With all the reading we are giving and expected to memorize, paired with minimal guidance and classroom time, how do they expect us to succeed? 2 classes over a 3 week period followed by a 50 point exam? And if I have a question or don't get it, then what?
I'm just very p.o.ed right now and getting very frustrated/borderline discouraged. All this hard work and I'm getting nothing to show for it expect disappointment and more frustration.
but you could carry and bring that information with you. you also had staff to support you. you were not given 20 minutes to review it and then be tested on it
As an afterthought, the information that we were being taught was not the kind you could carry around. The different types of chemo drugs, the potential side effects and the reactions patients may have to the drugs as well as policies that are in place to protect patient safety don't fit into your scrub pants pocket.
Yes, that info is available at the nurses' station for review and your coworkers are nearby, but when you're in the room with a patient who is in trouble, they need YOU--their primary RN--to be on the ball. When you are given information of a vital nature (I'm thinking specifically of stem cell transplant patients, whose care was detailed, complicated and rather tenuous), it would behoove you to prepare yourself to remember it right away.
In some circumstances, the "test" isn't written on paper but won at the bedside, and it may not be 20 minutes away but 20 seconds away. The grade is the well-being of your patient and no one--not your patients' family nor your coworkers nor the BON--will want to hear that you didn't have ample time to prepare. Nursing carries and intense burden of responsibility. Get ready, because it'll be upon you before you know it.
I honestly don't see how some are doing it. I presume that the ones who can handle the extra course load must already be familiar with the material from previous healthcare or personal experience..that's the only way.
with two courses combined, yes, it is quite a lot of chaps to read. then you have long clinicals(interrupt valuable study time), careplans, etc. not much time to really grasp the material. it has nothing to do with my prioritization skills. I just need more time to learn the material
Then again, you need to decide what's important. If 2 courses together is too much and you're worried for your ability to retain the information, slow down. Again--prioritize!
Then again, you need to decide what's important. If 2 courses together is too much and you're worried for your ability to retain the information, slow down. Again--prioritize!
slow down and do what though?
Im curious as to how people can ace a pharm class (get all As) and med surg at the same time. what is their secret??
Then learn from your mistake this semester and take fewer courses next semester. Looks like for now, you're just going to have to accept that you decided to take too many classes and deal with the consequences.
"With all the reading we are giving and expected to memorize, paired with minimal guidance and classroom time, how do they expect us to succeed? 2 classes over a 3 week period followed by a 50 point exam? And if I have a question or don't get it, then what?
I'm just very p.o.ed right now and getting very frustrated/borderline discouraged. All this hard work and I'm getting nothing to show for it expect disappointment and more frustration.
makes me want to cry right now."
Hey, we've all been there....with Nursing school....It's a Nightmare at times
First thing I thought of when I began and got my first reading assignment and sat through a few lectures and saw how the instructors were was this: If I would have known this....If I would have known it was like this, I never would have done it....I would have gone to school for something else
A lot of these programs use the same learning strategies: The Culture of Fear and Intimidation and tough love.....thats all too common in Nursing school. They feel like they're prepping you for battle, and to an extent they are because its no different when you get out and work
I always feel like with Nursing school that it could be better, it could be more FAIR....which I know it's not, and the instructors could do more to help students.....but at the end of the day....thats just how it is....and there's not much we can do about it.
Nursing Education may not be designed for people who are good at cramming....but I think that Nursing Education is designed to cater to people who are excellent self teachers.....cause you need to self teach in Nursing School because thats just how Nurses are educated....and truthfully, when you ask an instructor a question and they brush you off, or make you feel dumb....it's because it's in the reading and they dont know everything.......they have to cover so much ground with class, they really cant know everything....its impossible for them to be experts in all 100+ chapters of reading you will do throughout their career........SO does it suck?? Yes It really sucks....I can Empathize with you
As a MAJOR Pointer.....one peice of advice I can give is when the semester ends over the break.........Read ahead for the Next semester....ask students in the upper class for a syllabus? Get Readings...overview material coming up for the next semester....it will help you. ...Oh I also reccomend E-Books.....its easy to take notes (you can cut copy from the ebook and paste on to Word)....thats how I studied
And dont give up.....fight until you cant stand anymore/......Study your ass off around the clock
when the information is piled on to you, you're not really learning anything. just cramming. how does learning 20 chaps in a week make you a better nurse than someone who was given less chapters over a longer period of time? at least you have time to retain the information and do better on exams
but you could carry and bring that information with you. you also had staff to support you. you were not given 20 minutes to review it and then be tested on it
I feel you here.........
You're right......it's insane at times
As soldier nurse said, Nursing is not about just plain memorizing, but critical thinking
HOWEVER.....you can't apply and criticially think for material you dont have
So you have to find out how to be efficent and thats the hard part
I always read ahead for the next semester over the summer and winter breaks....utilized NCLEX Review books, practice tests, and youtube videos for visuals along with Medcom resources
Nursing school is like the Hunger Games ....it's designed to be survival of the fittest....and thats also true for working as a Nurse and I dont agree with it....but thats how it is.
The Ugly truth is it's not for everyone.....but it can be rewarding if you "Survive"
But with all the material and ground Nurses have to know...."they have to be jack of all trades"....they need to be able to question MD's...advocate for the Pt....provide psychosocial support, and can even be called on to do the PT, OT, and RT in a major crisis..... it's not simply come to work and make 28 bucks an hour like many think.....it truely is hard work.
Remember the secret to success....is Study your *** off...... treat it like a full time job with a lot of overtime.....
You are right on. It is indeed survival of the fittest.Some just don't cut it and that's the sad truth.It so hard to explain to people that are struggling.You just do it.School is not unneccesarily difficult.Nursing is tough so school is tough.If it was easy peasy everyone would do it.
The truth is that nursing school is necessarily difficult. Nursing school for me was a lot easier than the first few months of being a nurse. It was a good warm-up. If you don't have all of that material in school, when exactly are you going to have it? You really need to have a basic grasp of a wide variety of disease processes, how those diseases are treated, and how many common medications work to be a competent nurse. Let me tell you, you are NOT going to have time to whip out a textbook and read about COPD at the bedside when you have your first COPD patient, or whatever the condition is. You really need to have at least a basic grasp of common conditions before you walk into a patient's room as a nurse. And you should never give a medication without knowing what it does so you can watch for adverse effects, and it's going to take you forever to get anything done if you didn't take a pharm course and/or aren't retaining the material you learned because you crammed in school and didn't commit anything to long term memory.
So, if it seems tough, it is necessary and there are no quick fixes. Just make it through the best you can.
SoldierNurse22, BSN, RN
4 Articles; 2,058 Posts
As an afterthought, the information that we were being taught was not the kind you could carry around. The different types of chemo drugs, the potential side effects and the reactions patients may have to the drugs as well as policies that are in place to protect patient safety don't fit into your scrub pants pocket.
Yes, that info is available at the nurses' station for review and your coworkers are nearby, but when you're in the room with a patient who is in trouble, they need YOU--their primary RN--to be on the ball. When you are given information of a vital nature (I'm thinking specifically of stem cell transplant patients, whose care was detailed, complicated and rather tenuous), it would behoove you to prepare yourself to remember it right away.
In some circumstances, the "test" isn't written on paper but won at the bedside, and it may not be 20 minutes away but 20 seconds away. The grade is the well-being of your patient and no one--not your patients' family nor your coworkers nor the BON--will want to hear that you didn't have ample time to prepare. Nursing carries and intense burden of responsibility. Get ready, because it'll be upon you before you know it.