is there anyone else frustrated with inconsistancies in their nursing program?

RN1263 · Oct 28, 2006

yep,.....(sigh), but at my school if you complain they WILL find a way to get you OUT of THEIR program usually by giving clinical "F"s if you do well on tests! So, i keep my mouth zipped for the most part......

TAB_RN · Oct 28, 2006

i hate to downgrade my school, but there are so many inconsistancies. does anyone else have this problem?
first off, it says right in the nurse practice act that students shall have a constant environment condusive to learning. we have been shuffled around like cattle this semester because the roof in our homeroom keeps leaking. it wouldn't be that bad except some of the rooms are totally inappropriate- like the auditorium. how are we suppossed to balance a book and our notes on our lap? plus the lighting in the auditorium is horrible.
then there is math. one instructor says to carry the problem out to the second decimal point and round your answer. the other instructor says to not round anything. we have students not passing their math tests, but i wonder why. noone's sure exactly what the instructors want.
then there's the whole uniform policy. i wore the same amount of earrings all through last semester during clinicals and through the first rotation of this semester and nothing was ever said. then i get to the rotation i'm in now and i get a deficiency, stating i had too many earrings. their not even hoops or anything. i had one pair of studs and a stud in my cartilage that is covered by my hair when i pull it up anyway.
then to top it off we have a new med/surg instructor this year. she doesn't know how to lecture. we'll have a question about something and she either ignores the question or says she will look into it and never gets back to us.
other times she flat out tells us she doesn't know. she even asks us where things are in the book? i understand that it's her first year teaching, but shouldn't she be prepared for lecture, and be able to answer our questions?
our class went to the program chair with our concerns, but we basically didn't get anywhere. we tried to talk to the dean of the school, but we have to schedule an appointment and the only times available are during class. we can only miss two days a semester, and most of us have families that sometimes makes it necessary to miss class.
the list goes on and on, but i think i've listed enough.
we all feel that we aren't getting the education we are spending a lot of money for. i was just wondering if anyone else is having problems, or if i just made a bad choice in schools?

Well, I am sorry that you are feeling the way you do, but there are things that should be clear. In my school there is a handbook that clearly states that only one pair of studs can be worn. Some instructors may appear to overlook some students that do not adhere to the rules, but when evalution time comes, usually it is brought up then. I am not sure what your rules are, but if they state to dress a certain way and you don't, then you have to expect that they may bring it up.

With the math, I would just ask the instructor before starting the test, how they would prefer you to round off the answer. That way, you are covered.

I am a nursing II student and I must say that I find this to be the most self-taught major. There is no way the nursing program can teach you everything in lecture. I would set up a meeting after class with a list of questions if you do not understand something. Sometimes the teachers do not know everything. I feel this is the hardest thing I have ever worked for, but you get out of it what you put into it. If you feel something isn't clear, make an appointment or send an email to the instructor. That is what I do, anyway.

I hope this helps.

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Oct 28, 2006

What an awful tragedy. :crying2: Yes, I think you must have made a bad choice in schools. Every student should have an esthetically pleasing physical environment for his or her classes. A leaky roof and having to sit on the floor of an auditorium? I would have quit that day! And, all the dress code rules! Are they nuts? And, a new instructor! If no one has helped her get oriented as a new nursing instructor, how do you think it will be for new graduate nurses as they go out into their first jobs as brand new nurses? Do you think that maybe no one in the nursing field will be willing to help them out like no one seems to be helping out your instructor? What a terrible situation that would be. Why subject yourself to that kind of abuse? I think you should save yourself a lot of trouble and just quit now. This is obviously too difficult for you to endure. How sad to come all this way to get into nursing classes only to find yourself defeated by the physical conditions and the difficulty of the challenge of some instructors that seem a little disorganized. Go into another profession where things are much easier and handed to you on a silver platter. I don't know how you are possibly going to make it as a nurse, you poor thing. :stone

Sheri257 · Oct 28, 2006

Inconsistency and disorganization is the reality for nursing school, and probably for the profession overall.

Yeah ... it would be nice if they were consistent and organized but, unfortunately, it's probably not going to happen.

My teachers were not consistent and organized until I got to 4th semester. And, really, it's only because these particular teachers have been around for so long they've had years to make it so.

The reason most teachers are disorganized is: they get paid the same whether they're organized or not, and organization takes a lot of work.

