discouraged educator

BeenThereDoneThat74, MSN, RN · Mar 12, 2006

Nursing education is like any other nursing specialty. There is a lot of OJT and you get better with experience. That said, half my RN class flunked out 1st semester. Some were not smart enough, some did not read well enough, and a lot did not study or work hard enough. You can not blame yourself for the failures of others. These are adults that should not have to be "spoon fed" answers to test questions. Despit the current shortage you do no one favors by passing unqualified candidates.

:yeahthat: So nice to hear that, coming out of the mouth of a student. Esp. the spoon-feeding remark.

rn/writer, RN · Mar 12, 2006

If this is an entry level course, you may doing exactly what you are supposed to do--culling those who need major remedial work before attempting to go further AND issuing a wake-up call to those who have the goods but have not becomed disciplined enough to produce.

We live in a society that gives free passes and second chances far too often and in far too many areas. Yes, on occasion it's good to temper harsh reality with mercy, but many students took Rationalization 101, Advanced Excuse Making, and Applied Manipulation--and passed with high marks--before they ever darkened the door of your classroom. Not everyone has a bad attitude. Many have just become accustomed to fudging a little here and slacking a little there and, for THEIR sake, you need to make it clear to them that the rest of nursing school--and indeed, the real world afterward--is full of tough standards and they'd do well to learn to push themselves now.

Be kind and nurturing of the students as people, but let them know you mean business. The instructors they have after you, not to mention their future patients, will be grateful.

Keep coming here to get dusted off and loved up when you feel like "the Grinch who stole my future." We'll stand by you.

VickyRN, MSN, DNP, RN · Mar 12, 2006

First of all, welcome to AllNurses and to the Nursing Educator Forum :balloons:

You have been given wonderful advice here. Please have a heart-to-heart discussion with your director. The first year of being a nursing instructor can be extremely difficult, and you need some guidance, reassurance, and feedback. One of the most difficult (and enduring) tasks of the novice instructor is distinguishing what is essential content from what is nice to know, and communicating this effectively to the students during your lecture. Otherwise, we are slaves to "additive curricula" and our lecture content will mushroom uncontrollably from year to year. Do your faculty get together to discuss curriculum, and help separate the "wheat from the chaff" (i.e., which material is essential and which material must be modified to adjust to the ever-changing landscape of nursing)?

If you can "stick it out," everything gets much easier after three years in the classroom.

A few questions for you:

Is this a first or second semester course? If so, most beginning students experience nursing school "culture shock" as they are not accustomed to the "critical thinking" type questions (i.e., application and analysis questions per Bloom's taxonomy - please see https://allnurses.com/forums/1335697-post24.html ).

I agree with llg - don't lower your standards, or "teach to the test," or cave in to the ever-present pressure of "grade inflation." Item analysis, as nurse educate pointed out, is an essential feature for determining the validity and reliability of each test item. Are you performing this statistical analyses on tests in your program? In our program, if the biseria is greater than 0.2, we tend to keep the question, even if a majority of the students picked the wrong distracter.

Do you have an assigned faculty mentor? If not, ask your director if one can be assigned to you. You need that one-on-one support and guidance. As iteach suggested, have a trusted peer "sit in" on your lectures and evaluate your test items for congruity with your course objectives and lecture content. This feedback is invaluable.

How did students in previous years score with this same content material? Some material in nursing school is so difficult (such as fluid and electrolytes or arterial blood gases), that only a minority of the students "get it" the first time around.

One thing to always remember: you have a classroom of adult learners. Adult learners bear the weight of responsibility for their success or failure in nursing school. As teachers, we facilitate learning, but each student is ultimately responsible for his or her learning.

