How do you deal with annoying classmates?

Ceeceenumber3 · May 12, 2009

yuck - i hadn't even thought of this - it's been a while since i've been in school. i'm with everyone else - try to keep your distance and ignore it...

Sarah Hay · May 12, 2009

Just ignore them.

mom35 · May 12, 2009

It seems like every class has at least one person that wants to "run" the show! It is annoying!! Seems like these individuals want and need all the attention. Seem to think that everyone is interested in their lives, instead of class. Some of them are arrogant, some needy, others seem like sociopaths-people that are only out for themselves and do not care about showing any respect for anyone or anything else. Some act like they have a narcissistic personality. I stay away from them and try to ignore them-it is difficult, though. Our time in the classroom is so vital and these individuals act as though they enjoy sabotaging that time. I wish something could be done about such individuals. :idea:

Daytonite, BSN, RN · May 12, 2009

ignore them. you can consciously do that as well, or better. as they can make the choice to enact all the drama in their lives and be the center of attention you can choose to tune it out and carry on with your own life. doesn't all that acting out on their part ring a bell? doesn't that remind you of how little children behave to get attention? children do that because they lack self-esteem. they are not making fools out of themselves, but seeking something they desperately need that they do not have. you just haven't covered psychosocial nursing yet or i think you might have seen that. what you can do is watch, observe and learn from these classmates because you are going to see this same kind of behavior in a lot of other people over the years and here are examples with all the signs and symptoms of low self-esteem and probably ineffective coping right in front of you to observe!

MoLee228 · May 12, 2009

I know how it is to have annoying classmates. My clinical group is about 7 people, all but one of them complains all the time about EVERYTHING. Want to know my solution? I non-chalantely asked them what classes and times they were taking in fall...and picked mine opposite. I don't like negative energy and while i know I cant change them I can change if i have to deal with them.

I feel your pain! What is WITH all the complaining?!?!?!? :argue: It seriously drives me nuts :bugeyes: . I have never heard so many people find so many negative things about every aspect of life...until I entered nursing school! I try REALLY hard to tune it out...I can't handle sooo much negativity! :eek:

nerdtonurse?, BSN, RN · May 13, 2009

I walk in, sit in the back, keep my earbuds in until class starts, put them back in when class is over, and walk to my car. While they're doing "drama at 9" I'm listening to VangoNotes for nursing off the Ipod.....

Apollo85 · May 13, 2009

I would put some distance between us so I can block them out completely or more easily. If that doesn't work, definitely be upfront about it and mention it to them, explain the situation. It could be that they just don't realize what they're doing. If they're nice they'll stop. If not, talk to the instructor or whoever is in charge, and explain to them the issue. You're paying money to learn in a comfortable environment and most class comes with a syllabus which states consequences of disruptive behavior. Make the student realize the problem so they'll stop or make the instructor realize that it IS a problem and that they need to take action. Some instructors hate to assert their authority and a student will "run" the class and make students like you miserable. Just make sure you don't wait too long until you blow up and make a scene; or don't mention anything directly and deal with it in a passive-aggressive way, which rarely solves a problem and can only lead to more issues. :twocents:

BabyLady, BSN, RN · May 13, 2009

My question to the OP is this...why does this bother you so much?

You'll be running into people like this your entire career....we have a couple of folks like this in our class...but to each his own.

You can't get your feathers ruffled over something this petty.

Kevin RN08 · May 13, 2009

As Daytonite said, watch, listen and learn. And as others have said, we have to learn to constructively deal with it, as we will see it throughout out career.

One point is where is your instructor in all of this? If a handful are holding up productive class time the instructor needs to gain control of the room. If it's not interupting class time then it's not a problem, I am at school to learn not socialize. I am sure there are others to whom I have more in common with any way and I need to seek them out.

Missy202 · May 16, 2009

I can definitely empathize with you. Unfortunately since nursing is a field dominated by women, we have to put up with the most nosey, gossiping, talkative, and emotional people. I just tune them out to the best of my ability.

jazz_is_my_game · May 16, 2009

I hear what you are saying. We have all been there!

I ignore my annoying classmates with my music (yay Steve Jobs) or reading something (my text or something else) before class starts. I pretty much ignore the ignorance :)

dblpn · May 16, 2009

I have some classmates that are about to drive me INSANE!!!! They act like they are super-students...yet they are failing. What REALLY bothers me the most is how they talk about all the drama in their lives (some MAJOR stuff)....like they think it's making them center of attention...but it's NEGATIVE attention because they are making fools out of themselves by sharing their life history....which in most cases is nothing to be proud of.
How do you deal with folks like this in your class?

omg i just made a thread something similar to this. i think it is really sad that we, those of us who are trying to learn, have to put up with this kind of crap in class. i really don't care to hear of their personal problems all the time.

i feel your pain and frustration so just hang in there. IGNORE THEM!