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

believeallispossible · Jun 5, 2010

with the last post, ya ur probably right i should probably just give up.

Scrubby · Jun 5, 2010

with the last post, ya ur probably right i should probably just give up.

You really need to do some soul searching here. Do you want to pursue a career in nursing knowing that you will have to use scientific rationale? If you think that nursing is just about following doctors orders and not using evidence based practice at all times then it's probably a good idea to pursue a career in something else.

GadgetRN71, ASN, RN · Jun 5, 2010

OP, get through the next few weeks..take your boards even. Because, even if you decide you don't want to be a nurse, I'm sure those credits will transfer should you decide to do something else. You could work and use that money to pursue another avenue, if that's what you want.

Crash_Cart · Jun 5, 2010

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.

I am afraid I am saddened because the poster indicated she did not do basic things such as Foley's, minor dressing changes etc. during her training period.

I guess I am left to ask myself if an accredited school of nursing is not providing an individual with such basic essential elements and skills during the course of her training in what is known as a "practical nurse.", Then how is it possible for these "practical" nurses to supposedly and adequately function once they are licensed and released to the hounds at the workplace if you will.

I mean I do understand the training is a "foundation" and not intended to be job experience in itself, but the course is suppose to involve "practical nursing" which seems to suggest this education should specifically focus and include such "practical" elements. The course should be teaching students the necessary associated practical skills involved in the art of nursing period and if there is time, add some additional nursing theory to the equasion. However, as you all well know" Nursing Theory" is something we continue to learn even long after the fact anyways. It should not be considered the main educational element of "practical nursing" unless the intended objective is to involve the CNA's to do the practical element of nursing (in which they are deemed as the actual practical nurses - which I disagree with for many reasons.) and LPN's are assigned to do the diagnostic assesment and clinical pathway element of nursing.

I feel such "practical" training elements should not come after LPN's are already employed. That's what the school is intended for. ....Am I missing something here?

I think the educational system is losing focus. Comments?

My Best.

allnurses Guide · Jun 5, 2010

Well, in California and Texas we are called "vocational" nurses so we need our own analysis!! :) I don't think your understanding of the word "practical" applies as you seem to be suggesting. I'm also wondering what you mean by the amount of "theory" being the hallmark difference between the two courses of study. Are you talking about NANDA diagnoses? They hadn't been invented even for RNs when I went through. But since I've been all the way through LVN school and most of the way through RN school I'll tell you what I perceive.

LVN school covers everything RN school does with less depth. We start with nursing history, normal anatomy and physiology, then move to abnormal, micro, pharmacology and medication administration, and clinical skills lab. My school did clinicals only in acute care hospitals. The procedures we do on real people in clinicals are dependent on a) what is available to do and b) whether the instructor has the time to come down and watch you. In other words, these experiences are often "luck of the draw". We are not trained as sort of mechanics that perform "tasks" without knowing why. We are expected to assess patients in some settings (such as charge in LTCs), and certainly when we do treatments and pass meds. We have the same CE requirements in my state as RNs do.

Though the picture has radically changed in some areas, when I graduated my first job was in a pediatric hospital. There is no way a 1 year course that only focussed on the nuts and bolts of tasks could cover everything I needed to do there. LVNs and LPNs can work in any health care setting in my state. How could we possibly learn to do everything that each specialty did and for all age groups?

When I worked for a bariatric doctor, I learned to do basic lab tech stuff, and skin fold caliper measurements and how to do an ekg and send it telephonically back in the dark ages. No vocational nurse program requires the nurse to know how to do skin fold caliper measurements!

I'd love to hang around and bore you with all the interesting things I've learned to do since I started out, but I don't think anyone would appreciate that, and I don't want to hi-jack believe's thread. Hope it clears it up a little, anyway.

Gingilly · Jun 5, 2010

OP, no one here is telling you to give up, love. I know you are feeling down right now but please carry on. Its been repeated several times for you to finish your course and only then re- evaluate your career goal. You've also been given plenty of tools to help you thru the next few weeks. Do not give up. Pull yourself over the finish line. You obviously have what it takes to have gotten this far. Mind over emotions here, keep going and graduate.

Jen

happy2learn · Jun 5, 2010

I would finish the program. If you had just started, I would say stop. But you don't have much longer.

There are a few things that you need to evaluate. For one, the science issue. I never really enjoyed science in high school for 2 factors: I had personal issues with myself and never focused enough in high school, and my teachers weren't the greatest. I was scared to death walking into A&P. They let all of my sciences transfer from 7 years ago and I didn't remember a thing. But I LOVE A&P! Science is the foundation for nursing. Nurses have to understand how the body works in order to understand why certain drugs cause reactions. You have to understand the science of the body in order to diagnose and treat. So is it really science itself, or something else (like the teachers or curriculum?)

Another thing, you don't want to get up early to learn your meds. Do you understand a med error can kill a patient? That's all that needs to be said on that.

