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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
Only in NS is a 79 an F, a 92.9 a B.
Only in NS does 3 yrs = Associates and 5 yrs = Bachelors.
This isn't exactly true for every nursing school. Every nursing school I have looked at where I live a 73 is an F a 79 is still passing at a C, it also isn't always true that it takes 5 years to get a Bachelors yes some it does, but others it still only takes 4 I think it just depends on the school's pre req requirements and how you go about completing them
LOL!
My sis-in-law is the biggest drama queen in the world. After 23 yrs of her marriage to my brother, we simply tolerate her.
I guess what you can't see is EVERYTHING has always been about HER. Yes, she was infertile. Yes, that is heartbreaking, but she didn't have the right to tell all the others HOW to raise THEIR children. She once told me that if she could have, she would take my kids from me because she could do a better job! [my girls are all honor grads. My boys are both in college now but barely made it through HS....ADHD...and she, of course, knows that ADHD is actually a diagnosis for poor parenting!]
When I got married a year ago, we invited her and my brother and their recently adopted older 3 girls. Day one she throws a hissy. Tells me she is not going to put up with my family's crap. By the end of the day, they packed up their crap and went home (to their state). Her main complaint about the wedding, only one point she put in a 27 page email, was that I disrespected her HONORABLE marriage to my brother by "copying the colors" her wedding when I wed in my adulterous farce of a marriage. Uh. hmmm. Her bridesmaids wore peach long dresses and carried a single flower. Her groomsmen wore grey tuxes. They were married in a church. My bridesmaids wore lavendar short dresses and carried bouquets. The groomsmen wore white shirts and khaki pants. We held the wedding in the backyard. Yeah, I 'copied' you allright - for the "express purpose of denigrating her marriage' (her words) to my brother!
When you know this woman, what she did and said takes on a whole new meaning!
morningland, Like my sis-in-law was told by her brother, until you have children, you have no idea. Period.
What I see happening here is this is an issue WE have to deal with. YOU see it as complaining. We are simply venting.
One thing I would point out to you......the good Lord has a way of humbling the judgmental. I can see the day some idiot totals your car on the way to school with you in it.....You left with PLENTY of time. NOW, you can't make it to class on time. Then a fellow poster tells you to quit making excuses. Whatever.
Then the day comes where you are told by your director of nursing that someone will not be able to make it in for their shift. You are being told to stay. Now your instructor in your Master's class has no sympathy for you either. OR your child never forgives you for missing their recital. You want THEM to understand YOUR predicament and YOUR responsibilities.
For a profession based on empathy and compassion, it is amazing to see heartless people. Never did that sink in more than the class next to mine. We were first term. They were second. We both were about to take tests. You can't be late and there are NO EXCUSES to miss and IF you miss, you have to have PREAPPROVAL. So....this 2nd term class is frustrated. They NEED to start their exam and their teacher is late. (isn't it amazing that they can be late?) Anyway, the reason they were so anxious to start is that their classmate was in active labor and she needed to finish the test so that she could hopefully get to the hospital before the baby arrived. (Oh and I can just hear it now..."Well, she shouldn't have gotten pregnant during NS!")
This isn't exactly true for every nursing school. Every nursing school I have looked at where I live a 73 is an F a 79 is still passing at a C, it also isn't always true that it takes 5 years to get a Bachelors yes some it does, but others it still only takes 4 I think it just depends on the school's pre req requirements and how you go about completing them
Yeah, but NS requires pre-reqs before starting.....that is included in the time frame.
Yeah....its about like that at my school. The first year we were constantly preached at about being organized, being responsible, and being professional. I have no problems with these concepts but I felt like some of the facility could have used the speech instead of us. Just about every nursing class I took had the wrong dates on the syllabus, they recycled it from the previous quarter but failed to update it. Reading assignments were wrong; they corresponded with the previous edition of the book and not the current edition that was "required". The course outline, reading assignments, and lectures did not correspond correctly with exams. The required course materials packet usually contained old lecture notes, so we would have to throw the old one away and print the new notes.
I was annoyed with it, but just did what I had to do to get through it. I think I am more independent because of it now so I guess I learned something in a strange twisted way.
One thing I would point out to you......the good Lord has a way of humbling the judgmental.....For a profession based on empathy and compassion, it is amazing to see heartless people.
But empathy and compassion shouldn't extend to people who lost most of their retirement savings in the economic collapse because they should have known better?
