Instructor asked if I can keep up during the test!

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While taking our midterm exam, we were given approximately 120 minutes for a 100 question test. I took my time and felt comfortable with my testing speed. If we are given the time, I am not going to rush. I was the last one in the room and 10 minutes before the end of the test, the instructor asked me if I thought I would be able to keep up in the next section of nursing classes because we would have less time for testing. Imagine, I have not even finished my timed test and she is questioning me about my ability. I was so angry, it was very difficult to complete the exam. I mentioned this to a few students and they felt I should contact the head of the program. I just feel it was very poor judgement on her part. Should I be concerned about being the last one done as long as it is with in the allowed time? I have a 3.8 on the 4.0 scale.

Hopeful, you don't have to respect everyone with whom you work, but I wouldn't make a habit of reporting people to higher ups for random, ill thought out remarks. Just because this particular teacher made a dumb comment doesn't warrant making a federal case out of it. There is a time and place to let things roll off your back instead of going to war.

Nursing school, in many ways, mimics real life nursing. You will run into some abrasive people who shoot off the mouth in nursing. Saying that they have "chosen the wrong profession" is a hasty judgment in my opinion. :twocents:

There is a HUGE difference between school and a hospital.

School: I pay them for a service that they said they would provide.

Work: They pay me...and if they ask me to do something, 95% of the time, it becomes my job when they ask.

Sarcasm, degrading comments, asking students that are working within time limits if they are going to be able to "keep up"...shows a lack of respect and a lack of control.

What if this student had a major condition of test anxiety and got really frazzled over being disturbed and then screwed up the rest of her test? Do you think they would give her a "pass" because the teacher was getting itchy about leaving?

Of course they wouldn't...and any instructor that is worth their weight in gold knows that during a timed test, anything you have to say needs to wait until after the test unless it pertains to the test.

All you have to do is visit the "Nursing Student Discussion" thread to know that these types of things are RAMPANT in nursing schools...b/c they know if they pulled that same attutude in a hospital, they would probably be bounced out on their ear.

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hopeful.... if you can not take a small, innocent comment like that from an instructor then...well...hell, i don't even know what to say! i can't believe this is a thread/discussion. nursing classes give you plenty of time to answer questions, and, if, you find that you are taking up the entire time to finish a test, then you are going to run into problems down the road. this instructor's comment was legit and the student's reponse was not

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Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg, Peds, ICU, Tele.

Hopeful, Don't forget that I've been a nurse for 15 years, and yes I did have to go through nursing school to obtain my RN, and yes, I had more than one instructor who said some unkind things. I've also experienced the real world of nursing in various settings, so I'm not just saying things off the top of my head.

With all due respect, Hopeful, you are still new at the game. You sound intelligent, and I think you have a good deal of potential, but you are not, as yet, a seasoned nurse. It would behoove you, from what I have observed, to pay attention to some of the perspectives of those who have gone before you in the profession.

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Hopeful, Don't forget that I've been a nurse for 15 years, and yes I did have to go through nursing school to obtain my RN, and yes, I had more than one instructor who said some unkind things. I've also experienced the real world of nursing in various settings, so I'm not just saying things off the top of my head.

With all due respect, Hopeful, you are still new at the game. You sound intelligent, and I think you have a good deal of potential, but you are not, as yet, a seasoned nurse. It would behoove you, from what I have observed, to pay attention to some of the perspectives of those who have gone before you in the profession.

You make that statement as if I have never had a job in my life. I have worked since I was 16 years old. So I had about 20 years into the workforce before I decided to quit and go to nursing school.

Nursing will actually be a significant pay cut to what I was making before I quit my job...until if and when I finish graduate school. The trade off is for the job to be flexible, we can move anywhere and I can still find work quickly, benefits, and more satisfaction with what I do every day.

A hospital is an employer.

Microsoft, is an employer.

McDonald's is an employer

At the end of the day, it doesn't matter what you do for a living...unless you own the company, you report to someone. Even the CEO reports to stockholders.

I am well aware of the politics involved in hospitals, and the conflicts between physicians and nurses...I have lived around it my entire life and was raised since birth by one of each. This is what my husband does...goes around and fixes HR issues with companies.

We are not discussing what one would do after they obtain a job. School is NOT an employement situation. Not even close.

The point of this discussion is the inappropriate comment that was made to the OP during her test by an instructor.

What is so disturbing about the instructor is that she had no regard for how her comment would affect the OP. Notice what the OP said, she basically said she can't say anything out of fear of being a target...why is that a common theme in nursing schools? Of course, I know "that's the way it is"...but do you not find that sad? That someone cannot take constructive criticism without them losing it and retaliating?

We had a test this week...we have a large class...students were very respectful and professional when asking questions, cited discrepancies in the book...and we watched our instructor have a total meldown during the test-review. By the end of it she was screaming at the class.

There was only one person in the room out of control...and that was her.

