Help. Is my outrage justified?

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Is my rage justified. My friend just flunked out of her first semester at Charity with a 76 average. 77 is the cut. The failing question (and I don't know it word for word, but here is the general gist of it): An african woman who lives in Africa has an intestinal bug. She believes that by eating pumpkin seeds, the bug will be eliminated. Is this a : religious belief, a cultural belief, is she correct, and few other choices. My friend answered, a cultural belief. As per the teacher: WRONG. First of all, regardless of the question or answer, how is this question even relevant to Nursing? Upon doing her homework and research, she could prove it very much IS a cultural thing. She appealed the question. The woman who wrote the question refused to budge and the committee sided with her. So boom. My freind is out. Never mind she is an excellent student. I am outraged. 44 people apparently missed that stupid, trick, unfair, irrelevant question. When teachers result to trickery on exams, it is so unfair and the students will never win. What can be done about this? This is a power issue and the teacher is getting off on it. People like that have got to go. I am beginning Charity in January. If I wasn't sufficiently terrified before, I certainly am now. Feedback, please.

Specializes in PACU, OR.

Ok, I've read all the comments regarding this; first off, without seeing the entire question, and just judging it by what the OP posted, it is a SHOCKING question. It is deliberately misleading, because the chewing of pumpkin seeds is neither cultural nor religious!

"Pumpkin Seeds: Overview

The familiar Halloween pumpkin is a member of the squash family, native to North and Central America.

Please note that it is extremely important to obtain an accurate diagnosis before trying to find a cure. Many diseases and conditions share common symptoms: if you treat yourself for the wrong illness or a specific symptom of a complex disease, you may delay legitimate treatment of a serious underlying problem. In other words, the greatest danger in self-treatment may be self-diagnosis. If you do not know what you really have, you can not treat it!

Knowing how difficult it is to weed out misinformation and piece together countless facts in order to see the "big picture", we now provide simple online access to The Analyst™. Used by doctors and patients alike, The Analyst™ is a computerized diagnostic tool that sits on a vast accumulation of knowledge and research. By combining thousands of connections between signs, symptoms, risk factors, conditions and treatments, The Analyst™ will help to build an accurate picture of your current health status, the risks you are running and courses of action (including appropriate lab testing) that should be considered.

Although pumpkin originated in America, is now grown worldwide. It shares its family tree with melons and cucumbers. Seeds of this group used to be ground into a paste and prescribed for fevers, bowel disorders, and urinary complaints.

History; Source

The seeds of the pumpkin were used medicinally in Native American medicine, primarily for the treatment of kidney, bladder, and digestive problems. From 1863 to 1936, the United States Pharmacopoeia listed pumpkin seeds as a treatment for intestinal parasites.

Coorificely ground Pumpkin Seed is the usual preparation. Whole seeds may also be used. Store away from light and moisture."

I am amazed that any of the class answered it correctly, and would conjecture that those who did were themselves wrong! If, that is, the correct answer is "religious".

If the entire class had lodged a protest, the appeal might have been successful. The fact that the OP's friend did not succeed in her appeal suggests two possibilities; either she is a very weak student, and cannot be "helped through" on the basis of her test marks, or there is a "personality clash" between her and the instructor.

It is impossible to judge either on the basis of the original post; I can only comment on what I have read of the question. I first stated rather mildly that it was "a bit of a catch question", but this is definitely an understatement, but only based on what I have read, which is not the entire question!

I live in Africa, and I chew pumpkin seeds. I can assure you that I do not do so out of either cultural or religious beliefs. African women I know are not familiar with the health practice of chewing pumpkin seeds. The college itself should be taken to task for allowing this question to be asked, especially if "religious" is listed as the correct answer.

Top 10 Benefits of Pumpkin Seeds:

Treatment of Parasites

They are used in many cultures as a natural treatment for tapeworms and other parasites. Studies also show them to be effective against acute schistosomiasis, a parasite contracted from snails.

http://www.healthdiaries.com/eatthis/10-health-benefits-of-pumpkin-seeds.html

The only area I've heard of any actual research being done with pumpkin seeds is in the treatment of anxiety because of high concentrations of tryptophan--not like a good diet wouldn't already provide that. All those other treatments sound tenuous to me. Any good studies or proposed mechanisms out there? I like where this conversation is going though.

If you want to know what pumpkins are actually for, watch iron chef.

Specializes in Travel.

When I was in nursing school, one of our classmates was perpetually marginal. Passing was 80%, and I don't think she actually reached 80% on any nursing course in the whole program. When we got to senior Med/Surg III, she really got into trouble, and asked me to help her, which I did.

In the end, she only got out of nursing school with one point to spare, and the whole experience was quite a nail biter, because we really didn't know if she would make it. She did make it, but lost her nursing license within 2 years.

So I really didn't accomplish anything at all by helping her.

