Comments on: The Nursing School Experience

By: Nursing student

Nursing student — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 02:48:17 +0000

Well well nothing has changed in the year 2010, I love the story, it is so true, this is my second career also, with many life experiences. We have to pass our math test’s with 90 percent, which has not been a problem for me, but this last test, I know I have labelled a few of the answers incorrect, so yes they are wrong, however I think I scored below the 90 percent, and this would be the first time, I had a bad morning..got a bit of anxiety for no reason, so I may be looking at a fail, because where I go if you do not pass with a ninety percent you are out. Can you believe this, and as for the instructors, and all the nurses I have encountered as a student most have been extremely rude and unprofessional!!!

By: Geek2Nurse

Geek2Nurse — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 22:32:05 +0000

If nursing is your calling, Hailey, then it’s worth whatever you have to do to get there, right? And for the most part it’s confined only to nursing school. The “eat your young” mentality seems to be unique to nurses in academia, thank goodness!

By: hailey

hailey — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 15:40:21 +0000

Oh my goodness, I have been searching for a site like this one that really tells you how RN school is going to be. Not one of the university websites that glamorize it. I wanted to hear the dirt, and I found it. I am considering a career change to nursing, but this scares me a little, needless to say…

Would you say that going through the grueling school part of nursing was worth it? I mean, do the nurses who are working now still hold those same values outside of school (nurses eat their young)? I would really hate to be in a catty-like environment like that forever. I can handle it for a few years during school, but lets move on! Thanks!

By: Tania

Tania — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 00:57:42 +0000

yeah well the boot camp nature of nursing schools still exist and I go to a private school. I honestly think there is no difference between state or private schools. So far I’ve gotten through nursing school but with many tears and sleepless nights. I ask myself a hundred times a day why I am doing this. There is almost no guidance in anything and a great feeling a lonliness. I don’t know why they train nurses like this being that this is suppose to be a caring profession. I hope someone changes the system one day.

By: Margaret

Margaret — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 21:26:42 +0000

I can’t believe this, it is deja vu, final semester and I have to repeat because I failed a math test, unbelievable, all my math was correct, but I missed a label in my work, although it was on the answer line, I shaded a syringe over the line oh and some other nonsense, I am sitting here in disbelief got through this whole demeaning experience with no problem passed all other stupid math tests, clinicals, care plans, etc now I have to sit out a whole semester, I don’t think I am going back

By: Lindsay

Lindsay — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 04:53:41 +0000

Your story has me rattled, I must say. I’m 23 and ever since I met my husband and his family I’ve wanted to be a nurse. That was 5 years ago. I’m applying this week to three nursing schools and I’m scared outta my mind. They are all an hour away and I know this is the type of thing I’m going to run into all the time. I’m not used to it, but after wanting this for so long, I’m sure I can handle it…after all, you and everyone else seems to be very satisfied where you are in life now, let’s hope : ) for my sake!

By: Paula

Paula — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 06:00:27 +0000

Well, some things must never change. Although my experience with nursing school was 25 years ago, I still remember very clearly the demeaning way in which the students were treated. I have always likened it more to a boot camp environment rather than attending an institution of higher learning. I recall clinical postconferences where the instructor would not stop the ridicule until she had a student in tears.

Did this make me a better nurse? No. I am very glad I was able to rise above the attitude displayed by my instructors to show compassion to patients, families and co-workers.

Now as a manager, I have several employees in nursing school, going to several different schools. The stories they share certainly demonstrate that this continues to be a widespread issue. During the years, doing informal polls of nursing school experiences has revealed that students in very expensive private schools are treated much better than those who attend state schools. At least this is what I have found in my area.

In a profression with current shortages and more severe shortages predicted in the future, one would think that the “break the spirit” mentality would cease. I had a great deal of difficulty with this type of treatment as a young adult. I do not believe that I could have/would have tolerated it if I had been older and wiser. The nursing profession is dependent on nontraditional students to prevent the shortage from reaching critical levels. I am glad you survived.

Welcome to a very challenging but fulfilling profession.

By: Felicity

Felicity — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 17:08:43 +0000

I hope you become a nursing professor, and then a nursing dean, and scour the bad ‘uns from the Earth. That’s what I hope.

Also…I could not bear to take a class like the math class you’ve described. Part of learning is finding what works for *you*, and to insist that the students use a canned system rather than learning…well, it makes you seem like a factory rather than a university. Nuts to them!

By: Not Nurse Ratched

Not Nurse Ratched — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 16:02:30 +0000

I’ve run into situations similar to this one as well. My first career was freelance medical editing, and I’ve had teachers who can’t even spell “nursing” insert errors into my papers and deduct points for things that weren’t wrong. The teacher who is supposed to teach us how to write professional nursing papers provides class notes that could be easily confused with the scrawlings of an illiterate Armenian peasant (“anitdepressants,” anyone? how about instruction in “psychitric nursing”?). The educational experience would be vastly enriched if faculty would recognize and cultivate the diversity of experience embodied in most nursing student bodies these days; probably half my class is in school for their second career. It’s actually perplexing. I’m not an expert in most things, and I have no problem admitting it and accepting the input of those who ARE experts. Most nursing educators appear to feel that they must be experts in everything, and that’s just not possible. Is it defensiveness? I leave that to the psych nurse!