Do nursing schools actually conciously REALIZE they are being ridiculous or is it a..

[Roland]

a matter where they are doing the best they can, and it just works out that way? Let me give you one example. My wife had over one thousand pages of reading due THE FIRST WEEK back from Christmas break. Her first test in Med/Surg last week included approximately 2,200 pages if you count the handouts, and assigned articles. What is more, her exam had six questions that were NOT EVEN COVERED in the assigned readings (they apparently used a test bank designed for a different text). The class average was a 70% with few or no A's. When the students tried to complain they were told they would have to set up private appointments with the instructor who maintains a grand total of TWO HOURS a week in office hours.

This school has one of the best reputations in the area. Do they do this deliberately? They claim to be reasonable people doing their very best to provide an excellent education. Don't they realize that this sort of thing makes getting the grades for graduate school almost impossible!

[rpbear]

Am I the only one who thought that their nusing school instructors were great?

I loved my instructors. Were they hard on me? YES! But I fell that the harder they were on me the more I wanted to learn, and prove that I can do this no matter what they said. I will be forever grateful to my instrutors for pushing me to my breaking point and letting me learn that I can overcome anything! I think this has made me a stronger person, both personally and proffesionally. I can think and perform under preasure, and I think this is what nursing school is trying to teach you!

[Altra, BSN, RN]

Originally posted by rpbear

Am I the only one who thought that their nusing school instructors were great?

I loved my instructors. Were they hard on me? YES! But I fell that the harder they were on me the more I wanted to learn, and prove that I can do this no matter what they said. I can think and perform under preasure, and I think this is what nursing school is trying to teach you!

Great post! :) As was an earlier one which pointed out that there is no logic, no fairness, to a pt. in one room coding, while the guy in the next room needs to get his dinner, and the next pt. down the hall needs to get on/off the bedpan ... all at the same time ... and nurses must deal with it all. Academic material could be presented in any fashion that you consider to be orderly, fair, etc. .... and that wouldn't necessarily prepare you for the reality of nursing.

I appreciate the quality of teaching at my school, and I have a previous degree in another field, so I have something as a basis for comparison. My instructors are each unique -- there's the one who just started teaching and has 15 years experience in critical care and "knows everything." (seriously, no matter what you ask her, on any topic, whether a general pt. care question or a highly technical detail - she knows it). At the other end of the spectrum is an older nurse who hasn't worked in hospital bedside nursing for many years, but she is a great can-do person. You could probably toss her out in the desert with no supplies and she would sill manage to deliver high quality pt. care. And we rotate clinical instructors halfway through each semester, so students are getting the benefit of many different styles and approaches. Do I "like" each of these people? Do all of them give me the warm fuzzies? No, of course not. But that doesn't mean that I'm not gaining valuable insight from all of them.

Are there things that you do in nursing school that aren't part of the real world? Of course. I don't ever expect to write an 18-page analysis of a pt. assessment again after graduation. But that doesn't mean that doing that 18 page monstrosity isn't a valuable learning tool for now. Business administration majors suffer through at least 3 semesters of calculus and statistics ... and then use spreadsheet functions to accomplish the same thing in the real world. I'm listening carefully ... nope, don't hear them howling about a conspiracy on the part of business schools to keep them down.

The more I think about it, I don't think your complaints about the teaching and testing at your school (actually, your WIFE'S school) are necessarily universal. Nursing school has its quirks, but if nursing schools across the board were somehow lacking in their educational programs, NCLEX pass rates would be taking a dive, and employers would be screaming about new GNs. I think I said this before, if you find the quality of the education to be that poor, vote with your feet and take your tuition dollars elsewhere.

[Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN]

Originally posted by Roland

[b Do schools and instructors deliberately write poorly worded, vague, or otherwise difficult to answer questions just to "throw" good students? Again, I suggest that I believe that this occurs more often than anyone will admit and that the motivation for doing so has little or nothing to do with turning out excellent nurses. [/b]

That is reaching a bit far.

If i had ever thought that an instructor was doing this, i would then ask myself "now why am i trying to blame all of this on other people instead of myself?".

[bellehill, RN]

Originally posted by rpbear

Am I the only one who thought that their nusing school instructors were great?

