Education or None at All?

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Specializes in Pediatrics.

Hello, and at this time I would like to thank you in advance for reading/replying to my post. I have a question for the Nursing Educators. I have been doing alot of research on Nursing trying to prepare myself for the Spring admission. I have no medical background or previous experience. Do you prefer a student to try and educate themselves prior to starting Nursing school, or do you like them to come in your class/facility as a "blank slate"? Do Educators like to mold the "clay" themselves and teach the student their way of thinking?

Thanks again to all who reply...

:)

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Oops. :)

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You sound like a nurse already---worrying about all the possibilities. My preference is to have a student who is willing to learn and apply some effort to the program. Some prefer to be spoonfed and that is unfortunate because their dependence on others will be a weakness when, or if, they begin to practice nursing. Come to class. Read the course objectives. Turn in assignments on time. ASK QUESTIONS. Be a teamplayer. You will succeed.

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I would have preferred to have been taught by EDUCATORS. My instructor's were all BScN without additional educational qualifications. There were some really poor ones. Just read the info from the course content we were required to cover. Didn't like us asking questions (the structure of the eye are still a mystery to me).

There were some good ones, but the bad ones were bad. No patience, no teaching background.

That's why I'm working on my education degree, not my RN. I think LPN's should be taught by qualified teachers not RN's who wanted a "regular job". Its become a bit of a trend, scholarships are being offered by some colleges of LPN's in Canada to allow LPN's to complete an education degree in order to become instructors.

Just my two bits worth.

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I would have preferred to have been taught by EDUCATORS. My instructor's were all BScN without additional educational qualifications. There were some really poor ones. Just read the info from the course content we were required to cover. Didn't like us asking questions (the structure of the eye are still a mystery to me).

There were some good ones, but the bad ones were bad. No patience, no teaching background.

That's why I'm working on my education degree, not my RN. I think LPN's should be taught by qualified teachers not RN's who wanted a "regular job". Its become a bit of a trend, scholarships are being offered by some colleges of LPN's in Canada to allow LPN's to complete an education degree in order to become instructors.

Just my two bits worth.

Im a nurse educator and i just did a class over cardiac electrical physiology and EKG for a LPN in RN school...SHe said her teacher was terrible, couldnt answer any questions off the powerpoint......So i did a class for her and 12 students prior to their test.....They all made A's except for 1, made a C...But the rest of the class did poorly (those who didnt attend). A lot of instructors shouldnt be instructors.......

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Specializes in Pediatrics.

that's why i'm working on my education degree, not my rn. i think lpn's should be taught by qualified teachers not rn's who wanted a "regular job". its become a bit of a trend, scholarships are being offered by some colleges of lpn's in canada to allow lpn's to complete an education degree in order to become instructors.

just my two bits worth.

i'm curious about that. i'm not in disagreement, but what do you mean by this? are you an lpn? if so, are you going for a bachelor's degree in education? and then plan to teach lpns?

i don't disagree about the 'being taught by educators' comment. everyone thinks "those who can't do, teach". my take on it is "it takes more than being a nurse to teach nursing".

to the op- just curious: how do you pkan to go about 'teaching yourself'? i couldn't imagine any amount of preparation could prepare me for nursing school :uhoh21:

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Yes, I'm an LPN with experiece in Geriatrics, Palliative, Home Care and day surgical units.

I'm in my third year of an Bachelor's of Education specializing in Adult Education.

The college where I studied for my LPN only employed LPN's as Lab Assistants (but we often learnt more from them than the RN's employed to be our instructors). It was an instructor who was going for his PHd in nursing (he started out as an NA and just kept on going) that suggested I think along the Education degree lines as he found out that I had already started an education degree prior to winding up in PN school.

Life leads us along many different paths at different stages in our lives.

As to the "those who can do, those who can't teach" line, I've heard it all my life about different professions. I seem to have offended people by saying I'd rather be an educator than an RN, but not every LPN sees being an RN as an ultimate goal.

To me, and my licensing body, it makes sense for LPN's to be fully utilized in the education of future LPN's.

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Specializes in Pediatrics.
As to the "those who can do, those who can't teach" line, I've heard it all my life about different professions. I seem to have offended people by saying I'd rather be an educator than an RN, but not every LPN sees being an RN as an ultimate goal.

To me, and my licensing body, it makes sense for LPN's to be fully utilized in the education of future LPN's.

I don't find your line offensive. It must be frustrating (as it is for Nursing Assistants) that people assume your next accomplishment, or stepping stone, will be that of RN. I used to assume that as well, until I worked with a CNA type of person (they weren't CNAs at this institution), and she thought at one point she wanted to be a nurse. Then she saw what we did, and decided she was happy doing what she was doing (this is at a peds SNF, so their role is a little different than a typical CNA). And she said it bothered her when people asked her when she was going to go back to school. Many of the LPN's feel they need to go on for RN to open up more opportunities, or to make the money that RNs are making for doing the same thing.

Just curious as to what it was about the RNs made them ineffective? In any of my experiences, RNs and LPNs function in almost the same roles. So I would think it would not be much of a difference (unless they were just crappy instructors). Is that not true of where you work?

Will the Bachelor's degree you obtain qualify you to be an LPN instructor?

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Specializes in Pediatrics.
i'm curious about that. i'm not in disagreement, but what do you mean by this? are you an lpn? if so, are you going for a bachelor's degree in education? and then plan to teach lpns?

i don't disagree about the 'being taught by educators' comment. everyone thinks "those who can't do, teach". my take on it is "it takes more than being a nurse to teach nursing".

to the op- just curious: how do you pkan to go about 'teaching yourself'? i couldn't imagine any amount of preparation could prepare me for nursing school :uhoh21:

i have my schedule of my classes, but no textbooks. i have been researching info. based on what i took notes on in the orientation, and by the title of the courses. i don't have my textbooks yet because i am not paying for them so i cannot get books until my registration date. i have been studying nusing basics (vitals...and fundamentals and theories). i have dabbled in care plans and have brushed up on my calculations, and conversions of drug dosages. i have researched the essence of patient care and what it takes to be a nurse. all of my resources have come from borrowed books from family and friends. my math materials are what i have found and printed on the internet (i have lots of credible sites bookmarked.) also i have found anatomy drawings to study and sites for online flash cards of med terms and abbreviations. i am not sure if i am missing anything? if i am can someone point it out to me? thanks.... :wink2:

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My graduate school program included many hours in education and practice teaching. More than what is required of teachers getting a baccalaureate degree. So I am offended when people infer than I am a nurse only. I am both a nurse and an educator. I do agree that some people are better instructors than others. There are some who are better students than others as well. In the end we are responsible for our own education, regardless of the teaching we get.

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To the original post - a good student is one who comes with experiences to draw from and assimilate new information into. You don't need medical or nursing experience - just some sort of life experience - otherwise the education you learn will be more theory and not be assiimilated into your own way of thinking.

With regard to educators - some people are definately born educators - but that doesn't mean that they shouldn't do some form of education subject. The education I leant during my nursing degree amounted to being able to effective tell patients and other nurses about something. I thought I was capable of teaching - until I did an education degree - to teach effectively is so much more about being able to be flexible, creative and responsive to the students you have - to ensure that the knowledge that you have for them is assimilated into their pattern of thought. Sprouting forth knowledge isnt teaching until the student is able to evaluate, accept and assimilate that knowledge into their own self so that it effects the way that they think and perform their activities.

Cheers

Peter

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