Adventures in Teaching: 2012

I am sitting down to journal a bit as I have just had one whopper of a semester! I feel that I have truly been officially initiated as a faculty member. My title is still that of an adjunct instructor, but I am officially a faculty member. I keep managing to have some of the oddest things go on in my classrooms! Here is a synopsis from my 2 1/2 years as an instructor:

alleged cheating scandal involving smart phones on a bonus exam

bullying behavior towards students and myself

whiny students, these are adults mind you! I have had them whine about not getting the test grade they wanted, whine about test answers, whine about test questions, etc.

students who do not complete their homework or other requirements who then are shocked that they failed the course or had a lower then expected grade

students who do not show up for said classes, then wonder why they are failing or receiving low grades

a student, who I waited at the college to give her the final exam as a take home exam, who texted the day after it was due to see if she could still turn it in--I declined and she failed two courses as a result along with poor performance on numerous other exams and projects

a student who had a baby in the week between clinical sessions, she was breastfeeding and wanted to either go home to breastfeed her week old infant or have the baby come to the site to breastfeed, we arranged for her to come back to finish the course later

a student who kept telling myself and the record keeper that she had proof of immunity from communicable diseases, ie. all necessary vaccinations needed for school and before going to clinical practice, who did not present the information until the Friday before clinicals and it was only partially completed, she then proceeded to call her mother, various doctors offices that she had been a patient at over the years all at 4 PM on a Friday--needless to say she did not end up going to clincals and never did come back to take the course again

a student who had the needed documentation with a former employer, who kept telling my record keeper that she was getting the papers done, who then ended up getting all the necessary immunizations and TB test on the Friday before clincals, guess what: she could not join us on the Saturday clinical so I had to check her TB test on Sunday before she could begin and she will now have a makeup day on this upcoming Sunday as a result

a student who has mental issues, seriously! This one has taken the cake for me! This student has gotten in my face over the past 8 weeks on a variety of issues. She has become the spokesperson for her classmates, she appointed herself. She informed me that she and her classmates did not feel they were learning anything from me for their skills and that I need to do a better job teaching them. So I instituted a policy of each skill is done one at a time after I demonstrate the skill. Everyone gets to watch everyone else do the skill, one at a time. This turned out to be a beneficial exercise for some but for most was a waste of time and redundant. Oh well, at least they cannot complain any longer. She then has gone on to inform me that some of her classmates were not doing their homework and that she needed to know if they were graded accordingly, um that is none of her business and something that I cannot discuss anyway! I did let her know that I am aware of what is going on in my classroom and I am aware of students circling answers when grading the chapters. Mind you they earn 20 points per chapter, regardless of the amount or difficulty of questions. I view the homework as an exercise for the students and it does not benefit me in the least if they do or do not do their homework! I explained this to her and she quieted down, but still looked concerned. She then went on to complain about how she does all her homework, all the study guides, and she wants it all to be fair. The study guides are a new help I tried with this class and it did seem to benefit my students. Some used them, some did not. I could tell who did not based on test scores, as I could also tell who did not do their homework. I have the students do their reading before class and complete their homework, then we discuss it via a power point presentation, and they again see much of the content on the study guide. So in theory they are viewing this information at least 3 times, again to benefit them not me! So I nicely pointed this out to her, and again she was quiet but looking at me like I had grown another head. Oh well! She then went on to lecture me on how I have done a great disservice to my students because I did not prepare them for practice in the hospital. She thinks because we skipped some of the chapters that the students will not be ready to practice in the hospital setting. She and I have discussed this before and I again reminded her that my curriculum is set by the state board of nursing. I again discussed with her that this course is designed to prepare the students for long term care. Also the State of Colorado Nurse Aide Practice Act dictates practice and the skills covered in this course are those that are allowed by the practice act. She acknowledged this, then went on to tell me that she took it upon herself to poll her classmates and that 1/3 are going on to do the nursing program, 1/3 plan on hospital practice, and 1/3 plan on long term care so I have done them a disservice. I again reiterated that my curriculum must follow the standards of the state. She again said she understands. She has just been a piece of work! Oh, and to top it all off she has been an LPN for 20 years. At first her story was that she had not worked, but did take her boards. Then it changed to that she has worked for 2 years as a nurse but then stopped working to raise her children. When she first entered my classroom she was eager to resume nursing but has been out of practice so needed some refreshing. Now she claims that she does not want to be a nurse any longer, but will maintain her licensure because it took 2 years away from her child to earn this license. So she has flip flopped all over the place. And in addition to that, she now may put on hold any work as a nurse aide because her father is ill and she promised her mother, last year, who passed away, that she would take care of her father. So she will put her life on hold and her family on hold to take care of him. Can you say martyr syndrome?!

I have to say that despite it all, I have had some really great students all in all. I love my job. I love the challenge. I love to share my knowledge and to gain new knowledge from each new bunch. It is the odd ones though and the negative experiences that do stick out though! I hope to look back on these antics years from now and laugh or cry or do both! I do feel very blessed to have the job I do and to be surrounded by a terrific bunch of coworkers who help me on my bad days and celebrate the good days with me! Now to continue to make notes periodically on the wild antics of my world as an instructor!

Ok, so it has been just over a year since the last time I posted on here. Shame on me!
I really must get better about writing on here if nothing else to remind me of why I do what I do!

So I have decided that I need to keep pics of my moulage work on here since so many on my Facebook do not fully appreciate the pics (ok that should read non-medical people and medical people do not always like to look at simulate wounds, body fluids, etc.) But I digress. To me this is a great way for students to learn. I mean what better way to learn how to obtain a stool sample then to actually get to scrape some off of a specimen (ok so it was chocolate frosting and corn starch but it still did the job). My favorite teaching aid so far has been my urine samples. Everytime I get them out I get the "are those real?!" and have to reassure my students that while I am a dedicated instructor I am not that dedicated! I have one that is honest to goodness strong tea which is interestingly enough how a sample looks in someone with a kidney infection. I have a variety of others also. My mini-refrigerator at work resembles Frankensteins workshop in many ways, I have containers of fake urine, samples of different colored sputum, Coca Cola (hey I need my caffeine fix!), and a few yogurts for when I need a protein fix. In the store room I have the dry goods, including the prosthetic legs of my late father-in-law, various fake medications in multiple formats, syringes, needles, and other fun stuff to make practice funner for my medical assistant students as they learn medication administration, along with dressing supplies and other goodies. At home I have boxes full of even more supplies to make the magic happen so to speak. I am amazed at the effect of some clear hair gel and food coloring to make various wound secretions, red food coloring mixed in pearly white soap makes a wonderful fake blood. I have confiscated my mom's old fondue pot as it makes a wonderful warmer for gel effects, the wonderful substance that is the base for most fake wounds that I create along with other much more talented moulage artists. I also have a tool box full of wild eye and cheek colors ground up to aid in applying them to mannikins or real persons to simulate bruises, reddened cheeks in fever situations, and a variety of other uses can be made from them. And so my list continues with my basic everyday substances and tools.

So I am going to make myself post on here at least monthly, if not more often. It is my goal for the year starting now. Let's see if I stick with it! And so now to show some pics of my work, some are older pics some are from tonight. The last pics are from simulation day which was my practicum project for my master's degree and the end-of-year requirement for last years 1st year nurses, so fun!