Little Miss Know-it-all

autism4life, ADN, LPN, RN · Feb 23, 2021

Ahhh yes, if you are lucky you only have one of these. I was unlucky enough to have several...a whole gaggle actually ? The teachers "pet", the one who was sitting in the professors office during non-class times with a note book, and volunteering for every conceivable event.

Where it seemed frustrating at the time, I can tell you, it won't matter in a few years. Once graduation hits, you all will fly off in different directions, and each of you will sit to take the same exam, and ultimately will take positions within your own interests.

I look back on nursing school ( I graduated this past December) and honestly I miss it. Things seemed hard then, but it was comfortable. Now, what I wouldn't give to go back LOL

Good luck!

Hannahbanana, BSN, MSN · Feb 24, 2021

Turning this on its head: Can’t fault an instructor for responding positively to a student who is enthusiastic, attends office hours regularly for extra learning, and volunteers for learning experience events that others can’t or won’t.
This too shall pass. But there will be more of these dynamos in your professional future. If you look closely, you may find that while everybody in your class is building nursing knowledge for their futures, people like this are also beginning to build leadership skills. None of you are quite there yet, compared to where you will be in a few years, LOL, but perhaps you could think more broadly about this.

ThursdayNight, CNA · Feb 25, 2021

On 2/22/2021 at 9:36 AM, SW2CNA said:

So I guess my question is this: how do I not let it bother me, or maybe can I anonymously let her know other students would like a crack at answering things once in a while?

Thanks!

I wasn't religious until I became an SN. I pray that my professor forgets the briefing before and after (sim and clinical). LOL. In my cohort, everyone gets to talk. I've been trying to avoid it.

Anyway, to answer your question, ask yourself why she bothers you.

cameron5575, BSN, RN · Feb 26, 2021

On 2/25/2021 at 12:50 AM, ThursdayNight said:

Anyway, to answer your question, ask yourself why she bothers you.

This is definitely the best piece of advice that can be offered. From the way you describe this student, she's not purposely trying to put others down or make herself look better. She's just knowledgeable and excited to participate in class. This isn't a flaw on her part. True, with time and experience, she might come to learn that holding back even when she knows something shows humility and selflessness. However, she's not obligated to do this.

If you feel that you would like to answer some of the questions that she answers, simply answer them before she does. Otherwise, she has a right to engage in the class and be the first to answer questions if she knows them. If that bothers you, a self-reflection may be in order to determine if you are feeling insecure about something on your end. Ultimately, we as individuals must all learn that others do not define who we ourselves are.

I wish you all the best!

FashionablyL8, CNA, LPN · Feb 27, 2021

I graduated recently and can definitely relate! I know it's unkind of me but I often found myself rolling my eyes (usually internally- I hope) at some other students. There was the posterior-kisser, the bragger, the drama queen, the perpetually confused endless question asker (I think we were all pretty confused a lot of the time though!)- a whole array of extreme personalities to deal with.

My advice is just do your best not to let yourself focus too much on this student. Every time you start to think about how annoying she is, remind yourself that you want to know the answers to everything she does and more, and focus on learning. The spirit of competition was a good motivator for me.

I really like Thursday Night's advice of asking yourself why she bothers you. Self-reflection is always good, IMO. I can definitely admit that I resented the "superstars" a bit simply because I wanted to be the one impressing the professors and knowing all the answers. I got good grades and was able to contribute in class but have a quieter demeanor in school and am a little self-conscious. I think that the people who irritate us often possess qualities we envy. Other times they're just irritating ?.

It's also true that none of this will matter after you graduate. The goal is getting to that point and not letting anyone or anything get in your way. When I was really getting aggravated with classmates, I reminded myself that I did not want to react and end up getting on the bad side of the professors. Ultimately, I think their favorite students are the ones that do their work and don't make any trouble.

Good luck and remember all the stress is just temporary but your nursing degree will be your long-term reward.

ThursdayNight, CNA · Feb 27, 2021

22 hours ago, FashionablyL8 said:

I graduated recently and can definitely relate! I know it's unkind of me but I often found myself rolling my eyes (usually internally- I hope) at some other students. There was the posterior-kisser, the bragger, the drama queen, the perpetually confused endless question asker (I think we were all pretty confused a lot of the time though!)- a whole array of extreme personalities to deal with.

My advice is just do your best not to let yourself focus too much on this student. Every time you start to think about how annoying she is, remind yourself that you want to know the answers to everything she does and more, and focus on learning. The spirit of competition was a good motivator for me.

I really like Thursday Night's advice of asking yourself why she bothers you. Self-reflection is always good, IMO. I can definitely admit that I resented the "superstars" a bit simply because I wanted to be the one impressing the professors and knowing all the answers. I got good grades and was able to contribute in class but have a quieter demeanor in school and am a little self-conscious. I think that the people who irritate us often possess qualities we envy. Other times they're just irritating ?.

It's also true that none of this will matter after you graduate. The goal is getting to that point and not letting anyone or anything get in your way. When I was really getting aggravated with classmates, I reminded myself that I did not want to react and end up getting on the bad side of the professors. Ultimately, I think their favorite students are the ones that do their work and don't make any trouble.

Good luck and remember all the stress is just temporary but your nursing degree will be your long-term reward.

I used to annoy (some) people. I'm in my 30s now, so I mellow out a lot. I know where I'm in the pecking order. If there are brighter people than me in the room, I know how to use them.

My professor generally would ask me questions first because I can handle not saying any word the whole day. I don't ask until I have to.

JKL33 · Mar 1, 2021

On 2/26/2021 at 12:52 PM, cameron5575 said:

From the way you describe this student, she's not purposely trying to put others down or make herself look better.

