A quick vent about APA

[Tait, MSN, RN]

Background: I am an ADN who, after five years of bedside nursing, is currently completing my RN-MSN Clinical Education bridge with .

So far I have completed 9 undergrad classes and will start my MSN classes in the fall after some time with my baby due July 4th, 2011 :)

Anyway, most of the classwork required in the program is papers. Ok no big deal. Class after class has gone by where I have written paper after paper. One of the sticky things about is their APA policy. For undergraduate you use 5th edition, graduate level uses 6th edition. Despite my questions on why it is so I generally get "that is the nursing school's policy."

Most instructors haven't been very picky about the formatting, at least not to my knowledge. I use PERRLA which is basically a tool that formats the pages for you (same as if you set up a template in Word) but I paid $30 to have something that would be updated on a regular basis. Basically it aligns the margins and sets the running head for me.

What is bugging me is the recent onslaught of APA fanatics I have dealt with. One instructor cut us all down on APA so strongly that I wound up with a B+ (I was a 4.0 student now carrying a 3.8, though part of that was a B+ in Statistics as well). What irks me is there was never any commentary on the actual content of my work. That I was always getting full marks for, but then she would deduct a full 10 points for title pages and citations. She also used to take points off of our discussion posts for APA citations as well.

My most recent class I am carrying an A, but keep losing little points to my title page. So I asked, now three times for clarification. The TA told me exactly what was to be on the title page, and I did it, "per the template" and still lost points!! When I asked the instructor what was wrong and why I hadn't received the graded paper back (just the rubric) she told me to look at the template again. I don't understand for one why this instructor isn't returning the graded papers, as all my other instructors have. (I do intend to talk to my Academic Adviser about this one.)

I know in the end it is my responsibility to understand APA, however I am not taking an APA class. I am taking classes to learn the finer details of nursing and to increase my value to my institution. As someone who has written all my life and appreciates supported arguments I completely understand the value of citing information correctly.

I guess what baffles me is the use of an older form of APA and the constant badgering of it. My husband is published, I have several friends from MIT who are published, all state they understand the value of APA, but not the fine details, and it has never held them back.

Is this really what higher education is about? Nitpicking formatting while ignoring the content of the learning?

Thanks for the vent. Most of my questions are purely rhetorical, but sometimes being a distance learner is hard for me because I feel so isolated in my frustration.

Tait

[Always_Learning, BSN, RN]

It bugs me too. If I were submitting a journal for publication, well OK, but it's a paper, for crying out loud! I am (if I must say so) a good student and an exceptional writer, and I can't stand when I get points deducted for APA format (not grammar, spelling, or content!) It seems like busy work much of the time. I often spend longer formatting and writing a "references" page than actually composing the body of the paper.

On the rare occasions when professors would tell us to just journal (still a typed paper, but without regard to APA format), I thought I would cry with relief. I just don't get it unless you are publishing scientific findings.

[zbb13]

Sounds crazy to me. Sometimes people get hung up on such nitty gritty little details. Best of luck with impending birth.

[Tait, MSN, RN]

It bugs me too. If I were submitting a journal for publication, well OK, but it's a paper, for crying out loud! I am (if I must say so) a good student and an exceptional writer, and I can't stand when I get points deducted for APA format (not grammar, spelling, or content!) It seems like busy work much of the time. I often spend longer formatting and writing a "references" page than actually composing the body of the paper.

On the rare occasions when professors would tell us to just journal (still a typed paper, but without regard to APA format), I thought I would cry with relief. I just don't get it unless you are publishing scientific findings.

And when you publish...it is why you have an editor! lol

[Tait, MSN, RN]

Sounds crazy to me. Sometimes people get hung up on such nitty gritty little details. Best of luck with impending birth.

Thank you :)

[JROregon, ASN, BSN, RN]

Yes, thinking about the proper way to cite and write up the reference page suck any pleasure or spontaneity out of all the writing I do. And, of course, each instructor has different rules.

[tmartin83]

Ha! I always though that nursing should just have it's own format, instead of using the APA's technique.

So get to it, ANA!

[~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN]

I loathe APA and the fact that every instructor seems to have their own interpretation of the guidelines, That is the thing I dread most with the RN-BSN.

[SunshineDaisy, ASN, RN]

I think APA is the bane of my existance! And I agree, I swear each instructor makes up their own APA rules!

[dudette10, MSN, RN]

I'll follow the herd here and say that some instructors don't know APA either, but they'll take points off if you get their version of APA wrong. It's stupid.

Like you, I was also irked when I asked for feedback on these issues, and I never got a response. Isn't that a basic teaching priniciple? You know, FEEDBACK.

[Tait, MSN, RN]

I'll follow the herd here and say that some instructors don't know APA either, but they'll take points off if you get their version of APA wrong. It's stupid.

Like you, I was also irked when I asked for feedback on these issues, and I never got a response. Isn't that a basic teaching priniciple? You know, FEEDBACK.

Three emails later and I STILL have not been able to get the physical paper back so I could see the mistakes. I am not even asking for the points back, I just want to know what I did wrong!