There is a significant difference between the world of NCLEX, the Nursing school world, and the what’s practice in real life. Now, don’t get me wrong they are under the same principles but the strict rigidity of the NCLEX and Nursing School quickly vanish on a hospital floor.
NCLEX teaches the nursing students what to do in the best-case scenarios. When you have everything at hand and in a timely manner. You don’t learn what to do when you don’t have a specifically sized needle, a blood transfer device, or a particular bandage. In the world of NCLEX, everything is at your fingertips.
In Nursing School the phrase I remember the most is “it depends”. Nursing school reality becomes a little muddier as faculty members try to teach the straight cut answers to the students, but they know it doesn’t work that way.
Now, in real life, the reality is that the unit will run out of common and needed items. The supply closet will not carry everything, and for a large portion of your shift you will search for items or chase down medications. Patients are not compliant and will complain, they will be rude, with the capability of becoming violent. In a hospital, you will not always get the order you want or need or get results in a timely manner.
What have you seen as the biggest difference between what you’ve learned in nursing school and the real working of a hospital floor?