While neither one of us can know what's going on with someone else's psyche, there's a very good chance that this person does have a need to appear better than everyone else. Maybe not purposely trying to make herself look better, but one way or another needs to do just that, even if subconsciously. After all, in these situations there are always other people who do know the answers. The whole point of being the first to shout them out every single time is to make it appear that you're the only one who knows or to broadcast to everyone that you know the answer because you won't feel as good if everyone around you isn't very clear that you do know the answer.

One way or another it is a distraction, even for those who don't feel emotionally compelled to compete with it.

On 2/26/2021 at 12:52 PM, cameron5575 said:

If that bothers you, a self-reflection may be in order to determine if you are feeling insecure about something on your end.

Now this I agree with. My advice to the OP would be to not pay any attention to this and to focus on things that are more important than competing with undesirable/distracting behavior.

On 2/24/2021 at 7:45 AM, Hannahbanana said:

If you look closely, you may find that while everybody in your class is building nursing knowledge for their futures, people like this are also beginning to build leadership skills.

Well, they are quite possibly headed for leadership roles. The actual leadership skills are much less certain.

On 2/22/2021 at 12:36 PM, SW2CNA said:

Nobody can share the limelight because she won't move.

You asked for advice, so here it is: You don't need any limelight. You need to learn the material in order to be able to pass the boards and practice nursing. Stay focused. I am surprised at the answers you've received here. While I agree that you need to do a bit of introspection about this, I'm not advising that for the same reasons others are. This is obviously distracting behavior, regardless of motivation or intent. You need a different perspective on class time. You're not there to tell everyone what you know, you're there to learn what you don't. Know the material. Forget the rest. Learn how to not need to compete with undesirable behaviors. Learn to ignore them NOW, you will thank yourself infinitely if you do so.

Best of luck!

guest1163268 · Mar 2, 2021

Could be she's just passionate and is excited about being where she is. You don't know her story and haven't walked in her shoes.

Great advice from everyone here, I would take it in.

Personally, I don't think it's anyone's business to influence her behaviors unless you see something bad likely to happen to her, you should warn her regardless of her response.

I would explore why she bothers you for future reasons though. An unexamined life is not worth living. Take that to the bank! It's really, really good advice for future happiness.

FashionablyL8, CNA, LPN · Mar 5, 2021

On 3/1/2021 at 3:43 AM, JKL33 said:

You're not there to tell everyone what you know, you're there to learn what you don't.

Exactly! That quote would have been helpful for me in school and I think it's a great thing to keep in mind. I know I felt that need sometimes to let others know that I knew this or had experience with that, and when I think of it now, whatever I said probably didn't make much of an impact on those around me. They probably weren't really impressed and if they didn't like me before that, they probably didn't like me any better after. The main thing was that while I was busy thinking of what I was going to say or saying it, I wasn't listening to anything around me.

Hannahbanana, BSN, MSN · Mar 5, 2021

This isn’t an either-or proposition. As students, you are learning more about nursing than just lab check offs and normal findings. Your clinical time and classroom time are also giving you a taste of the reality of working in a nursing team. “Socialization to the role” isn’t always specifically noted in the objectives for the syllabus. Even if it is, IMO students focusing on tasks (often mischaracterized as “skills”) take that much too lightly and faculty aren’t explicit in teaching students to recognize the very real skills it takes.

In this case, we’re hearing about students and former students noting how somebody seems to be talking more than listening and how this affects the dynamic of the whole experience. We hear “I’m here to learn from faculty, not other students“ and true confessions about not listening when preparing to speak. What is lacking is an appreciation of one of nursing’s most important attributes: we are, more than most, a collaborative profession. Yes, we are always in a position to learn new things from our teammates. Heck, I’ve been learning new things my whole nursing life. We share our experiences, what we read lately, how-tos, patient situations handled well or poorly, hints on how to make the gears grind more effectively... in all these, we communicate with each other and others more than any other part of the healthcare team.

Both the “know-it-all” student and the intimidated one are also new at learning from their interactions and whatever ensues in the way of feedback. If they continue in nursing they will become more proficient in these relationships too. Let’s try to bear that in mind when we counsel students about such interactions, and when we find ourselves in them. Big picture.

JKL33 · Mar 5, 2021

1 hour ago, Hannahbanana said:

Both the “know-it-all” student and the intimidated one are also new at learning from their interactions and whatever ensues in the way of feedback. If they continue in nursing they will become more proficient in these relationships too. Let’s try to bear that in mind when we counsel students about such interactions, and when we find ourselves in them. Big picture.

Good points.

My opinion on this matter is based on my personal observation that one of the bigger problems in the profession is the propensity to worry too much about what others are doing and how it makes us feel, and nitpicking and criticizing instead of focusing on improving and strengthening ourselves and concerning ourselves with our own weaknesses. We do need to collaborate in this profession but that doesn't always mean ascribing merit to something just because someone's mouth is moving. I know that isn't what you are advocating either (?). I think I actually agree with what you're saying in principle but my response is that learning to collaborate or to learn how to get along socially in the profession involves learning what to care/worry about and what not to waste time (and especially emotional energy) on. This is for the individual's benefit and it is a great skill to have.

The OP scenario just happens to be a situation where I would assess it as not helpful to my progress and I would quickly look for other routes to success, with the goal being actual learning as opposed to getting my turn in the limelight or taking on a situation that an insightful instructor would instinctively seek to mitigate. I have become someone (through growth in fits and spurts) who no longer feels the need to engage in every situation. Some may disagree but I think we need more of that; more people who are not flailing and at the mercies of their own emotional needs. I would simply see little value in changing my focus from learning xyz (e.g. Care of the Adult 101) to "I need to figure out how to stop this know-it-all who is annoying me."

I think that emotionally bypassing some situations is a very effective, legitimate and valuable skill to learn about collaboration and working with other people.