The fact is, most teachers are lazy and don't put forth the effort.

:typing

mysterious_one, ASN, RN · Oct 28, 2006

What an awful tragedy. Yes, I think you must have made a bad choice in schools. Every student should have an esthetically pleasing physical environment for his or her classes. A leaky roof and having to sit on the floor of an auditorium? I would have quit that day! And, all the dress code rules! Are they nuts? And, a new instructor! If no one has helped her get oriented as a new nursing instructor, how do you think it will be for new graduate nurses as they go out into their first jobs as brand new nurses? Do you think that maybe no one in the nursing field will be willing to help them out like no one seems to be helping out your instructor? What a terrible situation that would be. Why subject yourself to that kind of abuse? I think you should save yourself a lot of trouble and just quit now. This is obviously too difficult for you to endure. How sad to come all this way to get into nursing classes only to find yourself defeated by the physical conditions and the difficulty of the challenge of some instructors that seem a little disorganized. Go into another profession where things are much easier and handed to you on a silver platter. I don't know how you are possibly going to make it as a nurse, you poor thing. :stone

:lol2: just had to laugh to that.

yes nursing school is hard,

and if they have building problems, i guess they trying to do the best they can . As for the dress code, as others mentioned , the nursing handbooks usually clearly state what is expected, just stick with the rules.

I do have to say, that I also wish that there is some more clear teaching done in the classroom, but I am beginning to see that part of the reason why this is probably done this way , is to get our " critical thinking " heads in gears.

AuntieRN · Oct 28, 2006

Daytonite...LOL I had to read your post twice before I figured out what you were trying to get at. I was like...hmmm never have I heard her suggest someone quit....I just thought it was too funny....as I think every nursing school is the same......better get used to the chaos and inconsistency now as that is how it is in the real world.

As for your dress code...you are lucky we were not allowed to wear any jewelry whatsoever except a single band wedding ring on the proper finger and a watch...no tounge rings, no belly rings (yes they checked) no earrings, no necklaces no jewelry of any kind.

Megsd, BSN, RN · Oct 28, 2006

i hate to downgrade my school, but there are so many inconsistancies. does anyone else have this problem?
first off, it says right in the nurse practice act that students shall have a constant environment condusive to learning. we have been shuffled around like cattle this semester because the roof in our homeroom keeps leaking. it wouldn't be that bad except some of the rooms are totally inappropriate- like the auditorium. how are we suppossed to balance a book and our notes on our lap? plus the lighting in the auditorium is horrible.
then there is math. one instructor says to carry the problem out to the second decimal point and round your answer. the other instructor says to not round anything. we have students not passing their math tests, but i wonder why. noone's sure exactly what the instructors want.
then there's the whole uniform policy. i wore the same amount of earrings all through last semester during clinicals and through the first rotation of this semester and nothing was ever said. then i get to the rotation i'm in now and i get a deficiency, stating i had too many earrings. their not even hoops or anything. i had one pair of studs and a stud in my cartilage that is covered by my hair when i pull it up anyway.
then to top it off we have a new med/surg instructor this year. she doesn't know how to lecture. we'll have a question about something and she either ignores the question or says she will look into it and never gets back to us.
other times she flat out tells us she doesn't know. she even asks us where things are in the book? i understand that it's her first year teaching, but shouldn't she be prepared for lecture, and be able to answer our questions?
our class went to the program chair with our concerns, but we basically didn't get anywhere. we tried to talk to the dean of the school, but we have to schedule an appointment and the only times available are during class. we can only miss two days a semester, and most of us have families that sometimes makes it necessary to miss class.
the list goes on and on, but i think i've listed enough.
we all feel that we aren't getting the education we are spending a lot of money for. i was just wondering if anyone else is having problems, or if i just made a bad choice in schools?

Nursing is an ever-changing field, and sometimes nursing school feels that way too. One of the biggest skills you can learn (in life, and in nursing school) is how to be flexible and roll with the punches, because when you're working, there will be inconsistencies in policies, you may do something and then the doctor comes and tells you to do it differently... you need to be able to adapt.

