competitiveness amongst classmates..

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Just wondering if anyone sees or experiences this. I am in my 2nd semester of LPN training and I am starting to see it somewhat. It is like they want to distance themselves from someone that seems to be doing real well or answers alot of the questions in class. My class is pretty quiet and the teachers just have us blurt out the answers. It is usually the same ones answering the questions. It also could be that they are more so annoyed by those people I suppose.

I have issue with the students who dont participate in class. In fact, we get assigned more readings if no one speaks up! So...I do my homework and know the answers. Others dont bother. Should I sit back and keep quiet just so I dont annoy them?? No way! lol I have enough homework!

anyway, our class seems to get along for the most part so its not always an issue.

I'm kind of like Daytonite, maybe it has something to do with "maturity." When I get an assignment, I prepare for the class. I am ready for the lecture & I, also, usually have questions that most of my classmates would never think of asking because they haven't prepared. I, consequently, am near the top of my class as far as scores go. However, I also am happy to help my fellow classmates with anything I can. I usually spend several hours writing up a study guide for each test we have & am happy to share copies of it or just explain some of the points that someone might not understand. I do worry that the less mature students or the ones who tend to not take school very seriously, will resent my successes. I try to point out to them that in some things I need help from them. I have no experience working in health care & it shows in clinical. I ask them for help & so far they have been happy to come to my aid.

The slackers do get on my nerves some. I really hate it when someone doesn't come to class & then complains about how hard it is to pass the class. I find it difficult to give help to the ones who I know don't bother to study because they know I will help them out but I do it anyway. I figure that their failure will not make me a better nurse and if my help makes them a better nurse, then I'm glad to help out.

As far as competitiveness, in my class it is not serious. There is some at the top of the class, trying to be the best, but I think that is good. It is good natured, not cut throat, and it helps us to strive to be better.

Dixie

l hate listening to crickets chirp when a professor asks a question and is like "Somebody? Anybody?" So if I end up raising my hand 10 times during class to answer questions so be it. I don't do tell personal stories, I just answer questions (which is what I thought we were all there for btw) and if some of my classmates don't like it they can kick rocks.

In general most of the people in my class are smart but for some reason even the ones who are doing well seem reluctant to answer questions. This especially seems to be a problem amongst the younger students. There are several students in the class that get fabulous grades so everyone knows that they know the material but they almost never participate in class. I guess it's the intimidation factor because the slackers DO get mad and make faces when people are enthusiastic. They also always have a bad attitude and are always arguing with professors. They skip class regularly and then complain about how much work needs to be done and they also get mad at the instructors because they get criticized for showing up unprepared.

They constantly complain because (in their own words) we are only doing the LPN this year and they swear that an LPN doesn't need to know this or that and why can't we learn this stuff when we are doing the RN part?

Some people are lazy and have a huge sense of entitlement.

Specializes in Pediatrics, High-Risk L&D, Antepartum, L.

We have it but honestly it's only a select few.

I want a good grade. Who doesn't want a good grade?

I'd like to be top of the class or darn where near it. Who wouldn't want to be there?

I don't have a desire to make these things know because that's when the competition starts. It's one thing to in your mind want to be the best of the best but it's another thing to act on it.

In the end if I'm not the best it's okay. I just want to graduate and honestly I would like the other students in my class to graduate as well.

The few that like to compete...well one is starting to get on EVERYONE'S last nerve. This person gets very angry after tests because they are unfair and he make is VERY obvious that there's anger. This person will even confront instructors to tell them the test was not fair. I think they are setting themselves up to have issues later on. This person is used to getting very good grades but on the last unfair test the grade was much lower then usual.

Were these past tests unfair? Well I do think there were some aspect that were questionable and just not right. The difference is that I accept it as just the way life is.

The other student is angry because they're competitive spirit is getting in the way of being reasonable.

Specializes in medsurg, clinic, nursing home.

I can't post my whole story here because if it's seen I'll have more crap to deal with. But I was wondering what ya'll thought of a class that basically exciles students for standing up for their grades?

Specializes in Pediatrics, High-Risk L&D, Antepartum, L.
I can't post my whole story here because if it's seen I'll have more crap to deal with. But I was wondering what ya'll thought of a class that basically exciles students for standing up for their grades?

Depends on how you are doing it.

If you are walking around telling everyone you got an A and you deserved it because you are so smart...you are a jerk. If you tell people you are the smartest person in the class...you are a jerk. If you walk around just telling people your grade...you are a jerk. If you tell somebody they deserved their lower grade or they should have gotten a lower grade...you are a jerk.

If somebody asks what you got and you tell them...you are not a jerk. If you smile and are happy at your grade...you are not a jerk. If you inside feel you did a good job and deserved your grade...you are not a jerk.

If you are a jerk people aren't going to want you around or deal with you.

In my class some of us share our grades with the people we are closer with and nobody says anything out loud. We may have internal thoughts but we do not act on them.

We have 1 student we are getting tired of. He told somebody he is the smarted one in the class. Sure his grades have been good but that doesn't mean he's the smartest or that he will be the best nurse. This student gets ANGRY when the test is hard or put in a way that I will agree is unfair. The anger is maybe justified but unwarranted...meaning he should walk around completely pissed off and making sure EVERYONE knows how angry he is.

So it depends on your actions.

Specializes in medsurg, clinic, nursing home.

