Advice/Rant about Professor.

[on eagles wings, ASN, RN]

Hey everyone.

Well I want to make this short. I am in my second semester, taking Medsurg & Pharm. Medsurg is going great and I don't study as nearly as I thought I would. All my time is going to Pharmacology. Let me explain.

She is a real nice lady. It is her first year teaching lecture. She used to teach clinical, but they hired her for fulltime. From day 1 you could tell she was very insecure and lost. Her teaching style is horrible. She'll sit on her chair and stand up and sit down. Reads from the book and powerpoint verbatim. She never answers questions. None. She says "go to your book", "your drug book explains that", etc.

Okay, no big deal right? I understand if she wanted to direct us to resources that will help us. But if don't really understand a concept, she just will not explain it. For example, she was reading on levothyroxine. On her ppt it said that hypothyroidism is proven with a high TSH. A student humbly asks they didn't understand, if she could explain it. Her answer? "It's just one of those things that happen".... LOL

Whenever she reads(not teaches) on a new drug, she doesn't give any explanation on the MOA, why these side effects occur, etc. Nothing. You ask, and she doesn't know. For that, I'll take the class online, tyvm.

To put the cherry on top, she gives us a hard test and bashes us for being nervous about it after. As if we didn't already feel defeated. She always brings her personal junk into it, saying she has kids too and works F/T, is doing her doctorate online, etc. People got so mad they just walked out. She tried to teach a whole class in TEN MINUTES yesterday. Really?

Like okay, we are all adults here, we get it. We need to study. We need to sacrifice time w/ family. We need to sacrifice sleep. We just hate that this lady doesn't teach. She isn't preparing us for the real world or the NCLEX. I don't care I have to study 20 hrs/week to make an A--but I want to LEARN. And I can't just learn by reading, etc.

So how can I bring this up to her in a respectful, patient, kind way? I do not want to give this lady an attitude--she is my professor but honestly, I don't consider her a bad person. She is just in the wrong job. But maybe if people speak with her, she will work on it?

I would like advice or anything--even share a similar experience. Again, I want to tell her I do not expect her to spoonfeed us. That would be just as bad. But I want to be challenged. How can she expect us to come prepared if she doesn't come prepared herself?

PS Even my medsurg professor tried talking to her. I am also considering going to a tutor, although it is going to kill my work/study schedule. Sigh.

[on eagles wings, ASN, RN]

~bump

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

i'm sorry you're going through it but believe me, she's hating it worse than you are. she didn't get this far in her education without knowing what poor teaching is, and she knows she's not doing well at this.

i'll bet you dollars to donuts she got asked to do this course at the last minute and took it for whatever reason -- maybe she desperately needs the money, maybe she owed the dept head a huge favor, maybe she only learned at the last minute what the course content was or just got given the book the day before you did, who knows, been there, done that-- and now is totally over her head with school and kids and life-as-it-is-being-lived.

:idea:when i got stuck like that i tried to get guest lecturers once in awhile to cover the topics i couldn't do in my sleep. the students got a much better presentation, i had a whole class i didn't have to prepare for, and i could sit in the back and take notes for teaching it next year . maybe you could suggest that. print this out and tell her i said so.:hug:

[on eagles wings, ASN, RN]

thanks GrnTea :hug:i can tell she hates being there. she really transmits her insecurity openly. very nervous. verrrrry quiet.

i like that idea of the guest presentation. my medsurg professor merged her skills class with my pharmacology professor's skills class the other day. the pharmacology prof hardly talked as she was demonstrating the skills to us. my medsurg professor would chime in and explain what she was doing, lol. that is how she is in lecture too. :/

i wanna get the right words. i don't want her to be offended at any comment/suggestion i have... the tutors at my school only have an ADN and they are excellent teachers... i wonder if they could somehow go to our class and teach something... :/

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

medsurgprof may have gotten the word that pharmprof is drowning and asked her to team-teach a class to help her learn. this may be the first class pharmprof has ever taught. teachers need practicum too-- think of it as clinical for her, the way your nursing care in clinical is for the patients.

good for you for perceiving this and thinking about a solution, or at least a help. maybe you could run it past medsurgprof, since she's already aware. this will all work out.

[caliotter3]

Suspect that the instructor is aware of her failings. If I were you, I would focus on learning the material since it is apparent you have to teach yourself. Poor instructors and poor instruction are not uncommon. If you have extra time after the course is finished and you have your grade to move on, you might want to take the time to do a critique of the instructor, but until that time best to concentrate on the task at hand. That is enough for your plate. Good luck.