An Observation...

Published

Specializes in Hospice.

I start school on August 25th.

We had to do BLS with our class at the school this past Wednesday, and I'm kind of shocked.

There were younger girls (I'm 28) who were super catty, openly, to older students. Lots of gossip LOUDLY, and just..I don't know. NOT what I expected.

I feel like I'm being a jerk, like judgmental or something. But I expected a better caliber of people.

We were learning about AED's and how to use them, and I was standing next to the table, not touching it, and some lady who'll be in my class with me started randomly yelling at me, interrupting the demonstration.

'STOP TOUCHING THE TAAAAABLE!'

huh?

I wasn't anywhere near it, so I didn't realize she was talking to me..and she's a student so...

:confusedface:

Finally one of the instructors said 'nobody's touching the table..we need to continue'

I've learned as an adult to keep my mouth shut and have a low profile to avoid trouble, which is the ANTITHESIS of my nature.

But I handle it well.

I just couldn't believe the lack of maturity and so forth that I saw. Is this normal in school?

I'm going to a pretty reputable school too. I just didn't expect this.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.

Wait until you see coming from patients!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Hospice.

I expect the worst out of patients. I did private home health for a few months, so I'm fine with that. It's the students that I expect more out of. But thanks.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

unfortunately I think its a crap shoot as to what you're going to get in school. I've been pretty lucky at this school thus far, but I've had some pretty annoying classmates in the past at times. Just do what you can to avoid their drama and ignore their comments and focus on your goal. Its most likely that they will be gone before the end of the first semester anyways, if they spend too much of their energy on being mean spirited.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

And like you... I expect that kind of thing from patients. They're sick. They often feel like garbage. They could even possibly be trying to come to terms with a terminal/life threatening illness/near death situation. They could be feeling very vulnerable and helpless due to the whole "no clothes/no privacy" issues of being a patient. So I get that they can be extremely grumpy or whatnot. Its how they are coping with their illness.

Coworkers and classmates? its not acceptable, but until/unless you are the teacher/supervisor there's not a whole lot you can do but just suck it up and deal (or once you're done w/ school and working... find another place of employment)

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.
I expect the worst out of patients. I did private home health for a few months, so I'm fine with that. It's the students that I expect more out of. But thanks.

Interesting. Why do you expect worst from patients and are fine with that. Do patients have something mystic that fellow students do not have? I'm confused now. Maybe you can clarify this. How can you think one way about one group and totally another way about a different group. Isn't that a form of bias? I thought nurses were supposed to be nonjudgmental.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Like you said school is a crapshoot. I lKnew more about their sexlives than I did about my best friends. You'll find someone to hang with for coffee.

I didn't go to school expecting to make friends but to get an education. I have one friend from school (and she's young enough to be my child) and I see a few from my class around the hospital I work at.

I kind of expected people to be interested in why they where there and didn't expect it be a social outlet for so many of my classmates.

Patients, well, you can never figure them out. I've decided I prefer to care for the poorer members of my city's society than the wealthy. The sense of entitlement just isn't there. I mean how can "icewater not be cold enough?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Wait until you see coming from patients!

:yeah:

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Interesting. Why do you expect worst from patients and are fine with that. Do patients have something mystic that fellow students do not have? I'm confused now. Maybe you can clarify this. How can you think one way about one group and totally another way about a different group. Isn't that a form of bias? I thought nurses were supposed to be nonjudgmental.

what's the big mystery?

i am less tolerant of my colleague's behaviors than my pts.

we as nurses, are held to a higher standard.

and our pts are accepted much more forgivingly.

makes perfect sense to me.

leslie

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Hospice.
Interesting. Why do you expect worst from patients and are fine with that. Do patients have something mystic that fellow students do not have? I'm confused now. Maybe you can clarify this. How can you think one way about one group and totally another way about a different group. Isn't that a form of bias? I thought nurses were supposed to be nonjudgmental.

I expect the worst from patients because they aren't paying the same 13k that I'M paying to learn about the psychology of human illness, among other things. They didn't pay anyone to learn how to be professional sick people, nor did they ask for their situation (usually).

While coddling them and patronizing behavior that isn't conducive to healing shouldn't be an acceptable practice, we are called to higher standards per our instructors and the ethics we agree to abide by as health care professionals in training.

I understand that not everyone is going to be easy to get a long with. But I expect some sort of standards to be upheld when I'm in school. And I'm certainly not there to make friends, for the record.

Will I ignore it? Unless it's a direct threat to me, yup.. Which includes being yelled at in the middle of a lesson by somebody with an obvious problem.

So, yes I'm going to do my best to stay away from the drama.

But that doesn't mean I won't be discussing it with others who are in school as well. I honestly expected more than this out of my contemporaries.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Hospice.

In addition,

I'm not sure what you're trying to do with the words I've used to communicate here,

but I don't appreciate being referred to as 'judgmental' because I took exception to the behavior of girls not too much younger than me, wasting their parent's good money to openly verbally attack an older woman for being just that.

Perhaps that's how you'd like to perceive it because that sort of behavior is acceptable to you. However, I didn't make this thread with the intention of maligning anyone else. I asked an honest question. So, I'm really sorry that your perception of the world is such.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Hospice.

ANDDDD! (haha I'm so long winded) while I did mention MYSELF that I feel like I'm being judgmental, it's because I do my best to see the best in others no matter how difficult their behavior is. I guess I just expected more out of people who are going to be nurses. Like, when I go in the hospital, though nurses are humans too..

the thought that they would make fun of me and call me things like 'an old retard' such as the girls that were saying this in class...and then do so AS LOUDLY as possible,

is just something I don't expect.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion