Nursing school double standards?

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Hi! I was just wondering if everyone (anyone) out there has had ridiculous experiences in Nursing school similar to the ones below. I am in an evening program and find it frustrating beyond belief (and I'm NOT referring to the reading, studying or clinical aspects). I am talking about the total lack of organization and the abuse of the students by the instructors!! Myself and most of my classmates are getting to the point of anger. The instructors constantly talk about how you have to put your time in and do extra and come to the help classes. Meanwhile the reality is that about 90% of the class are working full time and making time in their busy work/life schedules to come to school 4 nights a week to earn this degree. Many already hold 2 and 4 year degrees and know what it takes to get the work done. I can't think that any one of us is not dedicated - we're giving up a lot of our own time for this and so far nobody has quit.

Here's why it gets me really angry. I feel that they are looking to see who is checking in at the lab and who is going online to the online course information and using that as a way to judge who is really dedicated. We have had to stay late to "get through the unit content" on more than one occasion - and I don't mean for 15 minutes I mean for over an hour each night, yet if we are 5 minutes late to class because of traffic (on LI there is ALWAYS traffic) we get an attitude from the instructor and marked as "L" on the attendance sheet. We get the "you're adult students" speech, then we're treated as children. The instructors frequently send us into the clinical area after a quick run down of what we're to expect the 30 minutes before we go on the floor and then wonder why we're all anxious and frustrated. On other occasions the class lecture info hasn't been posted until the day of class or even up to a few hours before - and then we get looked at like we're crazy when we don't have it printed out because we were working and then ran directly to class (so as not to be late of course). I love what I'm learning, but I'm hating this experience so far. I feel that the instructors could use a lesson in organization, communication and flexibility. That's what they expect from us, but somehow that whole idea of "practice what you preach" seems not to apply to them.

SO I want to know is it like this everywhere?! :angryfire

Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
Thanks to all of those who posted about their experiences and for trying to put a positive "spin" on things! That's why I posted on here, not to be judged by those who know nothing about my situation.

To give a little more background to those who decided to comment on my dedication rather than the question at hand, here it is. I have worked in the corporate sector for the last 15 years and I am not a first time student. I already hold a 4 year degree in another discipline. I took all my other pre-reqs before applying so I would be able to work and go to school at night PART TIME. I do not take my place in the program for granted as I WORKED FOR IT - so I take exception to comments like "no one forced you to go to nursing school and their are hundreds of students down in the Pre Nursing section that would almost kill to be in your situation". Many of my classmates are in the same boat, we all worked hard for our spots in the program and do not have the luxury of working part time or not at all because of money issues or need for health benefits, etc.

Yes, I know the world is not all bubblegum, butterflies and rainbows. I will check my frustration at the door and go on learning because this is what I want to do. I simply wanted to know if what I had been experiencing was the norm and if others were in the same boat!

Well how else are comments like "I take time out of my busy schedule to be there" and "they check up if we are going to our labs" supposed to be taken??

When you post on a public board like this you have to expect their might be some responses you don't want to hear. I worked hard for my spot as well and I made sure I will fully prepared for the time and workload and financial commitment. I get to class on time every day, I am always early and never late, I have never missed a class and I take advantage of every open lab opportunity I have. It's frustrating when I see the same students come in late over and over and asking for help with the work, or notes and so on, they come in late with their star bucks and breakfast burrito. They have time to stop and get coffee but not get to class on time. They are always full of excuses and class is interrupted by their lack of preparation. The same students will never be at an open lab yet will be complaining about not passing a skills test and how we don't get enough time in regular lab to practice enough (this is why we are giving a total of 23 hours of open lab for the semester). I am not saying you are one of these students, but try and look at it from another perspective when talking about double standards.

Self responsibility goes a long way IMO.