Now, that said, as far as the room thing goes, I think they are probably doing the best they can. In a busy university it is quite possible that all other classrooms are full during your class period, so rather than making students sit in the wet spots in the room, they are attempting to move the class to somewhere that will better facilitate learning. Many times it is complicated to get a class switched to a new room (I've had instructors previously that were unhappy with the room assignment and tried to move... sometimes they succeeded, sometimes we had to stay put). If you want to be really gung-ho, maybe you can look up what classes are held in what rooms during your class and see if you can locate an empty room and inform your instructor of this.

As far as the dress code goes, you as a student are a direct reflection upon your instructor, and your instructor wants you to look professional. If they want you to take out your earrings, I'd just take them out. Why risk failing clinical for unprofessional behavior over a pair of stud earrings? That really seems like a frivilous crusade to me, personally.

My patho professor is like your med/surg professor, only mine isn't new. We ask her all sorts of intruiging, critical thinking, applying to other situations questions and she always says stuff like "I don't know" or "I'm not a peds nurse" or "I'll get back to you" (and never does). We almost chuckle about it now, and simply go ask one of our other instructors, ask our classmates who might have experience in that area, or look it up. Nursing school is full of resources to help you learn, sometimes you need to be a little proactive. I think part of the problem for my prof is she usually teaches in a big lecture hall with 100+ nursing students (many of whom, I hear, don't bother to come to class), and now she's in a little room with 25 eager overachieving accelerated students and isn't as used to having to do two-way communication. But, like I said, we just ask our questions of someone we know to be more knowledgeable, and it's fine.

As far as the Dean goes, have you actually told him/her that all of his/her appointment times are during your scheduled classes? I would see if there's a way he/she can work with you on that... it would be kind of unacademic for the Dean to encourage you to skip class so you can complain about your professor.

But then again, I feel like you need to sit back and really think things through and decide which battles are worth fighting. The classroom thing... I'd fight if I could find an alternative classroom on my own and say "Is there any way we could move HERE? It's empty during our class period". The earring thing, I don't think is worth fighting. The professor thing, it depends. I'd only pursue it if you really feel it's worth it.

Natkat, BSN, MSN, RN · Oct 28, 2006

I'm sure your instructor is just as frustrated with the room situation as you are. She probably feels as stressed out by trying to teach class in that situation as you are by learning in it.

I've had lots of ups and downs on my way to nursing school with bad professors. I've learned to deal with it the best way I can. Sometimes you have to work hard on finding the information yourself. If you can figure out what it is you are "supposed" to know and work with that you'll do better. Over and over I've researched information on the topic being discussed and found tons of stuff that wasn't covered in class that wound up on an exam. I've seen a lot of my classmates focusing on minutae and missing the main points lots of times. I don't know how to explain it, but if you can research the topic, body system, disease, condition, procedure or whatever is being discussed and learn the main points, you'll be that much farther ahead. It's also a better use of your time than trying to do all the reading in the textbooks.

Once you become a nurse you will find situations far more chaotic and stressful than this, and the sooner you can become flexible and able to think on your feet, the faster you'll adapt. It's an occupational hazard I think, and it's part of what critical thinking prepares you for; being able to figure out how to work with what you have. Just the short time I've been in clinicals I've already had to do this - problems such as equipment not working or not being stored where it is supposed to be, supplies not available or not the right thing needed to do a procedure. I used to get frustrated but I've noticed that since it's pretty common I decided to get used to it.

Good luck!

firstyearstudent · Oct 29, 2006

Sounds about right.

nUsingsTudent021 · Oct 29, 2006

My Goodness, Inconsitancies! I can relate. I have the same problem with math problems. One teacher wants the rounding done one way and the next a different way. We have a Nursing Manual for our program, which is suppose to outline the guidelines including how to round math problems. I feel that if you spend the time to put together a manual why not follow it. If the instructor doesn't go by the rules in the manual why don't they address the whole class, instead of waiting until you miss a math question to tell you she wants it done differently. We should get credit for the problem if we follow the guidelines in the manual.

Oh and the care plans. The format has changed for every class I have been in and I am almost finished with 3rd semester. I also ask myself where is the CONISTANCY!!!:angryfire

WindyhillBSN · Oct 29, 2006

Yes, I can Relate, and I'm sick of it too. What bothers me the most is that one of my instructors keeps teasing me about a bad clinical experience. That's so unprofessional. I also had to hire a tutor for my Pharm. class and I feel that is unfair considering all of the tuition we have to pay for THEM to instruct us!!!! Yes, SICK,SICK, SICK!!!!:angryfire