I loved my instructors. Were they hard on me? YES! But I fell that the harder they were on me the more I wanted to learn, and prove that I can do this no matter what they said. I will be forever grateful to my instrutors for pushing me to my breaking point and letting me learn that I can overcome anything! I think this has made me a stronger person, both personally and proffesionally. I can think and perform under preasure, and I think this is what nursing school is trying to teach you!

I loved my nursing instructors too! They were hard and not always fair but my job is a lot harder and less fair. They gave me a good base of knowledge that I have been able to build on since graduating. It is impossible for you to learn everything in 2-4 years.

As for homework...I worked full time and went to school full time, I was exhausted and miserable for two years...that is how bad I wanted to be a nurse. I also had an awesome study group who I still keep in touch with. I don't regret a minute of my education, only that I had to work while going to school.

[Shotzie]

>>

Have you noticed that HIS rant about HER school is all about HIM?

Even when he discusses studying for the exam he is "reading the questions to her aloud" ...and he doesn't think he is overbearing?? The more I read of him the less I like what I see.

I frankly don't believe much of what he is saying about

"thousands" of pages being assigned for reading. I've been a guest instructor in two different nursing programs in my large metropolitan city and while the reading assignments are tough they are not impossible...imagine how big the text book would have to be if a routine reading assignmnet is 1500 pages. Nursing school SHOULD be hard because we are entrusted with human life every day. I can tell you that the qualityof students I saw in my classes ranged from those who clearly would never be able to pass the classes or perform as nurses to those that glowed brightly and did well. The common denominator among the poor students??? Their ability to whine about how unfair nursing school is while they abdicated assignments and refused to study.

Roland, worry about your own life and your own schooling. Let your wife take care of hers. You will not be received well by her coworkers if this is the way you act. And she needs to grow into a strong independent nurse who can make her own decisions & fight her own battles, not have you thinking FOR her as you clearly are trying to do here on this thread.

[Roland]

1. The 2200 pages in reading assignments comes from TWO assigned text books, handouts, plus eight "recommended" articles for her cardio/respiratory test.

2. I don't think there is a contradiction between my positions on requiring a BSN for entry and wanting "fair" tests. I don't mind things being tough, I just think that teachers should CARE about being as fair as possible. People should read the tests that they give, and should at least be willing to listen if students find errors. Furthermore, tests should cover assigned material, not things that won't be taught for an additonal two months (in this case the five quetions about EKG rhythm strips. I realize that much of nursing, and life are not fair. However, especially where academic institutions are concerned (that make such a big darned deal out of grades) they should seek to make the tests as fair as reasonably possible. Surely, that starts with being familiar with the test you are giving, and ensuring that it tests material covered, assigned, or presented.

3. When you are married, "two become one" as the good book says. That means that if I fail in school (even though my GPA might be higher that IS a distinct possibility since my clincial skills are weaker) it affects her, and my son. The same is true if she doesn't get the grades necessary for grad. school (in this case CRNA school). She is getting B+'s and only missing A-'s by a few points each semester, which is part of the frustration.

4. I only have one semester of clinicals under MY belt (she has three), and I must say that my school seems much more reasonable. Then again she is in an ASN program, and I am in a BSN program. I honestly believe that they give student's grades "more respect" at my program. Furthermore, I believe that their is an atitude at her program that "most of you will be happy just being an RN, so getting A's and B's is not so important". Perhaps further experiences in my program will change my opinion.

5. It's true that I am passionate about these issues, but I view this mostly as an academic, cathartic exercise. I don't mean to offend anyone personally, and if I do you have my sincere apologies. Life is stressful enough without some guy on a board making it even more so. Thanks for all the input and opinions.

[Rapheal]

Originally posted by orrnlori

Yes, I agee. I can't quite correlate the thread that we must all be BSN's to this thread where the world of nursing students is so unfair and downright hard, both authored by Roland. Seems to me you may be speaking out of both sides of your mouth.

Nursing school stinks! You will never ever write a care plan in the real world. You will never ever be called upon to know the minutia that nursing tests test you over. You will never ever have the luxury of pondering the finer points of "critical thinking" during a code. Nusing school stinks! I've been out since 1998 and I still think it stinks, always will.

Roland, this is a process. One you will either pass or fail. It ain't fair, it ain't fun, and they make it up as they go along by their rules, not the student's. You either learn to roll with the punches or you don't make it. Complaining about it, while universal, will not serve you well. Figuring out how to beat them at their own game will.

I like her style. Well said.