Out of 50 questions, by the time we got to 35, people stopped asking questions...so her yelling and screaming obviously worked d/t positive reinforcement...so in essence she bullied the class because she was too intimated, too lazy, or just flat out didn't care to answer questions.

If she truly cared about teaching, if she truly cared about learning...she would have seen the questions we were asking as an OPPORTUNITY to teach and not a power struggle.

Now...if this instructor had been doing a presentation....ANYWHERE...be it in an educational setting at a hospital in-service, a pharmaceutical company...if there were others that pointed out discrepanies...would screaming and losing control and making belittling statements get you anything but fired?

So why is that accepted in education if it's not accepted in other professions? Are nursing instructors not RN's and NP's? Are they not professionals?

That is the problem with the OP's instructor...she was more focused on herself than she was the student...and therein, lies the entire problem with all too-many educators.

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Wow. Sometimes we have to pick our battles.. and this one just doesn't seem worth it. I mean, seriously??

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We had a test this week...we have a large class...students were very respectful and professional when asking questions, cited discrepancies in the book...and we watched our instructor have a total meldown during the test-review. By the end of it she was screaming at the class.

There was only one person in the room out of control...and that was her.

Out of 50 questions, by the time we got to 35, people stopped asking questions...so her yelling and screaming obviously worked d/t positive reinforcement...so in essence she bullied the class because she was too intimated, too lazy, or just flat out didn't care to answer questions.

We are only allowed to review our exams at the end of the class following our test. If we have any questions, we make an appointment with the instructor during her office hours and handle it one on one.

We had this situation only one time, where the instructor allowed questions, and it got out of hand really fast. To go through every question on a test one-by-one in a large classroom is sort of asking for trouble, I think. And a waste of time, too. If you have a question or want to debate an answer, that's what office hours are for. And if she's overwhelmed in her office, that's her problem. An instructor should never allow that to happen in class.

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We are only allowed to review our exams at the end of the class following our test. If we have any questions, we make an appointment with the instructor during her office hours and handle it one on one.

We had this situation only one time, where the instructor allowed questions, and it got out of hand really fast. To go through every question on a test one-by-one in a large classroom is sort of asking for trouble, I think. And a waste of time, too. If you have a question or want to debate an answer, that's what office hours are for. And if she's overwhelmed in her office, that's her problem. An instructor should never allow that to happen in class.

I couldn't agree with you more. We actually go over the questions and openly discuss them at our school for 2nd year students. We debate them in class, but if let's say, there is a question where you are in the minority opinion or the instructor disagrees no matter what the class comes up with....then we schedule an appointment.

The rationale behind doing it that way, is they claim that it cuts down on the individual student meetings that have to have with students.

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I couldn't agree with you more. We actually go over the questions and openly discuss them at our school for 2nd year students. We debate them in class, but if let's say, there is a question where you are in the minority opinion or the instructor disagrees no matter what the class comes up with....then we schedule an appointment.

The rationale behind doing it that way, is they claim that it cuts down on the individual student meetings that have to have with students.

Maybe after the last experience they will change their thinking. :D One can only hope. Instructors are SUPPOSED to meet with students. If that many students need to make an appointment, it should reflect really badly in the instructor.

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when my classmate suggested reporting her, i just laughed because i did not want to be a target.....she is quite menopausal. i was just angry she commented while i was testing and did not wait until i turned the test in.

thanks for the support.

umm, them's fightin' words to us older students; some of us are "quite menopausal, too" ... :) seriously, what does her being or not being menopausal have to do with anything? do menopausal women "target" students more than other professors do? she made a dumb comment which would have irritated me, too. but it sounds like you've decided to let it roll off your back. hey, if a professor wants to give me 2 hours to do a test, i'll take the 2 hours and check all my answers. if they only want to give me 90 minutes, i'll speed up and not do much, if any, checking. she should have anticipated that some students would take the entire allotted time.

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Umm, them's fightin' words to us older students; some of us are "quite menopausal, too" ... :) Seriously, what does her being or not being menopausal have to do with anything? Do menopausal women "target" students more than other professors do? She made a dumb comment which would have irritated me, too. But it sounds like you've decided to let it roll off your back. Hey, if a professor wants to give me 2 hours to do a test, I'll take the 2 hours and check all my answers. If they only want to give me 90 minutes, I'll speed up and not do much, if any, checking. She should have anticipated that some students would take the entire allotted time.

I agree...but then again...she's probably right.

Before you throw something across the room at me...I'm moving toward "that age" every day and if what I am going through now is even a hint of what full-blown menopause is going to be like....there won't be enough prozac on the planet.

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Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg, Peds, ICU, Tele.

Menopause doesn't totally change people's personalities, it just makes them a little more moody. Personally, I sailed through menopause, never had a hotflash, I feel better than ever! It's great not having periods.

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Menopause doesn't totally change people's personalities, it just makes them a little more moody. Personally, I sailed through menopause, never had a hotflash, I feel better than ever! It's great not having periods.

I was a sopping mess for 15 years.

You're sure it's not hot in here? Really? Sheesh, I am HOT!

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