Do nursing instructors deliberately try to weed out students, by doing things like testing on material they haven't gone over yet, deliberately making it hard, picking on students?
My opinion was the "weeding out of students" was a myth.
The weeding out process seems to occur naturally, and the reason so many people don't make it through the program that started out, is that it's a tough, demanding, time consuming program, and whose eyes are on graduating top notch nurses who can pass NCLEX.
I do know teacher eyeball students they don't think are good clinicians and many of these cry "the teacher doesn't like me, and is out to get me". Or eyeball students that need a kick in the butt, or need a confidence boost and they feel picked on as well.
I don't think insturctors play games and try to weed students out.
Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
with this talk of the survival of the fittest or luckiest or whatever in nursing school, what are really the aptitudes and qualities that give you what it takes to do this job? Is it high IQ, tenacity, math skills or what not?
You know, when i was in school, one of my prof's said of the nursing world that there is the tendency to "eat our young" meaning that the weak students and new grads get put through the ringer instead of supported and the strong students get all the support. I was lucky enough to be considered strong and i never had to endure this feeling, but a friend of mine did. She didn't pass her boards the first time and didn't end up retaking and passing for a good 6 months. When she finally passed she asked if there were any openings on my floor - there were so she filled out an application and got the job without my help. During her orientation period, i saw first hand the type of "tests" set up for her by people who never put me through that, and an inpatient attitude that i never had to contend with. I asked some about these changes and they said "she needs a few hurdles."
Since that time, i tried to give any students working on the floor with me a fair shake and a good learning experience. You learn to be more efficient by seeing how someone efficient work their system, not throwing hurdles.
Are you talking about the job of getting through school or an actual nsg job?
In response to nsg school...well it is highly competitive to get in and it doesn't stop there. Like any reputable program...you need to stay on top of your game in order to stay. Do you need a high IQ? Define high.
Tenacity is VERY useful. Just ask all those who are still waiting to get their foot in the door and those who stay up all night studying.
Math? You need to be able to do basic math as well as algebra etc.
You also IMHO...need the heart.
Z
Actual job: what do you need. Should you be an administrative type, (I am not) or love sciences such as A&P (which I love)
Actual job: what do you need. Should you be an administrative type, (I am not) or love sciences such as A&P (which I love)
When I took my nursing concepts class, my instructor talked about this. You need to know the science part...not to the point that you can regurgitate it all on demand, but to the point that you can look things up quickly when you need it.
You need to have admin skills, since it will be your responsibility to deal with charts, delegate tasks to the CNA's, etc.
She talked a lot about needing to be able to blend all the classes together, in order to provide holistic care to the patient.
If someone had real weakness in management or administration, but good logic, people skills and good in sciences, would something like radiography tech be more of a match? appreciate all your wisdom..
It seems from reading the post over the past few months that nurses should be strong leaders and administrators.
If someone had real weakness in management or administration, but good logic, people skills and good in sciences, would something like radiography tech be more of a match? appreciate all your wisdom..
It seems from reading the post over the past few months that nurses should be strong leaders and administrators.
Nurses need to have the qualities of a good leader. You need to manage a group of patients, every need they have from head to toe, what goes in and what comes out, literally.
To juggle the responsiblities of a patient care provider, you need good logic, people skills and to be good in science. Also you need a bit of management skills in the art of delegation to techs, secretaries and sometimes LPNs if your an RN.
Administration and management skills are not for everyone. I was a charge nurse for 10 years. I suck at it and hate it, and no I don't want to advance farther. There is a great need for worker bees like me, as well as managers and administrators.
The way our program was set in the last semester there is one class with a certain professor whose tests were up to 40% essay questions. After 3 semsters of learning to take NCLEX type tests we suddenly had to cough up essay answers. Some people had a lot more trouble than others and it is the class that most people fail. The problem is that you have to have a 71 to pass, and with 40% of the test being graded subjectively it is easy to get the feeling that the instructor does not like you. Good luck to you in your program. BTW, several classes at our school have complained at various levels to no avail....
