4/29/09
Today was my last day of class. We watched the film The business of giving birth. It was basically about natural labor verses assisted labor. My perspective on the labor and delivery process has always been biased towards the medical viewpoint because that is where my experience lies. This film definitely opened my eyes to a whole other view of birthing. I have to say I am so much more interested in learning more about promoting and supporting natural childbirth. It is funny how some of these classes have been very educational for me. I have learned so much about teaching and I realize the importance of presenting different perspectives to students. This allows them to see that there is often more than one way to care for patients.
It was sad to say goodbye to Dr. Arnold and all the students. I plan to keep in touch with everyone and hopefully I can continue to be a resource to the students. I am so thankful for this opportunity and I look forward to next semester. I have decided to do my next practicum at Brookhaven College to get experience working with an ADN program. I am planning to meet with my faculty member in the morning to discuss plans for next semester. I hope everyone has had a great semester. I have enjoyed sharing my experiences and reading my fellow classmates experiences. Goodluck to everyone!
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
The last clinical day
4/21/09
Today was my last clinical and the best one yet! I was able to independently work with the students in L&D. I thoroughly enjoyed making the assignments and pulling them here and there to see exciting delivery experiences. What a fun day! Between deliveries I had the opportunity to come up with critical thinking test questions for the students to think through. It was exciting to see their minds work through the problems and rewarding for me when they were able to conclude the correct answers.
At post conference I encouraged them to share their experiences from all the women's health areas. Dr. Arnold stayed with the students in the other clinical areas so basically we rotated positions from last clinical. Dr. Arnold told me that I have spoiled her this semester because she has enjoyed having more face value with the students. The OB instructors are pulled from one clinical area to the next and have very limited time with each student. This limits the student's clinical experiences and the instructor's teaching opportunities. I was encouraged to hear that I had positively influenced this semester for her.
4/22/09
Today we had another postpartum lecture and not only is it a boring topic but the instructor was boring. When you worry if she is going to fall asleep during her own lecture then you know something really must be boring. She basically just read the slides really slow. It was her last lecture so it was sad to see her say bye to her students.
I had my evaluation with Dr. Arnold and I was so grateful to hear all her encouraging comments. It is great when you feel like you have made a difference for the students and the professor. What an emotional but good day. I have one last goodbye at lecture next week. I know it is going to be bitter sweet.
Today was my last clinical and the best one yet! I was able to independently work with the students in L&D. I thoroughly enjoyed making the assignments and pulling them here and there to see exciting delivery experiences. What a fun day! Between deliveries I had the opportunity to come up with critical thinking test questions for the students to think through. It was exciting to see their minds work through the problems and rewarding for me when they were able to conclude the correct answers.
At post conference I encouraged them to share their experiences from all the women's health areas. Dr. Arnold stayed with the students in the other clinical areas so basically we rotated positions from last clinical. Dr. Arnold told me that I have spoiled her this semester because she has enjoyed having more face value with the students. The OB instructors are pulled from one clinical area to the next and have very limited time with each student. This limits the student's clinical experiences and the instructor's teaching opportunities. I was encouraged to hear that I had positively influenced this semester for her.
4/22/09
Today we had another postpartum lecture and not only is it a boring topic but the instructor was boring. When you worry if she is going to fall asleep during her own lecture then you know something really must be boring. She basically just read the slides really slow. It was her last lecture so it was sad to see her say bye to her students.
I had my evaluation with Dr. Arnold and I was so grateful to hear all her encouraging comments. It is great when you feel like you have made a difference for the students and the professor. What an emotional but good day. I have one last goodbye at lecture next week. I know it is going to be bitter sweet.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Faculty Meeting
April 13, 2009
I attended my first university faculty meeting today. The two main topics that were discussed were evaluations and parking. The update on the new building and parking issues due to construction was very frustrating to the faculty because they had no say so in the matter. Basically, they were told that the students and staff would have to park a mile away and be shuttled to the university. This was going into effect the next day. You can only imagine the effect this had on the faculty. I was very surprised that there was no committee that included the faculty's input into how these shuttle services would work. The garage would only be open from 7-5 so the faculty would have to release students for 45 minutes during class time (for the evening classes) to go get there vehicles. I definitely got a taste of the frustration that goes behind working at an institution where all the decisions are made from the top to the bottom. I do not agree with this hierarchy especially when it is the faculty and students that are affected and not the administration from the Denton campus.
