Very discouraged with nursing school..

caliotter3 · Mar 18, 2009

If you switched to the campus nearer your house, wouldn't that free up some time that you could use for study and practice? Try to spend your time actually studying and preparing for your classes. Don't waste time feeling bad about how they grade things. If you disagree about something, bring it up to them. You might get a decision changed. Most schools are set up to take the student's money, so there is no sense in getting upset over that fact of life. You are there to get what you want from them. Critique the school after graduation. Keep on trying and good luck.

cooliegirl · Mar 18, 2009

I will be attending Broward College (north) come May. what campus do you attend?

RNDreams · Mar 18, 2009

:redpinkhei would agree with the other poster, if you can change campuses to free up time why don't you? may i ask why you did choose to go there in the first place?

i also think that you should say exactly what you said to us to the professor in private. she how they respond, be open to hearing there reason for their grade, don't be standoffish and tell them you should have gotten the? right because someone else told you that just be factual and to the point and explain what confused you and why you answered like you did and do more listening then talking. the response this instructor gives you will tell you a lot about why they marked you wrong and also tell you a lot about what to expect going forward. more than likely i would assume that changing campuses is not that easy, you are in ns and currently following you dream so talk to the teacher and open that line of communication and start now and keep it open the entire time you have to interact with this person. like you said you just paid a lot of money and i am sure made a lot of other sacrifices so that you could attend ns in the first place so running away wont help because then you are again almost starting over and going into the unknown which will undoubtedly add a lot of unnecessary stress to your life.

just talk to the teacher and explain yourself and see what kind of feedback you get, that will tell you a lot. like you said you paid a lot of money to go there so the teacher owes it to you to teach you which includes conversing with you about your concerns, but if you never bring it to her or to just immediately switch schools, then you may not even be giving that a chance and maybe and hopefully that is all you need to do. you never know with instructors, she could possible be trying to teach you a lesson in communicating better but you will never know if you don't tell her exactly what you told us which i think was well said and straight to the point and carries a lot of validity for you answering the question the way you did.

try to have that conversation and that will tell you a lot about this person and if they are someone you are going to be able to work with.

i hope you do that and if you do let us know how it goes because i don't want you to lose sight of your dream; you have already come so far!

good luck,

christine :heartbeat

GMG RN · Mar 18, 2009

I did talk to the professor, these professors are not the friendliest to talk to, sometimes its better to keep your mouth closed and just do what they say. Im just sad, I have made ALOT of sacrifices to be where I am to be able to be in Nursing school so they can throw a curve ball at us..

GMG RN · Mar 18, 2009

I will be attending Broward College (north) come May. what campus do you attend?

Im at the Central Campus.

Hotdharma2011 · Mar 18, 2009

Hey there Studentnurse888,

I know exactly how you feel!!! It is sooooo frustrating! I still can't believe how unorganized and downright unprofessional nursing school seems to be sometimes. It's the polar opposite of what I expected! I think many nursing schools operate in the ways that you described. Anyways, I know that mine sure does!

So I just finished 1st qtr last week, and 2nd qtr starts in a week and a half. My instructors haven't even gotten around to posting our grades yet, so until they do, we all just sit and wait, cuz w/o grades we can't register for the next term, which means we can't get our schedule or our books!! Ugh!! So, again, I feel your pain!! Just make sure to remember that no matter what, only you have control over how you feel about and react to things. I think you're giving them too much power. I am too! The way I see it is, we sacrificed a whole lot to get into nursing school and now they're testing us to see if we're willing and able to keep on sacrificing so that we can stay in nursing school!!

Stay strong!! We can do it!!

P.s. I find myself saying (sarcastically of course), "no wonder there's a ***** nurses shortage!!:wink2:

RNDreams · Mar 18, 2009

:typingstudentnurse888,

i have heard that about them, they are not the easiest to talk to, overworked and miserable in their positions and you are lucky if you get a half decent one you can actually considered a "teacher" or "mentor" but they literally hold your future (not to mention your life's passion and your dream's) in their hands. that being said at the end of the day they are being paid to instruct you which means communicate with you on an adult level and (i know it rarely ever happens between ns instructor and ns) they should also be encouraging you to follow your dreams and alive you to never get up. i am not getting paid to send you this post and i don't know you at all (except for the little you have shared in your post). i honestly feel that i care more about you and your future success as a nurse then this instructor does and that isn't right.

why are ns instructors like this? do you know?

