Question for other BSN Students

My program is the same and I imagine most other nursing programs are like this. No spoon feeding. There are no reviews or anything either, at least we don't get any. I think nursing school is a totally different ball game when compared to other majors. I think the point is to crack your brain and get you thinking a certain independent way. Its tough, but you can do it. And try not to think about the money, you'll have a coronary by the time you finish.

Hmm - nursing education is markedly different from 'normal' (academic) programs. But I don't think that nursing is that much different from other health care professions in this regard. The underlying educational philosophy is based on the fact that existing knowledge has a very short shelf-life... information is outdated and replaced about every 3 years or so. Intellectual horsepower - the ability to continually learn on one's own is fundamental to maintaining and effective professional practice.

As an educator, I am a bit surprised that you would want to pay tuition $ to have someone read the textbook for you. The job of an instructor is to 'facilitate' learning - provide you with information & skills that you cannot obtain on your own and to validate/confirm your understanding and application of new knowledge and skills you have acquired.

If you really feel the need for a more traditional approach, I am sure that your school can provide the names of tutors who can review material with you or you could work with a like-minded study group.

As my professors always say, it's 100% our responsibility to learn. They are just resources to us to help us figure out how/what to learn. I'm still not too sure how I feel about this though; it's the most challenging part of nursing school for sure. I don't do very well with textbooks. I'm in semester 4/5, and I'm just now kind of figuring out how to take what was taught in class and expand on it affectively without wasting my time. I don't know, surely someday we'll understand/appreciate those professors making us "independent learners". :)

Funny you should mention this, but my Peds instructor was sharing with ous the need to be independant thinkers in class today. Long story short, they are ready and willing to help facilitate learning, but their style of teaching and instruction is preparing us to be independant thinking, professional nurses in an evolving health car system. Granted the process for me personally has been rough, and ALOT of growing pains, by learning to actually independantly study OUTSIDE just the textbook, I have begun to really UNDERSTAND information and processess not just memorize them....

No one else is responsible for making you learn. You are. If this were the case, instructors alone are at fault when a student is not successful. Although I certainly care about my students' success, I should not care more than they do! This is their future career at stake.

First, nurses tend to work as specialists, yet schools are often required to cover general information and many different areas of nursing. There is no possible way to tell you everything you need to know for all time about nursing.

Also, by simply putting all the responsibility on the insructor and making it their duty to tell you all the relevant information, you are almost guaranteeing that you will not develop the ability to critically think, as you will need to do as a nurse. The possibilities of patients that may present themselves are infinite. They will not come with a sign that says "Remeber what you just studied in Chapter 16, do all those things for me!" They are complicated, with multiple needs.

As a nurse you will need to continue to learn. Your instructor will not go with you into the practice setting when you are an RN. If instructors alone are responsible for delivering content, that means you would cease to be able to learn without one present.

Finally, your instructor will not be taking NCLEX, you will. I would hope that by that time, they will have demonstrated and helped their students to think critically. Patients' lives depend on it every day.

You need to assume responsibility for your own learning. When you do and successfully complete the program, you will have the satisfaction of knowing you will continue to learn to be capable and competent. When you view the role of the instructor as mainly to pass on all information, it limits you. If your instructor is a poor lecturer, you "can't learn" and if they are excellent, you perform well. This should not be the case. Find a way to excel in any circumstance.

I can understand your frustration in that this transition is difficult. Going from a model in which all knowledge is just passed on to one in which you must synthesize information is very challenging. You might find some of the NCLEX review books relevant to your topic to be helpful. You can read a brief synopsis of a topic prior to class so you can ask meaningful questions, then come back to review your notes and book again after class.

Maybe I phrased my post poorly, but what rbedemek wrote about is exactly what I am not getting. In one of my classes, there's no validation/application/anything. It's just here's the info, move on. We've spent less than ten minutes on really really important, difficult topics...and the only time we will ever have an opportunity to test our understanding is on the exam.... There is no facilitating either. And I am at a complete loss...

3876154]Hmm - nursing education is markedly different from 'normal' (academic) programs. But I don't think that nursing is that much different from other health care professions in this regard. The underlying educational philosophy is based on the fact that existing knowledge has a very short shelf-life... information is outdated and replaced about every 3 years or so. Intellectual horsepower - the ability to continually learn on one's own is fundamental to maintaining and effective professional practice.

As an educator, I am a bit surprised that you would want to pay tuition $ to have someone read the textbook for you. The job of an instructor is to 'facilitate' learning - provide you with information & skills that you cannot obtain on your own and to validate/confirm your understanding and application of new knowledge and skills you have acquired.

If you really feel the need for a more traditional approach, I am sure that your school can provide the names of tutors who can review material with you or you could work with a like-minded study group.

My program is the same, but I feel nursing is a self-learning process and it is is more helpful if you teach your self. If you are a nurse you are going to have to be critically thinking 24-7. When you are self-taught this helps critically thinking come more easy.

I thought that the instructors in my nursing classes only scratched the surface on topics. At least I am not alone and I do find it necessary to go home and study or I would probably fail.