Instructors making up words *rant*

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OK, just a little rant here. I know this is nursing, not English, but it bugs me so much when my instructors don't use proper words!! Every single one of them says "malnutritioned" instead of "malnourished," and the other day, one said "ethnicicity" instead of "ethnicity." The worst part is, students are starting to use these too!! There are tons and tons of misspellings on our notes as well. I know these are smart people, but I don't understand how they have masters' and doctorates and still can't use proper English. They even butcher medical terms and then wonder why doctors think they're stupid. Has anyone else run across this type of thing?

I have no idea what the instructors are paid. I do know that I am paying top dollar to attend a BSN program at a private college. There are 40 of us in my cohort. We each pay between $8,000 and $11,000 per semester depending on grant/scholarship status.

I need to point out here that making excuses for the poor performance of others is typical nursing co-dependent behavior. These instructors owe us a quality education. They are not delivering it. If they have issues with their salary, that's their problem not mine. (Obviously it is my problem - but in another sense.)

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Jake, what is the NCLEX pass rate at your school?

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mid to high 80s - not too bad. But the school requires all grads to take a NCLEX review class. They tested the seniors who are expected to graduate this December - a NCLEX type test of some kind. 50% passed. So you see why they require the review course. My cohort is very, very bright. Older students, mostly second career people. And the nursing programs are very competitive. So my class will certainly pass the NCLEX - but not because they were well taught.

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All the area schools have NCLEX passing rates clustered around 90%. An exception is one of the community college ADN programs - 100% passage rate for several years running. Problem is that the schools seem to collaborate on admissions. Very few of us get admitted to more than one program. I enrolled where I got in - an accelated BSN program for post degree people.

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That's too bad. I graduated in 2000 from a community college and paid far less for the whole program than you did for one semester. For the most part, my profs were extremely knowledgeable and had obviously kept up with new advances in the field.

I did no reviews for NCLEX, in fact did not even study for NCLEX and passed. That's how confident I felt about the education I received.

Has anyone complained to the administration? Although if they are tenured, I suppose that still wouldn't help.

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Half of our classes are ***** community nursing abominations. School seems to skimp on acute care hospital nursing services - where the jobs are. Go figure. It may be that they can only get community nurses as teachers (they were probably laid off as tax dollars dried up).

By the way, the school administration has decided to blame the seniors for their poor passage rate - claim they didn't adequately review before they took the test. Typical of this school to always blame the students for the faculties failings.

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A classmate complained about the poor instruction quality to the dean. He was told to settle down or he would be expelled. Private school - so they can pretty much do as they wish. I understand that there are some good nursing schools out there. But many nurses I know tell me that their own school experiences were pretty much similar to mine. Has really left me with some hostility toward the whole RN universe. Seems like a pretty dysfunctional group. I have incredible stories about these teachers and their boundary issues vis-a-vis the student's and our privacy. A very weird place.

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Have to agree with Jake 110%. I am in the exact same situation. I disagree that the NCLEX pass rate has anything to do with this discussion. Our pass rate at our school is spotless and I feel at this point I could pass with no problem at an extremely high score as could some of my classmates. The brighter students will pass regardless of this crappage as the questions (in wording and content on the university exams) are not reflective and contrary to what is highlighted on the NCLEX. I have had several of my brighter classmates drop and take all eight (in the same day) correspondence tests and become BSN graduates without any or minimal classtime. Save for the clinical experience, which also I might add has been a joke, I can see little to not wholeheartedly recommend and encourage more correspondent-type programs. Also, in regards to the clinical experience, all learning, etc. has been done by trial and error with no teaching done by the clinical preceptor. Dropped off at hospital with staff nurse and learning as a self study. Knowledge limited to staff nurse ability/time contraints/willingness to teach student with five minute ck on shift from university faculty to see student was actually in attendance at hospital. Sorry, but long held majority of nursing/faculty in low regard as to organizational/intellectual/general knowledge ability. In regard to point three, salaries have nothing to do with it. I worked in the private sector and people doing a poor job maintained this same standard even at a higher salary. This is true in all professions, sorry. This is also presuming nursing is a "profession". Also, after much research have found this same standard in most of the BSN programs I have researched. So before the point is expressed, the key words are, "In the programs I have researched." I know there are probably 3 programs out there somewhere where this is not the case (just using literary hyperbole).

Also, in all the different schools you can see a difference in the content emphasized, but we are talking overall general knowledge here.

This appears to be a self study degree with very little teaching going on. It becomes a question of regurgitating what incorrect information the instructor wants and then learning the correct information to pass the NCLEX.

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Please don't judge the rest of us by what you are seeing there. Most nurses are professionals who take great pride in their work...although, like any other profession, we do have our share of dysfunctional employees, as well as dysfunctional workplaces.

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"IRREGARDLESS" IS NOT A WORD!!! It's like the scratch on a chalkboard every time my instructor uses it!

Jake, To your point regarding nursing instructors, please keep in mind, most instructors are NURSES, NOT TEACHERS. In NC nurses are required to take an additional 9-12 hours of college courses in order to become an instructor and their Masters does not have to be in nursing (at this time, the rules are changing, all nursing instructors with have to have an MSN by 2015.) I realize you and many of us are frustrated by the instructors methods but of those instructors could make more money in their field than they do teaching. I am not about to be critical of anyone that puts teaching nursing above working in their profession. I do believe that nursing schools and nursing instructors are not focused on all the appropriate things for students to be successful (technology, organizational/management skills). Adding to that, most college administrations have so little knowledge of what nursing instructors do, they leave the nursing departments to themselves-almost self-regulated, until they impact school finances or test scores. Like every other BUSINESS (yes, colleges are a business-they don't stay open if they don't make $$!), the numbers decide everything.

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Sorry to disagree, but..I am critical as they could be working if they weren't burned out, tired of the politics in the workplace, etc. I know, I know some of them say they have an interest in the "future" of nursing and they also work in the summer as no nursing classes are taught then. The oft heard refrain when questioned, "I don't have to be here, I am taking a pay cut" martyr complex. Generally, those who can do, those who can't teach is not always true but I was taught to be accurate in whatever I chose to do-also to be fair, honest, reasonable and professional in every sense of the word. I have seen little. Once again the nursing philosophy is if I have an rn degree, I am qualified to do anything because I am smarter than all I survey. That is rubbish. No one is forcing or mandating they take these jobs. By the same token, this same ignorance applies to these same teachers if they were or are in the workforce.

PS All of my "teachers" are MSN/PhD degreed.

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Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.
I am going for my RN. But, frankly, if my instructors are any indication, nurses are stupid. At this point, I assume that you have to be ignorant and insecure about it to seek an advanced degree in a joke science like nursing.

Yes. No wonder the doctors think the nurses are fools.

Uh....huh?

Gosh, tell us what you really think.

Hopefully this has already been roundly addressed.

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