Perhaps you should take your own advice and not assume that posters here haven't overcome similar hardships and challenges just because they disagree with you.
My school allows for rescheduling and makeups in the event of emergencies and illnesses. Of course it's ridiculous to expect someone in labor to sit through an exam. But accounting for extraordinary circumstances isn't the same as adjusting the workload for students who have busy lives.
No kidding!
One thing I think about.....
In my mother's NS days, the instructors were more like drill sergeants. They were more concerned with how white your (dress) nursing uniform was and whether you could see brassiere or panties through...and were your shoes immaculately white? In those days, as well, nurses could tell the family to leave....tell the patient and the family to do what they were told to do because the doctor said so (and he is always right!).
If we NEVER challenged those who instruct, we would still be more concerned with our attire than our knowledge. We would still treat patients like we were doing them a favor.
The reason why things HAVE changed is because some nurse didn't agree with the status quo and CHALLENGED the powers that be, risking her (his?) future in the process!
No kidding!One thing I think about.....
In my mother's NS days, the instructors were more like drill sergeants. They were more concerned with how white your (dress) nursing uniform was and whether you could see brassiere or panties through...and were your shoes immaculately white? In those days, as well, nurses could tell the family to leave....tell the patient and the family to do what they were told to do because the doctor said so (and he is always right!).
If we NEVER challenged those who instruct, we would still be more concerned with our attire than our knowledge. We would still treat patients like we were doing them a favor.
The reason why things HAVE changed is because some nurse didn't agree with the status quo and CHALLENGED the powers that be, risking her (his?) future in the process!
WOW!! That was one of the biggest leaps of logic I've ever read.
So, first nursing school.....isn't it possible that the reason most nursing schools aren't focusing on how white our uniforms are, is that our nursing instructors see the value of content over appearance? Is it really because some students challenged the powers that be?
As far as our healthcare system, we have a less paternal health care system because nurses challenged the powers that be? It wasn't that our entire society has changed from the 50's where authority was always believed to the post 60's era where folks thought more for themselves and questioned what the best thing for the patient was? Even corporate culture has changed from a straight higherarchial model back in the 50's to a more collaborative model now...did nurses do that too?
This change hasn't come about because more RN's have more education behind them on pathophys and pharmacology, then they did back in the 50's? it's not because there's more literature about developmental needs (ie kids actually NEED their parents/caregivers with them due to their developmental stage)?
Nurses are great patient advocates, it's ingrained in the nursing role and I'm not trying to diminish that....but let's get a grip as well.
Challenging instructors about the importance of being on time and attending extra help sessions isn't a part of a grand revolution.
Additionally, my instructors are very open to hearing about aspects of our program that aren't working for us. Part of our SNA's job is to act as a liason between the faculty and students (in fact most of the SNA Officer positions are made up of 2 liasons from each class). These liaisons are invited to faculty meetings to discuss any issues the classes are encountering and there have been changes made due to this feedback. Sometimes they can make changes that still fufill the curriculum, but meet the classes need, sometimes the answer is that, their sorry there is a problem, but this is the way it has to be because of reasons X, Y and Z.
But it's never about "challenging the powers that be," it's about sitting down and discussing what the issue is, and what we recommend.
Taliking about the perverbial pot!I did NOT say this applied to nursing only.The revolution of society since the 50s and 60s came about because some challenged the status quo.To continue to "evolve" (personally hate that word), we must always think about different ways to do things and this is often met with resistance by the powers that be (your boss...etc. go ahead: go to work tomorrow, tell your boss you don't think 6 patients is a good Nurse-patient ratio and you will leave exactly at the end of your shift or be paid time and a half and see how far that gets ya!)........Let's face it....I got an EE degree in the 1980s. You would never have been failed for being late to a class. You would not have failed for not attending a class. If you did all the work, passed all the tests, then you had the knowledge to do the job. Since, as my profs with doctorates, would say....YOU are paying US to teach you. If you need our help, we are here. If you don't, then kudos for you. But if you fail, you fail.Of course, you had to do labs in class. If you didn't, then you couldn't pass the lab. But, if you had an issue (oh say someone shot up folks on the LI RR) and you couldn't be at THAT lab, you could hook in with the next lab class.If you wanted to take 8 years to get a 4 yr degree, working FT and raising a family.....NOONE EVER said you were not committed.You don't have to agree with those sentiments any more than I agree with yours. Dems don't agree with Repubs and vice versa. It doesn't make anyone more right because they belong to one school of thought or the other.We will simply have to agree to disagree.
