I find myself at the library yet again, which is not suprising considering it is the beginning of finals week. I'm sensing a far more stressed out "aura" from Brianne and Kayla. And I'm noticing a mad highlighting session between the girls as well. This sense of urgency has left little room for me as there is books and notes spread out all over the table. I have been forced to sit on the other side of the library, which is fine with me, as the girls definitely need zero distractions at this time (my particulary loud keyboard might not be the most pleasent sound at this point).
The girls have been here since opening cramming their little hearts away. A 78% is the passing mark for the nursing students, and failing a class is not an option. The girls are in there normal attire: sweats, t-shirts, glasses, down vests. I have to admit I have joined them today in that manner. My idea of comfy does not include jeans.
I approached the girls to say hi, greeted warmly by Kayla, ignored by Breanne. I definitely noticed that even though I was greeted warmly by Kayla as usual, she was not overly excited to see me.
Walking through the library though I am seeing a lot of nursing students (denoted by their oversized medical books). The nursing students certainly enjoy an eerily quiet setting for their studies. Contrarily, a good majority of my work is completed in the Petroleum lab, where there is never any shortage of noise.
See you on the next blog!
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Monday, December 8, 2008
Final Paper Outline
I just met up with Kayla for a quick visit, to see how her final exam schedule is shaping up, as well to find out when I could join her and her fellow students for some additional observation time, and of course to snowball her with more questions. I always feel as if I am taking up moments of her precious time, and although she has about 5 exams/assignments/practicums going on this week she never makes me feel like I am a burden.
I concentrated on specific questions pertaining to our outline that is due tomorrow.
This blog is going to be more of interview format.
Q: What are the values you believe you posses that began your interest in nursing?
A: When I was younger my Grandpa was very sick. I was constantly caring for his health. My desire to want to help people drove me to the nursing program. As well, I am a very social person which is required for nursing.
Q: Nurses have a specific language they speak. Did you have trouble adapting?
A: There definitely is a very unique language associated with the nursing program. In our freshman year we are required to take a medical terms class which gets us associated with the termonology.
Q: I have noticed your ritual of Thursday night study sessions in the library. Would you say you have any other rituals?
A: On Wednesdays or Thursdays (depending on the dates of our exams) a group of about 8 of us girls (that is approximately 1/3 of the class) gets together at the coffee shop to have a group study session. This is done prior to studying individually at the library later that evening.
Q: Do you notice any distinct differences between the nursing students on campus and other students i.e. Engineering students?
A: One of the largest differences I've noticed is that as a nursing student I cannot go out during any weeknights. We are required to be at the hospital by 6:30am on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, and we have weekly exams on Thursdays and Fridays. Another difference is that our exams put more stress on us than other students. If we fail an exam we are delayed an entire year in our program, compared to just one class for other students.
Q: Do you find that because you work so hard during the week, you take the weekends off from school?
A: The weekends are time for myself, and that is when I go out with my friends.
I concentrated on specific questions pertaining to our outline that is due tomorrow.
This blog is going to be more of interview format.
Q: What are the values you believe you posses that began your interest in nursing?
A: When I was younger my Grandpa was very sick. I was constantly caring for his health. My desire to want to help people drove me to the nursing program. As well, I am a very social person which is required for nursing.
Q: Nurses have a specific language they speak. Did you have trouble adapting?
A: There definitely is a very unique language associated with the nursing program. In our freshman year we are required to take a medical terms class which gets us associated with the termonology.
Q: I have noticed your ritual of Thursday night study sessions in the library. Would you say you have any other rituals?
A: On Wednesdays or Thursdays (depending on the dates of our exams) a group of about 8 of us girls (that is approximately 1/3 of the class) gets together at the coffee shop to have a group study session. This is done prior to studying individually at the library later that evening.
Q: Do you notice any distinct differences between the nursing students on campus and other students i.e. Engineering students?
A: One of the largest differences I've noticed is that as a nursing student I cannot go out during any weeknights. We are required to be at the hospital by 6:30am on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, and we have weekly exams on Thursdays and Fridays. Another difference is that our exams put more stress on us than other students. If we fail an exam we are delayed an entire year in our program, compared to just one class for other students.
Q: Do you find that because you work so hard during the week, you take the weekends off from school?
A: The weekends are time for myself, and that is when I go out with my friends.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
The Silence is Broken
Well fortunately for me there was a brief break in the silence so I jumped at the opportunity to snowball the girls with questions as quickly as possible so they could get back to their studying.
