I am in A&P 2 and have the worst teacher I have ever had in my life, and I have had some bad ones. She not only grades hard, but she asks open ended questions on exams that can be answered in different ways. You never know what she is looking to get in the way of an answer, so anything can be right/wrong depending on what she wanted you to write (but not giving us any idea what that is).
At any rate, I just took my heart and blood vessel test and got a few points marked off when I answered the essay question about FETAL circulation. I knew a lot about it and thought it was a slam dunk of an answer, but I didn't get full credit on it. Apparently even though I knew everything (and than some) that I needed to know she took points off because I did not mention the blood flow from the umbilical chord. First off, if I know that only 3 chambers of the heart work in a fetus (and how it works differently than an adult) I think it should be safe to assume I would know something that the other 99 percent of the people know. But lets even say that I should not have assumed. The question was about FETAL circulation. The chord is outside of the fetus, I should not be graded on it IMO. I am not sure where the line is drawn between mother and fetus, but between my excellent understanding of the fetus's circulatory system, and the fact the question did not specify outside the fetus I don't think I should have lost anything. Heck, why stop at the chord? The rest of the mother has an effect on a fetus's development.
I did not do badly on the test, I just did not do as well as I would have liked to (I got an 88). Out of a class of 28 I did 5th best (about 25 percent of the class fail her tests so far). I am right at that B plus mark bordering on an A and I want that A! The way things are shaping up I will probably borderline at the end of the semester between an A and a B+. Do you think it is worthwhile for me to confront her on this and risk her grading me harsher in the future?
I do not agree that something outside of the body is part of the circulatory system. You could argue the mother's entire body is part of the circulatory system and be correct.
Nope. Because fetal and maternal blood are not one in the same and they do not mix, when placenta is functioning appropriately . You clearly don't understand fetal circulation quite as well as you think you do. The umbilical cord is also part of the fetus, attaching the fetus to its nutrient source - the placenta - that the blood must circulate through to nourish the growing fetus. Again, indicating you don't really understand fetal circulation.
I believe I understand where you are coming from OP. I have a terrible Advanced Physiology professor. The English language is not her most fluent of languages and this reflects on her written quizzes. 99.9% of the class fail her quizzes (myself included), but nearly all of us pass the tests that are written by another professor. Her issue is also with open ended questions or the lack of understanding on our part, with what she is looking for.
I wouldn't make a big deal on this one question, but instead talk to your professor about their expectations. I tried and my prof. just got upset and started speaking in Spanish (which I am not fluent in) and I was clueless to her response. We have since found out she has been placed on academic probation this semester with the valid complaints that have been received. I think most of the time the prof. want you to think critically and do not want to have to spoon feed you. I would have included the part of the circulation you left out, but I have become accustomed to putting anything and everything down for answers in hope of getting credit. Just do your best and get that class over and done with. Believe me there are bigger struggles ahead of us.
LOL, as it turns out, whether you agree or not is a moot point.
I do not agree that something outside of the body is part of the circulatory system. You could argue the mother's entire body is part of the circulatory system and be correct. The point is, if she left an open ended question that you have no idea what she wanted. Can she mark me wrong for it, sure. Could she have included the mother's lungs (since that ultimately is where the blood get's oxygenated) as part of the O2 concentration of the blood? Ya, that would be right as well. She said she wanted the answers in three or so sentences, I was not writing a paper.
Another question she had that I did get credit for (remember 3 or so sentences) is the function of elastin in the arteries... Really, what part of that do you want answered in 3 sentences? I just happened to guess what she wanted written because she gives ZERO indication as to what she is looking for.
If she wanted the exterior of the fetus in the answer she should have stated in the question the parameters of what she was asking. The amount of detail I put into the answer leaves no doubt that I would know the biology that every 4th grader knows about the umbilical cord (notice how you also said placenta, I would not have been marked down for that. She decided that was not part of what she wanted in the answer).
OP, I think you are in for a world of surprise should you start nursing school.
One of the best things I've learned in college is "pick your battles wisely." This is not a battle worth fighting. What do you expect to win out of fighting this battle for something many have already shown you that you have no dogs in?
Move onward and upward, and leave it behind you. Your sanity will thank you.
Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
It is noteworthy that in intact circulation, mom and baby do not exchange blood.
Bingo! This is a major reason most HIV-infected mothers give birth to healthy babies who do not have any traces of HIV. During the gestational period, the mother and the fetus are not exchanging blood.
Specializes in Mental Health, Gerontology, Palliative.
I do not agree that something outside of the body is part of the circulatory system.
Luckily science is dictated by actual proveable theory and not personal opinion.
You could argue the mother's entire body is part of the circulatory system and be correct. The point is, if she left an open ended question that you have no idea what she wanted.
By its nature anatomy and physiology is not an open ended subject. You didnt provide all of the information your tutor wanted, you got marked down.
Your tutor should not have to spoon feed you in such minute detail.
If she wanted the exterior of the fetus in the answer she should have stated in the question the parameters of what she was asking. The amount of detail I put into the answer leaves no doubt that I would know the biology that every 4th grader knows about the umbilical cord (notice how you also said placenta, I would not have been marked down for that. She decided that was not part of what she wanted in the answer).
The umbilical cord is part of the foetus, no matter how much you want to argue otherwise.
If you came at me with even 1/4 attitude you've demonstrated here, while I wouldn't mark you down, I certainly wouldn't listen to anything you had to say.
If you hope to succeed as a nurse, there is one essential lesson you need to learn, humility.
Specializes in Mental Health, Gerontology, Palliative.
You have missed the point, and missed it badly.
No, you just didnt like the answers you were given.
To start, and I should have probably should have stressed this. In none of the reading that was assigned, the online things she put in, nor her lectures is what you are saying mentioned (where the fetus and mother start/end). I was not given the information, nor was it said it was something that I had to independently find out on my own.
In much of nursing, you are not required to find stuff out on your own. However if you want to upskill and remain current in best nursing practice and ensure that you deliver safe effective nursing care, its something you do.
I also did not explain what the valves do in a fetal heart as compared to a normal heart. I didn't mention the difference in fetal blood and adult blood, or the placenta. Again not marked down on that, but she could mark me down if she wanted to. I would also like to see exactly how all of this fits into 3 or 4 sentences when the question is 'explain fetal circulation'.
I can go to google and in five minutes or less pull up multiple sources that state how the umbilical cord and placenta are genetically part of the foetus. If I go to my nursing text books, I can probably get a more in depth argument right now I'm lying down hoping my back will stop spasming.
The question was vague - PERIOD. I was not given the information nor told that I needed to know this - PERIOD. And as far as my Profs teaching creds... Well you still don't know what you are talking about. Since I have been in her class she has been 'evaluated' 4 times in 1/2 of a semester in just my class. A 1/3 of her students are getting a D or are failing (I have a B plus atm). She also prides herself (she told us this on the first day) that 1/3 of the students who take her class (and pass) have to retake the class because they did not get the grade they wanted.
I'm going to sound harsh. however suck it up. If you think this is bad, wait until you get to nursing school. In my third and final year for cultural safety our sole assignment was 'take an element of cultural safety and take an element of social sciences and fuse them together to come up with an exciting an interestingly new topic'. That was the sole explanation for the assignment. In my class 3/4 failed. Now they had every reason to be angry about it because it was a rubbish assignment that was soooo vague its not funny however they had to do a resubmit if they wanted to progress.
I passed, however given that my house burned down that say I suspect they felt sorry for me.
I have a history degree.
I have a social policy degree with a major in health policy and a minor in rehab. Big whoop. Like policy, history has nothing to do with human anatomy and physiology
Can you tell me the name of the battle that was fought in July 1943 on the German eastern front w/o googling it? Probably not, but even if you do happen to know the answer to that question w/o looking it up no one told you you would need to know that (nor is it in anything you have read to prepare for a test). How in the heck can it be fair game to put on a test?
Nope and I dont really care. However if I knew the subject of an exam was going to be the battle of Kursk you can bet I would be studying everything remotely connected to that battle including the small details on the off chance the tutor decided to throw in an obscure question about that encounter.
Specializes in Psychiatry, Community, Nurse Manager, hospice.
I agree with almost everyone who has posted here.
You are not in anatomy and physiology class to prove what you already know. You are there to learn what you don't know. When you get something wrong on a test your response should be to fix, patch, correct what you didn't know. Many times you can do this just by looking at the test. Sometimes you will need to refer to your text, and once in a great while you will need to ask your professor.
As others have pointed out you have giant holes in your understanding of fetal circulation. Giant. You may indeed have a fourth grade understanding as you stated. You need a much, much better understanding of this because a fourth grade understanding of fetal circulation isn't close to what a nurse needs. Does that surprise you? If it does you do not belong in nursing school.
Your stubbornness is making you incorrigible. If you had a shred of humility I would advise you to ask your professor what a correct answer to the essay question looks like. I would advise you that although it is possible to answer the essay question in 3 sentences, you should do more, until you have a good enough understanding of which information is extraneous.
As another said, your teacher is not being evaluated because you don't like her essays. You're totally off base.
A&P is the weed out class in most colleges. This is a good thing, because it saves people from spending a ton of money on preparation for a career they can't hack.
Like so many others have said here, OF COURSE the umbilical cord is part of a fetus's circulatory system! You definitely should have been given less points for not including it. Your opinion means nothing when it comes to science or nursing school exams. You need to go above and beyond, think critically, and not get so pissy. You have an attitude problem. And if you continue to have an attitude problem, you will NOT make it through nursing school. Go to youtube and look up Nurse Bass's videos on what to not do in nursing school. If you really want to be a nurse, take that attitude and stow it. You want that A? Earn it!
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chare
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Really? Which three would these be? And what exactly happens to the one that doesn't work?