I have an Unhelpful instructor

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I already know that nursing school is a lot of work (before anyone wants to preach to me about something I already know) but my instructor is extremely unhelpful. You can tell she's ready to be done teaching. She's an older woman. I think she's in pain everyday because she walks with a cane and is always talking about how tired she is and that she's "too lazy" to make any supplemental work for us. When she says that she acts like she's helping us with not providing extra work but it's actually hurting us! 1. We have a HORRIBLE book 2. We aren't provided with power points or study guides or anything to help us follow what we are learning. 3. She goes right along with the book when she lectures 4. She takes DAYS to answer any emails 5. If you ask any questions she makes you feel like you're stupid for not knowing. 6. Questions on the exams don't go along with the reading. There are questions that do pertain to the reading but a lot of them aren't and the whole class gets really confused where she's getting her information from. From what I heard is that there are 3 other instructors that are teaching the same term and they all give the same exam. It just seems like our instructor isn't giving us all the information or material to study like the other instructors are and it's really hurting my grade. The other students in class agree.... We have everything on ebooks and I'm just trying to get some study tips from some book learners out there. Any tips would be appreciated!! Thanks!

Specializes in progressive care. med surg. tele. LTC. psych..

Can you switch classes? I know in my school you have about a month to switch to a different class, for reasons like these!

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Hello, I am in my first semester of nursing school and have several friends who were unfortunately registered for an instructor that doesn't have the best track record. In fact just last semester out of the 25 students in her class 22 of them failed. So those who have this instructor are nervous wrecks and doing all that they can to stay on top of studying. Upon studying with them I made the suggestion for me to take their recorders and record the lectures from my instructor to see if it helps. Sometimes listening to another perspective of a topic from different instructors can make a huge difference. Nursing school is completely different then pre-reqs and requires consistent studying habits. I wish you the best, but hope when meeting with your instructor you plan on laying out all of the resources you have used to study and ask for direction instead of attacking her with her faults.

Do you have your instructor's permission to record lectures? You need permission to do so.

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Yes I do. They encourage recording lectures to review at a later date.

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Specializes in ER/Tele, Med-Surg, Faculty, Urgent Care.
I really like how you do the groups and then exams. Is that something I could bring up to my instructor? I don't want to offend her way of teaching if I want to make a suggestion to her.
Well you can suggest it but you might want to wait until end of semester when you evaluate your teachers. I like that you are outlining chapters, I used to do that when I was a student, & actually when I prepared lectures. As to your instructor reading the book to you, that is not lecturing. You can read. Lecture is explaining topics using perhaps examples from nursing experience or bringing in props/pictures anything that can help explain the topics. Sadly, there are lazy people in all areas including at universities. The reason I never used powerpoint was they were available to the students to print themselves. I found that many students only studied the powerpoint, did not read the textbook. The handouts/powerpoints are meant to help take concise notes. I also know many instructors who think lecturing is reading the powerpoint in class. That is not lecturing. Is there anywhere at the school that evaluates your learning style? Is there a tutoring center? Anywhere that can help you learn how to take concise notes? I was always amazed that so many students would highlight textbooks during the lecture instead of taking notes, and there was more yellow highlight on the pages then white space! Do you have a faculty advisor you can consult?
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As sailornurse said I think one thing that's really important is knowing what kind of learner you are. I've always loved clinicals but hate lecture classes and it's because I suck at studying and tend to get irritated/distracted etc. But this semester I have worked a lot with learning styles and trying to figure out how to use them better. I'm very much kinesthetic and read/write. So for me doing practice questions and reading information then writing a condensed type note card helps. I feel like when I write, the information goes directly to my brain. I've always known this but writing takes a long time so this semester I just had to suck it up and force myself to take the time to do it.

Also you said you're having to learn from the textbook. If you have an E-book see if there are resources in there that give practice questions. At the very least some questions on your test may be similar or at least asking questions over the same kind of things. But I do think one of the most important things is learning how you learn best. And try not to highlight your whole book...I found a book with pages nearly completely highlighted and it irritates me so much now that I don't even want to read it. So use your highlighter wisely! [emoji5]️

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I could read the sarcasm from her "until you started complaining about everything" unless I took it the wrong way but that's what it sounds like and why are you commenting? To also add to some rude jabs? I asked to not comment on my post if you feel the need to be rude. I really don't think that's much to ask for or if that's really dictating.. I did come to a public forum asking for help not to ask for sarcastic smirky comments. I was asking for encouragement and study tips from people who know good study techniques with books. Or maybe hoping to come across someone who went through a similar situation and seeing how they handled it. I never had to self learn from just a book. I don't have many options in this situation. People have talked to her. She's been an instructor there for awhile and the last thing I want is to say something to a higher and then make the instructor mad because she obviously no longer cares. But I don't need a lecture! Again, if you don't want to offer encouragement or study tips move along. Nobody's making you post. Again, thank you have a good day!