Another focus of the meeting was course evaluations. One faculty suggested the students be required to complete course evaluations. This suggestion was immediately nullified because evaluations are voluntary. The faculty over the course I am working with has approximately 120 students and only 6 students returned evaluations on one of the instructors. All of the evaluations were negative because that is generally the population that completes the evaluations. Unfortunately, this would not be a representative sample of all the opinions of the student's in this course. The faculty expressed that these evaluations are heavily weighed on their end of the year evaluations and were a poor representation of student's feedback on them throughout the semester. The faculty suggested handout evaluations instead of emailed evaluations because they could provide the students with incentives (candy) for completing them. This may be a way for them to increase their sample size. Needless to say, I didn't realize how few participants actually filled out evaluations. I guess many just don't understand how important evaluation is to ongoing program improvement.
April 15, 2009
I found lecture very interesting today. The first lecture was on the high risk newborn. I have never worked in the NICU so she kept me very interested especially on the topic of HIV and substance abuse. It definitely made me want to learn more. She did not use any different tactics from what I have already seen, but her topic was very interesting. I think finding an interesting topic is an automatic benefit when your are lecturing.
The second lecture was done by a UTA graduate student. She lectured on the postpartum assessment. I think she did a great job with the use of case studies and asking questions. It was great to be there as a support for her.
I attended my first university faculty meeting today. The two main topics that were discussed were evaluations and parking. The update on the new building and parking issues due to construction was very frustrating to the faculty because they had no say so in the matter. Basically, they were told that the students and staff would have to park a mile away and be shuttled to the university. This was going into effect the next day. You can only imagine the effect this had on the faculty. I was very surprised that there was no committee that included the faculty's input into how these shuttle services would work. The garage would only be open from 7-5 so the faculty would have to release students for 45 minutes during class time (for the evening classes) to go get there vehicles. I definitely got a taste of the frustration that goes behind working at an institution where all the decisions are made from the top to the bottom. I do not agree with this hierarchy especially when it is the faculty and students that are affected and not the administration from the Denton campus.
Another focus of the meeting was course evaluations. One faculty suggested the students be required to complete course evaluations. This suggestion was immediately nullified because evaluations are voluntary. The faculty over the course I am working with has approximately 120 students and only 6 students returned evaluations on one of the instructors. All of the evaluations were negative because that is generally the population that completes the evaluations. Unfortunately, this would not be a representative sample of all the opinions of the student's in this course. The faculty expressed that these evaluations are heavily weighed on their end of the year evaluations and were a poor representation of student's feedback on them throughout the semester. The faculty suggested handout evaluations instead of emailed evaluations because they could provide the students with incentives (candy) for completing them. This may be a way for them to increase their sample size. Needless to say, I didn't realize how few participants actually filled out evaluations. I guess many just don't understand how important evaluation is to ongoing program improvement.
April 15, 2009
I found lecture very interesting today. The first lecture was on the high risk newborn. I have never worked in the NICU so she kept me very interested especially on the topic of HIV and substance abuse. It definitely made me want to learn more. She did not use any different tactics from what I have already seen, but her topic was very interesting. I think finding an interesting topic is an automatic benefit when your are lecturing.
The second lecture was done by a UTA graduate student. She lectured on the postpartum assessment. I think she did a great job with the use of case studies and asking questions. It was great to be there as a support for her.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Clinical and Exam review
4/7/08
Today was clinical day. I instructed the students in the areas of postpartum, high-risk ob, NICU, admissions nursery, and newborn nursery while Dr. Arnold instructed the students in L&D. This was a very busy day! All the students had my cell phone number and called me when it was time for them to get checked off on their assessment. An assessment in each area by the instructor is required for each course. I had the opportunity to review each assessment and give instructor comments. What an empowering experience! It was so exciting to be able to share my knowledge and experience with the students. After the clinical day Dr. Arnold and I met to discuss each students progress throughout this clinical experience.
We have a student in the clinical group that is failing the course so I had the opportunity to meet with her and Dr. Arnold and discuss a plan of action. We plan to meet with her and review the last exam tomorrow and encouraged her to make an appointment with the counselor. She was very emotional and explained the financial stressors her family is having at home. These stressors are weighing on her courses. I have found that she is very anxious and unable to retain basic knowledge during her clinical. It is unfortunate to see students that are trying so hard not do well.
