Today after clinical I broke down in Tears!!:(

angmcav, ADN, RN · Jun 4, 2010

boy does your delima sound all too familiar!! I was in the same boat you are about a year ago. I was a nursing student at ITT Tech for the RN program and had just started my first clinical rotation. I was scared to death. I felt like I didnt know a darn thing. I felt like I didnt learn a darn thing either. I passed my first clinical rotation but I was at the point where I wanted to quit. I hung in there, the 2nd clinical was easier but then BAM I got an infection in my gums which traveled to my tonsills and abcessed both of them. I missed a clinical without calling in because I just could not get out of bed and the program chair kicked me right out the door!! This happend back in october and I should be graduating in september, but Im not. I feel like nursing is what I should be doing and even though I have appealed her decision for dismissal ( although I never planned on going back to that school) I still have not heard anything. I have since started Ivy Tech. I have to retake everything including pre-reqs because nothing from ITT will transfer since they are not regionally accredited. Bummer, but oh well. Im not sure what your situation is with school and why you dont know what you should know. I know with me, ITT had one person demonstrating how to do a foley or start and IV and when you have 30 students gathered around one person and you cant see anything and they only show you that day.... its a little hard to learn. I also had a med surg instructor that didnt want anyone failing her class so what did she do? She read the question to every test, quiz and final exam. She would give us a chance to answer the question. If we got it wrong, then she would read the answer choices. You know I passed her class with a B+ and didnt open my book once. I could have gotten an A if I hadnt waited till the last minute to study the answers she gave us. So you see, thats just a little bit of my background as to why I dont feel ive learned anything. In some ways Im glad i have to start nursing all over again. Atleast this time I will be going to a better school, one that is regionally and nationally accredited by the NLN and one I can learn at. I guess to make a long story short, if nursing is what you really desire, then dont quit. Find a way to make it work.

believe'smom · Jun 4, 2010

Believe---I know you are a smart, caring and compassionate person. You have persevered, studied hard and I pray every night that all your hard work will pay off. I know today was a bad day for you...you called me today after your clinicals and I knew your heart was breaking. I am greatful for the advice others have offered you on here. Yes, this weekend buy yourself a med pocketbook, and carry it with you next week during clinicals. Let's see if that will help. You are only 6 weeks away from ending this miserable journey, AND I know when you make it through this you will be a competent nurse in a clinic setting, and I truly think you will enjoy it. There are many aspects to nursing...and you will find what you like and feel most comfortable doing. I've told you, that as a medication aide, I don't know all the drugs either...but it hasn't prevented me from enjoying my job, and I haven't made many med errors. You are a lot like me, and you do best learning by hands on experience.

So tonight get some rest after a stressful week, and regroup yourself over this weekend...and next Tuesday morning by golly but that smile on your face and give it another try. You'll never know if it is meant to be unless you try. That's what perseverance is all about... you keep trying and do not give up, even if you are faced with obstacles and difficulties. :up: We :redbeathe you!!!! mom

sistasoul · Jun 4, 2010

Believe---I know you are a smart, caring and compassionate person. You have persevered, studied hard and I pray every night that all your hard work will pay off. I know today was a bad day for you...you called me today after your clinicals and I knew your heart was breaking. I am greatful for the advice others have offered you on here. Yes, this weekend buy yourself a med pocketbook, and carry it with you next week during clinicals. Let's see if that will help. You are only 6 weeks away from ending this miserable journey, AND I know when you make it through this you will be a competent nurse in a clinic setting, and I truly think you will enjoy it. There are many aspects to nursing...and you will find what you like and feel most comfortable doing. I've told you, that as a medication aide, I don't know all the drugs either...but it hasn't prevented me from enjoying my job, and I haven't made many med errors. You are a lot like me, and you do best learning by hands on experience.
So tonight get some rest after a stressful week, and regroup yourself over this weekend...and next Tuesday morning by golly but that smile on your face and give it another try. You'll never know if it is meant to be unless you try. That's what perseverance is all about... you keep trying and do not give up, even if you are faced with obstacles and difficulties. We :redbeathe you!!!! mom

Aren't mother's the greatest people on earth? Your post made me cry. What a great and supportive mother you are.

nuangel1, BSN, RN · Jun 4, 2010

no one knows every med you tell her you need to look it up .its important to know what a med is that you are giving.pdas are great if you can have them .they are great resources .also you can't learn evrything in school .you learn in the clinical setting and while working .good luck .