Specializes in PACU, OR.

Information on the herb pumpkin seed.

Pumpkin Seed

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Plenty more out there, but as you will read, the use of pumpkin seed as a medicine originated in North America. Although certain gourds are indigenous to Africa, the pumpkin is listed as an American vegetable. I have read that Ethiopians chew pumpkin seeds for intestinal complaints, and I have also read somewhere that all plants on Earth are supposed to have originated in Ethiopia....but don't ask me where I read it lol!

I'm talking more like Hudson et al. (2007) Protein-source tryptophan as an efficacious treatment for social anxiety disorder: a pilot study. That's not an actual challenge though. The field is dry of any quality study of pumpkin seed pharmacotherapy; that study is floppier than a pancake dinner. I'm not sayin' pumpkin seeds aren't a great tasting, healthy snack, I'm just sayin.

Specializes in PACU, OR.
I'm talking more like Hudson et al. (2007) Protein-source tryptophan as an efficacious treatment for social anxiety disorder: a pilot study. That's not an actual challenge though. The field is dry of any quality study of pumpkin seed pharmacotherapy; that study is floppier than a pancake dinner. I'm not sayin' pumpkin seeds aren't a great tasting, healthy snack, I'm just sayin.

I found this comment quite interesting " Human trials conducted in China have shown pumpkin seeds to be helpful for people with acute schistosomiasis, a severe parasitic disease occurring primarily in Asia and Africa that is transmitted through snails." Bilharzia (schistosomiasis) is widespread in Africa, and is spreading further southwards, so promoting the use of pumpkin seeds in Africa seems to be indicated. My problem with the entire issue is the implication (in the question) that it is an African tradition, which is not true. I can't find anything, even on South African sites, that suggests it is anything other than a natural North American health supplement.

Don't mind passing the information on to any sangomas I might meet though :smokin:

Specializes in Med-Surg.
This post shocks me as many academically challenged students are excellent students. Maybe they dont have 90s however they do great in clinical! Everyone has an area where they shine, and some excellent students dont shine in class and struggle throughout the program until they hit the floor.

I was getting emotional reading this for I think it defines myself. Yes I may not get 90% in pathophysiology.. and I was damn proud of my first 88% in my ethics class and 73% in anatomy and physiology... I look "marginal" on paper. However you get me on that surgical floor I feel quite confident, and I feel as though I do a great job. I struggle in class because nursing school is more about memorization I find rather than about learning (especially in patho and A&P)... however you put me on that floor, and I feel like I am home :) I LOVE IT.

Specializes in Med-Surg.

Well frankly, I think a standard of 77 being considered satisfactory is pathetic. I took a class in grad school that was pass/fail. Know what passing was? 95%. Now that might be a little high, but I don't think demanding a 85 for passing is asking too much. 85 is really mediocre as it is. In any event, I am comfortable with someone averaging less than 80 being told they just aren't making the cut. NS standards are just way too low. It;s an embarrassment.

I am curious to know how many people ever accomplished 95% in nursing school?.... I would never make the cut. You can be the most intelligent person in the word.. and end up being a crappy nurse because you lack the communication skills, the people skills, and the finesse to be able to do the job. A percentage is a mark given on exams... it does not measure how great you are at your job.. how great of a person you are, nor how good of a nurse you will be. It simply measures the ability of the person to pick between A,B,C, or D... not the capability of the person to become a nurse. This of course, is just my opinion... however I am NOT a 95% student, I never will be... and I try my DAMN best. I may only get B's... and my "poor grade" of 76%... but I know I will be a fantastic nurse, and that I am giving it all I have. Maybe I should find a profession that I am "worthy" of... since, I obviously will never meet your standards.

Hey, I've read the Teachings of Don Juan; I know what those guys are all about, and I'm totally down with that. Kimbe has a parasitic worm that presents afebrile, bloody stool and emesis, tender ab, weight loss, maybe some other autoimmune appearances. Western Medicine gets a cbc; it's aseptic; it's colitis somethinorother; we immunosuppress with systemic steroids; the parasite throws a house party and kills Kimbe. Kimbe's sangoma might have prescribed him a diet of only gourd seeds for a week or two, possibly even starving off the parasite. Hippocrates said that sometimes the role of the, um, medic is to simply give the patient something for distraction and let them heal themselves.

Pumpkins don't grow in Africa, do they?

Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
Pumpkins don't grow in Africa, do they?

I don't think they're indigenous to Africa, no. I find that pumpkins are hardy and grow very quickly in general, though. They take over a vegetable garden and head through the fence into the neighbor's yard very quickly!

There's an excellent show on the Discovery Health Channel about parasites called Monsters Inside Me. It's hard to imagine many of those bad boys being eliminated by a chemical derived from a gourd-like vegetable, but then digoxin and taxol may have seemed far-fetched at one time, too.

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