Another letter to teacher....

Dear Basic Math Instructor,

Really? Our test over basic operations (i.e. add, subtract, multiply and divide) and fractions was mostly the operations themselves. The reason for this being that YOU can't figure out the word problems and we can. Had you even looked at the book the first night? It didn't appear so, or you would have completely skipped the questions you didn't know how to do. Or maybe you would have asked a colleague (or any jr high math student) instead of us having to correct you all night.

Now back to that test. You gave us scratch paper and had us turn it in. In any math class I (or any of the rest of us, I checked around) have ever been in this was done to help. That way if I had a wrong answer, the teacher could look at my work and recognize that I had done all the steps correctly but had added wrong on step 3 making the rest of the problem incorrect but the steps were right. This way I could at least get partial credit. NEVER has turning in my work work against me. On number 7b I obtained the same answer you did but it was marked off. But in checking my work against yours I realized that I used a different method to get my answer. This method was one of two I was taught as a child to solve these problems. Either one of course being correct. It is just a different way.

If I get the correct answer using a correct method (and using the same method every time) WHY do I get punished for it. That is CRAZY.

Give us some credit, at least that which we have rightfully EARNED!

Thank you,
your frustrated student

Big changes....

I had my hair all chopped off on Tuesday.  Previously my hair had been down almost to my bottom.  Now it is about chin length.  It is great. I can get out of the shower, towel dry, pull a brush through it and go.  I love long hair but I always end up putting it up anyway.  Now maybe I will play with it more.

One of these days I will learn to cut my hair at the beginning of summer, not the end of it!

stress

It is amazing what effect a little stress can have on the person. All the emotions and reactions are enough to make one mad. Anyone know any good relaxation techniques?

Angels... offensive? really..

I have heard a few arguments recently on the web and in conversation about nurses being labeled as angels.  There are some out there that take offense to this term.  They have stated that they don't feel that the label of angel makes them a good nurse. And to quote another nursing student "I did not choose nursing because I had a higher calling to do so, I chose nursing because I love working with and helping other people."  I would like to add this thought to the mix that I had originally posted as an answer to her blog. This is in no way meant to offend just my own two cents.

After more than 6 years being an LPN I am starting the RN program next week. However, I would like to add that it is not us nurses that have given us this label. It is the patients who percieve of us in this way. I certainly dont believe that being called an "angel" by a patient denotes a good nurse. I have seen many nurses that I wouldnt want taking care of me called a nurse by at least one patient. Sometimes we have patients that are really sick and feel (whether they are or not) that they are truly at death's door. The nurse that night could do a very simple thing and to them it is a life-saving measure. That is why they call us nurses. Or even taking a little extra time out of our busy day to sit with them gives us that angel status.


When my father passed away in 2001 there was a nurse who stood in a roomful of family mourning, waiting for the end to finally come (and dreading it all the same) just to turn off the alarm when it sounded. I have always thought of her as an angel. I doubt she would even remember the time or if she would claim angel status herself.

In fact I cant think of one nurse who gives herself that angel status. It is almost always bestowed by patients or family members and sometimes is not even known by the nurse herself.

I have also seen many nurses called angels by their patients who were male. I am not sure that any of us have entered the field for the angel label, like you most of us are here because we love working with and helping people.

We as a profession could try to stamp this label out but we would be wasting our time. Many patients will always think of us as angels.

So I guess what this long ramble is trying to say is that sometimes we are angels not of our own call but in the eyes of that one patient who was hurting and received a new order for pain med. This does not show how good of a nurse you are but it does say a lot about the compassion one holds.

Just curious but what do the rest of you think about this subject?  There are a few that read this drivel on a regualar basis and I am wondering how you perceive this. (this means YOU, whether you have a medical background or not I wanna know.)

Ok people come on and help

I added the new gadget from blogger the other day.  This socialvibe deal.  Just click on the button on the right side of the screen.  It doesn't take long and it helps women with breast cancer.  (There are other charities but this is the one that I chose.) Won't take but a few moments of your time and it is for a good cause. So come on and help out. (You may not see the button till you roll over it.)

Really...

You are the math teacher, how do you not know how to do the math problems?  If you are gonna do examples on the board, then at least look at them before class.  If you know you are gonna be teaching nursing students, and that your text uses terms found in healthcare, try to familiarize yourself with these terms.  And when you tell the class that you will not collect the homework for a grade but you will pass out a study guide the week before the test and will collect and grade that paper, remember that is what you said. 

I am in a full time ADN program.  20.5 credit hours this semester.  Two online classes.  One 3 hour block of hell.  And I thought this would be the easy class. (the work will be easy, trying to remain calm will be a little more difficult)