healthstar, BSN, RN · Jun 4, 2010

Everytime my instructor tells me to give meds---I write down and also look up all 9 A.M. meds that I asked to give. I have to know the action, the use, and side effects ( the major ones because there is a long list of side effect for each drug). My instructor always asks me why do you think the patient is on this med and I have to answer. For instance, my patient was not constipated but she was taking iron supplement and she had to take colace with it ( because iron puts the patient at risk for constipation.I think it is for your own good to look up the drugs even if the instructor doesn't ask you to do so, because that is the best way to learn the drugs and their actions. (Just my opinion)

cmw6v8 · Jun 4, 2010

With the science thing, I can relate, but in an opposite sort of way...in high school I never had very good science teachers...I always gravitated towards English and creative classes. I thought I didn't like science very much at all, but over the years little things were hinting at me that I actually did like science--I was just too nervous to think about pursuing a science related career since all I had known up to that point was the creative/language arts style stuff. Anyway, during my prerequisites I've been really surprised at how much I enjoy science. I think it's great!

You said you really love math. If I were you, I would pursue what you love. I would absolutely finish your program--you're only weeks away! And then you can apply for jobs at clinics. All the clinics in my area use LPNs to do the traditional office care. Think about this: get a job at a clinic doing the tasks you enjoy the most, and while you work, evaluate your next career step. You can do whatever you want to do! And it's great that you're going to be employ-able while you figure it all out. Not only will you get a paycheck, but if you're a good worker you'll also end up with good references and relationships to help you out when you pursue what's next. So hang in there and finish the program, use your LPN to your advantage, even if it's not what you want to do long-term. Study hard--get a tutor if you need to, or find another nurse who could mentor you through this tough time. Best of luck!

LNFNP18, MSN, NP · Jun 4, 2010

I always look up a medication before I give it if I dont know what it is. And I also did this during clinicals, because I knew my instructors would be asking me questions about it! I honestly dont think it's expected that nurses remember all sorts of medications.... but you do need to be able to find the information. Also as for knowing a lot of science, I believe that when a nurse finds a specialty etc. there are certain things that you will see a lot of and you will know a lot about that specific area that you work in. It's impossible to just know everything about every area of healthcare! Sorry if this is a repeat of something said earlier, I didn't read through the 6 pages

Liz

Gingilly · Jun 4, 2010

"So that would mean that I would have to probably be at the hospital at 5am to prep when my clinical starts at 6am. Therefore, I would have to get up at 330am to get ready and drive an hr to be there at 5am. There is just no possible way that I can prep the day of, unless I want to be a zombie."

Oh love, I came back to check on you and I'm happy to see so many supportive folks looking out for you. I want to share something with you because I get the feeling you're probably a little young (?). Nursing is tough and means carrying a load of responsibility. Ask your self if youre willing to be responsible for someone else's life. If you are then DO THE WORK. GET UP AT 0330 so youre a safe nurse. This is not unusual or abnormal when you must know certain information for the safety of your patients. This is exactly what all 63 of my classmates and I did our last semester when we were just thrown on the floor, no prep. First thru third semester we slept maybe 3-4 hours night before clinicals due to all the prepping and panicking. This is what separates the nurses-in-training from the wanna-be-nurses.

Tears and panic and breakdowns are also a rite of passage for NS. You got to deal with the stress, from the work and teachers- it'll build you up. When youre the only one in the room with a coding patient theres no room for breaking down and crying. I don't know how else to say it and I don't want to baby you. To make this very personal- my 21 year old baby sister was killed by a nurse who did not recognize a fatal but rare medication reaction. Proven in court. This woman should have recognized classic sign of liver failure but either didn't care or didn't know. Doesn't matter, by the time she got help it was too late.

It is very upsetting for me to read your complaint about the work it takes and lifelong learning. I hope youre just frustrated with the program and burnt out. Please for my sake, talk with a counselor to figure out if perhaps this is just a time management/ maturity issue for you or if this is an inappropriate field. I still encourage you to finish the course though. Its a waste of good money and time not to and as I said earlier you don't have to take board. As a matter of fact I took a year after graduating to take mine because I wasn't sure I could bear the emotional intensity I feel about nursing and patient care. Again, please don't be hurt by my post and good luck to you. I mean the best, I really do.

Jen

KaroSnowQueen, RN · Jun 4, 2010

It doesn't help any when your instructor pulls you aside and says i should know this already. Even as a nurse, can't one carry a drug book?? or are they expected to learn them all on the top of their head?? I mean really there is absolutely no way I'm gonna learn to know them....some of them are long and weird wording. and as for LAB results, I'm not going to know that unless I look it up in my lab book. Otherwise I can't keep all that info in my head...theres just no way.

Nursing school is a FOUNDATION. You will NOT know all you need to know as a nurse the day you graduate. Once you get into a job, you WILL get orientation. They WILL show you how to do things you are not familiar with. Once you get practice, things like injections and dressings will be easier and easier.

