I am SOOO MAD...

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Okay, now I know most of you will laugh at this, but I am really irritated. I need to just forget and move on, maybe I will after I post this.

I am currently taking a 1 credit hour Med Term class. Yes, remember 1 credit hour. Now, I did not expect to just walk and and have it be a breeze, but I did not expect it to be like my instructor is making it. I am also taking A&P and Nutrition. I took this med term with A&P so I could get it over with and not have it be too heavy of a load with A&P.

Two weeks ago, we had our first class. Our teacher assigned us 3 chapters and said we would have a quiz when we returned. We did not go over the book at all, she just said make flashcards and study our notes. Well, I did make about 100 flashcards. I knew my suffix's front and back. I did my worksheets and studied my chapter. I went in feeling confident that I would do well.

She passes out the quiz and it is all fill in the blank with no word root to accompany the suffix meaning. All she puts on it is the question (abnormal condition of gallstones) Now, I knew the abnormal condition part, because I studied the suffixes. The suffixes were all we had to fill in on our worksheets. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined her asking the word roots too!

I feel like because it is a 1 hour class, she knows people are going into it feeling like it won't be that bad so she is making it 10 times worse just to prove them wrong.

I know it is just a quiz and now I know what to expect, but it still makes me so mad knowing I am going to have to put up with all of this crap and make it through. Plus, if I don't get a good grade I feel like the nursing director will wonder what is up with me if I can't get an A out of a 1 credit hour class.

Sorry this is so long guys....

I am done ranting.

Jenny:(

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That's one thing I have noticed about nursing school that is a bit irritating...they EXPECT you to figure out what they want you to know - via osmosis?!?!? I have the advantage of having been a medical transcriptionist for 5 years, so I learned a boatload of med term...but my classmates don't all have that kind of experience and they were STUNNED to find terms (med term. class is NOT required nor is it offered as a separate class at my school that I am aware of) on exams - if you didn't know what the term was you were SCREWED!!! They were so pizzed off!!!! We're talking first semester class first exam and they threw in terms we had NOT covered and that were NOT in our assigned readings.

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Oh yes Jenny........!!!!

It is rare a student makes it through school without having one of those classes that technically, due to the subject matter or the few amount of credits, is supposed to be a breeze but isn't.

I have had a couple of those. "Exercise for the Fit of It" 1 credit, which should have been titled "Run for a good grade and pray you don't pass out" as it was taught by the Track Coach.

Cinema 3 credits. Cool, sit around and watch movies. Naahhh, learn every single thing there is to know about movie history and camera angles.

We've all had them.

I would suggest maybe the next time you have a quiz or test, ask your teacher to be more specific about the content of the exam or quiz. If you ask in the right way and non-condescending they will just think you don't have a clue and will try to help you out. Or maybe they will get that they are not being very clear and try to be more specific in the future.

Good Luck though,

Col

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I guess I don't get it-why would you only learn the suffix of a word and not know the offical word?You need to know the term for the abnormal condition of gallstones-you will never in real life be asked for just the suffix of the work that means "the abnormal condition of gallstones." Example-hypothermia. You would never refer to this term on the floor as hypo, when describing a patient with a very lowered bodytemp etc.

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Correct, except there are many words that accompany hypo, itis, algia...etc...

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Specializes in MS Home Health.

It is frustrating! When I started at the hospital they gave a med and IV test on drugs and calculations. They gave us a list of about 100 to study. We did. They passed out the test and you guessed it, none of the stuff was on there. The instructor laughed and said oh well take the test anyway. We all passed but it was very irritating.

renerian

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At our school we learn by osmosis!! LOL! Sure you have lecture, take notes and none of it (except for a very few questions) is on the quiz or exam. If you find a question that is wrong, and prove it, it still is not taken out of the exam.

Classes that are a breeze...hmmm...lets see...global societies? Nope had to write three papers, ummm....English Lit II...nope, had to read several plays (written in old english), interpret them and compare them to modern day. Nope...no easy credits here!! LOL!

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I'm also taking a class "Understanding Medical Language" a two-credit, self-study course. We only have to go in for the orientation (day 1), mid-term (day 2) and final (day 3). The text is pretty good and it's a help to my A&P class.

I do agree with katscan...it is important to know the whole word, but this is something that the instructor should have stated.

Kris

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Many of my friends took the med term class and dropped it because of the busy work that it required. Its awful when you have a class like that, that you don't REALLY need, but it affects you nonetheless. And the instructors in my program think we are mind readers, too. I'm pretty sure that's a common trait among many nursing instructors. Good luck with your class! ;)

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I can relate to what you are going through...last semester I took aerobics to lighten up my study load with A & P and to maybe lose a little weight. We had alot of unecessary written tests. 1 semester hour credit. Same thing with a 1 semester hour computer class I took last summer. Now when I see "1 semester hour"class, I just think of it as a regular class, so that I won't get disappointed when the instructor piles the work on .

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Specializes in Anesthesia.
Originally posted by katscan

I guess I don't get it-why would you only learn the suffix of a word and not know the offical word?You need to know the term for the abnormal condition of gallstones-you will never in real life be asked for just the suffix of the work that means "the abnormal condition of gallstones." Example-hypothermia. You would never refer to this term on the floor as hypo, when describing a patient with a very lowered bodytemp etc.

If you look at just about any med terms book or CD-rom learning program, you find that things are broken down into sections like prefixes, suffixes, root words, words that describe color, or body systems, etc. It is helpful to learn it this way. It is true that you won't refer to something on the floor as being just hypo, but when you start off learning something you can't just learn it all at once. As you go along, and you come across a term you're not familiar with, knowing what hypo- means can help you figure out the term. If you know that hypo- means "low" than it won't be hard later as you start learning the root words to know what hypodermic, hypotensive, hypoglycemic, etc mean.

Sorry your test was so badly set up, Jenny. Sounds like something I would definitely ask the instructor about so you'll know if she just operates that way and you should expect more problems like that in the future, or maybe if she just had a brain fart on this one day.

Good luck!

Lou

Convicted of placenta previa & serving time on couch arrest ~ Day 25

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Exactly Lou! I just got off the phone with her. I wanted to make sure my bases were really covered so I would not mess up again. She was very nice, as was I and I now know to know my worksheets backwards and forwards! At least I wont be caught by surprise next time!

I am finishing up a new pack of flashcards as we speak and am about to break open a new pack.

Thanks for letting me vent guys...

Jenny

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