I am transitioning from an ADN to a BSN, and I am very financially strapped right now. The RN-to-BSN program I hope to start wants proof of sufficient pharmacology. I didn't have a pharmacology class per se - it was embedded in the curriculum. I can test out of it, but the test is $200. The school asked for syllabi from my nursing alma mater, so I contacted them. The current head of the nursing department was dismissive and abrupt -
"Your request for us to verify that you had "ample pharmacology" is not possible. Instructions involved select categories and examples of a few specific drugs, but I would not consider that "ample". And it also varied greatly from course to course. Secondly, your education was over 7 years ago and pharmacology has undergone many changes."
This woman has been teaching since 1980, so it's safe to assume her education is quite a bit older than mine. Does that invalidate it? I don't think so. Clearly I passed my NCLEX, and my RN is current in both OH and NY. I was taken aback by her attitude, but I have seen a lot of this sort of behavior among nurses - especially in academia. I don't understand it. I would think she would want to support a graduate of her program, not shoot me down - the condescension in that reply is palpable. I have a BS and an MS in different fields; I am hardly stupid.
Can any of you speak to this nurses eating their young? Because I just don't get it. We should be supporting each other. I have no problem taking the pharm test - I just don't want to be out $200 - I can't afford it.
She can be a jerk all she wants but I still don't get why she can't just give you a copy of the syllabus(syllabi) for the classes that you took when you attended the school so that your BSN program of choice can review them and make their decision based on what is in the documentation. Why is she hoarding the syllabi? Many BSN programs request them when considering to award transfer credit...She's just being a terd. I would go over her head at this point and see how you can get a copy of the documentation that you need....it's a freaking syllabus and you don't need her condescending commentary...just the request document
Because it was seven years ago. She probably doesn't have a syllabus that old anymore.
I may not have been succinct enough in my posting. I am just a bit frustrated. I am not an entitled young person, not by a long shot. As I said, I am being ranty, which is allowed, I think? I will take the pharmacology test-out option, it's just a real financial burden right now, and I resent it a bit. I have seen much more support for fellow workers in agricultural research, which is what I currently do. I've seen some bad examples in the nursing profession - hence the question. I'm not trying to insult anyone, I'm just trying to understand.
If you hang around here long enough, you'll understand how quick some folks are to cry NETY. It just gets old. I understand your frustration with the process and the expense, but a nurse enforcing institutional rules does not equal NETY.
So, let me get this straight -- "NETY" is no longer limited just to experienced nurses being (supposedly) "mean" to new grads at work, it now encompasses any older nurse failing to promptly accommodate the wishes of any younger nurse at any point in her/his career, in any setting? Yikes.
And did someone really suggest that the reason the academics involved won't do what the OP would like (despite the various policies and standards of the academic institutions in which they work) is because they have a psychiatric disorder??
Considering the fact that hospitals are wanting nurses to get their BSN, ADN programs should prepare their students to transfer into a BSN program, WITHOUT having to take more classes or expend more cash. It seems if you have a license you should be qualified to enter a BSN program.
Not necessarily. Most of this falls back on accreditation and why some programs are not accepted at other schools. This is why you should ALWAYS read the fine print regarding transferability of credits. This is not the fault of either institution. Unfortunately for OP, it is what it is.
And like anything else, she works for a business. A business that wants your $200 bucks and is not into the time nor energy to try and get your school records to "prove" otherwise.
There are leaders in academics that are just not nice. They are many who are in for the profits, and shy away from giving ANY paperwork designed to discourage the taking of Pharmacology (or any other course) in their academic institution. Especially if they are a for profit school.
It is not up to the receiving institution to gather the records and necessary documents. That's up to the applicant. And that is with any profession, not just limited to nursing; the OPs original school may have been for profit, which is what it sounds like with pharm embedded into other courses. That may be where the problem lies. Many ACEN accredited schools won't accept that
Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.
My understanding of the OP that it was a dean/administrator from the school she had previously attended that sent her the curt email (which, btw OP, is NOT an example of "NETY" I promise!).
So it was not the receiving institution, nor was in the institution hoping to gain $200 profit, that sent the email to the OP.
OP, I agree with the email author that a 7-year-old degree in itself would not indicate proficiency in pharmacology. Just take the pharmacology class if you want to attend that school - I'm sure you will learn a ton!
@perisoreus, When I was in a RN-BSN program, the nursing educators warned us repeatedly that when a student applies to a RN-BSN or BSN-MSN program, the onus is on the student to provide the syllabus that was used when they attended the previous nursing program. Any nurse planning to further their education should save the syllabuses from their current program and ideally enroll in their next program within 5 years. Apparently, this information is common knowledge in the academic world, but I did not know about it until I was in the RN-BSN program.
Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
There are about 4888888999621 threads on NETY (nurses eating their young) on allnurses.com. Please, take the time to read them and understand why this is not in any way a case of "NETY". Many of us don't believe that term should even exist, for many reasons.
bluegeegoo2, LPN
753 Posts
I personally only eat the new nurses that want to argue with every answer they're given.
*New nurse: "Why do I have to write an order for enteral feeding? It's food. It doesn't need an order."
Me: "Yes it does because we need the order to clarify the type of feeding, how many ml/hr and how many hrs/day."
New nurse: "...but it's "food.""
Me: "Yes, it is "food" but we have diet orders for p.o. "food" therefore this "food" requires an order."
New nurse: "That doesn't make sense. I don't think I need to write an order."
Me: "OM NOM NOM NOM!!!"
(*Actual conversation.)