Need help. Not seeing eye to eye with instructor

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Hi,

I posted a few days ago about an issue I had with an exam I took for A&P 2. I ended up getting a low B. I don't agree at all with the format of the last test, although I have accepted it. I have trouble seeing diagrams on the lab tests, the arrows are often pointed to almost 2 different structures. I don't think he thinks it does. I have a feeling this will affect my grade. I do study, and I can say that I have an idea how the next exam will go.

It is too late to drop, should I settle for B? I am not too confident in getting and 'A' in this class. I got an A in A&P 1, from what I understand I finished either #1 or #2 in the class out of 50. There was a curve in my first class, not this one.

I don't want to cause problems, but I am motivated to do as best I can. I am a little bored in the lectures and I find myself wanted to leave the lecture. I don't want to talk to the professor because I feel that this far, it is not going to change.

A professor I watch is Professor Fink on You Tube. He has 30 years of experience and really teaches well.

If you get a professor you don't see eye to eye with, your grade can suffer. Should I stick it out?

Any advice would be appreciated

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.
I have trouble seeing diagrams on the lab tests, the arrows are often pointed to almost 2 different structures. I don't think he thinks it does. I have a feeling this will affect my grade.

If no one else is experiencing this problem, then perhaps the issue is with yourself. If you wear contacts or glasses, are you sure to have them with you for exams? When was your last vision screening? Not seeing clearly can be an issue, especially if you are the only one experiencing the issue.

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If you get a chance to answer with free text, you can say that it appears the arrow is pointing to the X but it could be referring to the Y. The X is superior and posterior to the Y and has function x, and the Y has function y. That might help convince him that you actually know what you're seeing, but you can't tell from the diagram which he intended to highlight.

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I've had the same problems with arrows. I have 20/20 vision uncorrected, but test anxiety made it hard to see. I got so wrapped up in the anxiety that I couldn't tell where the arrows pointed. So I started taking a fine pointed pencil - like a mechanical pencil - and tracing a straight line from the point of the arrow across the test page. Whatever the line hit first, was what I filled in my for answer. My grades went up.

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I recall your other post earlier about this issue. The problem or better yet the good news is that your professor is giving tests like you WILL see in nursing school and on NCLEX. Select all that apply questions are HUGE on nursing exams, as well as those that have areas on the body that you will have to pinpoint and order of operation questions. You should thank this professor for trying to prepare you for nursing school! Getting an A in a completely multiple choice test class is not so hard...learning to use critical thinking goes beyond memorization. Good luck if you get into nursing school! This class will help you!

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Specializes in Outpatient Psychiatry.

One of my BSN instructors desperately wanted to kick me out of the department. In my presence, the department chair, at a hearing, told her to leave me alone, that it was ok to have no interests in "bedside nursing," and that I'd not violated any policies.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

Deliberately provoking your instructor is NEVER a wise decision. Although schools strive to ensure objective measures, there are times when subjectivity is inescapable. When this is the case, you do not want to tip the scales in the wrong direction by creating a negative bias. Stay smart, don't shoot yourself in the foot.

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One of my BSN instructors desperately wanted to kick me out of the department. In my presence, the department chair, at a hearing, told her to leave me alone, that it was ok to have no interests in "bedside nursing," and that I'd not violated any policies.

this would make for an interesting article i would like to read about that.

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Specializes in GENERAL.

OP:

Thirty years and not much changes.

My nursing class started with a cohort of 44 students of which 6 were men/boys. Out of those 6, 3 went on to graduation. A minority attrition rate of 50%.

One clinical instructor I had was ex-army and a bleach blond nut from hell who was fond of scratching her side boob through her polyester brazier making a kind of sandpaper against a blackboard grating noise.

This I found peculiar. Especially during her haranguing post-clinical, personally directed critiques of the students; which seemed to be more concerned with instilling the fear of failure and the exertion of dominance, than anything that even remotely had to do with the benevolent imparting of knowledge.

Ironically enough, many of these heartless castigations centered on "unprofessionalism." (scratch,scratch,scratch)

So what do most students who find themselves in a bad situation like this do? The age-old tact and prime directive is to survive and try to stay below the radar hoping to be just another innocuous drone and get through it.

But then as now it seems so unnecessary. Especially if you are or were a quiet, conscientious male of the species student who was raised to respect women and those entrusted, mostly women in this case, with educating the next generation of caregivers.

OP: Are you such a student?

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