Do you think Nurses are lacking Education?

Sorry to hear you think nurses' don't know enough about diabetic needs. I see your point. I think in this rush rush world probally a general RN or LPN wouldn't know as much as say the dietatician. I do know that at the hospital I worked at there was a Nurse who specialized in diabetic education as well as the dietary team. The nurses were not undereducated, they knew what to and all the signs and symtoms of high and low sugar. We all knew what calories and carbs the patients needed. Not all diabetics have the same needs. Some need 1800 ADA some need 2000. Just remember the nurses' are there to fix what is wrong and administer the right meds and insulin. It's really up to the patient to comply with the diets directed by thier doctor and nutrionist.

I think they are lacking in both education and compassion! Well not all of them, but a lot of them.

I wasn't aware of that. Maybe it is like one of other posts said. They are careful not to cross the line and get into what is considered to be the doctor's area of expertise. I haven't come across that problem personally.

yes, i think most nurses are lacking education just like in my place.

Well nurses are not required to know as much as doctors on diseases..I don't really think they have to know much at all on medicines accept for distributing the prescribed meds..It is the responsability of the doctor to make sure that his/her patient is well informed on his/her illness..+

i think yes

I was in the hospital 3 times in the last 6 months for a total of 14 days. Most of the nurses were pretty good, but there were a few of them that didn't seem to know what they were doing. I had to tell them how the others were doing things.

Like in any job who needs a major sense of responsability, they should have a degree or a long time of formation about their area.

I think that nurses are educated to do the things a nurse is expected to do, and I think they pick up a lot listening to the doctors. However, nurses I've known are very careful about crossing the line into the doctors' area of expertise. I have a close friend who is a nurse, and she knows a lot. However, when I go to a doctor's office, the nurses refuse to answer even basic medical questions.

I think that the suggestion of lacking education is a little unkind. A nurse has a specific role to play in the medical profession, whereas the example that you mention falls outside of that domain. I have very limited knowledge as far as diabetes is concerned, but I would not consider myself uneducated. The vast scope of medicine today covers such a large area that even doctors and specialists have their own domain, but I would consider a medical specialist to be lacking in education because his understanding of a different branch of medicine was limited.

It is hard to say whether they are lacking or not. I would probably say yes but it is only because nobody is sufficiently or over educated in any profession. I think everyone can learn new things and should be kept up to date with education and training, no matter what their profession is.

nope. i don't think so. . . they just need a break to exercise their expertise. . .

I don't think this is because of lack of education. You can see a trend now a days people are not willing to get updated with knowledge they may be need in their proffesion. They are just like a machine, other then what their course teach them or what they learn from their traing people don't have any other general knowledge.

well i guess more practical skills. they need it mmore. patients' lives are more important than any other things

I think that most nurses would have some knowledge about all facets of medicine, and for a diabetic that would include bloody sugar levels etc. However unless they are a specialist dietician, diabetic nurse or nutritionist then it is unfair to expect that they would know everything. Nurses who has just finished their education would not have a lot of practical experience and as they cover many subjects during their training, it is a little unreasonable to expect that they would know everything on all medical conditions. It is up to the Doctor to make a diagnosis, not a nurse, or at least that is the case in my country. A special friend of mine is a nurse and has been for 35+ years now and firstly she was doing general nursing, then undertook training in surgical/operating theatre nursing, followed by midwifery and about 10 years ago decided to change to nursing the elderly. She took several courses and now is a Marton at an Aged Peoples Homes which specialises in Dementia and Alzheimers. Now she does have a lot of experience, but it would be unreasonable to expect her to have full and complete knowledge of the areas of nursing that she studies in the late 1960's.

My MIL is an LPN and has been one now for over 25 years. She knows quite a bit and to her it is a learning process each day she goes to work. But, she is very careful to not step on the doctor's toes. She may speak to the Dr. first to see if it is ok she inform the patient on what they want to know only after she has ran it by him first.

I think that there is such a vast amount of information a nurse needs to know generally, that unless she/he takes a specific interest in deepening in one field, she might seem uninformed. The medical field is changing rapidly, including diabetes care, so there is a lot to learn. I would look around until I found a nurse who is specialized, if I need help with a particualr ailment, like diabetes. I am a big advocate of being an informed health care consumer. In the area of diabetes care, I have noticed that responses, by both doctors and nurses varies from place to place.Each nursing home I have worked at or trained at has seemed to have a different care guidline. You are an individual, so I imagine you have to be observant as how a treatment reacts with your personal situation.

no idea, haven't dealt with them yet.