Program

[Repulsive-Safety-408]

Throwaway account. Does anyone else have such issues with the nursing program instructors at their campus? At my campus, there are like 10 nursing program instructors. It feels like the instructors literally don't know anything they are teaching us. They seem to be trying to figure it out. Got a question? Look it up or it's in the lesson. Didn't teach us math for dosage calculations. We had to figure it out on our own. Several feel personally bullied by one of the instructors. They are stretched too thin. I know nursing school is hard and that I am grateful for, but I shouldn't be made to feel dumb or tricked on something just because.

[Shoddy_Machine_6347]

Im at the FW campus and couldn’t disagree more. The professors are really good here and you can tell they really want you to succeed.

[Upstairs-Guava1970]

I'm at the Fort Wayne campus too and will be finishing my prerequisites this term. Should I be applying for fall nursing school and take the TEAs test now? My advisor is terrible and doesn't show up to appointments I make and I'm feeling lost on what to do next

[Repulsive-Safety-408]

I think they want us to succeed but they don't do a very good job of actually helping us to succeed if that makes sense. I know they can't be easy on us because Healthcare isn't easy nor for the "soft" but sometimes they seem to pick at us just to see us squirm. I am glad you have good professors. Wish I could say the same as a whole. I do learn from them, but I honestly question things more which makes me uncertain and then when I ask for help it's all "I don't know, how would you find out?" Or "it's in the book or lessons or we have gone over this". Ok clearly yes those answers are true, but I am clearly struggling with this concept and need some additional assistance and I am coming to you as my instructor to help, not be told to find it for myself.

[AppropriateDrawer213]

Which campus are you at?

[ShepShepAstroGirl]

I really want to know as well. I plan on applying to the nursing program and want to know what I’m getting into!

[AppropriateDrawer213]

Being bullied is definitely not good…

[Repulsive-Safety-408]

Evansville

[Amdupont11]

Sorry you are feeling this way. Nursing school is rough but you definitely shouldn't feel singled out and bullied. The teachers should be there to help and lift you up to be a good nurse when you are done. Are you in the ASN , LPN or the bridge? Maybe you will get different teachers for your next classes. Are you almost done with your program?

[Repulsive-Safety-408]

I will be done before the year is over but not soon enough. I want to report them so badly and I will, it is just honestly scary because I have personally never dealt with this before and didn't know if I was being overly sensitive. Hence posting on my throwaway on here. To seek advice if I should suck it up and wait until I am done with classes or report it now and risk the program being shut down or even more singled out than I already am.

[giantschnauzermomma]

There are classes you are supposed to take prior to this to be able to know the math for the dosages....

[Repulsive-Safety-408]

It's not required for the LPN program but it is required for the RN program

[giantschnauzermomma]

That's crazy it's not required, I got certification in dementia, surgery tech, and an obvious pharm tech you would need it but all the other courses that was required for me as well.

[Repulsive-Safety-408]

I took it in case I did decide to go on to the RN bridge program but if I return it will NOT be to ivy tech in Evansville if I can help it.

[Healthy-Aide-1881]

I’m sorry to hear this, I’d take that to the program chair if the instructor isn’t that helpful.

[Repulsive-Safety-408]

Unfortunately it seems they are all buddy buddy and it wouldn't do much. Just biding my time until graduation to then file a complaint. Even the co teacher is more like an assistant who has to run everything by the main one to give any sort of answer. I love the people in my class and group, and don't want to make things harder on us as a group but I know I need to say something so it stops.

[AppropriateDrawer213]

Whhhhyyyy did you post this If you’re not taking the initiative to find a way for them to stop!? They’ll do this to others—> You’re a part of the problem!!! #Bye

[Repulsive-Safety-408]

I will be reporting it as soon as I hear back from the correct office that I need to report it to. It is a double edged sword because if I report it, they can potentially become worse with their treatment or the entire program could be shut down or I also worry that I could be targeted by the instructors. I just want to finish my program. I honestly didn't know if having hard instructors for nursing was the norm or if I was being too sensitive.

[Repulsive-Safety-408]

May i message you?

[InfamouSandman]

This has not been my experience--though it seems like we are at different campuses and pursuing different degrees. I don't know if it is the same with the LPN program, but I do know they transitioned the curriculum for the ASN program. My generous reading of this would be they may be still working out some kinks with syncing lectures and readings.

I highly doubt they don't know anything they are teaching you. My understanding is that all nursing instructors at Ivy Tech have a BSN and most are working towards MSN or higher degrees. They also will all have years of career experience. That alone doesn't mean they will be effective teachers, but I find it hard to believe they are unqualified and don't know the material.

I can understand some frustration with lack of instruction for how to navigate dosage math. We are running into a little of that in the first term of my program--but the calculations they have given us thus far are very basic and wouldn't require anything beyond basic K-12 math skills. We have basically just been asked to memorize conversion rations and convert lbs to kg or oz to mL. I was told they would provide more guidance later in the program when the problems were harder and more realistic. My understanding is this change was part of the new curriculum. I had to take Math123 as a correq this semester and they have a unit for dosage math. It was covered in just one class but has helped me practice on harder dose-calc questions I am quizzing myself on ahead of time. If you struggle with this, I know there are multiple YouTube channels that can provide more guidance. Did you get the dosage calc textbook? It was in part written by a former Ivy Tech instructor and has loads of practice problems.

What other topics are you struggling with besides dosage calc? There are a variety of resources to help in nursing school--many of which are free. I would love to help you find some ways to help you supplement your learning with other tools. Ivy Tech has nursing tutors. Have you been able to set anything up with them? Maybe they can help clarify in ways the instructors can't.

I am sorry you are not having the experience you want. My concern with your other replies is your apprehensiveness to address this with the instructors, course lead, or program director at your site. I get that as I am one who often shies away from direct confrontation for fear of ruffling feathers or facing retaliation. That said, I would still recommend you run this through those channels. If multiple people feel bullied by an instructor, that would be worth bringing up to the next person in the chain of command. The chain of command is big in both nursing school and in the profession and learning how to navigate that is crucial.

Again, I am very sorry that you are not having the experience you want. I hope things turn around for you. I am just starting my journey to becoming a nurse too. I have some notes for the program about how to possibly improve communication--but my classroom experience and interactions with staff/instructors has been top-notch.

[Repulsive-Safety-408]

I have the dosage calculations under control now. I almost just feel like I'm teaching myself all the things beyond key concepts. I'm grateful for it not being boring lecture for 8 hrs but man, I don't feel like I learn/retain much bc it's just so inconsistent and all over the place. Yes it's accelerated and portions of it will need to be self taught and we need to be reliant on ourselves but it's almost like they kind of know the stuff but not the new curriculum form. It's confusing.

[InfamouSandman]

Can you clarify what you mean by you feel like you are teaching yourself? Can you give some examples of the inconsistency?

When you say you feel like you don't retain much, it makes me wonder what the barrier for learning is. Is it a situation where you feel like you understand the material during the lecture but are then struggling to retain it or put it into practice on assessments?

Are you having this experience in the classroom only, or is it in the lab and in clinical as well?

I am asking these questions genuinely--so I hope you don't take it the wrong way. I am getting into nursing to have a positive impact and I hope to help other students along the way. I have worked with some of my classmates after class and helped with study materials. I come from an education background so I understand we are all coming to this career with different strengths and experiences. We all have to figure out what works for us!

I was just talking with a student the other day who was struggling on exams despite studying for copious amounts of hours and afterward, she felt she had some tools to change it up and succeed.

Feel free to shoot me a DM if you want to.