In DESPERATE need of adivce

Vito Andolini · Dec 15, 2008

Who is telling you that the courses don't meet degree requirements?

You might want to run that by the state Board of RN and by the agency that accredits this school, not to mention the state Attorney General, as it sounds like they took peoples' money but did not provide a service for that money if the courses don't count toward a degree. Why are they charging, presumably, thousands of dollars but not delivering the goods? sounds fraudulent.

I am curious about the details of your relationships and experiences at that school. Were all relationships bad? Were all instructors, lab workers, etc. unnurturing and unhelpful? Or were there 1 or 2 incidents or what? And when you say administrative staff, are you meaning secretaries or the Dean, the professors themselves, or what?

Maybe you have not gone to the right people with your needs.

Also, are you working full time, while raising a family and going to school full time? Maybe you are trying to do too much? Just wondering what all is going on in your life because a change merely of schools might not fix the problems. You might have to change some other things, too.

I wish I had the information you seek but do not. I do wish you all the best.

Penguin67 · Dec 15, 2008

As far as curriculum changes go, you are admitted under a University catalog that is your contract with the school, including the curriculum that is in effect at the time you were admitted. A program cannot just change a curriculum and not take any courses from the old curriculum, unless you are talking about failing a course and wishing to repeat it. That situation will make you have to start over again, as curricula are usually "phased" out after a particular class finished the old courses, and the new ones are phased in. If you are in the last offering of an "old" course, then you'd be stuck under the new curriculum, as the school owes you nothing if you are not progressing as expected under the old curriculum.

I agree with the previous poster...are there things in your life that you could change in order to be successful in a nursing program? Typically, students who work alot, have alot of family responsibilities, study habits that need to be tweaked, etc...are not going to do do well in nursing school and those things need to change in order to be successful.

Did you meet with your instructors throughout the semester to review tests and get study tips? Did you buy review books with extra questions? Did you use the CD that comes with most nursing textbooks and usually includes videos and practice questions?

I know this is a stressful situation, but you must also look in the mirror to see what else should change for you to be successful.

3Triages · Dec 15, 2008

Thank you for the quick response. A little bit of background . . .my collegues and I were not informed that the program was changing the curriculum until June- the same week that classes were ending for the Spring semester. My study habits are pretty good considering that I got 2 A's and one B. I accredit this to being a second degree student. I do not beleive that my life outside of school is interfering with my studies. The school that I am about to leave is very unorganized, and the information pertaining to the change in nursing curriculm was told by the nursing advisor and was confirmed by the Director of admissions of the nursing department. To illustrate my allegations of uncaring professors- several weeks ago, I went to my professor b/c I was having some difficulty in a med math course. When I expressed to her my concerns about my progress in the course her response was, "YOU ARE MAKING STUPID ERRORS!!!" When I asked how can I rectify this, she became more defensive. I proceeded to contact another professor who I know that teaches the same course and she said that due to conflict of interest, she cannot assist me. I went to the dean and my concerns fell on deaf ears.

RedCell · Dec 15, 2008

Of course your school is in it to make money. What business isn't? The job of your professors is not to hold your hand, nurture you, or give you hugs and kisses. They are there to present material pertaining to the nursing profession and then test the hell out of you to ensure you can provide safe competent care. Professors, lab instructors etc... are 'rude, disgruntled, and arrogant' all across the country for the most part. This is because they constantly deal with whiny students who do not take accountability for themselves.

The key to surviving nursing school is to read your books, don't complain, and fly under the radar. Complaining to administrative staff about petty things will only make a name for yourself and increase your probability of failure by a factor of ten.

allnurses Guide · Dec 15, 2008

Well, I think the OP at least has a legitimate complaint about the changing of the curriculum, anyway. Their advisor should have made them aware that they would be taking classes that would not count towards anything!

I think the last poster does have a good point though. Nursing school can be downright BRUTAL; the instructors can be brutal and mean, and you just have to roll with it sometimes. Having trouble with math? Maybe a classmate can help you.

Good luck!

Penelope_Pitstop, BSN, RN · Dec 15, 2008

as far as curriculum changes go, you are admitted under a university catalog that is your contract with the school, including the curriculum that is in effect at the time you were admitted. a program cannot just change a curriculum and not take any courses from the old curriculum, unless you are talking about failing a course and wishing to repeat it.