i keep hearing the same things about their attitudes towards ns students again and again, i am tired of hearing that "they don't care", "they are lazy", "you can tell they don't like...if not, hate their job and maybe even their students"

i can not imagine how you must feel as a ns, that worked so very hard, to get where you are b/c you are ahead of me and ns is still a dream for me and i wil be sacrificing a lot to be able to go. i know you made sacrifices too, just to get in to ns and the negative situations you are dealing w/ now on top of, oh yeah being a very intense and rigorous nursing program that sucks the life out of you. that i am prepping for but this negativity and closed mindedness of the instructors that you literally pay thousands of $'s to i feel is unacceptable and i am sorry you and thousand of other ns's deal with on a daily basis.

i am only a pre-ns but i can go a different direction if i want to w/out losing any money at this point but i dont want to, i have a dream and i want to succeed at it and i will have to try to sell my house or just let it foreclose so that (as the "breadwinner" of the family) i am able to work less then full time. that is a major sacrifice to be treated like crap from an instructor, which bothers me more then the potential money i could lose.

do you go to a tech school or a university if you don't mind me asking because i have seen a lot of this on this board when it come4s to less than supportive instructors and i have friends here in ga that when to a university program and absolutely loved their teachers and say they are the people who go them through the program, no family, friends, or sheer will power.

since 9by summers end) i will have my a.s. in business and plan on transferring to a univ. for my pre-reqs because i have a scholarship that pays 100% of my tuition as long as i keep above a 3.0 so i can take my scholarship (to any public univ.) in ga for whatever program i want but i want to be an rn but i do not want to deal with the types of teachers that i keep reading about. i feel that i want to become an rn for the right reasons, i genuinely care about people, and i have had health scares and major sx's (major ones) at 32 and a baby i the hosp. as well as being in the hops a lot as a child for multiple stitches to my head b/c i was one of the boys. i have never forgotten any of those experiences and the way the nurses made me feel as (cant remember the names or faces of any of the robo doc's that treated me, not one)

when i had my baby girl 2 and 1/2 years ago and i watched the l&d nurse practically deliver my baby an the dr only coming in for literally 5 minutes for my last and for only 5 pushes.

looking at the rn, and watching her train a very nervous ns while first time it was in l&d and the way she interacted with the ns as caringly as she did me, i wanted to be her in that moment even for free :) i know i don't know everything that goes into being an l&d nurse but from what i saw i knew i could do that & at that moment would have given my right arm to be her b/c at that moment she was an angel to me and i am sure for that ns student as well.

i don't want to lose sight of my dream of becoming an rn and have my dreams crushed before i even set foot in ns, but that is what is happening with every post like this i read (not your fault as i am very appreciative of your candor) b/c i still have time to change my mind but i don't want to but i am already tired of hearing about how many instructors treat their students like poop when the student is trying to accomplish a major goal in their life, i wonder why they can' see that and what is preventing them form being a decent, compassionate "teacher)?

oh well i am still on board for now but thanks to threads such as this i am compiling a list of ?'s for my potential schools, that will be getting my scholarship $ i worked so very hard for and the majority of my questions will be centered around the professionalism, qualifications and if their is someone who they report to to critique their work as a teacher.

if anyone thinks of anything i should also ask my potential schools about their instructors all the way up though maybe having a short meeting with one of them to get feel for them, and if a school doesn't grant me at leas that for all of the several thousands of $'s they will be getting form me then i don't want to go there.

sorry so long, i am long winded and introspective so if you hate long posts and you see that i am the author, do yourself a favor and skip it :)

christine

GMG RN · Mar 19, 2009

I just looked in the math book they gave me for Nursing and in the book it says for infusion pumps you round to the whole number and then the instructors say no round to the tenths place. I am going to speak to the Dean of nursing monday to get this clarified. All I need now is for them to tell me not to follow what the book says. Well see what happens. If they let the question go then I am still in to finish my lab, if not then I need to retrack in June...

RNDreams · Mar 19, 2009

I would suggest running it by your teacher before you go to the Dean, to follow the correct "chain of command" the lkast thing you need is for this teacher that apparently has communication issues to think that you are a snitch that runs to the Dean over ever little thing. You will surely be in for it then.

Just a thought...

Good Luck,

Christine

GMG RN · Mar 19, 2009

I already spoke to the instructor right after the test and she said I had to leave it as 83.3 and not 83 for an infusion pump. But the book they told us to buy and go by says otherwise.

RNDreams · Mar 19, 2009

Well then you already did what you can by talking with her, I have just been in management so long I wanted to make sure you do the right thing because I has setoo many innocent people end up getting in trouble b/c they ran to HR rather then trying to work it out with their manager but if you feel like you tried and she is not being receptive then I dont she you have any other choice.

Good luck in whatever you decide and I hope you get your point!

Chris