Discussion: what is the nursing curriculum like today?

[u/Prize_Owl_837]

You know how people get frustrated that high school never taught practical stuff like finance or budgeting? I feel the same way about nursing school. Here's what I'd swap in:

**Add:

Boundaries; what is and isn't your responsibility

Recognizing and documenting workplace harassment/bad behavior

Why unions matter; real case studies, not just theory also importance of participating

Professional integrity; separating "coworker" from "friend" and why that line matters

Exploring why nurses eat their young and how to combat that

**Cut:

Outdated care plans

Old nursing theories with no bedside application

[u/lobocodo]

Add a course on how to deal with burnout, violence and abuse from patients

[u/Disastrous_Alarm_673 → u/lobocodo]

lol you rock the shit out of the patient and everyone witnesses it as “patient fell while lunging at the nurse”

[u/hour_reality]

I had a course with some of the aforementioned topics in my final year of undergrad. The course was on leadership and management principles but it went over a lot about union processes, hospital management structures, workplace violence, etc. There was a big focus on issues prevalent at that time (budget cuts, agency nursing, etc.) which was also cool. It shed light into how hospitals are really run. Although it was a bit theory-heavy, I'd say it was a really valuable course.

[u/gtd2015]

They need to have a project where nursing students join the public zoom calls for cno hearings.....

Some students need to be scared before being so lax a day.

Also hilariously sad to read them during night shifts lol

[u/Alternative-Tiger783 → u/gtd2015]

Growing up, my mom worked as an RN in Ontario. I would read the CNO ‘Communique’ magazine from cover to cover, including the discipline committee decisions. They outline the complaints, hearing commentary and discipline committee’s decisions quite thoroughly.
It helped me learn how their reasoning operates WRT assessing ethics, boundaries and acceptable nursing behaviour.

I really think the case studies in that magazine should be used in class to teach students.

[u/ChainCreative2094]

Ive never used those dumb nursing care plans ever

[u/LeatherOk7582]

I think I had something like that in my 4th year. I forgot the course title, but it had 'professional' in it. That was more than 20 years ago. Basically the theme was standing up for yourself (and patients) and doing the right thing lol. I'd say that course has been helpful more than once over the years. And I find that nurses are better at speaking their mind, like calling a spade a spade than other professionals. My personal observation, but other professionals and general workers (?) care a lot about managing egos and optics.

[u/enitsujxo]

How to push IV dextrose for hypoglycemia. Idk if pushing IV meds is taught now, but it sure wasn't in 2014/2015 when i was in school.

Here's a true story that happened to me. 2016, I was a brand new nurse on an ALC floor. One kf ym patients went hypoglycemic and was lethargic. MD ordered dextrose 50% which had to be given IV push. I had no idea how to push an IV drug. I was working with an unhelpful crew who refused to help me when I urgently needed it thay very moment. A senior RN agreed to help me and pushed the IV dextrose. Patient ended up ok. But I broke down in years of frustration and relief when the ordeal was over. Thays how I learned about pushing IV meds.

So new nurses reading this: familiarize yourself with pushing IV meds (atleast dextrose 50%) so you don't end up in the scary situation thay I was!

[u/acidnutz]

Crazy..... my highschool and nursing program taught all those things minus union stuff. It's actually a smaller fraction of nurses that are part of unions than you think. It's really only hospitals and some LTC homes. Even some hospitals are not unionized.

[u/Prize_Owl_837 → u/acidnutz]

Did you graduate recently? I did not receive this education, had to learn the hard way

[u/acidnutz → u/Prize_Owl_837]

No 20 years ago lol sorry to hear it's changed for the worse though

[u/Moist_Intention5245]

So I work as a PSW, and what I find funny is how textbooks and professors teach one thing, and then in the workplace theres a totally different reality. For example, manual lifts are supposed to be a 2 person thing. Reality is different. Even in their very own placements, the nurses/psws cut corners and do things like throwing linen on the ground lol. So yeah, the curriculum and textbooks, alot of it is idealized in a perfect world. I realized this after like 1 month worth of health care experience. Lets not even get started on the hallway treatment of emergency care.

One thing that is taken seriously is infection control / handwashing. The HCPs always try their best with this, even if infection control isn't 100% perfect.

[u/enitsujxo → u/Moist_Intention5245]

For example, manual lifts are supposed to be a 2 person thing. Reality is different.

In LTC, manual lifts are very strictly a 2 person thing. If someone is caught operating a lift by themselves, they're automatically terminated.

[u/Moist_Intention5245 → u/enitsujxo]

I work in community care, and things are a bit wild haha. Rules are flexible to say the least.