I must say that these past few weeks have been tough. The degree of difficulty of nursing school is
easily on par with paramedic school. It
is impossible to say, however, how the core content of each program will
compare because I am only in general education courses - College Algebra and
Anatomy and Physiology I.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that each of the
professors for my current courses, and as I understand, all of the didactic professors
at the institution boast a minimum of a Master’s degree, and most with
doctorate in their specialty. The point
is that I am relieved to know that the education being delivered at this institution,
while far more expensive than its public counterparts, is not substandard. Further, each of my current professors teaches
at one of the local colleges (SDSU, USD, UCSD, or one of the junior colleges).
So about the academics…
I will be the first to admit that one of my more difficult
subjects is math, and I know that I am not alone in that. That said, I’m not an F student. But I was today. My algebraic cohorts and I received our
grades for our first 2-hour, twelve question examination which included
percentage calculations, mixture calculations, two equation/two variable and
three equation/three variables, quadratic equations (thank you for the
assistance, Mr. Weber, EMT-P), and linear equations. Where I went wrong: For one problem, I used
the entirely incorrect formula. I
received full credit for the two equation/two variable problems as well as the
quadratic equations. The issue was when
I reached the three equations/three variables problem – I got stuck. After an hour and 10 minutes had slipped by,
I realized I had spent entirely too much time on one problem. To make a long story short, I failed the
exam. However, after respectfully
discussing my exam with the Professor, I was able to verbally review the steps
I took to attempt to complete the problems that I was unsuccessful in. I walked out of the meeting with a C+. I can handle that.
For the Anatomy and Physiology examination scores, I
received a solid B (85%) on the written exam, and am still waiting on the lab
component where epithelial and connective tissue microscopy slide identification
was crucial. On the didactic exam, my
errors were secondary to over-thinking questions. For example, when asked which system
regulates pH and blood plasma, I chose the urinary system, but the answer was
the cardiovascular system secondary to its baro- and chemoreceptor
capacities. I am comfortable with the
85%, as it is added to the lab exam, which I feel most confident about.
It was noticeable after I received my Algebra grade that I
was pretty upset. The day the exam was
given, there was a decent degree of drama, as no one felt the exam was
valid. We all felt that the questions
(specifically three question/three unknown) presented numbers so far-fetched
that it was difficult to come to a solid solution. This was also where most of us spent our
time. It ended up that I hadn’t
completed four of the 12 questions and got caught up where I got caught up.
I have made a few friends in the month I’ve been in class
who offered support, but what was really encouraging was the fact that before I
ever spoke to the professor, a great number of students that I hadn’t had the
opportunity to meet on more than a superficial level showed concern simply
because I looked upset. It was an
interesting dynamic.
In paramedic school, camaraderie is built into our system
by our experiences. We work as a family,
constantly, and that seeps into the classroom.
It was nice to see that the professed caring nature of nursing seeped
into my day.
