RN teacher failing students to "weed" them out?

allnurses Guide · Oct 13, 2011

What exactly is a dobhoff, is that the central line?
How do I put a chest tube to water seal, is that the the one on the wall?

:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

RN_2012, BSN, RN · Oct 13, 2011

If everyone is expected to perform that same, pass the same tests, etc...how is it unfair. If 20 out of 30 students pass, then only 20 out of 30 students are preparing properly and the others need to step it up.

Rob72, ASN, RN · Oct 13, 2011

As a nursing instructor, it bothers me to no end that a fellow instructor is trying to make things harder than they already are for you and your colleagues.
Does this instructor have a degree in nursing education or are they a NP or other master or PhD level nurse who has limited teaching education?
The reason I ask is because some teachers who are so ineffective are completely unaware of purposeful teaching methodologies, adult learning principles, and educational psychology, all of which must be understood to teach in such an important discipline. They use scare tactics which is proven to be the worst method ever for adult learners. We want our learners to be comfortable enough to ask questions without fear and know exactly where they stand regarding grading as well.

This pretty much sums it up. I'm going to ask: what is "hard" about nursing?

The first two years, in any field or specialty does have a high learning curve, and it may be hard, but past the initiation phase, it is the application of learned pathways and techniques.

Typically, when we say things are hard, in practice, the core issues are:

Unsafe patient/staff ratios. Extended multitasking leads to individual failure within a short period of time, systemic failure at 2-3 times the length of individual failure (i.e., unit turnover).
Inappropriate behavior by medical staff and patients. Unsafe/threatening work environments.
Extended/excessive shifts.OT. Related to stop-gapping staff(#1)

The "difficulties" of nursing school are more a function of the schools' drive to maintain their programs and maintain tuition liquidity. In essence, we are all learning the same information, but the academic model forces the creation of artificial constructs to form a hierarchy, where no major program fails, either by loss of funds/funding or by fault in practical instruction.

The industry(including Fed student aid) is more than satisfied with this system, because it maintains a large workforce that in most localities, exceeds demand.

While some may say that this "Oooh-rah!", GI Bullspit model creates/made them better nurses, I would submit that this position reflects a lack of self-reflection. If you are a high achiever, your learning process would be more effective without artificial barriers. While I am in no way downplaying APRNs, a more effective instruction model might actually turn Nursing into a closer cousin of "Medicine", perhaps even part of a Med career path.

When I hear that Nursing programs are closing, I will have faith that academia is cleansing itself by establishing credible standards. Until then, we will continue with academia divorced from, and uncluttered with, the nature of "practice".

VioletKaliLPN, LPN · Oct 13, 2011

We were never "given" notes, content guides, etc, we had to come to lecture and record the lectures. We went by the syllabus as a "content guide". I think it is pretty common in Nursing school to have teachers keep most-if not all, PPT's to themselves.

Rob72, ASN, RN · Oct 13, 2011

I had an OB instructor. Never lectured. Told us to read the 800+ page book, and gave essay tests w/no indication of what she wanted us to know. She showed films of women hemorrhaging during childbirth. At the end of the class, my grade was iffy (I was an honor student- always on the Deans' list). SO, I asked her if it was worth my time to take the test, or just go sign up for the next semester. By this time 1/2 of the class had bailed or bombed.

I've really come to believe that there is an OB cult. I've heard this about soooo many OB instructors. I experienced the same thing, and it was miserable. Everyone that did well totally ignored lecture, notes and discussions, and was doing auto-didactic.

AJPV · Oct 13, 2011

Yeah, our teachers randomly shoot us with tazers while mocking us during lecture to see how motivated we are to teach ourselves :lol2:

xmissxscarlet09 · Oct 13, 2011

Instead of complaining about your teacher why don't you actually study and practice. It is your job to study and not complain about your teacher. You need study instead of blaming your teacher. Take responsibility for yourself for a change.

This isnt about "complaining" about my teacher. If you would read on about the other comments I made, I said that I am getting good grades, Im just trying to be an advocate for the other students.

Rob72, ASN, RN · Oct 14, 2011

This isnt about "complaining" about my teacher. If you would read on about the other comments I made, I said that I am getting good grades, Im just trying to be an advocate for the other students.

BTDT. In our case, the instructor was pushing to have a full semester of nothing but OB (in an ADN program), part of her justification being poor student grades ("I need more time with them...!")

Obviously, this made her a tad less than popular with some other faculty, and raised a few other questions, as no other 2 year program in the area was having similar problems. This made our "complaint" more acceptable to Admin, and a reprimand to the effect of, "instructional delivery not appropriate for undergraduates and well above the requirements of the program...", was (reportedly) administered.

Now. Valid though your complaint(s) may be, unless there is political or financial motivation for the College/University to be proactive, being an "advocate" has great potential to make you a "failure".

Please note that all great college activists have mom & dad & the Federal Gvt. paying their expenses. They tend to be far less active when they have to pay for themselves. I understand, but be careful. :cool:

xmissxscarlet09 · Oct 14, 2011

to an addition to what I have posted, I just would like everyone know that I do apologize in the way I may have stated things. Also, that teacher made an announcement today and she made it clear as to what they meant when they changed this rule. What happened was, everyone kept their original grade, and for FUTURE references, the rules will be more clear. I think it was just a big misunderstanding. And I really was not trying to get her back for anything. I was just curious to see if this was happening. In all reality, I really do not believe this teacher is trying to "weed us out". I think that at the time the students and I were just stressed out. But I will always remember to keep my head up and just take the issues as they come along. Thank you everyone for your comments :]

ThePrincessBride, MSN, RN, NP · Oct 14, 2011

This should be considered a GOOD thing, considering how many unqualified and incompetent people are rushing to the field of Nursing. If you have what it takes, you should be able to pass. If not, then maybe Nursing isn't for you.

nurseprnRN, BSN, RN · Oct 14, 2011

"additionally, this teacher never posts our grades, power points, notes, content guides, or any of the material we need until 2 days before there is an exam when numerous students have asked this teacher to post them, and they said they would, but they still do not."

:banghead: you may find this difficult to believe, but there are many, many college classes in which you get none of these hand-holding "needs," and yet somehow :uhoh3: people manage to attend all the classes, take good notes, study, read, and work on the material as the semester goes along so they don't find themselves unable to pass an exam on the course content without its being spoon-fed to them. get a grip and get to work.

xtxrn, ASN, RN · Oct 14, 2011

"additionally, this teacher never posts our grades, power points, notes, content guides, or any of the material we need until 2 days before there is an exam when numerous students have asked this teacher to post them, and they said they would, but they still do not."
you may find this difficult to believe, but there are many, many college classes in which you get none of these hand-holding "needs," and yet somehow people manage to attend all the classes, take good notes, study, read, and work on the material as the semester goes along so they don't find themselves unable to pass an exam on the course content without its being spoon-fed to them. get a grip and get to work.

so true.... we got our grades after the test. that's it. otherwise, we were expected to take our own notes during the lectures (as we did in high school....don't tell me that's being handed out on a platter, also :eek: ), there were no such things as power points, or content guides. we had a program syllabus (all 4 semesters listed- though we did them in different orders to keep the class sizes equal). it was an active participation program