Here's what I found out:
Nursing students all progress through a pre-determined class schedule together, all taking the same classes. If a student happens to fail even one class (receive a mark below 78%) they are set back an entire year as they have to wait until this class is offered again. This type of schedule is very familiar to me as it is exactly the same protocal as the technical college I attended in Edmonton before transferring to Montana Tech.
The girls do indeed have an exam tomorrow covering the topics of the kidneys and liver. In fact the nursing students have a test every Friday, which means a long night of studying in the library on Thursday evening, which means no Digger Thursday at the King Pin. This may not seem like a big deal to someone who didn't know much about Butte, but for anyone who does they know that Thursday night is the big going out night for college students. Something that obviously the nursing students generally miss out on. When I mentioned this comment to the girls they agreed that they are unhappy with missing out on this fun night, but so is life.
Kayla explained to me a typical Friday schedule for her class is the weekly exam from 8-10 am and if there is another it is scheduled from 10 am -12 pm. Then class from 1-2 pm, then lab from 2-5 pm. Sounds like a friday I would not enjoy. Do these students at least get to work a 9-80? lol.
Hands-on work for the nursing students include a "practicum" at St. James Hospital here in Butte on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Here they get to work with actual patients in a real-life setting.
Being interested in her summer schedule, Kayla mentioned she attended a session put on by Tech which was offered to nursing students throughout the state which taught the students not only about nursing practices, but also techniques for relaxation, etc.
A side note to this posting is that I have also just noticed that all 3 girls are wearing t-shirts, sweaters, and sweat pants for this study session. I suppose with schedules like theirs this is the most practical attire.
Here's what I found out:
Nursing students all progress through a pre-determined class schedule together, all taking the same classes. If a student happens to fail even one class (receive a mark below 78%) they are set back an entire year as they have to wait until this class is offered again. This type of schedule is very familiar to me as it is exactly the same protocal as the technical college I attended in Edmonton before transferring to Montana Tech.
The girls do indeed have an exam tomorrow covering the topics of the kidneys and liver. In fact the nursing students have a test every Friday, which means a long night of studying in the library on Thursday evening, which means no Digger Thursday at the King Pin. This may not seem like a big deal to someone who didn't know much about Butte, but for anyone who does they know that Thursday night is the big going out night for college students. Something that obviously the nursing students generally miss out on. When I mentioned this comment to the girls they agreed that they are unhappy with missing out on this fun night, but so is life.
Kayla explained to me a typical Friday schedule for her class is the weekly exam from 8-10 am and if there is another it is scheduled from 10 am -12 pm. Then class from 1-2 pm, then lab from 2-5 pm. Sounds like a friday I would not enjoy. Do these students at least get to work a 9-80? lol.
Hands-on work for the nursing students include a "practicum" at St. James Hospital here in Butte on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Here they get to work with actual patients in a real-life setting.
Being interested in her summer schedule, Kayla mentioned she attended a session put on by Tech which was offered to nursing students throughout the state which taught the students not only about nursing practices, but also techniques for relaxation, etc.
A side note to this posting is that I have also just noticed that all 3 girls are wearing t-shirts, sweaters, and sweat pants for this study session. I suppose with schedules like theirs this is the most practical attire.
Table For 1, Please
This afternoon I scheduled to meet with a friend who is in her 3rd year total of nursing, and 2 of her classmates. When I walked up to the 2nd floor of the library I scanned the room looking for a table with 3 girls sitting at it. When I saw Kayla she was sitting by herself, with her 2 collegues sitting at each adjacent tables. This immediately suprised me, each girl working on her own. It is common around campus to see many study groups in many different rooms. Most students that I interact with thrive on group work and group learning. I was interested in the notion of each girl studying on her own, with minimal interaction. I wondered if this was a pattern carried on from each of the girl's pre-nursing experiences and the competitiveness that I have seen occur during their freshman year.
Kayla first explained to me the structure of the nursing program. Pre-nursing is completed during the freshman year of college. Sophomore year is spent taking numerous "intro" classes, which are further expanded on in the junior year. A bacholors degree in science is obtained after successful completion of their senior year.
An hour has passed since I began sitting at the same table as Kayla. See seems enthralled with her textbook (as enthralled as one can be reading a textbook) and appears to be creating a formula sheet for a future exam. There has been almost complete silence between the four of us girls (sitting at 3 separate tables) since I arrived. I am almost afraid of interupting the silence so I have been jotting down multiple questions I have in my head regarding the nursing program and am waiting for what I think is an appropriate time to break the silence.....
