Along the lines of the first thread, "Things you would love to say to your nursing instructors" I thought this would be a great thread to start. I've since graduated LVN but there was one main thing I wanted to say to some students in my class.
Will you people in the back row please stop talking! I swear that today I can still hear their motormouths running! :chuckle
When I am in the RN bridge I will come back and post some more. I'm sure some of you have something to get off your chest. Come on and unload here! :)
I am doing my best to prep for my OB rounds because I am that mother. I have very strong beliefs, and opinions, and my face just doesn't hide my thoughts very well. I am open minded, and realize everyone is diff, but I have a low tolerance for going with the flow, and doing things "just because".
Just remember that those are very personal opinions and I find it to be a lot like religion. Believe what you want, dont try to sell me on anything.
Specializes in med/surg/tele/neuro/rehab/corrections.
This is from LVN school: The student asked what "@$#%" meant (I can't remember the word) I didn't know either so thought it a good question. She said she couldn't find the word in our medical Dictionary and the teacher had said it 2 or 3 times in lecture! So I waited with bated breath to find out just what it meant. The teacher said to everyone to get out their books and do their homework. She did not answer the question! I guess she was mad? I never did find out what that was because it was no where in our homework.
I've thought back several times in class thinking I would like to know what that was and now I have completely forgotten the word and cannot look it up. She should have just answered the question.
Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
Just remember that those are very personal opinions and I find it to be a lot like religion. Believe what you want, dont try to sell me on anything.
This is so important in MANY facets of nursing. I am thinking about volunteering at planned parenthood and I have had some friends ream me up and down. I can volunteer and put my feelings aside to help others and they do a LOT more then just abortions and have provided a lot of help to people that might not have gotten help other wise. So I can put my judgments aside and learn from it.
Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
When you stumble into clinical simulation late, please don't ask me to explain what's going on, k pumpkin?
Ok not directed AT you, but you just reminded me of one. Please don't call me sweetie, honey, sugar and whatever else, ESPECIALLY when you are much YOUNGER then me. I can tolerate and not take offense from it when it's older people but when I have a fresh out of HS kid calling me these things I cringe LOL
I have a few.... first off "SHUT UP AND LET THE INSTRUCTOR TEACH"...second "We could really careless if your daddy's mama sister older cousin has gout...or you went to the ER to just get pain meds." I mean come on do you really have to verbalize your entire families HEALTH HISTORY or your secret drug seeking habits in class:confused:? Next there is the HOLY THAN THOU crowd that just look down their nose at you and always TALKING about their grades... like "oh I can not believe I made a 90 on that test".......boo hoo for you .......... Hey I just want to make it to summer semester and I will be happy to get my 80 at the end of the this semester and be able to continue.
Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
I would love to say,
if you aren't IN nursing school and haven't been IN nursing school (no matter the type of program they went through), stop acting like you know what nursing school is like. It's not the same as regular classes or school. So stop giving your opinions about nursing school when you have no idea what you are talking about. The same rules don't apply, the same grading scale in most programs doesn't apply, the same expectations don't apply, it's a completely different ball game that you won't understand until you are actually IN it.
if you aren't IN nursing school and haven't been IN nursing school (no matter the type of program they went through), stop acting like you know what nursing school is like. It's not the same as regular classes or school. So stop giving your opinions about nursing school when you have no idea what you are talking about. The same rules don't apply, the same grading scale in most programs doesn't apply, the same expectations don't apply, it's a completely different ball game that you won't understand until you are actually IN it.
That was great to get out
THANK YOU FOR SAYING THAT!
Nursing school is a form of culture shock - pure and simple. When I was in pre-nursing and in my first major, if I made a 95 on a test, I was simply furious with myself. Now I'm pleased with anything in the 80s range and thrilled (shocked?) with anything 90+.
When I got my first Fundamentals test back, I was devastated. 76. I hadn't made a 76 on anything since I was 17 and more interested in partying than school. It just so happened that one of my MD friends called me that afternoon about something else. He asked about school, and I tearfully told him about the 76. Now, it takes a lot to make me cry, and that was the first time he'd ever heard or seen me cry, even though we've worked together many years. He assured me that a 76 on my first test in nursing school is actually not bad at all (I didn't believe him at the time). Then he went on to say that if I relax - and relax my standards - my grades will improve and nursing school will be easier for me. That turned out to be true, and his advice is the best I've gotten since I started this roller coaster. I'm still looking at the possibility of getting an A for that class, but it won't be the 100+ average that I used to get. Still, passing is passing. I'm good with that. :) Someday I will thank that doc for his words of wisdom (as well as all my nurse and doctor friends who have supported me and answered more stupid questions than I care to admit to lol).