Taliking about the perverbial pot!I did NOT say this applied to nursing only.The revolution of society since the 50s and 60s came about because some challenged the status quo.To continue to "evolve" (personally hate that word), we must always think about different ways to do things and this is often met with resistance by the powers that be (your boss...etc. go ahead: go to work tomorrow, tell your boss you don't think 6 patients is a good Nurse:patient ration and you will leave exactly at the end of your shift or be paid time and a half and see how far that gets ya!)........Let's face it....I got an EE degree in the 1980s. You would never have been failed for being late to a class. You would not have failed for not attending a class. If you did all the work, passed all the tests, then you had the knowledge to do the job. Since, as my profs with doctorates, would say....YOU are paying US to teach you. If you need our help, we are here. If you don't, then kudos for you. But if you fail, you fail.Of course, you had to do labs in class. If you didn't, then you couldn't pass the lab. But, if you had an issue (oh say someone shot up folks on the LI RR) and you couldn't be at THAT lab, you could hook in with the next lab class.If you wanted to take 8 years to get a 4 yr degree, working FT and raising a family.....NOONE EVER said you were not committed.You don't have to agree with those sentiments any more than I agree with yours. Dems don't agree with Repubs and vice versa. It doesn't make anyone more right because they belong to one school of thought or the other.We will simply have to agree to disagree.
Wow, I think now would be a good time to take a big, deep breath.
Nursing school is not the same as an EE degree, never has been, never will be. Sorry you're having a tough time of it.
And you have how many EE credits?
And, BTW, I did not join this thread to say *I* am having issues. I was supportive of the OP and empathetic. I thought that posters were being judgmental and harsh.
I am doing quite well in NS. I actually had fellow students that I did not have my priorities straight because I not only refused to quit working, but I had 2 back-to-back 60 hr work weeks. We did lose 3 classmates that term. I was not one of them.
LOL!One thing I would point out to you......the good Lord has a way of humbling the judgmental. I can see the day some idiot totals your car on the way to school with you in it.....You left with PLENTY of time. NOW, you can't make it to class on time. Then a fellow poster tells you to quit making excuses. Whatever.
Then the day comes where you are told by your director of nursing that someone will not be able to make it in for their shift. You are being told to stay. Now your instructor in your Master's class has no sympathy for you either. OR your child never forgives you for missing their recital. You want THEM to understand YOUR predicament and YOUR responsibilities.
okay... this comment is a good reason why I think it is not a good idea for me to keep coming to this forum. Here I am studying for a major pharm exam and comments like this really cause a lot of un needed stress.
I know God. I have spent much time reading and re-reading the bible and I can say with confidence (but not pride) that though his word, I know God and understand his personality. You think the judgment of God is going to come down on me because of a minor disagreement with you? That is the WRONG theoligy my friend in Christ, that is the type of mindset that have Christians believe that God is okay with the war in Iraq and everything christians in america do is right because if anyone disagrees with us then it means God is angry... and it is a lie that false prophets are teaching us. God does bring the judgment down on people, this is true. However, God is not going to bring a car accident and possable death or dismemberment on another person just because he has said on a nursing forum "it is not a good idea to work through nursing school" and "You ought to be punctial". I really do say this in love... nothing against you personally, please beleive me... but that is a poisonis mind set and I pray you come away from it. Lord knows I have an absolute CRAP TON of problems and issues myself but hopefully fellow Christians can come together in love and discuss with respect.
Also... to be clear, of course there are cercumstances where you can't help being late... like getting into a horrable car accident that errely felt like you hoped would happen to me:cry:. However, we are talking about coming to class daily on time and trying to work as little as possable... that is not a judgment, that is an opinion.
In closing, I don't have any hard feeling but I honeslty feel that if this is how you think God is, that he will bring death or misery on people for any reason... I really hope you leave the church and or reject the teaching which lead you to beleive that and go back into the Bible because all the truth is in there. And this is coming from a person who is constantly messing up himself, so please don't think I'm on a high horse.
But seroiusly... I am done with this forum for now... too much school work to waste anymore time here... Honestly, we are freaking arguing about being on time... what the heck?!?!?!
hiddencatRN, BSN, RN
3,408 Posts
Hm. See I read this and felt bad for your sister-in-law.