El Centro Nursing Program (2021 Q&A)

[rikamatik]

First I must issue a disclaimer. This is not intended to be a complaint thread. It may seem like it at times. It's intention is to ask - with the greatest of respect - what the future holds. 

Second, some details. I'm a first semester student who has good grades. I have a fairly good grasp of these concepts. I am not griping about things because of my own failings. 

So - the meat of this conversation. 

This program has a good reputation in the industry and a long history of excellence. But, from my limited experience, the courses do not meet those expectations. I appreciate that Covid is a thing, it's a thing that is happening, and I appreciate all of their willingness to work with us to achieve learning in a virtual environment. 

My problem is that our entire semester's worth of education has felt incredibly disorganized. Learning materials are scattered across different courses and sources. The material presented and the communication from the staff is often riddled with incomplete sentences and spelling errors; to say nothing of the materials presented that are simply, factually incorrect. 

The difficulty is also not what I would have expected. I was held to higher expectations by my Microbiology teacher than I have been during this entire semester. My A&P2 teacher had much higher standards for understanding the physiological responses of the body than my instructors in nursing school. And both of those classes were also taken at Dallas College campuses. So it's not a case of paying for what I get. 

Does it get better next semester? Do I need to try to get specific professors next semester? Or am I simply going to be expected to teach myself the material from the textbook forever?

Please send help. I want to be a nurse so very badly. I hold myself to high standards even when no one else does. I'll do the work - I just want some idea of what to expect.

Thank you!