So today I was reading Sophia's blog over at All Things NP, she's a NP student at Penn State. As I was reading about her interview process with Penn State & her rotations & her Sim Man day I started thinking, I am nowhere NEAR as smart as she is. I still struggle with what lab values are correct, much less IF they're off then why??!! I know that I don't put in as much time studying as some of my other classmates do and all of this makes me really doubt myself. When will this stuff start to really click? When will I start to KNOW this stuff? I wish I could spend more time studying than I do & in all honesty I probably could, but I also have a very busy life. I know that's not an excuse as everyone has their own "stuff", but I was seriously thinking as I was reading over her blog that I really need to buckle down & start reading a bit more. I definitely need to start studying more. I mean, I'm doing fine in my classes but PERSONALLY I just feel that I don't KNOW enough. Do you think this is because I've only had 2 1/2 semesters of nursing school, or SHOULD I know more than I do?
I hate that I waited this long to go back to school & get my nursing degree. I know that there's nothing I can do about that now, but I feel such a rush to get my BSN and get started on my MSN (NP). I constantly feel like I'm racing the clock. I know everyone says to wait before getting my MSN, most nurses say at least 2 years, some say more like 5 but I just don't feel like I have that amount of time. Not if I want to get graduated & actually WORK for a while. It's so frustrating, but I'd have to say the most frustrating part is just simply feeling like I'm don't know enough to actually be a nurse. I'm really hoping that I'm only feeling this way becuase of where I'm at in my schooling process & not because I truly am an inadequate nursing student...When did this stuff start to click for you? When were you able to look at lab results & realize what was going on???
Ok, enough of my pity party of one, back to doing something consructive. Studying perhaps??
I'm a Practical Nurse student in Canada, I don't really know the equivilent in the states. We do a two year fast paced course, and things really didn't start all making sense together until 3rd and forth semester. That was when our intro courses stopped, and our more in depth courses began. If your BN prgram is anyhting like ours, you spend the first 2 years covering a large base for the program, then things start getting pulled together in year 3. It will all come together. It will!
ReplyDeleteGirl I hope you're right!!
DeleteAll through nursing school right up until the day I graduated this past December I always felt like I didn't know enough. I think most nursing students feel this way. I've found you probably actually know more than you feel like. The most important thing is confidence. And I still don't know all my lab values and I passed NCLEX! (Although you should definitely memorize those pesky lab values for the test!)
ReplyDeleteHaha, ok this response did make me feel a bit better. I really do need to look up those lab values & what all they mean.
DeleteI learned the most once out of school and that will probably happen after NP school. Don't be hard on yourself you are always learning. The scary nurses are the ones who think they know everything.
ReplyDeleteWell that's not me! lol
DeleteThere is a huge difference between memorizing stuff for a test and actually putting it to use in every day practice. It is like learning a foreign language. After a few years of experience, this will become second nature to you. Be patient with yourself. It will come!
ReplyDeleteI know that everyone says you learn the most once you graduate so since I believe all the bad stuff I hear, I guess I should just believe this too. :)
DeleteI have been a nurse for almost four years. Stuff clicks as you are able to connect diagnoses, lab values, medications, etc to the patient situation. You aren't supposed to know every single lab value or side effect of each random medication. We have resources to look that up! The more experience you have, the more you will pick up the information you need. Nursing professors seem to like to make you feel like you are supposed to know everything. What they are really doing is getting you used to learning how to find resources and an answer when you are unsure. You will be fine.
ReplyDeleteThanks girl, this really does make me feel so much better.
DeleteYou'll get there, it just takes time and practical application. I know you want to get through the education as fast as you can and get into "real life" and wonder how all of this will fit in... you will get there and you will get it. Like you labs meant nothing to me, but as I worked it all starting coming together and the whats and whys just started to click.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reassurance, it really does make me feel better hearing experienced nurses say that I shouldn't know it all just yet :)
DeleteBe patient-- we all started somewhere and that somewhere was at the beginning-- as nursing students. I also have a long way to go before I'm proficient as a NP but I know that it will happen. It will all come together for you but it will just take time.
ReplyDeleteYou are right- juggling the demands of school and a family is tough. I'm reminded of that daily. Don't be so hard on yourself. You will be successful.
Don't stress over lab values, it will come with time! Half of the things you learn in nursing school (and a whole bunch of things no one ever mentioned in nursing school) won't sink in until you do it -- and screw it up a time or two. All the more reason to work as a nurse before becoming an NP. So many valuable skills in assessment, time management, and just eye'in a patient and deciding if they're "sick". But you'll get it! Another thing no one talks about -- you probably won't sleep well the first year that you're a nurse. My mind always raced with what I may have forgotten to do, or what surprises the next shift may bring. But with time and perseverance you'll become a super nurse!
ReplyDeleteFeel free to check out my nurse rantings @ http://tealnurse.blogspot.com/
Yeah, we hear all the time that the REAL learning will be gotten on the job, but it's so hard when you're in school all the time & you just don't feel like it's sinking in. But I guess how does it have the time to sink in when we're not using it? That's why I think the programs at the hospital are better than university programs. It would be so much easier to learn this if we were actually doing it at the same time. They need to bring those programs back, this book work is for the birds!
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