My school wasn't absolutely horrible, but we thought so at the time. It sounds like giving actual (previous) NCLEX questions on the very first test, which we thought was insane, is part of that 'normal' weeding out process. Like someone else said, there were those students who took the prenursing courses several times, so they were darn dedicated but just not as 'natural'. And some were smart and studied their butts off, but couldn't critical think.
Anyway, I wanted to say that even though I don't think my school was horrible. We DID have all students fail tests before ... sometimes they would throw out a few questions so that some people got D's. It was horrible. Although, our failing grade was below 75, is anyone else's school like that? It made me so mad when we would complain to our instructor about failing tests and she'd go "there are still 2 more, you can still pass the class, don't freak out". Um hello, some of us have been protecting GPA's for years, not to mention get schoalarships for grades. GRRRR But I did pass and our school has had a 100% NCLEX pass rate. I wish people knew how hard it really is. So many people don't. My own $%@ fiance once compared it to an Art degree. HUH?!?
Anyway, I guess it's good that they are THAT hard. If they were just a tad easier on us, how many patients would get hurt as a result?
I have been a nursing instructor, and I taught the A$P courses. And yes, the students tell me it is the hardest. But it is also the first for most of them. Nursing courses in general are so much more complex that other courses of study I think. I remember taking a business course once and it was just so concrete and simple! But anyway I don't think it is much about intelligence but those first courses bring out the need to study, learn and retain information. The reasons for failure are often attitudinal [ don't need to study] developmental [i need to party] and situational. This last one is related to the home situation, the tendency to be sick a lot or some other frequent disruption from outside the classroom. These students are not ready to do the work, it is not a priority in their life and so they just can't devote enough time to it. It is very tragic at times.
As for the tests, I have always felt it is critical that they are completely objective and appropriate to the material studied. And it is so important to be flexible and throw out questions that you find are just too vague, or sometimes just wrong. I often wished I had 22 editors to look at my "brilliant" questions before my 22 students faced them for the first time.
As for being on a power trip, I was sort of relieved to give up teaching for a while since I was so often chewed up and spit out by the anxieties [i'm being kind] of my students. And yes, it was the ones that studied the least that yelled the loudest.
I have been a nursing instructor, and I taught the A$P courses. And yes, the students tell me it is the hardest. But it is also the first for most of them. Nursing courses in general are so much more complex that other courses of study I think. I remember taking a business course once and it was just so concrete and simple! But anyway I don't think it is much about intelligence but those first courses bring out the need to study, learn and retain information. The reasons for failure are often attitudinal [ don't need to study] developmental [i need to party] and situational. This last one is related to the home situation, the tendency to be sick a lot or some other frequent disruption from outside the classroom. These students are not ready to do the work, it is not a priority in their life and so they just can't devote enough time to it. It is very tragic at times.
As for the tests, I have always felt it is critical that they are completely objective and appropriate to the material studied. And it is so important to be flexible and throw out questions that you find are just too vague, or sometimes just wrong. I often wished I had 22 editors to look at my "brilliant" questions before my 22 students faced them for the first time.
As for being on a power trip, I was sort of relieved to give up teaching for a while since I was so often chewed up and spit out by the anxieties [i'm being kind] of my students. And yes, it was the ones that studied the least that yelled the loudest.
Thank you! I feel very bad for instructors because they are the first one that students blame when they don't do well on exams at my school. I remember one instructor standing in front of the class and seeming like she was so frustrated that she would cry...and that didn't stop anyone from nit-picking! Seems that the same nit-pickers were the same people that were yapping in the library while i was studying.....all semester......none of them were 'weeded' out, but a couple failed the semester.
You couldn't give me a million-dollar salary to teach-ever! I admire your bravery :)
I just applied to a community college to pursue nursing and I was somewhat discouraged because I thought since I already earned a BA I would breeze right into the nursing program but reality was checked when they warned me that I need to do extremely well in Physiology before I am considered. My counselor also stated that freshmen students, rather than transfers are preferred.
I know nursing is a tough but rewarding career, and I will diligently endure. It's great to have this web-site to relate and pick up some pointers.
SmilingBluEyes
20,964 Posts
all of that and much more.