"bad" evaluations given by students of faculty

[goingback]

I know that we tell students to take feedback given to them in a professional way, not personal...but it is so difficult to read the student's feedback of my teaching and not feel like I am being attacked and worried for my job. It is so hard when students are so upset over a grade on a care plan or skills check offs--the reviews come back that instructor was too demanding, too much work assigned, unfair grade compared to others. I document everything--so if a student gets a B in clinical--there is usually documentation of performance weaknesses or issues. Or if they fail a skill or are struggling in the lab there is documentation put in their file. If a student is a safety risk they should be held accountable I believe. If they continue to make an error is practicing a skill or sterile technique--they should be held accountable. Not everyone is an A student. I am just so tired of being told by students on reviews that I am a harder instructor than others or grade harder than others. Should I compromise my values of holding students accountable and ease my grading (inflate grades) just so I can get better reviews? Although most all my students end up doing the work and getting As in clinical and skills labs, it seems as if they have a hard time with feedback. I am a very nice and open person and try to always be kind and friendly to my students, but will I have to take a perhaps different approach with giving feed back? I try to give praises to students, but I keep it simple and say good job, nice technique, I liked how you communicated that...Do I need to fluff the praises more? There is not enough time to tell all individual 20 students in a lab class how well they are doing. Any tips on how to make the students feel more special?

Any suggestions on receiving anonymous feedback from students that feels like they are attacking you for just doing your job?

[chanie911]

From a student perspective (though I can of course only speak for myself), I don't necessarily agree that a poor evaluation is because of a poor grade--nor is it necessarily due to a strict instructor. I value greatly the professors who have high expectations of me and my class, because I know I will ultimately learn the most from these professors, even if my grades aren't "perfect" (and in my program we ARE under immense pressure to maintain a high GPA, so I don't say that lightly).

To me, the difference between a "good" instructor and one who might ultimately not get a favorable review from me is how invested in the class/material/students s/he seems--there are professors that we've ALL struggled to pass, but who are immensely passionate about the material, and I give them great reviews. Likewise, there have been courses that I would not have gone to if attendance wasn't mandatory, had the highest grades in, and felt as though the professor was reciting her material from a script she'd memorized a decade before--THAT professor got a less-favorable review. (If she doesn't care about the subject, what's to inspire us to?)

Just my 2 cents....I'm sure not all students agree with my take on things, but I think it's less about "easy" and "grades" and more about being IN the experience with the students that makes a good professor.....

[WordWrangler]

The teachers who recite from their power points which are taken verbatim (and yet, somehow still contain grammatical errors?) from the books we were supposed to read before lecture? Those teachers get poor evaluations from me every time, every semester so far. They are also the ones who have years of floor experience and yet cannot seem to give us any good examples of care, examples that would pound those concepts into our heads.... it is befuddling to me how some teachers CAN NOT teach but expect us to learn.

In YOUR case, I'd urge you not to worry so much about the "fluffing." Nothing annoys me more than people complaining that they don't get enough positive feedback. If someone does something outstanding, by all means, praise them. But to my mind, we are learning to be nurses, not kindergarteners. If I don't get an outright criticism of something I do, I call it a good day!

[vonnieb63]

This is what I believe: You should let each student know that you expect the best, then when in lab on an individual basis treat them as though they are your child and you are teaching them something important and want them to do it right and understand it, with a smile. You will ease their anxiety enabling them to learn and give them a sense of compassion that they will bring with them towards the care of their patients, and love you for it!

[cinlou, BSN, MSN, RN]

I am a new Director of an LPN program. I took over just after the cohort started last Fall. I found many things that needed to be changed but needed to wait until the next group to change many of these things. One thing I did change was the grading and passing policy. It stated that the students needed to receive a 75 on every exam in order to pass and essentially that all the other homework they did, even though it was scored would not benefit their passing ability. I changed this to average out. The other day I saw my first evaluations from students. One student was not very happy with me and stated that I was rude, she was in fear of speaking with me because she thought if she said anything I would fail her. She said things were changed to much. Interesting enough this student was one who benefited from the change in policy. Now I am not perfect and I did something that changed the entire classes view of me. I was standing outside the classroom one day listening to one of the faculty explain to the class, who were all talking and it was loud, how she wanted them to do the exam. Half way through her explanation this student stood up and walked out of the room I asked her where she was going she said to the bathroom. I was so taken aback and caught off guard that this student chose this time to walk out that I blurted out loudly to her, while waving my finger toward the door for her to get back in the room until the explanation was completed. I know I was loud enough for all to hear. In the evaluation it was clear it was this student, she said I had waved my finger at her, and that I was rude to her and many other students. I had a talk with the group prior to this about classroom civility, and the group thought I was being rude to them. I know I was in the wrong on how I did this, but I was not in the wrong on addressing it. Some people carry their heart on their sleeve, and have a difficult time taking any form of what they consider criticism. Was I hurt by the students statements, you betcha, but she was hurt by how I addressed her. I think I deserve to apologize to the students on how I addressed the situation. What do you all think?

