Angry with school problem - NEED ADVICE!!!

Starfish1 · Feb 3, 2009

That sounds horrible, I can't believe it!! I would go and talk to the teacher and let her know how you feel (if you haven't already) but there isn't much you can do to change other people and what they do with their lives and how they act. I personally think that before getting accepted to NS people should be interviewed on a one on one basis- not be accepted just on grades- I think the schoos could help themselves out in the long run doing this, and only accepting those that are willing to work for a nursing degree. If I were you I would just keep moving forward- if there isn't anything you can do with a situation, you can only take it and make the best of it-

sorry I can't be of much more help! keep your head up and don't let the actions of others distract you

Cilantrophobe · Feb 3, 2009

Confront your instructor and if things don't change confront the dean. Somebody isn't doing their job. The instructors aren't usually responsible for pulling people out of the program. The higher-ups do that stuff. If those students are holding the class back, something needs to be done about that. I'm not saying that those people will get pulled from the program, but maybe the dean will tell the teacher to push forward and leave the others behind.

Trauma Columnist · Feb 3, 2009

Education is a commodity that you are paying for. Since you aren't getting the service you paid for, I would be complaining loud and long - start with your instructor with a written letter outlining how this is affecting you and take it on up the food chain.

MrazFan · Feb 3, 2009

It seems like every school has a group of those students, who just don't seem to care, and don't take it as seriously as they should. :icon_roll Keep your chin up. Don't let it discourage you. We only have the power to dictate what WE do in life, not what others do. I suspect that the slackers will realize (too late) that they have done themselves a huge disservice. It will probably be right around the time that they have to tell mommy and daddy, who are probably financing their education, that they've failed out, or when they sit for the NCLEX and have no clue. Keep your head down and do what YOU need to do to succeed. Let the others worry about themselves. It does suck that your instructor will not be able to cover certain materials because of the people who are holding the class back, and maybe you could speak with your instructor about your concerns in that area. Perhaps he/she could develop a study guide or something for those sections, to help those of you who do care.

Good luck to you, whatever you decide to do!

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Feb 3, 2009

This is what a professional would do. See the instructors one-on-one, face-to-face, in their office during office time for a serious sit down discussion. Make it clear at that time that you are not one of the ones who is in the "I don't care" group and that you are concerned about this other group holding you and the other 5 back. Ask what can you be doing to be working ahead? While the others are slacking off there is no reason why you can't be doing extra work, is there? All you need to do is ask for the guidance.

It may be that if your program is funded by tax monies of some sort and that the instructors must make these kinds of accommodations for these other students because of the school's mission statement.

itsmyturn · Feb 3, 2009

It's obvious that the school is keeping them because they need the money. So, you probably are not going to be able to change much concerning them being dropped. I see that you are able to maintain your grades despite the acting up that is taking place within the classroom. It would be nice if you could get more out of your lectures without having the distractions. It seems that you feel like you are working your brain off while others think life is a game and this bothers you. You are putting out good money for an education that you feel should be presented a certain way. Thats all good, but remember nursing school can be a nasty area to confront. If these students find out you alone have been complaining, it is real easy to start problems for you. This is where your team work skills will come into play.

When we first began our classes, we had this group that was just like what your talking about. Fortunately, when their grades dropped low enough the DON kicked them out. Until then, the rest of us got together and made a plan. We went all the way up to the DON with our concerns as a group and things were mentioned to the class regarding the problem but it fixed nothing. In our case, they just could not be quiet when the teacher was speaking. We decided to keep asking the instructor to repeat herself when the group spoke anything when she was talking. The first day, I counted 23 of us asking the teacher to repeat what she said. After about 3 days of having to do this, the instructor caught on, got fed up and reprimanded them. The group fussed at us outside because they felt that we got them into trouble but power comes in numbers. Thank God they were all were dropped at the end of the first semester. We had a better class and life went on. One thing that we learned in the beginning was that our class was a team and we were expected to learn how to work together and how to solve our problems together. I will never forget that instructor coming in at the beginning of the 2nd semester, looking at the class and telling us "o.k., as you can see, the problem group has been dropped. Please do not ask me to repeat anything else!" We all got a good laugh out of it and she noted she was proud of us for learning how to solve our problem. We showed her how much it bothered us by bothering her. So, have a meeting with the students this may bother and start making it the class you want it to be. If we had anymore problems we went as a group and it seemed to help.

As for making terrible grades and being allowed to stay regardless, money talks and people here are right... the NCLEX won't allow them to pass regardless and they will have wasted a lot of time because they wanted to play games. Then you can say, "who is laughing now!":lol2:

lpnflorida · Feb 3, 2009

Trust me your slackers will be dropped from the program. We started with I believe it was 40 or 50 students when I attended. Out of that only 20 of us graduated.

They do start culling the poor students out, wait and see. The first couple of months they give people a chance. After that the hatchett starts to fall. We had one poor person who was really trying and was cut the last month of school. Another who was book smart, great grades, but attitude got her, she was asked to come back and repeat but did not graduate with us.

Dottie, RN · Feb 3, 2009

Wow!! That is horrible! I can't imagine going to nursing school and not take it seriously. Those slackers will be kicked out of the program, you'll see. It's only a matter of time, and they will probably regret it sometime down the road. I'm sure your instructor is aware of this group. Like a previous poster said, let your instructor know that you're not part of the "I don't care" group, and let her know that you are willing to learn and work your butt off. It's not fair to you (and the others who actually want to be nurses) that she has to skip over some of the material because of these people. Hang in there!

scrublifenurse10, LPN · Feb 5, 2009

Thanks for the advice! I'm working on writing down each point that I feel I need to make to my instructor...and once I get back to school (two days out for snow...and just found out we will be out tomorrow too)...I am going to talk with her. I just want her to know how dedicated I am, and how the "slackers" are affecting the rest of the class in a very negative way. Thanks again for letting me vent..and for the advice...and any other advice is certainly welcomed!

sunray12 · Feb 5, 2009

Was your teacher playing hardball? I've been going to school for many dozen years and never saw someone get a 0 grade for completed work unless there was cheating involved. Granted from your description the student may have brought it on him/herself by being a wise-azz in class or something of that nature but still that seems harsh.

I think you should focus on YOUR prize - i.e. your nursing license and don't worry about theirs. Not everyone is mature enough to grasp the value of an education. But a lot of people do turn around eventually and someday some of these people may grow up and become good nurses even though they don't have the patience for it now. You say you're getting A's and B's so their attitude obviously isn't impacting your performance at all. You have the ability to read up on your own which is something that happens in a lot of classes anyway with or without a class clown factor. So don't pay attention to about them - focus on you.

BabyLady, BSN, RN · Feb 5, 2009

It sounds horrible...but I guess what I am having trouble understanding, is why does this bother you so much?

We had the same dead weight in my school too...and all of them are gone as we approach graduation.

The only person you are responsible for is you.