Instructors and text book not getting along

[Beautiful_Soul]

Hello everyone,

Some of me and my classmates are started to get a little thrown off/irritated because it's like when we go through some lab practices or are in lecture, we'll often hear an instructor say "well I know the book says this or that, but don't go by the book, go by what I'm telling you". And it's like it can kinda put some doubt in our minds because we're all like well what else is the book "wrong" about or whatever. Is it just that the books need to be updated? These are our "new edition" books we just got for this semester, and already we're being told "don't go by the book". I just want to be clear this is not on all things, but it's some pretty important information that just seems to have two sides to the story. What is this about?

[meanmaryjean, DNP, RN]

Can you provide a specific example?

[Beautiful_Soul]

Like we we're going over the ph balance of urine and what it should be and the instructor said, she's going to test us on it and the ph balance that's in the book is not the answer, and a lot of people didn't find out until our actual test day because they we're going by the book. Also as far as insulin syringes in the book it say 3/8-7/8 and 25-27 g and my friend said the instructor said it's not that, it's 3/8-5/8 or something like that.

[llg, PhD, RN]

You'll find as you progress in your education that not everything is clear cut. There are often more that 1 satisfactory answer or OK ways to do something -- and each author, teacher, preceptor, staff nurse, etc. has his or her favorite way or favorite answer.

Beginner students usually have a strong preference for being given clear cut rules to follow. So the fact that your school is not doing that is a weakness in their teaching. But it may not be a weakness in the knowledge. It may just be that these are examples of times where there is more than one satisfactory "right way". As you get more comfortable with the material, you will become more comfortable with the fact that not everyone does everything the same way -- or thinks exactly the same thing.

In the meantime, identify where the source of your test questions come from. Are they going to come from a test bank provided by the textbook publisher? If so, then they will be looking for the answer given in the book. Or will the questions be written by the teacher? Then she may want the answer that she thinks is best. Discuss that with her and clarify which resource to use as the basis for your answers on tests. When in clinical, do what the teach says. Pay attention to which resource is supposed to be your key resource.

The fact that not everyone agrees on everything may be stressful now, and it is rarely fun -- but it is what you will encounter for the rest of your career. Different doctors follow different protocols, different hospitals have different policies, different units within the same hospital may do things differently, etc. That's the real world -- and that's partly why nurses need to use good judgment and critical thinking instead of just memorizing specific facts and protocols.

[Beautiful_Soul]

You'll find as you progress in your education that not everything is clear cut. There are often more that 1 satisfactory answer or OK ways to do something -- and each author, teacher, preceptor, staff nurse, etc. has his or her favorite way or favorite answer.

Beginner students usually have a strong preference for being given clear cut rules to follow. So the fact that your school is not doing that is a weakness in their teaching. But it may not be a weakness in the knowledge. It may just be that these are examples of times where there is more than one satisfactory "right way". As you get more comfortable with the material, you will become more comfortable with the fact that not everyone does everything the same way -- or thinks exactly the same thing.

In the meantime, identify where the source of your test questions come from. Are they going to come from a test bank provided by the textbook publisher? If so, then they will be looking for the answer given in the book. Or will the questions be written by the teacher? Then she may want the answer that she thinks is best. Discuss that with her and clarify which resource to use as the basis for your answers on tests. When in clinical, do what the teach says. Pay attention to which resource is supposed to be your key resource.

The fact that not everyone agrees on everything may be stressful now, and it is rarely fun -- but it is what you will encounter for the rest of your career. Different doctors follow different protocols, different hospitals have different policies, different units within the same hospital may do things differently, etc. That's the real world -- and that's partly why nurses need to use good judgment and critical thinking instead of just memorizing specific facts and protocols.

Thank you, I believe this is the best bet to think because like you said not everyone is going to agree.

[llg, PhD, RN]

Thank you, I believe this is the best bet to think because like you said not everyone is going to agree.

I am happy to see that you took my post in the positive light that I intended it. I was a little afraid that you might think I was belittling your feelings of confusion and frustration. It can be terribly frustrating for a beginner-level student to not be given clear guidelines -- and I recommend discussing it with your teacher to be sure you are clear on what answers she expects on any test, quiz, etc. But I am happy to see that you understand that in actual practice, even experts disagree on many things.

I wish you the best with your education.

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

Read this thread on an instructor's perspective ... it will help you out on that concept.

https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-student/who-knew-my-754941.html

[quiltynurse56, LPN, LVN]

The thing with lab values is that different places use different labs and machines may be calibrated differently. Therefore, the values in the book are right as well as the instructors. She may be using what she learned or the hospital you will have your clinical experience have. The normal values should have a range that is the same, use that as the base of your answer. Once I focused on the common part of the normal range, I was able to do better as far as lab values on exams.

The nice thing about lab reports, is that they not only come with the normal range listed, but whether the value is high or low for which you can then figure out how far abnormal and such. Until then, we need to learn those numbers and after a while of using them, you will remember them.

[la_chica_suerte85, BSN, RN]

This is a constant in school. Our textbooks might say to clean a trach tube with hydrogen peroxide but this is very incorrect and we are told often about the inconsistencies between the texts and the real world. What I have chosen to do is simple: if an instructor tests from the book, learn what the book says but be open minded and ready at a moment's notice to throw out that info once you start working. It's always different from the "ideal" nature of the book in the bright, harsh light of messy real life.