midnight*sky

Hi everyone, I am having a bit of a dilemma here. I am very unhappy with my school and its instructors, and one in particular who is a large part of the nursing program is causing me to have second thoughts about nursing altogether. She makes me want to give up my dream of becoming a nurse. Currently, I have a 4.0 in NS. However, that does not in any way help me in my decision to push forward and continue at this school. Or, thanks to this instructor, even want to continue in nursing AT ALL. Let me tell you about her: She does NOT teach at all, the second you walk into the classroom she immediately banters on about how nursing basically sucks, tells us these horror stories every day, makes it clear that she was/is a bully to nursing students, new grads, and that ALL but 1 nurse she ever met is incompetent, yells at us - call us stupid...I could go on and on Right now, I have her for Pharmacology. We are 1/3 through the class/semester now and we have done NOTHING. We had one test on the history of pharmacology 3 weeks ago and that's it. Last class and the class before, the entire 4 hour class, she talked to us about how hard pharm is - She kept saying we need to begin lecture, but she just kept talking about nothing related. Then, during one class, she said for us to have a 5 minute break. So we did, and we came back and she never came back to class. She popped in at the end and said "OMG, are you guys still here?! You can leave now!" I WANT To learn. I NEED To learn to pass HESI and NCLEX of course. I've been reading our book anyway, but there's a lot of material I need help with. I asked her a few questions but she never answers. She attempts to, but she always goes off into another subject - She is one of those people that when they start talking, they can't stop. And it goes from one thing to another to another to another for hours until she doesn't even remember what she began talking about in the first place. Never the subject matter. :angryfire With her permission, I've been recording the 'lectures' and so has one of my friends. (Why she agreed I'll never know...She knows she is in hot water already with the DON.) Needless to say, this week we are heading over to the DON to have a little word about the situation. I am never one to do such, I usually keep to myself - but I've HAD IT! It's not just her, though....The entrie nursing program is terrible. There is one instructor whom I adore. Thankfully I do have her this semester. I've been talking to her personally about what's been going on and how I'm thinking about leaving nursing for good, and she's advising me against it and trying to help me out. Though she said if I'd like to go to another NS, she will send me with a letter of recommendation. She is well known in this state, actually and has taught at many schools in the area and has worked in the best hospitals in the country. (She's very well known and highly respected.) She is the only thing going for this school and they know it and flaunt it :icon_roll It seems like many nurses I know also hate their job, are miserable and depressed, have no time for family/holidays, etc. That also makes me have second thoughts. I've always had a strong passion for nursing and feel it's best for me. I'm doing very well and enjoy clinicals. However, all of these stories I hear...........I don't know anymore.....I am severely lacking in self-confidence and self-esteem and struggle with depression and anxiety myself so it'll be hard enough as it is. I'm not sure I can emotionally handle it and I'll end up miserable. I have a BS in Healthcare Administration, so that is my 'back up plan' so to speak. Not that I'd be happy in ANY job relating to it either.... I feel like I just won't/can't be happy in any way.......

I would have gone with A personally, but it may also be C. What is it?

I searched online for some 'fake' medication administration record examples, but I can't find any. My instructor is NOT helping us with teaching us how to fill one out (long story, not going to go there...) and said we need to figure it out ourselves and gave us no resources at all. We are having a 'test' next week in which she will give us orders and we need to transcribe it onto the MAR in

He got his GED, which means he didn't finish high school, so it makes sense.

Sometimes I think I study TOO much. I'm thinking that maybe it is because my study habits are poor. What I find that I end up doing is reading the same material over and over and over and over - Is that what studying is really about? That is a stupid question, but I want an honest answer. One of my instructors said that that was the way to do it - To expose yourself to the information over and over until it "sticks". The problem I have with this is it is making studying a real drag. I used to love it, but with NS, I am finding myself having to read the same things over and over x100+ to make it stick. It becomes torturous sometimes, but I still force myself to do it. This week, I have FOUR major tests on top of clinicals and I am studying all day/most of the night, but it consists of reading the same material many, many times over and over. I mentioned this to one of my NS friends in class and she laughed and said she'd go crazy doing that, but she still spends the same amount of time as I do studying - So it got me thinking about HOW she studied, but I felt stupid to ask. :icon_roll On a typical week, I study about 4-5 hours/night, but on Sundays I do about 7-8+ since my husband is home to watch the kids that day. I do take off Friday night from studying. When I tell people this they think I am nuts, even other nursing students...Is that really a lot? Am I over doing it? Would love for some feedback on studying tips/habits!! Thanks! Oh, and I do recieve all A's doing it this way, forgot to mention...

Well said!!! (....I hope some of my instructors read this...)

I'm sorry you are experiencing this. I, myself, am an overweight LPN student - About 275 lbs. currently. Luckily, I have not experienced any remarks or discrimination by anyone or any instructor. In fact I've made many friends right off the bat, which is not something that EVER came easy to me growing up! I too have just about heard it all and have been beaten down by discrimination and hatred toward obesity. In nursing school (or any school) the most important thing is to focus on studies and just get through it, and like the poster above me said - kill 'em with kindness!! Don't stoop to their level, ever. Don't give them a reason to be unkind to you and maybe they will see how foolish they really are. I hope everything turns out okay :) Good luck hun!

Very well said! (I, too, am dealing with similar issues at the moment...)

First, are you sure the answer to #2 that you provided is correct? It doesn't seem so to me, but maybe I am wrong too!

BON = Board of Nursing (Can't find any investigative material against LT either! I go to Dover Business College, though.)

I swear we must be in the same school....in NJ...hmm...

I've always been a good student - I'm just one of those freaks that love school, lol. I graduated second in my class in HS (salutatorian) with a 4.1 GPA (due to AP classes being worth more). HOWEVER, I was completely direction-less and had NO idea what I really wanted to do after HS. I went through the motions undeclared in college and ended up graduating with a BS in Healthcare Administration. I had an interest in nursing, but never followed through until my twins were born extremely premature and now have numerous special needs....They were my inspiration to finally go for it and pursue NS. Now in NS, I am doing well but I have my issues with time management in caring for the twins and their special needs and going to classes, studying, etc. So far I have a 3.9 GPA, but we'll see after this semester ends, lol...I have a few more B's than usual

I'm glad to hear you turned around! I have been following your posts about this professor/course and was astounded at what you've been put through in an entry level course. Seriously. PLEASE don't let this one "teacher" ruin your dream!! I wish you the best of luck! :)

The poster above me is correct, but I found one more error. # 11 should be active transport (a). Na works to control fluid balance via the sodium potassium 'pump' which is a form of active transport. You chose osmosis, which is the movement of H20 thru a semi-permeable membrane, not Na. Good luck :) F & E balance can be a monster of a subject!

The type of math used most often in nursing ranges between basic math thru very basic algebra. Most often this includes decimals, ratios, proportions, fractions and the very basic division/multiplication/etc. It's nothing to panic over, really. Just review, review, and review and it'll become second nature after awhile. Being that you've never taken an algebra course, you may benefit from buying perhaps a Cliff's note pre-algebra book and taking a look at it. I have to say though that I mostly have used basic math more than pre-algebra. Don't let the math scare you away from nursing though! I see this a lot. You really do get the hang of it and like I said, it does become second nature VERY quickly :)