Unprofessional School Orientation

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

Published

I was accepted to a local Community College RN program, and today was the orientation. Only 10 students were there, apparently we were the early acceptance group as no other students had been notified as of yet. We were all called on Friday, informed to pick up an information packet (which was incomplete), and finally told orientation would be today (wednesday) at noon. There were three instructors at the orientation, also these are the three instructors for the actual program as well. One of them was nice and professional, the other two not so much. Long story short they huffed and puffed like 6 year olds during the orientation whenever they encountered a question from any of us. They were not clear with their instructions or explanations and at one point another student asked for clarification and was told "I just said that, didn't you hear me?!". His was a simple question about folders, the teacher said to get "three big notebooks", he asked "do you mean spiral or 3-ring" and she got visibly upset and kind of snapped at him. It was a weird moment, very weird. This scenerio continued to happen through each phase of the orientation, whenever something wasn't perfect to their liking they would roll their eyes and huff-and-puff about it. Now, I'm not one to complain but I don't take kindly to their unprofessionalism. I'm 31, I have a B.A., I'm a professional airline pilot making a career change, and the other students were of equal age and education. The instructors treated the whole orientation as if we were somehow below them. You're training future professional nurses so treat us that way, we are not children. It was so upseting that still tonight I'm shaking my head at the way these "professional instructors" handled themselves. After the orientation we just looked at each other with the *** just happened face, it was funny but sad at the same time.

I hate to say this, but welcome to nursing! Unfortunately unprofessional behavior is more the rule than the exception--I'm finishing up at a fantastic school, but you see the unprofessional behavior in the units, in preceptors, in interviews... Stay true to your reasons for going into nursing, be wise in picking your fights, and survive the idiots so you can take their job someday.

this school in general has caused me many eyes wide open moments. I've never before seen such irresponsible, rude, and immature fellow students. The teahcers were fine, but I still can't believe how a good portion of the students acted. My favorite quote was from one lady who kept showing up late to class and finally was locked out by the instructor, her response: "we adults, we should be able to show up at least 15 minutes late, WE ADULTS!"...I just stood there with my mouth open slowly laughing to myself. Lady, adults are supposed to show up 15 minutes early, not late. This type of attitude seemed to permiate with a good portion of the students I encountered. And like you said, thats just one more person I don't have to worry about in terms of competition for a job.

IF YOU'RE EARLY, YOU'RE ON TIME

IF YOU'RE ON TIME, YOU'RE LATE

IF YOU'RE LATE, DON'T BOTHER SHOWING UP

Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
this school in general has caused me many eyes wide open moments. I've never before seen such irresponsible, rude, and immature fellow students. The teahcers were fine, but I still can't believe how a good portion of the students acted. My favorite quote was from one lady who kept showing up late to class and finally was locked out by the instructor, her response: "we adults, we should be able to show up at least 15 minutes late, WE ADULTS!"...I just stood there with my mouth open slowly laughing to myself. Lady, adults are supposed to show up 15 minutes early, not late. This type of attitude seemed to permiate with a good portion of the students I encountered. And like you said, thats just one more person I don't have to worry about in terms of competition for a job.

IF YOU'RE EARLY, YOU'RE ON TIME

IF YOU'RE ON TIME, YOU'RE LATE

IF YOU'RE LATE, DON'T BOTHER SHOWING UP

Oh, my. :anbd: .I begin to have inklings of sympathy for the instructors if they have to waste time on remedial crap like that. Then, again, I've always been kind of impatient with the "uhh, I forgot my pen" types. There are some med student and nursing student blogs out there that are hilarious. I think that helped the anonymous authors keep their sanity.

An intact sense of humor and a supportive family help alot!!

My uncle was an airline pilot. When he got laid off from his job with the airline, he never found another job and passed away lonely and forgotten. Many are leaving the airline industry for work that seems to be more stable. Unfortunately, nursing is not necessarily that good a choice. My advice to the OP would be to reevaluate this program. Were you admitted to any other program? I would not want to face that negativity if I could help it. Good luck anyway.

Specializes in Emergency Nursing.

IF YOU'RE EARLY, YOU'RE ON TIME

IF YOU'RE ON TIME, YOU'RE LATE

IF YOU'RE LATE, DON'T BOTHER SHOWING UP

Agreed.

This is either important to you or it isn't.

Anyone can be late once in a while but repetitive tardiness is a sign that you don't care.

Personally, I feel that orientations and the application process is a huge indicator of how the nursing school is run.

I am currently at community college finishing up my pre reqs. I applied to this community college and several other programs as well. The community college is so unorganized in every aspect. They lose your transcripts, can't get anyone on the phone in the admissions office, they do not return phone calls, lose credits earned and make horrific mistakes in information on transcripts. The other programs were so organized and professional. I decided not to apply to the cc as I see it as an indicator of how their nursing program is run. I work very hard and have no patience for lazy people in administration at the cc. So off to a more organized school and good riddance to the cc.

As for the attitude of the people at your orientation, "when people show you who they are, believe them the 1st time."

Good luck to you in your career change.

Specializes in Ante-Intra-Postpartum, Post Gyne.
Long story short they huffed and puffed like 6 year olds during the orientation whenever they encountered a question from any of us. They were not clear with their instructions or explanations and at one point another student asked for clarification and was told "I just said that, didn't you hear me?!". His was a simple question about folders, the teacher said to get "three big notebooks", he asked "do you mean spiral or 3-ring" and she got visibly upset and kind of snapped at him.

Maybe they are afraid your group is expecting to be spoon fed. Yes, that was a simple question. I understand why they would be annoyed, its a binder; if people can not even figure out what kind of paper to get they are probably worried about what other "simple questions" there are going to be when school actually starts. Just trying to see it from the instructors perspective.