:omy:really? i am amazed at this, because during spring semester of my sophomore year, we were informed that the entire curriculum was changing, starting with our class during our junior year! we suddenly required no "second writing requirement," for example. are you telling me that the university of delaware was not allowed to do this? (i've been out of school for two and a half years, but still, the way everything went was upsetting).

*~jess~*

anniefrance · Dec 15, 2008

Hi,

Did you read my mind? I could have written exactly the same words you wrote. Even down to the discomforting retorts uttered by the Professors. Not limited to: "don't let the door hit you in the (you know what)-excpet the professor did not say-(you know what), on the way out!". Fortunately, they have not changed any courses with my program (yet), however, I have been badly stressed out and I am not the only one. I have felt that nurses who are supposed to teach compassion an a "huname" way of life are far for showing an "examplary" type of behavior or any "mentorship"-like qualities, except for one, so far.:yeah:Something must be done about the entire Health Care System and the approach to the nursing profession. How? is the question. who to turn to? is another! :banghead: Unfortunately, right now, it is survival of the fittest in a nasty world. Don't forget what happened to you when you graduate and I hope we can find each other again and straighten out this matter for the ones who will be coming behind us. :cry:

eriksoln, BSN, RN · Dec 15, 2008

Honest reply here. I am yet to hear of a nursing program that does not have every single problem you mentioned. Its just the way things are for nurse students. There are a lot of different people with different agendas who influence the school and the end result is a chaotic mess that does not promote learning. It is on your shoulders alone to learn the material necessary to pass state boards.

At my school, there were exceptions, individual instructors who could manage the demands of the school administration and still have enough energy/patience to teach well. They were rare. For the most part, our instructors, both theory and clinical, were nasty and tood pride in that fact. It was a well known fact that the clinical instructors were considered "lazy" or "soft" if at least a couple students didnt pass their rotation. And in theory class, a common term used by our instructors was "I dont spoon feed material. I will present it once, and if you dont get it, seek help outside class."

What I am trying to say is, you will not find that "perfect" or "ideal" program that nurtures its students. Every person I've ever talked to about the education process says the same thing about their school. I met someone who changed schools 8 times before he realized he just had to deal with it. Dont be like him.

DA314 · Dec 15, 2008

Is this a private college? It seems that a lot of people have similar complaints about a lot of private colleges. They really seem to be in it for the money. I'm glad I chose a public school. Cheaper and more honest.

NursKris82 · Dec 15, 2008

Of course your school is in it to make money. What business isn't? The job of your professors is not to hold your hand, nurture you, or give you hugs and kisses. They are there to present material pertaining to the nursing profession and then test the hell out of you to ensure you can provide safe competent care. Professors, lab instructors etc... are 'rude, disgruntled, and arrogant' all across the country for the most part. This is because they constantly deal with whiny students who do not take accountability for themselves.
The key to surviving nursing school is to read your books, don't complain, and fly under the radar. Complaining to administrative staff about petty things will only make a name for yourself and increase your probability of failure by a factor of ten.

I don't agree with this. I just graduated nursing school and almost all our instructors were very helpful and did everything they could to help us understand the material and graduate. If a student does not understand something, the instructor could at least point out where the problem is or pages to read or websites to go or something! Not all nursing schools are like this!! The OP has 2 other degrees so it's not like she's never been to college and thinks it's too hard. There may be something eally wrong with this program.

OP- if you think you should leave this program you are probably right. It sounds awful and in nursing you have to really know the material because you will use it in practive. You can't just fake it until you make it. Another thought- I see you're asking about accelerated programs, maybe a full time program would be better. I can imagine that instructors in accelerated programs expect more and maybe, in this case, too much. Just my :twocents: . Hope it helps.

allnurses Guide · Dec 15, 2008

:omy:really? i am amazed at this, because during spring semester of my sophomore year, we were informed that the entire curriculum was changing, starting with our class during our junior year! we suddenly required no "second writing requirement," for example. are you telling me that the university of delaware was not allowed to do this? (i've been out of school for two and a half years, but still, the way everything went was upsetting).
*~jess~*

a university program may change its curriculum during your time as a student, but your requirements should be the curriculum that was in place when you started. a university shouldn't be able to change the curriculum while you are a student and then say "well, the classes that you took are no longer part of the curriculum, they are no good to you, you now have to take 5 more classes that we've added to the curriculum instead". make sense?

i used the word shouldn't because i believe that's how most colleges operate, but i don't know if it's against any kind of law for colleges to do what the op says that their college did.