And you WILL know drugs off the top of your head, maybe not every word of what's in the drug book, but you'll know it is for blood pressure, or diabetes, or whatever, and that it can cause xyz side effects. HOW will you know this? By looking it up in your drug book a thousand times. And you WILL know lab results, because you look them up to check if they're abnormal before you call the dr. It's just like riding a bicycle, you keep doing it, and doing it and finally you do it very well, and you retain most of that knowledge the rest of your life.

I've been an LPN 26 years. I've worked in probably every kind of basic nursing position there is, LTC, Rehab, Hospitals: ICU,CCU, step down, med surg, Home Care, Private Duty, Adults, Geriatrics, even some Peds. I learned alot of it as I went along.

You're worried and terrified that you don't know enough. Good for you!!! As another poster said, I'd be much more worried about you if you thought you knew it all.

Go ahead and finish your training. If you complete it, you will have those credits to help you if you go back to school for something else. If you decide to try nursing, then you may find a niche you're happy in. Please, please finish your schooling.

Forever Sunshine, ASN, RN · Jun 4, 2010

No don't give up. You can do this. Your mom is totally right and her post made me cry too lol.

You will learn more than you ever would expect to when you get your first job. I got my first job in a LTC facility. They gave me a good orientation and I learned so much from the nurses who trained me. I still am learning after 3 months of being on my own.

I never inserted a foley in nursing school. I attempted at inserting foleys twice so far at my job and needed help both times.

I had a difficult instructor during peds. She had us read up on procedures every night. She said "Know them.. and know them well". So I read those procedures and studied them well. When she said to my partner(who was lazy and ended up quitting 3rd to last day of school).. "Ok hang the feeding please'.. He couldn't do it. Because he didn't read. She knew it too. So I volunteered to hang the feeding and even though she had to walk me through it.. because thats how I learn.. I knew that she knew that I read the previous night.

My advice to you is study.. study meds, study procedures.. bring something to the table. I know you probably already are. If you have a day off.. bring your textbook to the beach.. or the park or whatever and sit and read. Bring lunch or snacks.

Your mom said you were almost done. Stick it out. Finish. Graduate. Pass your boards. Find a good job and be the best nurse that you can be.

Scrubby · Jun 4, 2010

On my first clinical rotation (med-surg) I had a similar instructor who would grill me on stuff I didn't know about. She barely passed me. I have some idea on how you feel but please don't blame it on science. If you don't enjoy nursing then maybe look at something else but it's really important for you to understand pharmacology because your responsible for every medication you give to your patients.

My advice is first go and get yourself a little notebook that you can carry in your pocket.

When you start out on a clinical rotation it's a good idea to ask one of the more friendly experienced nurses to list the commonly used drugs on the unit. I would then go home and then look up the drugs and what i do is write the action, interactions and possible side effects in my notebook. I find that writing things down in my own words helps me remember much more than a textbook.

Another thing to do is to ask your friendly nurse the common health problems on the unit and do the same, go home research the disease process, treatment etc and write it down in your notebook.

Before you give a drug see if it's in your notebook if so read it all again to memorise it, if not then ensure that you read up on it first and when you get home add it to your notebook.

This method really helped me get through 3 years of clinical rotation.

kids · Jun 5, 2010

You thought nursing was

when the nurse brings you into the room and gets your weight, height, blood pressure, eye chart, assesses you....just like what they do in the clinic setting.

Yet you are a CNA working in a hospital.

That's why I figured there would be no Science involved.

but for the most part i'm dumb in science and it will never change.

I have achieved good grades in my pre-req courses

Since the pre-reqs are mostly sciences why would you think there isn't any science involved in Nursing? Chemistry and biology play a role in every medication and disease process you'll encounter.

If I prepped the night before, maybe I would have known my meds.

I'm guessing the main reason why i'm having trouble with my meds is because I took pharmocology 2 years ago.

It doesn't help any when your instructor pulls you aside and says i should know this already. Even as a nurse, can't one carry a drug book??

Never giving a med without knowing what it is is basic first term nursing. You don't have to prep the night before, you look them up in the book as you sign them out. You should have know the answer when the instructor asked you. Being without a med handbook at clinical was grounds to be sent home when I was in school.

when it comes down to critical thinking, and taking those nursing tests in which all are correct but "choose the right answer,"

The questions on boards are ALL going to be those kid of questions.

I'll tell you what you seem to want to hear, as kindly as I can. I don't think you're cut out for nursing.

And it's ok to not be cut out for nursing, not everyone is, it's just surprising to me that you've gotten this far with your attitude and apparent difficulty grasping basic concepts. Lots of people will tell you that there are lots of nursing jobs that aren't like nursing school and there are, they usually don't exist for an LPN with no experience. And every single one of them is going to require a grasp of "science".