To the other students in class - we all have reasons why we're there. Some of us have more pressure on us to succeed than others. Don't hate those of us who push ourselves to get the best grades we can. You're in your 20s or early 30s, and you may just be hoping to get your associate's and call it good. I *need* to get the best grades possible to follow my dream (I want to go into anesthesia school), and I really don't have time to repeat classes (I'm 45 years old already). Nursing school puts enough pressure on all of us. The outside pressures (or our own personal demons) just make it harder. Nursing school isn't a competition; we all need to support each other even when we don't know what the other person is dealing with. I honestly don't believe anyone can survive this craziness alone. Nobody else understands what we're going through - most especially our family members and non-nursing friends, so it's up to us to support each other.
After reading through the last couple pages of this, I realize I talk too much and ask too many questions during lecture...
Our OB teacher seemed to be fishing for stories like that, kept asking us (because she kept forgetting) if any of us had kids. Our class, bless them, would look at her blankly and give a collective "no," even the students who had kids.
you may have been the smartest student in your anatomy class but now there are about 50 of you sitting in that classroom. each and everyone striving to be at the top of their class. a few of them are going to shine brighter than you. it is a very annoying feeling. you will develop some negative feelings towards them and try to find a few aspects of life that you are better at than them. well don't. befriend them, if anything they are a great resource
2. the students who study less but get better test scores.
i sat down to take my very first test in nursing school and i was stressed. i studied every single day since the lecture, i felt like i knew everything. the girl who sat next to me was also stressing but only because she crammed the night before. i got a 70% and she got a 95%. how is this fair? several people have told me that not everyone is a good test taker, i’d rather have a nurse that studies a lot then crams, etc, etc. umm no. she clearly knows what she is doing and her test scores prove it till this day.
3. the complainers. your instructors are people too, with their own personal lives, kids, hobbies, friends and some are still completing some sort of upper division courses for higher education.
teachers don’t get paid well; they don’t do this for money. they obviously love nursing and teaching. they are the most compassionate bunch of nurses you will ever meet. and guess what? at some point they have all been nursing students. it has recently become a pet peeve of mine, when i noticed a trend of several students constantly complaining about how much they dislike their teacher. if you don’t like something, tell the teacher! it's as simple as that. 99% of the time there is a fair rationale as to why they put that question on the test or why they gave you projects back to back or why your clinical schedule is so crappy. and the other 1% of the time? well, human error, don’t hold a grudge. and please don’t complain about teachers to other teachers, so incredibly unprofessional. they are collegues.
4. know-it-all's.
there will be at least one. the know-it-alls are in a completely different category as the competitive people or the people that get better test scores than you. if you state that you are unclear about something they will pull you aside and explain it to you in their own individual way. i know it sounds like they are trying to be helpful...but it won’t feel like that. it will feel like they have officially taken on the role of a teacher without anyone asking them to do so. when coming to class you almost expect them to jump up there and start lecturing. they correct the teacher, they interrupt lectures but most of all they think they are better than everyone. there were a handful of them in my class and it got to the point that when they would start talking i would deliberately ignore every single word they were saying, important or not. and the whole entire time, the only thing i wanted to remind them is that we are in the same classroom, learning the same subject; at the same level of nursing school so please do not act like you are above all. so if i could go back and do it again knowing this what would i do differently? i would ignore their behavior because two semesters later, they have been put in place several times by instructors and one of them failed a semester. (disclaimer: i am by no means happy that they failed out i am just trying to stress the point that even if people act like they know it all, they clearly don’t know it all)
5. those who don’t have to work while in nursing school.
you may come across a few people who constantly talk about how they are so grateful that their significant other is able to support them while they go to school. they can’t bare the thought of having to work while completing their education. and they will verbalize this every single day, after every single test. and here you are working full time because that is the only way you can support yourself. some call them fortunate, i call them annoying.
6. the ones who already work in the health care field.
it’s a tough economy out there. in case you haven’t heard….not many places are hiring new grads. the only worry in my mind at this point is passing nursing school. sooooo with that said….why is it so important to tell everyone, everyday that you have a job lined up for you because the clinical manager loves you oh so very much. if you say it once, that’s great j if you say it again after you are asked, that is awesome. but if you announce this to the whole class during the discussion of what they will do after they graduate… then that’s just boastful. not a single person would say, “hey good for you, look at how fortunate you are” and if they do they are lying.
anyway…well this is my little rant. whether you are in nursing school or waiting to enroll in a nursing program…this is what you should expect. i promise…there will be at least one person in your class that falls in each category…can’t wait to graduate so that i never have to see these people again!
Seriously it is not necessary to share your entire history of pregnancies, childbirth, miscarriages and your husband's sexual difficulties during our L & D classes. I shudder to think what you are going to share about yourself and family in Mental Health.
Just because it pops into your head doesn't mean you have to say it -- get a filter already.
I never did find out what that was because it was no where in our homework. 
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Hey I just want to make it to summer semester and I will be happy to get my 80 at the end of the this semester and be able to continue. 
That Guy, BSN, RN, EMT-B
3,421 Posts
Just remember that those are very personal opinions and I find it to be a lot like religion. Believe what you want, dont try to sell me on anything.