Lastly, you don't want to keep learning. No one knows everything about the health field. The health field is always changing and new things are occurring. You will come across something new almost every day. There will always be more classes or courses to take, and new things to be taught on the job. If you do not want to learn on a regular basis, then you may be putting the patients at risk. Is it really learning you dislike, or is it your lack of quality education at this school you are at that you dislike? Every program is different. Don't let bad professors alter your true opinion.

I highly doubt that any new nurse walked into clinicals with complete confidence, if they say so, they are lying. It will amaze you how faking confidence can give you confidence as well. Get some books that are pocket sized for reference. My Nurse Practitioner (who is pretty much my family doctor) looked at the packet before she gave me 2 vaccinations. She even said you will see that all the time. It is not possible to memorize every stinkin drug out there. But there are many you will learn to know simply because of how often they are used. Get on Amazon.com and look at all the reference books they have. There are a ton of them.

That being said, there is NOTHING wrong if nursing is not for you. You could work as a MA with your LPN degree, if that is what you want to do. You have to do what makes you happy. That's it. Not what other people tell you you need to do or what they think you should do. If a nursing career does not make you happy, then drop it. Do you want to spend the rest of your life in a career you dread? Only you can decide what truly makes you happy and if you make your decision based on that alone, then you will fine.

I didn't wake up one day and decide on nursing. I did tons of research and it took over a year for me to narrow it down. I originally chose Diagnostic Medical Sonography (which has more science courses than the nursing program here.) But I never felt at peace with that decision. After more research, I chose nursing for many different reasons.

There are plenty of careers where you can care for people, not just nursing. Good luck to you with whatever decision you make.

I love your name "believeallispossible" Maybe you need to reflect on it. I believe your name alone can give you insight and confidence.

nurse441 · Jun 5, 2010

why wont u come to clinicals early.. perhaps ask for assignments early. my teacher used to post our assignments on the glass window, so you can come an hour early and prep.

thats my best advice to you. but i know it takes a lot of strength -- and that motivation to achieve that goal to become a nurse. the only thing that kept me going during nursing school was my drive to become a nurse one day. u gotta have that drive..

and believe me, once you get into the REAL world, things will even get WAYYYYYYY harder... 10X harder than just a teacher "drilling you". so you gotta know that once you pass, u gotta be able to stand patients yelling at you, dr's yelling at you, patients being ungrateful.. in the end, a lot of us are able to cope because we love nursing.. and that's a passion.

best of luck to you *hug*

wooh, BSN, RN · Jun 5, 2010

I have to agree with FINISH the program. If nursing isn't for you, it will still be easier to transfer those credits if you have a degree to go with them. I've known many that did community college and for all of them, more got transferred if they had the degree than if they didn't. (Doesn't make sense to me, but that's just the way it is.)

Besides, you've made it this far, don't make the rest of the misery that is nursing school go to waste. Just 6 weeks, no matter how burned out and frustrated you are, you can do 6 more weeks.

Nursing school is a miserable experience. It's quite normal to wonder if nursing is really what you want to do. Don't make the decision now when you really can't think clearly about it. Finish the last 6 weeks, then give yourself a few weeks to recover, and THEN decide.

Good luck.

Moogie · Jun 5, 2010

with the last post, ya ur probably right i should probably just give up.

In all honesty, it may be that nursing is not for you. However, what you said originally about the job---that you thought you would be working in a doctor's office taking vitals, doing weights, giving injections---that's what a lot of LPNs do in clinics and offices. While some clinics do hire medical assistants for those jobs, most prefer LPNs.

It isn't a question of "liking" science. It's a question of making science RELEVANT. How do your science courses relate to real-life practice? How do anatomy and physiology help you to understand, say, the changes in the body that might occur due to diabetes? Stroke? Alzheimer's disease? Then---how does a basic understanding of chemistry help you to understand nutrition? The actions of certain drugs? You don't have to love science or have the same sort of knowledge base as, say, a chemist or a biologist to be able to take basic principles and apply them to what you are seeing in your patient population.

I've been an RN for a long time. When I was in high school, I wasn't really into science, either; I preferred the humanities, especially the social sciences, to chemistry and biology. When I started my AD program, I was a bit intimidated over the chemistry but did well. I surprised myself when I found I was fascinated with A & P. But you know, I have taken graduate-level pathophysiology and pharmacology and I STILL have to look things up in the reference books. I can't stuff everything into my brain. I tend to remember the drugs and disease processes that are most relevant to my clinical practice, but if something is unfamiliar, I have to look it up. And I've had to tell students, gosh, I don't know about that, let's look it up together. The more I know about nursing, the more I realize that there is much I DON'T know.

One of the things we did in my AD program----and keep in mind, this was thirty years ago---was we wrote out drug and disease cards each semester for the things that we were learning in the classroom and what we would see in clinicals. Just the process of writing out those cards helped us to retain the information---and we were encouraged to carry those cards to clinicals so we could reference them as needed. Figure out what works for you. Is it a card? Is it a chart? Can you break down complicated information into little pieces so that they don't seem so overwhelming?