Stephy, I haven't started nursing school yet but I can definitely agree with you, a complacent instructor can be hurtful and damaging in the long term. Don't listen to people telling you to "not make a scene". My mom has been an RN for 20+ years, and she let herself be pushed around that entire time at different hospitals... By bullying coworkers, unfair bosses and ungrateful patient families. It unfortunately made her (and us, the kids) very unhappy. I learned to NOT let people push me around unless it was a battle not worth fighting.

Dont be discouraged to fight for your deserved education, you worked HARD to get into nursing school! I'd get a group of other students together and write a formal letter of complaint to the director or even dean if need be! If an instructor openly wants to be lazy or screw you guys over, don't stand for it. If you let yourself fail once, or even more, it's that much harder to catch up and stand back up. This I DO know from many personal experiences. The longer you wait, the less valid your argument is. It's not personal to the instructor, but if she's not doing her job, you need to find BETTER options. Good luck!

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Like most of the positive post on here. Studying outside the classroom is very important. Researching topics, taking notes on what you learn while not in class will help you understand the material being presented in class. Also being prepared. Reading before you come to class the chapters that you will be discussing. While in school 6-8 of us had the same problem you are having with one instructor. We developed weekly study groups. We all took notes and brought the notes to our study group session. It was amazing how we all were different in writing down the instructors comments and references to material we needed to look at. That helped us a lot. Plus it was a way to get together. We rotated homes and even went to IHOP and took a back room table. Good luck to you and keep staying positive. You will have good days and bad, but always keep your mind centered on your future and making a decision to be the best Nurse you can be.

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Like most of the positive post on here. Studying outside the classroom is very important. Researching topics, taking notes on what you learn while not in class will help you understand the material being presented in class. Also being prepared. Reading before you come to class the chapters that you will be discussing. While in school 6-8 of us had the same problem you are having with one instructor. We developed weekly study groups. We all took notes and brought the notes to our study group session. It was amazing how we all were different in writing down the instructors comments and references to material we needed to look at. That helped us a lot. Plus it was a way to get together. We rotated homes and even went to IHOP and took a back room table. Good luck to you and keep staying positive. You will have good days and bad, but always keep your mind centered on your future and making a decision to be the best Nurse you can be.

Great post and positivity!:yes:

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I'm not pointing fingers at either the instructor or the student in this post, but they're needs to be a higher standard not just for the nursing students but also the school as well. Everyone needs to be held accountable , students need to do the work but so do the teachers as well. There just to many nursing schools these days and there needs to be regulation on that. To the op, if you your teacher writes her exam questions based in the textbook then just read that. Also prioritize your readings, some things are more important to know than others. At least your teacher actually write her own exam questions unlike some of the instructors that I have encountered in my program.

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As an "old" instructor, I believe as well the problem is the "learning on your own" is what some have problem with. Not all instructors teach the same and as well there are some instructors that don't use power-points and such. Some may use "all" things that come with the text. Is the text the same as the other classes? You need to ask and see if they will share what they have. I am sure that there are questions at the end of the chapters that may help but you and your group may need to become a study group. Break the chapters up and ask your own questions during study time. There are so many resources that are available to use on any topic to further explain anything. I can understand what you are saying but now that your rant is over, deep breath and figure this out. That is what we as nurses have always done, figure things out for the best for our patient's without harm.

Good Luck

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Your situation does sound incredibly frustrating. You sound like you really want to learn the material. People, I really think the OP has a right to be frustrated. The best way I have learned in each of my classes so far has been through assignments and powerpoints. All those extra care plans and papers helped me learn what was important and helped me do better on tests. Powerpoints and/or good lectures are necessary (in my opinion) because, as a student, it's difficult to discern what is important from the text and what is just extra information. If the entire class is struggling, as I believe the OP has implied, then it is indeed a problem with the professor.

OP, there are a few things I would do if I were in your situation. First of all, review your tests with your teacher. Tell her how you've been studying and ask her where she thinks you may have gone wrong. Ask her if there are any other resources she could recommend. If your teacher brushes you off, have her sign the necessary paperwork and go up the chain of command (although I don't think this will get you very far; this teacher won't be fired for this and it will probably just tick her off and make an even worse semester for you). As others have suggested, ask others students for tips on how they did well in this class.

Some teachers just suck. It is very frustrating when you can tell that they don't care. At the end of the day, all you can do is take charge of your own learning. Do some practice questions (like NCLEX prep apps); this will help you study for tests and will also guide you in knowing what information is worth hanging on to. Also, see if your textbook has a study guide you can purchase.

Good luck.

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With all due respect OP, Boog is right. Even if you are having a rough time in class, you have to develop a thicker skin. I can promise you it will only get tougher before it gets easier. There will be great instructors, good instructors, middle of the road instructors, and then plain old crappy ones. You have to adapt to each situation because trust me, they won't adapt to you. Even if the whole class feels as you do, you have to just figure it out. Buy an NCLEX study guide or a med surg certification study guide. Either will be very helpful. And, again, learn to roll with opinions that may be contrary to yours. That's life.

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