What is the problem with nursing school?

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I have finally figured out what I dislike about nursing education.

I have noticed nursing continually only focuses on immediate outcomes/observations of disease processes. Their idea of "critical thinking" is not actually higher level critical thinking, but more about memorizing a vast amount of information and putting facts together at a superficial level. For instance, pathophysiology in most nursing programs is severely lacking and focuses on linking signs and symptoms together with basic pathological terms like "MI, stroke, GI bleed, liver failure" etc. However, nurses are taught little about the disease process except for a few key indicators about each underlying disease process and more about how to approach the pt. and deal with anxiety etc. We link greater pathological issues with basic understandings. For instance, an MI decreases oxygen demand and kills tissue, therefore time is tissue, but we don't focus much on the actual disease process of thrombus formation etc. This is what I am extremely interested in. I am currently an ER nurse. Should I go to PA school? Would this give me a deeper scientific background?

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Specializes in Neuro, Telemetry.

I don't know what school you went to, but mine does much more than a superficial overview of disease processes. We are taught and tested on how disease affects the body at the cellular level then move out to ho wit affects a body system, and then how it affects the body as a whole. The S/Sx are also included in all that. But it is not the nurses job to medically diagnose so we are not taught about disease the same way a physician is. If that is what you are looking for than it is not a problem with nursing school, it is a problem with you picking the wrong major.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Trauma.

I don't know about your nursing program, but in mine we do in fact learn patho on a cellular level. Yes, we have to recognize s/s, but we also have to know WHY these s/s occur. We have to know how a disease process will effect every single body system (and include EVERY system in care plans).

Your school might not have taken disease processes as seriously as other schools, but it is definitely not true that all nurses don't understand the depth of disease.

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Specializes in Cath/EP lab, CCU, Cardiac stepdown.

I know for a fact my school isn't just about memorizing facts. The amount of critical thinking that we are taught and tested on is insane. Also we learn about pathophysiology and the cellular response as well on top of the signs of symptoms. We are taught that if we don't know the patho how are we going to know the signs and symptoms and why they happen.

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Specializes in CVICU, CCRN.

Our school had a lot more in-depth patho versus superficial signs and symptoms. Like some others said we had to go to a cellular level for a lot of diseases.

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I know what the OP is talking about. Knowing insulin and the beta cells in the islets of langerhans and the pancreas, for example - I think some of you would consider that to be a cellular level learning. I don't. That to me is superficial. But i'm not complaning - I don't think we as nurses require to dive that much deeper. I know I certainly don't need to be memorize the structural molecule for example.

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Yes, NuGuyNurse2b. That is what I'm talking about. We don't get much deeper than that. If you ever watch a medical lecture, they have to memorize the entire process, not just know about a beta cell, etc. Anyhow, cellular level learning we briefly touch the surface.

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Specializes in Public Health.

If you're looking for that then study molecular biology or something more research based. But we use the nursing model and not the medical model because we care for the person and not just the illness.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.

My programs (PN and BSN) went over the process of insulin, cardiac cycle, gluconeogenesis as a basis for DKA, etc...like another poster stated, we still understand the process, we approach it a different way.

Not every program is the same; and anything That isn't I depth can certainly be learned through self-study and EBP...Medscape is one if my many "friends"...

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Nursing, PA, biomedical students, etc all took the same patho at my school....

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.

How about re-titling "What's wrong with MY nursing school?"

Not every nursing program is created equal, OP.

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I'm pretty sure there are 0 nursing schools doing what OP is requesting.

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