As far as the teachers being disorganized, yes I can agree that is extremely frustrating and you are paying to be taught and a good education and they should be more organized.

i'm sorry if your experience has been with those who show up late, interrupt class and make it frustrating for students who put their time in. i'm speaking for my entire class when i say that we do not show up late, 99% of us are early most days and always prepared with readings/assignments completed.

just for the record "i take time out of my busy schedule to be there" is not what i posted. i posted the following:

"…about 90% of the class are working full time and making time in their busy work/life schedules to come to school 4 nights a week to earn this degree. many already hold 2 and 4 year degrees and know what it takes to get the work done. i can't think that any one of us is not dedicated - we're giving up a lot of our own time for this and so far nobody has quit."

my comment about the labs and online courses was not expanded on enough as i was referring to the fact that we are constantly being talked down to because we cannot show up for lab hours that are all prior to class during the week. i have been to the lab on saturdays and the majority of my class is there going over skills and doing what can't be done during the week because the labs are not open when our classes end. the instructors, however, are not there on the weekends, so they only see that we can't get there at 4:00 on a weekday and think we're flaking out. it's frustrating for those of us who put the time in but are less visible to the instructors.

in the end i keep reminding myself that my attendance record and test scores will speak for themselves, but i can't help but be dissapointed with what i've seen from the program thus far :(

Specializes in Community Health.

I'm not going to jump on you because I had similar feelings when I first started nursing school. I also come from a corporate background and did not understand why I would get marked absent for being 30 seconds late for class-I thought many of the rules were totally ridiculous and arbitrary. What I've come to find is that while there are some aspects of nursing school that seem to be designed to just get in your way, many of them are preparing you for what you will face in the "real world" of nursing. If you work in an office, being 5 minutes late is not a big deal-but if you are a nurse, you are expected to arrive at least 15 minutes early because the nurse who is leaving needs to give shift report and do a narcotic count with you before they can go home. Showing up 5 minutes late will result in him or her staying 20-30 minutes late, which is not going to go over well. There will also be times where you will have no choice but to stay late-if, for example, the aformentioned situation happens to you, or someone calls out and there is nobody else to cover the shift.

I know it is frustrating, but try to use the inconveniences you are facing now in a positive way. I spent the first month of school complaining about the "unfairness" of everything and utterly convinced that my instructors were out to get me. Once I realized it wasn't going to change, I adapted. I've gone from someone who used to be chronically 3 minutes late no matter where I went to feeling anxious if I am not at least 10 minutes early. I've learned to expect the unexpected and roll with the punches. Don't waste your time focusing on the negative-either ignore it or channel it into something positive. You will come out of this a stronger person and a better nurse :)

OP, from one adult to another i can understand your dismay....esp because this would be (i presume) a private college which is making a considerable amount of money for this course. I worked full time and went to a hosp. based three year program.....tough, but doable if you went in academically prepared, with no other distractions...ie no family obligations.....part time school should be exactly that, you take the same amount of classes etc, over a longer period of time TO ACCOMADATE your out-side-of school schedule. As far as the on line stuff, if they only monitor time spent on line, get on line at work and put it in the background.....the lab on saturday....who is responsible to "open" the lab? are they there and could they "sign off" for you that you have been there?

I attend a night program as well and i'd say close to half of us are trying to work FT, go to school and have a family life. The good thing about our program though is that it is not a full time program. You usually are taking 8-9 credit hours in the Fall/Spring and then one 3-5 credit hour class in the summer.

That being said, fitting in those 8-9 ch's in an already crazy schedule is NOT easy. We do get flak from our instructors about not taking advantage of OPTIONAL study times and labs due to our work/family schedules, but i'm currently holding an A in my nursing class and have passed all of my check-offs so they can gripe at me all they want and i'll just smile. ;)

My life is what it is. Even if I saved every penny I could for years I would not have the money to not work, or to even work PT, and it's not because we live a lavish life style.

My goal is to go to class, learn as much as I can, get the best grades as I can, and get my license. The double standards and the lecturing does get old because just like you said, they may not see us non-trad students in the labs and the optional appointments when they are in the building, but that doesn't mean we're not there after normal hours.

As long as i'm getting the grades I want and passing my check-off's I just smile and nod. I have too many other things going on in my life to worry about their hissy fits and expectations of what a nursing student SHOULD be. I want this too badly, and it means too much to my family, for me to let them get me down. ;)

Specializes in being a Credible Source.

When I was in high school I was taught that you should expect to spend 3-4 hours outside of class for every hour that you spend in class, even for lab classes where you typically have 3 contact hours for each unit.

I have found that to hold true on average through three degrees over three decades. There are often weeks where it's substantially more than that and occasionally weeks where it's less.

For me, nursing school had to be the highest priority.

Specializes in Neuro.

