Time to change boards & clinicals....

[Bing&Bat]

Hello,

I wrote this reply to a student after reading her post regarding testing in the school. I felt that she had a valid point and wondered if anyone else felt the same way. I went further and vented some of my own feelings. I am an older gal with a background in management. I was shocked at the way the school I was attending went about the process of teaching and testing. Now I realize that most of the students that I attend class with are very young....in there early twenties. I believe the school staff realize that because their young students are somewhat ignorant when it comes to job experience (even of life), they can walk all over them. It is so hard here to get into any nursing program......that you take what you get. A real tragedy! Clinicals were even worse! And I am NOT talking about the nasty stuff (BM, blood, purulent wounds). That for me was the easy part. It was the actual clinical teaching! What a joke. Anyway I will paste what my reply was...........Curious what the response will be.

Geez Louise!

I am experiencing similar issues at the school I attend. Our instructor generally creates her own tests. Half of the time I can't figure out what the question is asking. She keeps telling us that we have to be "critical thinkers" or pick the "beeeessst answer". It's driving me nuts! I can argue till I am blue in the face about how a particular question is worded or I can show her the page in the text book in black and white.......the CORRECT answer. To no avail. She will say the book is incorrect, yada, yada. BUT my big problem here is that the school I attend is basically all Philippino. The teachers and students. My daughter and myself are the only Caucasians. There is one gal from Burma. Initially I was naive enough to think that this was fine. What I am experiencing now are cultural and language barriers. The test questions reflect the teachers English as a second language. Our clinicals have thus far been in facilities that employ mostly Philippino's. So our instructor often slips into her native language when explaining treatments, meds....... Having been employed in the health field before, I am aware of her many lapses in basic medical instruction. I rarely see her wash her hands before or after entering a patients room (after doing a treatment!) The facility that we are supposed to be learning from ran out of gauze yesterday. Using other patients meds when they run out for another patient. Sharing all manner of prescription creams between patients. Some of these patients have MRSA. Not to mention they ran out of isolation gowns! Yesterday our instructor was showing us how to treat a stage 4 decubitis ulcer. The patient had a BM, which the instructor promptly cleaned up......never changed gloves (there was poop on those gloves) then preceded to stuff the gauze into the tunneling wound with her finger with those same gloves! :angryfire If I point out politely these situations, she gets flustered and angry. She tells me this is the way it is in the real world. Thank God I have been around and know this to be untrue. My fellow students really are great to be with ...I have very few complaints there. I know I sound like I am dissing Philippino's. Really I am such an unbiased person. And not all my encounters with nursing staff that are from the Philippine's have been negative. I was lucky enough to spend some time in another facility were I learned the right way from 2 Philippino R.N.'s that were awsome. But they tell me in the Phillipines it just is not done to question your superiors! Yes, yes I have talked to them about this. Well the sad fact is that I am half way thru this program. I have paid $10,000. each for myself and my daughter, with another $8000. each to go. To late to pull out now. But to sum it all up, I really think this system of testing and clinicals needs to change. When I graduate, I resolve to voice my opinions to the state of California. None of this, "that's they way it is". Thanks for letting me vent. Good luck to you. :rotfl: Bing&Bat

[jenrninmi, MSN, RN]

Wow! All I can say is that I am shocked at their clinical practices! I've never seen some of the things you've described - sharing meds, not washing hands, etc. Unbelievable! Good luck to you!!

[purplemania, BSN, RN]

this needs to be reported to the State Board of Nursing and/or the Health Dept. They have standards that should be met. Also, the students will be taking NCLEX, which is difficult enough in English, but will be harder for people who are used to tests created by people with English as a second language. I would consider transferring to another school. If that is not an option, just be glad you know better and will practice safer than what you were taught. Have you talked to the Dean about the MRSA thing? How horrible!! We would fire a nurse caught doing that. MRSA is expensive to treat and sometimes fatal.