us and to help us get through. When they see you in the hallway they hug you and ask you how your new classes are going and they give wonderful advice. As for clinicals, the policy is to report any nurse that is not treating you fairly. At the end of each semester we HAVE to evaluate the classes, the instructors, and the facilities we do our clinicals at. They encourage us to be honest and put as much info - good and bad - as we can. I know this is not just my opinion but the opinion of most of my fellow students. There are some problems with the program and the school, but the positives outweigh the negatives by far. I graduate in May and the truth is I'm really gonna miss my school.

I want to add that my program was very hard. We lost alot of people through the two years, we started with 67 and are graduating with 20 out of those 67. Also our school has a very high percentage of people passing the NCLEX-RN the first time around.

As for the basic training thing, I went through basic training and the thing that makes it the same is that the people you start the program with are hopefully the people you finish with. The way I feel about this people is the exact same way I felt about the women I went through basic training with. I couldn't have made it without them.

Good luck to you all and I hope this doesn't discourage anyone from finishing school.

Aide · Mar 20, 2002

HI people,

I just took the myers Briggs test it is a type of personality test. When my score was figured I was just the opposite of a nursing personality. Nurses were introverted, they were intuitive. They made decisions from emotions and feelings and they had the ability to perceive problems. In nursing you are told what to think there is very little thinking outside the box and even less use of discretion on your part. You are told how much medicine to give and what kind of treatments to carry out. Independent personalities would struggle with the constraints of nursing and nursing school. You obey orders, bottom line and that goes for nurse aids to RN's. Someone who wants latitude in using discretion had better choose a different field.

cappieo · Mar 20, 2002

Originally posted by shay
The profession is not glamorous, clean, easy, or low risk, thus neither should be the training. It is not for the faint of heart or thin skinned. That's my take on it, anyway. [/b]

This statement makes me nervous. I just got into nursing school and I haven't taken any "nursing" classes yet, just pre-reqs. It took me a while to decide to apply to nursing school because I consider myself to be a little "thin skinned". I can handle critisism fine but, when I feel I am being barked at I tend to get frazzled. If anyone has advice as to how I should deal with this in respect to nursing school I would love to hear it, or if anyone was like this while in nursing school how did you overcome?

thanks :rolleyes:

jschut, BSN, RN · Mar 20, 2002

I am in LPN classes now, and I have to say, when someone brings up something such as this, I really don't know what to say!

Every one of my instructors are wonderful, dear ladies who will take extra time and effort to help me learn a skill or if I need to just talk. I have heard of a few folks who have been ridiculed, but I never have.

Must be 3 cheers for Ivy Tech Instructors! :D

If it happened to me though, I guess I would have to accept the berating and go on. Is one arguement with an instructor worth losing your career over? But no, I don't think anyone should be yelled at like a "red headed step child" in front of anyone. Ask to arrange a meeting place to talk privately.

Julie:)