Oh, I think maybe I didn't word that right. Didn't mean to come off that way. We have a teacher that gives everyone low grades in clinical but says that we are all doing a great job. I think if we're doing such a great job then why are our grades barely above passing. Yes, I know no one is perfect. I was talking about standing up for my grades which I thought should have been higher(not only mine but I would say at least most of our class). Most do a great job and there are a few that really try but need a little more guidance and then there's a few that aren't so great at helping out. But we all basically got the same grade, just doesn't seem fair. So a few of us went to her and were basically blown off. Some how the entire class found out and now no one wants to have any thing to do with us because we upset the teacher. Which really wouln't bother me but it's hard to get help at clinicals if needed and there are some making up lies to get even I guess. Or so that was the reason I was given, some students are saying that she told them she was upset with us. After all of this, the teach said for us not to worry cause we would all wind up with A's in clinical. I swear she's just making the grades up. Yes I am happy to know that I will have an A and we are not even 1/2 way through the semester but I'd like to get the grade I worked for and earned not just something that was made up.

I'm by far, the most talkative person my classes...I also have the highest grade in 3 out of 4 of them.

Because I am an older student, I have one class where there are a couple of "snickers" behind my back when I ask a question (which is always relevant to the subject matter, I never tell stories).

I'll have the last laugh at the end of the semester, because I already know that the "snickering" group did poorly on the last couple of tests.

Specializes in Ortho, Case Management, blabla.
but then we must be careful to ensure that you're not the gal in my class who makes every lecture about "me me me", or her kids, or her friends, or her husband, etc., etc.....once in a while, someone has something constructive to add to a lecture...that's great...but this same someone has something to say 2 or 3 times a day minimum...

yea. there are always people that will have some insightful experience they want to share. or want to discuss this experience with the professor. etc.

at best it can actually be insightful, at worst it can be extremely distracting for the rest of the class. i care if people have things to say, but more often than not the anecdote doesn't contribute to my learning experience. there will always be that person that "worked at a lab" or "worked as a cna in long term care" or "is a clerk in a busy hospital unit." sometimes it seems like people like that share the stories to try and expound on their expertise and experience on a particular subject. i mean honestly, why some people feel the need to monopolize lecture time to let the class know about how many patients they've helped take care of with x diagnosis is beyond me. or the time their next door neighbor had a heart attack and had to go to the hospital. etc. etc. etc. the only explanation i can think of is that they feel that they have something to prove.

usually this type of student begins their rants in the form of a simple yes or no question, then the professor answers, and the student will start going on and on about the subject. the best professors i've had are the people that cut them short to get on with the lecture.

student-"i was just wondering, in a hospital, do the patients usually wear o2?"

professor-"yes"

student-"okay that's what i thought because my great grandmother's cousins uncle's dogkeeper's dad had that problem and when he went to the hospital he was on o2 too...(if the professor isn't assertive in moving forward, cue 5 minute student monologue while almost everyone else in the class is rolling their eyes)... bla blabla blablabla..."

most of the time these type of stories tend to peter out with no moral or point to them, not much of a conclusion, and no real bearing on whatever the lecture subject is.

don't get me wrong though, some fellow students with experience can be awesome assets. like the student with diabetes who is very very familiar with the subject and a lot of related things to it. or the other student who works on a cardiac floor who stayed after class to study and taught me a bunch of tips and tricks related to ekgs. even the former paramedic who is pretty much an expert on anything o2 or airway related - and doesn't hesitate to speak up in class to add fyis related to patient care and how it is "actually done in practice." vs textbook.

as far as competitiveness goes, we are in our last 5 weeks of our last semester in the program. at this point most of the people who were competitive in the beginning of the program have either given up, or i've simply learned to filter that type of stuff out. there was quite a bit of cattiness in the beginning though.

i remember one particular incident right after our very first nursing school exam. one woman in class was telling another classmate, "wow that test was hard!! that's not even fair! i can't believe how hard it is!" and another random classmate who says for no reason whatsoever, "some of us come prepared. (emphasis on prepared)" it was a real iceburn.

usually if people ask me about my grades i won't tell them. i just say, "i'm passing!" i never ask anyone else what their grades are. it's just bad manners in my humble opinion, and i don't really care.

they will have problems throughout their lives in their interactions with others because of it. not your problem unless you are their boss and have to mediate disagreements between them and others they are hurting by their behavior.

hahaha this strikes a note. i just got done writing a paper about managing different personality types and this statement hit home.

I am one of the more vocal ones in class and here are some of the things that I do that I think helps ensure my enthusiasm doesn't veer off to the annoying...

1) Keep track of time -- if you are slowing up the pace of the lecture, stop talking

2) Only speak out when you are sure what you have to say or ask will help clarify things for other students also (else wait and ask the instructor after class)

3) Don't be argumentative. If you feel resistance from the instructor drop it or take it up with her or him later.

4) If you are responding to the instructor's prompt... Give others a chance to respond first. Strangely, I almost never respond to this when I am sure what the answer is, only when no one else answers and I am guessing. Or the instructor is becoming frustrated. This quickens the pace of the lecture and gives the instructor some positive feedback that folks actually are "getting it."

5) Never make comments or questions with the sole intention of showing off how much you know. If you're well prepared, this can be a temptation. Ask yourself, why do I want to respond in class?

Specializes in Ortho, Med surg and L&D.
Just wondering if anyone sees or experiences this. I am in my 2nd semester of LPN training and I am starting to see it somewhat. It is like they want to distance themselves from someone that seems to be doing real well or answers alot of the questions in class. My class is pretty quiet and the teachers just have us blurt out the answers. It is usually the same ones answering the questions. It also could be that they are more so annoyed by those people I suppose.

Hello,

I've heard of this class mate competitiveness. This is one reason I LOVE my class!

The only competition is self directed and everything that is group directed is supportive.

Then again, we are a small group and only total 20 of us.

In hinsight if I had gotten into my "original" school of choice and knew then what I know now, I would gladly pass them up to be right where I am at DePaul in Chicago!!

A soon to be, (hopeful) Alumn,

Gen

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