Nursing School Won't Teach You These Things (Part 1)

Student nurses have the awesome opportunity to learn about the art and science of nursing during the time they spend enrolled in school. Nursing students are bombarded with different theories, introduced to procedural skills, drilled on critical thinking strategies, exposed to new information, and tested constantly to determine their ability to apply and analyze the mountain of material rather than recall facts through rote memory. In other words, pupils must adapt to a new way of learning once they start attending nursing school.

I have compiled a random list of aspects that characterize many workplace settings in the real world of nursing. Your personal experience may vary once you secure your first job as a licensed nurse. Read More...

I need HELP UNDERSTANDING CARE PLANS please!

I am a new student, this is my first care plan, I don't understand how to put it together. I know the more I do them the more I will understand them, but when you are new it's like learning a foreign language. Can someone please have mercy on me? If I could get an example of how this should look I would really appreciate it. Read More...

Student loans are haunting me.

Are your student loans haunting you yet? Read More...

Why so many negatives about nursing?

I was reading another thread about someone wanting to leave their job to pursue nursing, and all the comments consisted of negativity about the nursing career. Is nursing really that awful? I'm still in undergrad and thinking about pursuing a second-degree BSN and working as a psychiatric nurse. But from what I see, all the nurses on here seem to hate being a nurse. Nursing seemed like the best choice for me having a psychology degree....but now I'm starting to reconsider with seeing all the negativity. So, why are there so many negatives about nursing? Read More...

Why does school have to be made to be (seemingly) unneccesarily difficult?

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? Read More...

Basic Information About the TEAS Test

The Test of Essential Academic Skills, more universally known as the TEAS test, is a proctored, standardized examination prepared by the Assessment Technologies Institute (ATI) to determine the overall academic preparedness of pupils who are attempting to enroll in a school’s nursing program or specific other health science program. This exam is designed to assess the test taker‘s basic skills in certain subjects. Read More...

Peripheral pulses - I'm not entirely convinced they exist!

I finished my assessment class this summer and I'm out doing med surg clincals, using the skills I learned there. My problem: I cannot for the life of me find a popliteal, posterior tibial or dorsalis pedis pulse. I've tried on at least 30 people now and have never felt it once. And now that I'm caring for postsurgical hip replacement surgery patients, it's important to find these on the affect side. What am I doing wrong? Read More...

I feel like I am learning to be a nurse on my own

I would love some feedback on nursing school today. I am a ADN student and I feel feel like this journey has been autonomous when it comes to the learning aspect. I often wonder what I am paying for in nursing school when there is very little lecture or other forms of teaching. Each module is given with lots of reading and then we test. Is this the way most nursing schools work? Read More...

Surviving Nursing School - financial wise

I'm currently working as a CNA for the county of Los Angeles hospital. I'm going to quit my full-time job. I'd rather get good grades than fail. How did you survive nursing school-financial wise? I'm thinking of working part time. Read More...

Nursing School Won't Teach You These Things (Part 2)

A student’s experiences in nursing school might produce a mixture of emotions such as joy after finding out you’ve been accepted to the program, dismay upon discovering you’ve failed a quiz, hostility toward the annoying classmate who won‘t shut up during lecture, and triumph as your graduation date approaches. Student nurses are inundated with different theories, introduced to hands-on skills during clinical rotations, and tested frequently to assess the retention of new knowledge. To come to the point, students need to adapt to a different style of learning once they start going to nursing school. Read More

Are any of you using an ipad with stylus to take notes?

Are any of you using an ipad with stylus to take notes? If yes, which ipad (full, mini), and which stylus? What app(s) do you use for note taking, note management, etc? How is using an ipad working out for you compared to using regular pen and pencil? Read More...

Detailed steps on how to become a nurse (RN)

I have been reading up on things on and off "allnurses". Most of the insight found has been from this forum. I have a rough idea on what steps are expected (school wise) to become an RN. But I’m kinda not sure of what I have read. Below are the steps I think are needed. Please let me know if they’re wrong or any other detail you may know. Any and all help is appreciate. Read More...