[4monthsandawakeup]

I'm a very blunt person by nature, so I'll apologize before hand for this advice but uhm as a student nurse I would say don't complement anyone, use the bell curve and curve like all other college teachers do and tell the student's that you have an open door policy during your office hour in case anyone need to talk to you one on one about their personal grade. I mean I'm no nurse instructor but that's what I would do.... But then again I'm pretty detach from people for the most part.

[TriciaJ, RN]

I think a lot of nursing schools do their students a huge disservice by being touchy-feely. I once overheard an instructor tell a student "You set your own learning goals". Say what? The Board of Nursing and the general public set my learning goals. I paid the school to help me identify and achieve them.

And what happens to all the graduates of the Montessori Schools of Nursing? They get thrown to the wolves by hospitals run by bean counters. They're on this forum, saying "Help, I'm drowning!" Please continue to help prepare beginning nurses for what they are going to face out there. Yes, they are still spoiled children who will trash you, but one day the smart ones will thank you. Although probably not to your face.

[AOx1]

I realize that this is an old thread, but there may be new educators online who have experienced a similar, frustrating experience with spring evaluations. If this is you, take heart!

Absolutely do not water down your standards. When reviewing your evaluations, look for trends, not isolated statements. For example, if one student notes that you are the best teacher in the entire world, and another notes that you are the worst, these are outliers. What I try to look for is the trends. Worrisome trends might be: students feel that you don't care, aren't knowledgeable, don't spend time with them, etc.

The things I have found most helpful are the following:

Set boundaries and expectations early and be transparent. Instead of reading the syllabus (insulting) on the first day, instead describe your philosophy, that you care for students, your expectations. Make everything transparent. There should not be any surprises about what you will expect, that you have high standards, why the course and assignments are structured in a given manner. All of your assessments and activities should have direct relevance to your course objectives and your program's student learning outcomes. Make this clear to students how the course will fit together.

Be friendly and caring, but with rigorous standards. I see the role of a professor as somewhat similar to that of a great parent. There are rules and standards you expect so that the students will be safe nurses. This does not mean that you aren't kind and friendly.

Show the students what the focus of the information will be. Don't just assign 200 pages to read. Help them focus on what is essential from that reading. What MUST they know to be safe, not what is nice to know? Show them how to apply the information to the care planning process. Show them how it fits together. Use real life situations. Relate what they are learning now to what they have learned in the past.

Most of all remember Benner's novice to expert. Remember that you too were young and green at one point, and let the students see how to translate that new knowledge into practice. Be patient with them. As for feedback, I like to sandwich it. For example, "John, you've clearly prepared and read about how to insert a Foley. You did a great job of explaining the procedure to the patient. When you missed the first insertion, one tip is to leave the misplaced catheter in the lady parts temporarily, then try again with a new catheter. This will keep you from missing the correct placement again. I know you can do it this time." Give the student both feedback on what they did well and what they can improve upon.

[feelix, RN]

Learn to suck up, make inappropriate jokes, let them call you by your first name, and nicknames. They will still give you a bad review. But it will be used against you only when your superiors want to give you a bad grade.

[suni, BSN, RN]

Whispera has given good advice. I always talk to my students during clinical about the patient, care they give and help with any questions. My downfall this term has been writing on clinical prep work. I write concepts on concept maps but need to be doing more with weekly preps. I am on a learning curve as a new instructor and this has been the big thing my students told me last week. We are close to ending the rotation and I asked them for feedback so I improve my performance. They seemed somewhat surprised that I asked but offered constructive criticism and hints which I appreciate and will use in my next rotation.

[organichombre, ADN, BSN, MSN, LPN, RN]

Entitlement has reduced clinical instructors to gate keepers of the flame. Every time one of these gen x's or millenials get a bad review it comes down to why did we not stroke their ego in the proper manner. Grow up people, nurses get evaluated all of the time and one of the reasons that we are at the top of the "trusting' list, is because we tell people "HOW IT REALLY IS WHEN YOU DIE OR GET SICK OF GO TO NURSING SCHOOL!". Thank you, and please if you cannot take constructive criticism, do not become a nurse or a doctor!

[JBudd, MSN]

Most of the comments on my last eval were very positive; but one wrote a long paragraph complaining that I tell far too many personal stories but never let anyone else share their stories (I do cut off long tales and get back on track). My stories are meant to illustrate and bring to life what we are talking about! of course, I could​ just read the power points.....

[Whispera, MSN, RN]

like Lincoln said, "you can please some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can never please all of the people all of the time"....