I Just Don't Understand...

whit717 · Mar 2, 2007

Hi. I am a student as well, about to graduate in two months. I too felt overwhelmed and confused at first with all of the work we were expected to do. One thing that might be helpful is realizing that they are not going to tell you exactly what is going to be on the test. You will have to learn to take the concept or procedure they have given you to learn and pick out the most important things about it - even if that means going back and reading in the book over material they didn't cover. Believe me, they are looking to see who can function independently. Also, you might try going to the instructor's office after class, set up an appointment to see her. I have always found that those instructors who were so scary in class turned out to be completely different people when you are one on one with them. Even when you develop your own method for studying the important concepts of each subject, you may still find it is hard to answer questions they might ask. It is always helpful to try to learn the personality of your instructor. Every nursing instructor has their own interests, if they are a pediatric nurse and are teaching on respiratory, you can bet they will have questions on the test about pediatric resp. concerns. It is only natural for them to want you to know about their specialty.

Hang in there!! You will do fine, just remember that this will pass and soon you will get the hang of it. They are looking to see who will rise above, just make sure you are one of them!!

CrufflerJJ, BSN, RN, EMT-P · Mar 2, 2007

...why I get such poor grades in my class. I can't afford to get more poor grades because it's driving me crazy to get C's while I should have been getting A's. I know critical thinking is still new for me (I'm a first semester student) but some questions in the test were not discussed or covered in lecture at all.
I wonder if other students have to do TONNES of homework in their first semester? We spend at least one hour for each chapter in average. We have at least 8 chapters every week. We spend almost 8 hours or more just doing homework. I don't know, but I personally think it's a waste of time when we could've used those time to study instead!!! Worst of all, my professor did not even mark the books (she spends like 5 seconds flipping the pages of our study guides), and yet she gets pissed of us if we don't turn in our homework! That's totally insane!
The book my professor is using (Potter & Perry) is thick and long winded. I know they are all great infos, but why can't they be more straight to the point? I am so tired of reading and reading and reading repeating infos when I can grab the key concepts and move on. Does anyone have the same problem as I do, or is it just me???
Seriously, the nursing program that I'm in right now is totally unorganized. The notes and syllabus are all over the place. We spend more time searching for my professor's notes more than listening to her lectures. She tries to cramp as much infos into our brains and expect us to know instantly. Sometimes we have no clue the terms she's using or the concept she's talking, and when we asked, she gets pissed at us. At the end, none of us know what she's talking bout, because we are too chicken to ask any questions.
We all know she's an old school, but shouldn't there be a more effective way of teaching and learning???!!!

Sorry, but this sounds like lots of whining. Waaah! My prof/nursing program is disorganized. Waaah! My book is lousy. Waaaah! I've got to spend 8 whoooole hours a week on homework!

Homework teaches you the basics, and helps you "internalize" the concepts presented by your prof & the text. Yes you could just blast through the "highlights", and hope to remember it, but WOULD YOU really absorb the material?

If you are "too chicken" to ask questions, you will not learn. Don't be afraid to ask questions of your prof - that's why they have a job. If they're nasty when responding to questions, that's one thing. If, on the other hand, you're just just "chicken", then you can't expect to learn. Do not expect to be spoon fed the information.

Sorry if this isn't "touchy-feely", or supportive enough. As a degreed chemical engineer & paramedic doing pre-nursing classes after working for 22 years, I'm spending AT LEAST 30 hours a week on combined homework + studying (on top of the time I spend in class). I guess I could do less, but to EXCEL (earn A's), that's the amount of time I spend every week.

If your prof offers worksheets or study guides for the material covered in each chapter, make sure you do those, along with the reading & homework. If there are some folks in your class earning A's, ask them how they study.

It's not easy. Nothing worthwhile is easy. Work hard to learn the material, and you'll do well.

brighella · Mar 2, 2007

As a 2nd semester student who also uses Potter and Perry...there are textbooks that are far more wordy, confusing and intensely more detail. Wait until you get a pathophysiology book. It makes Potter and Perry read like Laura Ingalls Wilder.

You need to be prepared to do the work. There are no short cuts, and there are certainly no breaks for not understanding terminology in the work place. Ask the damn questions, your professor will see that you are engaged in the learning process. Dont worry about sounding stupid when asking questions, because when it comes down to it and you need the answers, you wont sound stupid then...youll know. Gotta get past the ego before you can be an active learner. Frankly if you knew it all to begin with, you wouldnt need to be in school right? To learn is a verb.

Now I need to get back to my boxes, my preparation to lead clinical post-conference on monday, my assertiveness paper, my cultural competence presentation as well as another paper and 2 exams this next week. (as well as also getting to pick out a patient and doing all the work-up on them for clinicals monday). Can we say looking forward to spring break the end of the month?

Sarah

donsterRN, ASN, BSN · Mar 2, 2007

With my apologies to the OP, WELCOME TO NURSING SCHOOL!

