Two Year Nursing courses

[gwenith, BSN, RN]

As the pressure on the existing workforce continues we seem to be seeing more of these promisory courses. I have just had a bad experience with a student who professed to be 3rd year but was unable not only to tell me the pathophysiology of an MI but was unable to follow my explanation!!

I was not alone in seeing the students in this particular course as being unsatifactory.

Don't get me wrong - I love working with students and will try to have almost infinite patience with them BUT there has to be some standard of minimum knowledge for the workplace.

Tales are surfacing once again of new graduates who do not know that Gentamicin is an antibiotic, how to calculate drug dosages and how to deliver BASIC care.

This is NOT a "hospital training vs University training" issue - that, I hope is long buried since the last hospital trained nurse were over ten years ago now. No this is about courses that dare to cut pathophysiology from undergraduate programs, that make pharmacology and "optional" elective, that send students into the hospitals without even a rudimentary knowledge of basic care interventions.

[nambour51]

When I have a student in the ORS for anaesthetic rotation the first thing I ask them to do is list the major components of the various systems in the body, as I like to know what their basic anatomy knowledge is, and for some it is a major challenge. I then show them why each section is important and how it impacts on airway management. I find that once they start to see the practical application, especially in relation to real patients and real anaesthetics, it begins to make more sense and they are really keen to learn more. What does concern me is that many say they only did anatomy in their first year and by the time they got to third year they had forgotten much of what they studied.

[Aussie_Amy]

As a student in a 2 year grad program I've got to say that that's darn scary!! I'm just finishing off my first year (they put me straight into 2nd year so I'm really in 2nd year) and even I think I could answer those questions... Just out of curiosity do you know what uni they were from??

Patho and pharmacology are compulsory - I couldn't imagine NOT doing them... I think they're the basis of nursing knowledge!! I guess you always find some students who aren't so committed to studying and who somehow manage to slip through the cracks. I know that at my uni though (UTS) that we go over things quite a bit so I'd be shocked if one of my fellow students couldn't give you at least a half-decent response!!!

Scary stuff!

[jenin]

I'm currently doing a 2yr grad entry course. I think it is appropriate for someone like me who already had a medical background and has studied way more anatomy and physiology in the past than is covered in a 3yr nursing degree. But at the uni I'm at they have no pre-requisite regarding what type of degree you must hold to gain entry to the 2 year course. We have teachers, drama grads, IT professionals who obviously have no background in health sciences. The rationale that I think the uni holds for allowing this is that 1st year of a regular 3 yr undergrad degree includes subjects on relating to patients, study skills etc which they assume is already present in someone who has a uni degree already. I don't know if that is the case for many of the students. The other issue that I can see is that many of the grad entry students are from overseas and studied in a different language and have poor english language skills. It would take an ENORMOUS effort for these students to get through..I couldn't do it!

In the 1st semester of the course we do a composite 9 unit subject that covers the basics of anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology and pharmacology, as well as a 9 unit clinical based subject that teaches 'hands on' skills and clinical reasoning, care planning etc...then from the 2nd semester we stream into the regular undergrad programme in the middle of their 2nd yr. Although I was classed as '2nd yr' in my 1st clinical placement I was careful to point out to staff that I was grad entry on my 1st placement...for me, I don't think I am 'behind' the regular 2nd years at all but I did work as a health prof for 10+ years before this..

Just my thoughts/experience..

[bethem]

Gwenith, what state are you in?

As a third year myself, I am horrified that someone supposedly of my level could not tell you this. I do identify with the student saying that it had been a long time since he/she studied anatomy - it is the same in my program. We had a disjointed program that had anatomy and physiology as a separate subject, not integrated into all the others, and studied in isolation. By the time we got to the semesters after A&P, it was hard to remember exactly what, for example, the bundles of His were for, but I could always tell you the pathophys of an MI.

Not to toot my own horn here, but I am often surprised when RNs on prac say things along the lines of, "She's a really good student, very impressed with her level of knowledge/willingness to participate". I think, "Gee, if you think I'm impressive, what on earth are the other students up to?" I don't feel like I am more knowledgeable than other students. In fact, I often see other students on the wards and think, "Wow, I wish I knew as much as her!"

The point is, perhaps there are a lot of students who can get through the exams and keep going, but who don't actually learn anything. It's certainly easy to do that at my uni.

[gwenith, BSN, RN]

Bethem - I would have accepted that she had forgotten the patho - after all we cannot remember everything but to not be able to follow the explanation of someone who is used to talking to patients about MI's - well - and then to tell me that pathophysiology was not a requirement in here course. How can you truly reach critical thinking if you do not have the base knowledge of the disease process underlying the care you need to give??