Not every student is "cut out" to be a nurse. We try our best to improve retention, but we can't get away from this basic unfortunate fact. Some are going to fail, despite our most valiant efforts. This is one of the hardest tasks we face as nursing instructors, but it is vital for the safety of the public. Does your program use a "screening exam" such as the NET, NLN or HOBET? These are worth their weight in gold. Entrance examinations help improve both nursing student retention and first-time NCLEX passage rates, by helping screen candidates who can pass nursing courses, and predicting factors which may interfere with the learning process and success rate of nursing students. Some schools of nursing also require passage of an NCLEX-type examination (such as the HESI) each semester, before the student can advance. See http://nursing.about.com/b/a/156195.htm

Something else to help improve student retention of material and facilitate critical thinking: employ active learning exercises (such as case studies) with your lecture material. Some excellent web sites about creating a learner-centered classroom:

http://www.active-learning-site.com/sum1.htm

http://www.wcer.wisc.edu/step/ep301/Fall2000/Tochonites/active.html

http://www.wcer.wisc.edu/step/ep301/Fall2000/Tochonites/stu_cen.html

SFCardiacRN · Mar 12, 2006

Something else to help improve student retention of material and facilitate critical thinking: employ active learning exercises (such as case studies) with your lecture material.

I love this idea! Case studies in combination with pathophysiology helped me the most. They are where I learned critical thinking. Any student that cannot get past test distractors will not pass the NCLEX anyway.

rpv_rn · Mar 13, 2006

something else to help improve student retention of material and facilitate critical thinking: employ active learning exercises (such as case studies) with your lecture material. some excellent web sites about creating a learner-centered classroom:

i frequently utilize case studies throughout my lecture.

one strategy:

i pass out the various mini-scenarios ahead of time. i tell the students that these mini-scenarios are not required homework but will help with their critical thinking application of the current module. at the next lecture, i randomly call students on their approach to the case studies. that way, i know which students took the time to work out the problems and which ones didn't. the latter group who cannot answer the case studies seems to be embarrassed enough without any comment from me.

truern · Mar 13, 2006

In my classes, any question where most of the students get it wrong is thrown out.

I *hate* it when a question gets thrown out....inevitably I got it right!!

JTAYLOR · Mar 13, 2006

Claire! Congrats on being a grandma soon. Don't give up on education, good teachers are hard to find and what the medical community needs more than anything is a champion in the school system. I am a 48 yr old 1st year nursing student. I am in my 2nd semester. We lost 27 out of 53 last semester. Our school also is trying to keep a 100% pass rate on the NCLEX which they are so EXTREMELY proud of. Our clinicals don't have a grade value (just Pass/Fail). I am doing fine but, there are students who would be great nurses who are struggling because they dont' have the educational/experience background that I do and very little is being done to help them. I've said all along that they are putting too much emphasis on maintaining their reputation than on meeting the needs of the health care community. I've tried as a student but get treated like I'm not very bright by many of the teachers. I have a B.S. in Bus Mgmt with a minor in HR and an A.A. in Supervision and Mgmt. I have a lot of experience as a supervisor - which includes a lot of training/teaching. I might as well be struck deaf and dumb as to make any attempt to address the problems with the program. My recourse is to help as many struggling students as I can. Don't give up - this curriculum needs good teachers wherever you are! Just remember, some days your the windshield, some days your the bug! It's only life, we all get through it.

BeenThereDoneThat74, MSN, RN · Mar 13, 2006

Just remember, some days your the windshield, some days your the bug!

I like that one :chuckle (I feel like I'm usually the bug!!)

rpv_rn · Mar 13, 2006

i am doing fine but, there are students who would be great nurses who are struggling because they dont' have the educational/experience background that i do and very little is being done to help them. i've said all along that they are putting too much emphasis on maintaining their reputation than on meeting the needs of the health care community. i've tried as a student but get treated like i'm not very bright by many of the teachers. i have a b.s. in bus mgmt with a minor in hr and an a.a. in supervision and mgmt. i have a lot of experience as a supervisor - which includes a lot of training/teaching. i might as well be struck deaf and dumb as to make any attempt to address the problems with the program. my recourse is to help as many struggling students as i can. don't give up - this curriculum needs good teachers wherever you are! just remember, some days your the windshield, some days your the bug! it's only life, we all get through it.

our program has nclex pass rate of 97% & above. there are several reasons for the high attrition rate (esp. 1st year): immaturity, study skills, reading/ math comprehension, test-taking anxiety, realization that nursing is not for them, family / financial problems, just to name a few.

