Should I keep my head down, or say something?

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Specializes in Associates Degree in the Science of Nursing.

I am a nursing student, and I am currently retaking my Capstone course due to being just shy of 900 on my exit HESI. There were so many times during my program where things would happen, and instead of saying some thing I just “rolled with it”. Being cut early from class and being told not to tell… Literally being told by my clinical instructor to stay off of facebook and don’t go shopping and we could go home.
For our last capstone clinical, she didn’t show up altogether and called us a half an hour after we were supposed to start and told us to go home and she would put our attendance in for the day. That’s when a classmate next to me looked over and said that the clinical group from the previous day had the same problem, and the instructor claimed to have a flat tire.

This was after already having waited until the very end of the course to actually get on site. I don’t believe this was entirely the fault of the school but rather the hospital and their boarding process, however there was definitely an air of just putting what needed to be put on paper for us to graduate and not what actually benefits us as future nurses.

So here I am re-taking the course and yesterday evening was supposed to be my first simulation class. The instructor was running late because of her previous class, and when she did finally take the first group of students from our class they claimed that she was flustered because she though the group was completely unprepared (obviously not having the opportunity to be in a lab during distance education) and she “had to make nurses out of them“. We were a large group and they wanted to work with us two-at-a-time, so I was told to use the time as a study hall and they in fact ran out of time…. so I just sat there for three hours.

We are evening students, so this class runs LATE. Even when there is nothing presently for us to do, we are told to stay on campus until that time because we “have to have a certain amount of simulation hours”.

Has anyone had experiences like this in their RN nursing program? Is it worth saying some thing or could that make me a target? I’m frustrated. I feel like ultimately the things we are told to do is to benefit the school saying we met certain qualifications, not what’s best for the students now and in the future. I understand that teaching isn’t the only job many of my instructors have, but why should that become my issue or why should  my program suffer because of that?

Thanks for reading!

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Specializes in Physiology, CM, consulting, nsg edu, LNC, COB.

Do you have an advisor? Or does the school have an advising office that’s not just for the nursing program? Make an appointment to see if you can get some advice. Tell them you want to be anonymous to avoid blowback before you say anything. 

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Specializes in NICU.
5 hours ago, nurseinthemaking123 said:

I am currently retaking my Capstone course due to being just shy of 900 on my exit HESI.

A Capstone course is a one on one preceptorship with a nurse in a specialty that you are interested in after graduation. What does your Capstone course have to do with your exit HESI score? 

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Specializes in Associates Degree in the Science of Nursing.
17 hours ago, Hannahbanana said:

Do you have an advisor? Or does the school have an advising office that’s not just for the nursing program? Make an appointment to see if you can get some advice. Tell them you want to be anonymous to avoid blowback before you say anything. 

I will look into this…. I’ve had a previous conversation with my Dean a few months back because I had filed a complaint without speaking to her. That was the issue though - the tipping point for my complaint was that I had emailed her directly with scheduling issues and she never responded. I appreciate the insight very much

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Specializes in Associates Degree in the Science of Nursing.
15 hours ago, NICU Guy said:

A Capstone course is a one on one preceptorship with a nurse in a specialty that you are interested in after graduation. What does your Capstone course have to do with your exit HESI score? 

I guess “Capstone” is just different at my school? It’s what they call the final course. During this course I take the Exit HESI and other exams. I apologize for any confusion….. just terminology 

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Specializes in Customer service.
On 7/28/2021 at 10:13 AM, nurseinthemaking123 said:

Being cut early from class and being told not to tell…

When the classes are done or something is going on, I would like to be dismissed. I had teachers before that kept us in the classroom until dismissal and worked more on assignments because of some jerks' complaints that we were "dismissed earlier".  I wasn't lackadaisical; I was doing well in the class because I studied and read everything I had and needed to know (and did look up things on my extracurricular activities) at my own time. I need my teachers, but I figured that some students don't effin have the time to read their books.

 

On 7/28/2021 at 10:13 AM, nurseinthemaking123 said:

Has anyone had experiences like this in their RN nursing program?

Some morons complain that the teachers dismissed them early. Some of them blamed the teachers for their failure because they were sent home prematurely. As a result,  the teachers keep their students in the building. This was exercise in my class. Frankly, I don't like it. As a second timer in college, I hate how the things are going these days. I missed the old ways where I can leave earlier when the lecture was over. 

fyi, I've never left classrooms without being dismissed. I come early.  I don't mind if everyone is late as long as I'm given the full credit. 

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Specializes in Associates Degree in the Science of Nursing.

Our instructors make us stay when there is absolutely nothing going on, because they say they need to mark down that we have fulfilled all of our requirements.

Today I drive 45 minutes to my clinical site. My instructor was 40 minutes late, and said because the JC was at the hospital, we couldn’t be on the floor anyways. She said she had to keep us around in case someone from the school came to check in. We proceeded to sit in the conference room for hours…. It was incredibly aggravating to be sitting in a hospital as a student nurse hoping to be working soon - and your instructor is just chilling on her phone. Literally I listened to her scroll through TikTok…. 

Most of my lecture time, Sim time, and clinical time has been “study halls”. My lecture Professor would play Youtube when she claimed to have laryngitis. My Sim instructors said the group was too large to work with everyone, but made us stay the entire time so they wouldn’t look bad. And today I sat in a conference room at a hospital and was forced to sit there….. so my instructor wouldn’t look bad. 
 

Has anyone else had these experiences in their nursing program? My DON is incredibly dismissive, I don’t think she has any idea what is actually happening within the classrooms or on the clinical sites. I was so so frustrated sitting there today….. I almost reached out to her in anger. I try to study when they have us sit around…. But as my instructor was scrolling though TikTok she didn’t even bother to put in headphones, and people are chatty and we’re all in one room. Not the greatest study environment…… 

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Specializes in CEN, Firefighter/Paramedic.

I have had some occasions where lab wasn’t the best, but overall when we have face time with our professors it’s been productive.

Based on your description, I think it’s reasonable to speak up on this one..

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Specializes in ER NURSE.

Please tell me did you finish this capstone of yours? It sounds like it was a great test of patience!

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