Again, as others have said, it may turn out that nursing is not for you. Only you can make that decision and if, after a lot of soul searching, you realize that it isn't anxiety and it isn't that you're not enamored of all your classes, maybe you do need to find something that is a better fit. But that is a decision that only you can make and I would just hate to see you base that decision on a bad experience with one instructor. I also would hate to see you come so far only to quit because people who don't know you are telling you to do so. I think you would regret it terribly if you don't see this through to graduation, though, especially since you are so close to finishing. Get through these last few weeks, get away from the anxiety and take some time off if you can. Then see how you feel.

Please don't just quit because someone tells you to do so. It has to be YOUR decision and should not be done impulsively or in reaction to a tough time in clinicals.

Moogie · Jun 5, 2010

I am afraid I am saddened because the poster indicated she did not do basic things such as Foley's, minor dressing changes etc. during her training period.

I'm saddened because the OP's lack of experience is not unique. There are a surprising number of posts by nursing students who get through programs from LPN (LVN) to BSN without giving more than one or two injections or doing more than passing oral meds and shadowing practicing nurses. Sometimes it can't be helped---I remember one semester from hell when I was a clinical instructor when the census was down to the point that students could not be given more than one patient per shift. The patients didn't need injections or dressing changes or Foleys, so the students got very few opportunities to perform those skills. Frankly, I'd like to see students do clinical rotations in sub-acute facilities so they can have more continuity in patient assignments (and thus get to know patients better than in acute settings with short stays) and so they can perform skills on people who have complex medical issues that require subacute care (i.e., long term ventilation).

Have to tell you that the students in the program in which I taught never had the opportunity to practice spiking IVs or setting up IV tubing because the skills lab was so poorly funded that there weren't enough bags and tubes for students to practice. They got to re-use the tubing, of course, in skills lab but they didn't get to actually set up a fresh, brand new system (like they would at the bedside) because there wasn't enough money for bags and tubes. :mad:

I guess I am left to ask myself if an accredited school of nursing is not providing an individual with such basic essential elements and skills during the course of her training in what is known as a "practical nurse.", Then how is it possible for these "practical" nurses to supposedly and adequately function once they are licensed and released to the hounds at the workplace if you will.

Agreed!

I mean I do understand the training is a "foundation" and not intended to be job experience in itself, but the course is suppose to involve "practical nursing" which seems to suggest this education should specifically focus and include such "practical" elements. The course should be teaching students the necessary associated practical skills involved in the art of nursing period and if there is time, add some additional nursing theory to the equasion. However, as you all well know" Nursing Theory" is something we continue to learn even long after the fact anyways. It should not be considered the main educational element of "practical nursing" unless the intended objective is to involve the CNA's to do the practical element of nursing (in which they are deemed as the actual practical nurses - which I disagree with for many reasons.) and LPN's are assigned to do the diagnostic assesment and clinical pathway element of nursing.
I feel such "practical" training elements should not come after LPN's are already employed. That's what the school is intended for. ....Am I missing something here?

Agreed, and I think there should be more adequate education in terms of skills and patient care in RN programs as well. I am not saying anyone should be expected to hit the floor as a freshly minted nurse with all the skills and competence of an experienced nurse, but it seems that there is increasingly a lack of real-world education in ALL types of programs. It's scary to think that nursing students can get through entire programs without performing very basic skills such as giving injections or changing dressings. I also agree with Nursel56 that it may be appropriate to increase the amount of time required in all programs because of the complexity of care. I don't see how we can realistically expect to be able to educate nurses in such a short period of time. What worked in the past is not necessarily going to work in the future.

I think the educational system is losing focus. Comments?
My Best.

Yes, yes, and YES! PCA, I don't know if you are a nursing student or a licensed nurse (I'm assuming you're not because of the name, so forgive me if I am wrong) but I have to say, you are spot on in your assessment of nursing education. I would go so far as to say you have a better grasp on it than some nurse educators!

netglow, ASN, RN · Jun 5, 2010

OP,

:hug:

I can tell you I had some good instructors, as well as two of the most mentally unstable people I have ever met in my 40+ years of life. I would hazard to say that most of your fear comes from realizing the immense responsibility nursing is, and that you KNOW you are not getting the training that a holder of that responsibility should get. YOU ARE RIGHT. This can only bring extreme anxiety to any normal functioning human being. Those who skip around oblivious to your level of fear as they go through nursing school are in for an even harder fall. Nursing colleges exist these days to make some serious cash. They limit their liability by casually removing your chances at any kind of invasive procedure in clinical. What you need is to escape your instructor and see if you get a good RN or two to show you some things. That is what I did. This helped.

Also you will find the NCLEX is a total JOKE. It is a test that involves playing a game, very much like nursing school. Neither have anything to do with becoming an RN. You need just learn the rules of the game and both are achievable. This is what I rec you do. Get the diploma as record of all the hard work you have put in. KNOW that your instructors are truly out of your life once you graduate. Why? because all your school wanted from you was your money. Now, that is the truth! :smokin: