Starting 1st semester on Chapters 17, 20-22 & 34 in Fund. book?

[danedsel]

I understand the inclination for certain schools or programs to "test" the student in terms of their affinity for new concepts and adaptation, but I can't understand not supporting their student body.

Basically, we were just tested on the first several chapters of fundamentals of nursing where they introduce the student to the ideas of critical thinking, application, the nursing process, diagnosis, etc. But this was the 3rd semester exam. The first test covered chapters 17, 21, 22, 23 and 34. I can't help but wonder if I might have done better on the first two exams had they started in the more linear, logical fashion of introducing students to concepts they'd use throughout school and work first and not backwards.

If first semester or the first two semesters are "weed out" semesters, it's done through the difficulty of the program and the academic prowess of the student (or lack thereof).

Depending on the degree of difficulty, community college or university, I realize the approach may be different but this doesn't make any sense.

A friend of mine also in 1st semester in a different school, said they conformed to this more natural progression of doing introductory chapters first, so I know it's done.

It seems like trickery or like they're trying to "get" me.

[minniebrown]

Different programs do things differently. My program changes things all of the time, sometimes from one semester to the next. Who knows why they chose to test on those specific chapters. Maybe they are trying to match some of the theory to what you will be doing in clinical instead of taking a more conventional route. It is college, so you are expected to be more self-motivated. You are in charge of your education experience at this point. Nursing school is a long ride and it's best to go into things expecting positivity, instead of thinking someone is out to trick you.

[springchick1, ADN, RN]

Nursing schools cover the material that needs to be covered and to prepare you for NCLEX. One of the first things we covered was safety, sterile techniques, etc. part of that was because that was one of the first things we were doing in validation BEFORE we started clinicals. We didn't start clinicals for 6 weeks. And there was a bunch of stuff that we didn't even cover in our fundamentals book.

[Divatologist, ADN]

This is my 1st semester. We were assigned 11 chapters from our fundamentals book for our 1st assignment. We had several chapters from our med/surg book as well as our physical assessment book. We had 18 chapters plus what we went over in lab and those darn med calculation problems to go over for our 1st exam. I got an "A" on the 1st exam and a "C" on the 2nd exam. I can't do that again. I'm currently prepping for our 3rd exam, which includes 22 chapters all together. Some chapters are in our pharmacology, med/surg and math calculation book....*Whew*

[krisiepoo]

noone is out to get you. schools jump around in text books ALL THE TIME. Maybe the teachers are teaching in a linear fashion, but it differs from the text book.

the first thing you'll need to do is get rid of your persecution complex and learn to go with the flow of nursing school.

[Stephalump]

What did those chapters cover?

[i♥words]

Not one of my classes goes through the textbooks in numerical order. It isn't trickery; actually, it's a plan to get the information in your brain so you'll be ready for clinicals and later the NCLEX. The first thing I learned about was patient safety, how to help a patient ambulate, and how to give a patient a bath. Those chapters were closer to the end of my fundies textbook. But I needed to know that info first so that a couple of weeks later I could go to the hospital and help my patient ambulate and give him/her a bath. I think it is helpful, actually.

[christina731]

I doubt that they are out to get you. Not all programs are taught in the exact same order. I'm sure the textbook publishers have no idea and don't care about what order that you're going to learn the material, so they will order the book how they please. Unless your instructor wrote the book, it's doubtful that it will be in the order that they will teach it.

[Teeanne]

My fundamentals, health assessment, and patho classes all go out of order in the book. It hasn't really been bad to jump around so far and the material hasn't felt hard, I'm just getting used to the trying to soak in massive amounts material in a short time and feel like it's really solidly retained. That's not going to change no matter what the corresponding chapters are. Colorful post-it tabs are my friend!

Our instructors try to complement each other as much as possible, which is really nice. But cardiac, for example, might be in the beginning of patho, end of health assessment, middle of fundamentals textbooks, etc. I'd rather attack a single topic from multiple dimensions like that, vs going linear through the books.

[rubato, ASN, RN]

What class DOES follow the book exactly? Even Comp 1 didn't follow the book chapter for chapter. I was taught all over the place and from various books my first semester of nursing school. It was the right way to go about it. The instructors have a "grand scheme" and they introduce things to you in a certain order for your benefit. Unless you are in a brand new school, it is probably a tried and true method of getting the info to stick and help you prepare for your future.

[randill8084]

You will jump around through the textbooks as you go through school.