An intact sense of humor and a supportive family help alot!!

I think this is some of the best advice I could get, it is so true in many aspects of life.

Specializes in Float Pool, acute care, management/leadership.
what kind of notebook to buy sounds more like a fourth grader's question rather than a college student's question. that type of question tells your faculty a lot more about the question asker than i think the asker intended. the type of notebook you use is the kind you want to use unless a certain type is specified for some reason -- i.e. handing in a project or your patient notes, careplans etc.

kathy

shar pei mom:paw::paw:

i'm sorry, but i disagree. even if the instructor had been asked to clarify a couple of times, it takes but a second. moreover, as a student entering a rn program, i would definitely want to be prepared as best as i can. you're already going to be anxious/nervous as is, so what's wrong with wanting to be prepared as best as you can be?

i just finished microbiology. yes, i asked my instructor numerous questions on lab procedures. was it because i wasn't paying attention? no. was it because it because the procedure/protocol was a bit unclear? maybe. was it because i prefer to be thorough, prepared, and i want to do something well and not mediocre? yes.

sometimes, i think people should do some introspection and realize that those 4th grade rudimentary, interpersonal skills are pretty valuable. granted this is about notebooks, and not in a clinical setting...still, on principle, i think it's a good thing the student asked the instructor to recapitulate. there is nothing "4th grade" about asking a question regarding logistics, especially if you're a new student about to enter a profession where a logistical question may save a life.

Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
I'm sorry, but I disagree. Even if the instructor had been asked to clarify a couple of times, it takes but a second. Moreover, as a student entering a RN program, I would definitely want to be prepared as best as I can. You're already going to be anxious/nervous as is, so what's wrong with wanting to be prepared as best as you can be?

I just finished microbiology. Yes, I asked my instructor numerous questions on lab procedures. Was it because I wasn't paying attention? No. Was it because it because the procedure/protocol was a bit unclear? Maybe. Was it because I prefer to be thorough, prepared, and I want to do something well and not mediocre? Yes.

Sometimes, I think people should do some introspection and realize that those 4th grade rudimentary, interpersonal skills are pretty valuable. Granted this is about notebooks, and not in a clinical setting...still, on principle, I think it's a good thing the student asked the instructor to recapitulate. There is nothing "4th grade" about asking a question regarding logistics, especially if you're a new student about to enter a profession where a logistical question may save a life.

I agree that I would rather answer 4 dumb questions than have 1 really important question not asked, especially when the consequences of the not asked question are harm or death to another human being. In that case, I'd rather someone think I'm a pain in the butt for getting things re-clarified until I know I understand, than risk a big-time mistake.

I think what Sharpiemom was alluding to is the person in a lecture hall or classroom setting who wastes everyone else's time asking questions about things that have already been mentioned while they were chit-chatting with friends, are on a list or handout, could be asked of a friend or buddy or are best handled during office hours/before/after class. The way I look at it, in-class time is finite, one student's behavior affects the other's quality of education, and it just shouldn't be squandered on dumb stuff. Good instructors respect everyone's time, and don't let the small issues pull them off track.

Totally OT but I have to ask why "professional airline pilot" is in RN school. I'm a FNP working full time. My husband is a pilot and he makes 3x what I make! Going from being a pilot to a RN makes no financial sense to me at all............

Because it is not "all about the money."

Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
I'm sorry, but I disagree. Even if the instructor had been asked to clarify a couple of times, it takes but a second. Moreover, as a student entering a RN program, I would definitely want to be prepared as best as I can. You're already going to be anxious/nervous as is, so what's wrong with wanting to be prepared as best as you can be?

I just finished microbiology. Yes, I asked my instructor numerous questions on lab procedures. Was it because I wasn't paying attention? No. Was it because it because the procedure/protocol was a bit unclear? Maybe. Was it because I prefer to be thorough, prepared, and I want to do something well and not mediocre? Yes.

Sometimes, I think people should do some introspection and realize that those 4th grade rudimentary, interpersonal skills are pretty valuable. Granted this is about notebooks, and not in a clinical setting...still, on principle, I think it's a good thing the student asked the instructor to recapitulate. There is nothing "4th grade" about asking a question regarding logistics, especially if you're a new student about to enter a profession where a logistical question may save a life.

It takes more then a second to clarify, if we are being honest here, and clarifying once might not be a problem, clarifying more then once on the same thing and having to do so repatidily during class every few minutes adds up and takes a lot of time away from the rest of the course matter. Their are kids in my nursing class that CONSTNATLY ask for clarification on things. Absurd things, for example,

Teacher says, "you will need to wear your scrubs and entire clinical get up on simulation days. All simulation days are outlines in the syllabus".

right away (which doesn't bug me as much, in case it was hard to hear. )

"So we dress just as we would if going to clinical on simulation days and all of those are clearly stated in the syllabus"?

Instructor= "yes"

5 mins later, student raises hand, " So in the syllabus it says that their is a simulation day tomorrow, do we wear our scrubs?"

Instructor= "yes"

20 mins later, instructor is explaining what will happen during simulation. Student raises hand

"Do we need to wear our scrubs tomorrow"

This happened ALL THE TIME, it was very distracting, very annoying, and by the end of class the teacher didn't have time to finish what was planned on the lecture.

It's absurd and finally by the end of the semester the instructor had enough and told everyone they better right it down because this was going to be the LAST TIME she explained what days we would need to wear our clinical attire outside of clinicals, Students had the nerve to say what a B*^&* she was for saying that.

This was just ONE example.

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