I hope that things work out for you OP, but the nursing program you are in isn't going to adapt. I think we all have suffered and been impossibly frustrated with our programs, but you have to hang in there or get out. In orientation they told us that we are theirs until we graduate and I think the ones who took that to heart have had an easier time.

They will make it hard and frustrating sometimes. But none of those things you mention seem abusive. Our doors were locked at class start in some of my nursing classes and if you showed up late you missed the lecture. I think this makes sense. If you were late once you could always catch up but if you were perpetually late you had no chance of passing. And as another poster stated, being late to the floor can cause serious problems.

Just my two cents.

That sounds just like my school. I think that all nursing schools are probably like that. You just have to learn to deal with it. You'll have your degree and be a nurse soon enough.

Specializes in being a Credible Source.
in the end i keep reminding myself that my attendance record and test scores will speak for themselves, but i can't help but be dissapointed with what i've seen from the program thus far :(
for that, i'm sorry for you. i have some real disappointments with my program, too, and i feel like i could've gotten a whole lot more.

on the other hand, i passed the nclex with 75 questions and passed a national certification exam so they clearly delivered what they needed to.

i hope you'll be able to look back and see more than the disappointments... probably you will.

all the best.

I understand your frusteration but you should NOT be working full time in nursing school. My school doesn't want you to work more then 16 hrs a week... so the people who say "I work 40hrs a week and it works fine for me" are wrong to encourage others to do that because the school warns us against it. You just have to find a way to squirrel away some money or get student or private loans and that is just the way it is. I am not working at all during nursing school... to much stress and I there is too much at stake to risk it.

Also, you absolutely have to be to class on time... there really are not exceptions buddy. That is really rude that they keep you an hour past class, I have NEVER had that happen and it sucks they do that but you are the student and you have to be their on time. There really are no excuses, MAYBE on the first day of class but even I would not let that happen.. you have to leave with enough time to get around the traffic and be their on time.

I understand your frusteration but you should NOT be working full time in nursing school. My school doesn't want you to work more then 16 hrs a week... so the people who say "I work 40hrs a week and it works fine for me" are wrong to encourage others to do that because the school warns us against it. You just have to find a way to squirrel away some money or get student or private loans and that is just the way it is. I am not working at all during nursing school... to much stress and I there is too much at stake to risk it.

Also, you absolutely have to be to class on time... there really are not exceptions buddy. That is really rude that they keep you an hour past class, I have NEVER had that happen and it sucks they do that but you are the student and you have to be their on time. There really are no excuses, MAYBE on the first day of class but even I would not let that happen.. you have to leave with enough time to get around the traffic and be their on time.

who the heck do you suppose these parttime, evening classes are designed for?????? and if i have a three car pile up happen blocking the road, or the subway is stuck for what ever reason.....yup gonna be late

I understand your frusteration but you should NOT be working full time in nursing school. My school doesn't want you to work more then 16 hrs a week... so the people who say "I work 40hrs a week and it works fine for me" are wrong to encourage others to do that because the school warns us against it. You just have to find a way to squirrel away some money or get student or private loans and that is just the way it is. I am not working at all during nursing school... to much stress and I there is too much at stake to risk it.

I'm going to have to disagree. Just because the school recommends that you do not work more than X number of hours doesn't mean it's not possible to work FT and go to school. I sought out other FT workers when I decided on nursing school because I knew for us it was not possible for me to not work FT. We do not have enough of a cushion each month to "squirrel money away" and even w/ an excellent co-signer we do not qualify for private student loans because the market for private student loans has all but disappeared. I make considerably more than my husband does so the majority of the financial responsibility falls on me.

Everyone I talked to was very honest about the workload and that it would be difficult, but that it was doable to work FT and take PT (3/4 time really) classes. So far I have found their advice to be right on. It's not fun and it's not easy, but I am working FT and maintaining A's in both my nursing class and pathophys.

I would have been very discouraged starting this journey had there not been FT working moms out there to encourage me and tell me it's possible. Would I recommend everyone works FT while going to nursing school? Of course not. My schedule is horendous and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. BUT I also wouldn't discourage someone from following their dream of nursing because of having to work.

I do have to thank the people that were so adament that it was impossible to do well in school and work though. They made me even more determined to do well just to prove it can be done. ;)

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