FYI: Nursing school demands a huge investment of time and energy, and it sounds as though you weren't prepared for that. Previous posters have indicated that actively learning the material is your responsibility; they are absolutely correct. Why on earth are you "too chicken" to ask questions? Why aren't you reading the material before lecture? Why are you assuming that only lecture material is going to be tested? I assure you that merely "grabbing the key concepts" will not teach you critical thinking.

This is only your first semester; I promise you it will get even busier and more demanding. You're not going to be able to blame your performance on bad textbooks or disorganized "old-school" instructors. Everything you are being required to complete should be viewed as a learning experience. And if that means that you pre-read and read and re-read again, and have to spend an entire weekend studying, then that's what it's going to take to succeed. Without that discipline, how do you expect to write papers and careplans? Nursing school comes with an expectation of college level proficiency. You're going to have to get used to that NOW.

Please... breathe, exercise, buck up and do the work. You won't be sorry.

midcom · Mar 3, 2007

Nursing school is not high school. The teachers are not there to spoon feed you. You have to do your part. That may sound harsh but it's true. One hour of homework per chapter sounds pretty minimal. If there is as much included in the chapters as you indicate, than do you really expect your teachers to cover it all in class?

I agree that some teachers really could do better with their study guides. I have one such teacher & she just graduated with a masters in nursing education! Her study guides are awful but I am learning in her class (and getting an A) because I had to do my part & make sure i learned the information despite her.

Hang in there. Change your mindset, quit blaming others. Youj ust have to adjust your way of learning. This is part of being an adult.

Dixie

WDWpixieRN, RN · Mar 3, 2007

We don't necessarily have "homework" in the form of things that have to be turned in, but you can bet that if I want to continue making a "B", I have to do the studying and reading that are required to learn the material. And it's not easy or spoon-fed to us either....last semester it felt like we were read PowerPoints and then had to do the learning on our own....funny, but that "learning" was in our books in much greater detail than they went over in class...

I think sometimes folks are led astray by comments on these boards about not needing to read the texts...that is SO not the case for many of us....

medchick · Mar 3, 2007

I have to agree with the other posters. Nursing school is hard and if you don't put the effort into it then you will get nothing out of it. I also used Potter and Perry in my first semester and liked it. I thought it was well presented. My biggest statment here is that if you don't get down this fundamentals information down pat, you will do poorly in school and your career. I just graduated in December 06 and remember what it was like. I understand you frustration of test questions not being from lecture. Remember, there is so much info that you have to be responsible to learn it on your own (that is why you have homework) and if you don't understand something, ask the questions. Remember, there are no dumb questions. I used to spend 8-12 hours a day studying on my off days and the days I was in school/clinicals, I would study on my time off for that day. Made my hubby unhappy but he understood that this is what it took. I am sorry if we aren't the sympathetic bunch you were looking for but we are trying to help you. Good luck in school.

CrufflerJJ, BSN, RN, EMT-P · Mar 3, 2007

I am sorry if we aren't the sympathetic bunch you were looking for ...

And I thought it was just me being unsympathetic!:wink2:

WDWpixieRN, RN · Mar 3, 2007

And I thought it was just me being unsympathetic!:wink2:

Well, sympathy for this subject can be found by others who don't understand or haven't been through NS....there is a phenomenal amount of information to learn about the nursing profession and when I look ahead or through my NCLEX-review book, I wonder how I'll EVER learn it all in the 2.5 semesters I have left (never mind RETAIN it all)....but one thing I know for sure, I don't have time to whine and complain about it...the program where I go is what it is and I have to get through it or go back to my old career....apparently many before me have done it as it's not a new program, so I have to know that I can, too....if I put in the work that's required...we also use Potter & Perry.....if you think that book is large, wait until you see your Maternal and Peds book or some of the others!!

I really wish the OP good luck....

brighella · Mar 3, 2007

I think ultimately what most of us are trying to say is that your education will be what you make it. If you are passive and wait for the knowledge to come to you, you will be less successful than if you go out and seek learning. Its up to each individual to get what they can out of it and use what resources they have available.

Miss Calculation · Mar 4, 2007

I'll be straight up with you here...When I look around my class I notice two types of people. Most of my classmates are working their butts off. By that I mean getting up at the crack of dawn, doing all of the reading, all of the videos and all of the cd roms and tutorials. They spend hours going over chapter objectives, flash cards, meeting in study groups and showing up to practice lab skills. Most of these students are getting A's and B's and have earned these grades by hard work and sweat. As a previous poster said--there are no shortcuts.

The other type of students spend a lot of time pissing and moaning about how hard it is. They come late, unprepared and waste a lot of time asking questions that they would have known the answer to had they studied/and or listened. They never have a scantron, forget to bring their stethoscope to clinical and act as though every assignment is a surprise--even though the syllabus is crystal clear. Some are on the verge of being thrown out and are crying about being picked on.

Question...which type of student (and future nurse) do you want caring for your sick child?