from the very beginning, i let the students know that i am there to help them succeed & to come to my office for assistance or tutoring. i state this in class repeatedly. unfortunately the percentage of students that come to me for assistance are few. those students who are already successful are usually the ones who visit me before & after classes.

i note the students who are struggling & encourage them to see instructors for assistance from the get-go. we discuss their note taking skills & the other reasons as listed above. we instructors set up tutoring classes. i have also approached highly successful students in later semesters to help struggling students with peer tutoring.

if we cannot help them, i can refer them to the many programs available at our college, including referrals for financial aide and free professional counseling to help them with their high stress level.

it may not be evident but we have several strategies to help students. we instructors do more than just "very little" to help any & all students.

BeenThereDoneThat74, MSN, RN · Mar 13, 2006

from the very beginning, i let the students know that i am there to help them succeed & to come to my office for assistance or tutoring. i state this in class repeatedly. unfortunately the percentage of students that come to me for assistance are few. those students who are already successful are usually the ones who visit me before & after classes.
i note the students who are struggling & encourage them to see instructors for assistance from the get-go. we discuss their note taking skills & the other reasons as listed above. we instructors set up tutoring classes. i have also approached highly successful students in later semesters to help struggling students with peer tutoring.
if we cannot help them, i can refer them to the many programs available at our college, including referrals for financial aide and free professional counseling to help them with their high stress level.
it may not be evident but we have several strategies to help students. we instructors do more than just "very little" to help any & all students.

:yeahthat: i do not teach in a university setting, so we do not have tutoring and counseling. however, it is such a small school (less than 60 students on each of the two levels), that everybody knows everybody. and i have attempted to make myself available to all of my students, for more than just clinical related issues. i am more than happy to share ideas with tham, and give them strategies to enhance their academic performance (test taking techniques, organization in clinicals, etc). but, you can only suggest, and they will do what they want with it.

rpv_rn · Mar 13, 2006

:yeahthat: I do not teach in a university setting, so we do not have tutoring and counseling. However, it is such a small school (less than 60 students on each of the two levels), that everybody knows everybody. And I have attempted to make myself available to all of my students, for more than just clinical related issues. I am more than happy to share ideas with tham, and give them strategies to enhance their academic performance (test taking techniques, organization in clinicals, etc). But, you can only suggest, and they will do what they want with it.

You're very correct that we can only suggest and that students will do what they want with it. As stated, the successful students come for help. Those that are struggling hesitate, for whatever reason, no matter how many times we offer help. I'd love to know the answer for this dilemma.

mariedoreen · Mar 18, 2006

I know you have the best of intentions ... but I think that is a TERRIBLE policy! With a policy like that, the students can chose to avoid the work and not learn the material. As long as a majority of students do a bad job, the school will let them slide. Abominable!
llg

You really think students are going to avoid the work and not learn the material on the off chance that the majority are making the same choice? Maybe they're all getting together at the pizza place so they can talk about what they're not going to study so that HOPEFULLY they can all miss the same questions and they can get thrown out.

We're adults. We have a lot of time, sweat, tears, and money invested here. We are working really hard to achieve a career that means a lot to us. We are not interested in playing these games.

If the majority are missing a question there is a reason for it and thus, I agree with the remainder of your post. The grand conspiracy suggested in the first paragraph however just begged to be addressed.

To the OP, how closely did your questions match the content in lecture and the assigned reading? At the end of the day your lecture can be brilliant and your students can read every page of their assigned reading, but if the questions don't match up pretty specifically to the content, there's going to be a problem. In our school our easiest instructor demands the most of us. She really requires us to know a lot of content for each exam and there are extensive reading assignments that correlate. We call her our easiest instructor because she's organized, clear about her expectations, and designs questions that can be answered if we were present for lecture and have done the work she's assigned. In our school easy means if I work hard I can pass her test.

By contrast the hard instructors are unorganized in lecture and unorganized with their assignments. Reading and lecture don't correlate and test questions come out of left field. You can study all you want and yet you know deep down little of that work is going to prepare you for that exam.