Kayla first explained to me the structure of the nursing program. Pre-nursing is completed during the freshman year of college. Sophomore year is spent taking numerous "intro" classes, which are further expanded on in the junior year. A bacholors degree in science is obtained after successful completion of their senior year.
An hour has passed since I began sitting at the same table as Kayla. See seems enthralled with her textbook (as enthralled as one can be reading a textbook) and appears to be creating a formula sheet for a future exam. There has been almost complete silence between the four of us girls (sitting at 3 separate tables) since I arrived. I am almost afraid of interupting the silence so I have been jotting down multiple questions I have in my head regarding the nursing program and am waiting for what I think is an appropriate time to break the silence.....
Friday, October 31, 2008
A culture that (surprisingly) fascinates me here in Butte Montana, is the Nursing program at Montana Tech. At first glance I would have assumed these students to be very similar to an Engineering student on campus. With this view, using the nursing program for this assignment would not have been acceptable. It wasn’t until one of my colleague’s wife started as a freshman in the nursing program this fall that I realized just how different the culture in Petroleum Engineering is compared to the Nursing program.
My first surprise was the competitiveness within the pre-nursing program. Only a certain percentage of the students from Pre-Nursing are admitted into the Nursing program so rather than a sense of unity among the classmates, this is replaced by a full blown competitive spirit. School to me always seemed to be something that was tough to get through, but would be impossible without a good support system of instructors and fellow students. I can honestly see myself not passing the Nursing program, even though many people would consider engineering to be a more difficult program to succeed in.
Another surprise presented itself to me when a friend in the Nursing program decided to host a Pampered Chef party at her house. She invited me and told me to bring any other girls I knew. I assumed because she was in the nursing program she would have numerous girl friends that would be attending the party so I wasn’t too concerned with searching for other girls to bring (I myself, don’t have a large network of girlfriends in Butte coming from the Petroleum Engineering program). I showed up with three other girlfriends to find that the only other guests were her elderly neighbor/landlord, and one classmate from her program. When I expressed my surprise, she explained that because of the competitive program, most girls don’t develop inner-program friendships. This struck me as unusual. Some of my best friends now are college classmates, former and present.
Dissimilarity, and definitely something foreign to me, is using memorization as the primary technique school studies. As an Engineering student memorizing is usually something that is not required from many instructors, rather it is more important to know where to find referenced information, and how to use the information to make sense of the problem. Nursing is a program where every aspect of the human body must be learned and memorized, along with symptoms, ailments, and treatments. This is something I would have large amounts of trouble with (I dropped out of high school biology class just to avoid this very study technique).
On the surface it can appear to an outsider that the nursing program and the engineering programs at Montana Tech are quite similar, however upon closer observation one can see that there are many major differences. There are many more areas of the nursing program culture that I plan on exploring, especially learning some of the key aspects of the nursing language. Stay tuned….
My first surprise was the competitiveness within the pre-nursing program. Only a certain percentage of the students from Pre-Nursing are admitted into the Nursing program so rather than a sense of unity among the classmates, this is replaced by a full blown competitive spirit. School to me always seemed to be something that was tough to get through, but would be impossible without a good support system of instructors and fellow students. I can honestly see myself not passing the Nursing program, even though many people would consider engineering to be a more difficult program to succeed in.
Another surprise presented itself to me when a friend in the Nursing program decided to host a Pampered Chef party at her house. She invited me and told me to bring any other girls I knew. I assumed because she was in the nursing program she would have numerous girl friends that would be attending the party so I wasn’t too concerned with searching for other girls to bring (I myself, don’t have a large network of girlfriends in Butte coming from the Petroleum Engineering program). I showed up with three other girlfriends to find that the only other guests were her elderly neighbor/landlord, and one classmate from her program. When I expressed my surprise, she explained that because of the competitive program, most girls don’t develop inner-program friendships. This struck me as unusual. Some of my best friends now are college classmates, former and present.
Dissimilarity, and definitely something foreign to me, is using memorization as the primary technique school studies. As an Engineering student memorizing is usually something that is not required from many instructors, rather it is more important to know where to find referenced information, and how to use the information to make sense of the problem. Nursing is a program where every aspect of the human body must be learned and memorized, along with symptoms, ailments, and treatments. This is something I would have large amounts of trouble with (I dropped out of high school biology class just to avoid this very study technique).
On the surface it can appear to an outsider that the nursing program and the engineering programs at Montana Tech are quite similar, however upon closer observation one can see that there are many major differences. There are many more areas of the nursing program culture that I plan on exploring, especially learning some of the key aspects of the nursing language. Stay tuned….
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