4/8/09
Today two of our faculty members were unable to come to work (my preceptor and today's lecturer). It was another day of trouble-shooting. One faculty member had to fill in today's lecture and the other one had to meet with Dr. Arnold's student (the one I told you about yesterday) to review the last exam. Once again I see flexibility in action. The faculty at TWU treat each other like family. They do not keep tabs on what they are doing for each other. They just stay flexible and do what needs to be done. What a great team!
I participated in the exam review with Mrs. McAlister and the student. I found a correlation between the way the student answered her exam questions and the questions I would ask her during clinical. She would give the opposite answer. After she reviewed her notes and I waited five minutes to repeat the same question, she would still answer the question wrong. I documented my findings and shared them with Mrs. McAlister and Dr. Arnold. The student is going to the counselor on Monday, and she will review test taking skills. I am interested to see the difference this will make.
As far as the question of whether or not to change the next exam, the faculty agreed not to. During the last exam one of the faculty members accidentally gave her room (there are three rooms) of students five extra minutes. This is a major issue of student fairness and Dr. Arnold said it may go to the review board. They have agreed to keep this next exam the easiest of the four in hopes to make up for such an unfair mistake. I don't think this makes up for it, but we will see how the students feel after the exam review.
The exam review went well. The students are only aloud to write comments or questions on a note pad prior to leaving the room. If they want to further review the exam then they have to set up a meeting with the faculty. There were a total of about 10 questions and some were related to the same questions. My measurement and assessment in nursing class really comes into play during test item analysis. I was able to give valuable input into the test questions that students struggled with. Hopefully the faculty will make these necessary changes for future test items. I realize I can only give them the information, but some have been on faculty for years and refuse to change their test items. This upsets me because I think we should always be open to suggestions throughout our career as educators.
Wow! What a busy but great week of learning! Next week I have a university faculty meeting that I am excited about. I will keep you updated on the student as well.
Today was clinical day. I instructed the students in the areas of postpartum, high-risk ob, NICU, admissions nursery, and newborn nursery while Dr. Arnold instructed the students in L&D. This was a very busy day! All the students had my cell phone number and called me when it was time for them to get checked off on their assessment. An assessment in each area by the instructor is required for each course. I had the opportunity to review each assessment and give instructor comments. What an empowering experience! It was so exciting to be able to share my knowledge and experience with the students. After the clinical day Dr. Arnold and I met to discuss each students progress throughout this clinical experience.
We have a student in the clinical group that is failing the course so I had the opportunity to meet with her and Dr. Arnold and discuss a plan of action. We plan to meet with her and review the last exam tomorrow and encouraged her to make an appointment with the counselor. She was very emotional and explained the financial stressors her family is having at home. These stressors are weighing on her courses. I have found that she is very anxious and unable to retain basic knowledge during her clinical. It is unfortunate to see students that are trying so hard not do well.
4/8/09
Today two of our faculty members were unable to come to work (my preceptor and today's lecturer). It was another day of trouble-shooting. One faculty member had to fill in today's lecture and the other one had to meet with Dr. Arnold's student (the one I told you about yesterday) to review the last exam. Once again I see flexibility in action. The faculty at TWU treat each other like family. They do not keep tabs on what they are doing for each other. They just stay flexible and do what needs to be done. What a great team!
I participated in the exam review with Mrs. McAlister and the student. I found a correlation between the way the student answered her exam questions and the questions I would ask her during clinical. She would give the opposite answer. After she reviewed her notes and I waited five minutes to repeat the same question, she would still answer the question wrong. I documented my findings and shared them with Mrs. McAlister and Dr. Arnold. The student is going to the counselor on Monday, and she will review test taking skills. I am interested to see the difference this will make.
As far as the question of whether or not to change the next exam, the faculty agreed not to. During the last exam one of the faculty members accidentally gave her room (there are three rooms) of students five extra minutes. This is a major issue of student fairness and Dr. Arnold said it may go to the review board. They have agreed to keep this next exam the easiest of the four in hopes to make up for such an unfair mistake. I don't think this makes up for it, but we will see how the students feel after the exam review.
The exam review went well. The students are only aloud to write comments or questions on a note pad prior to leaving the room. If they want to further review the exam then they have to set up a meeting with the faculty. There were a total of about 10 questions and some were related to the same questions. My measurement and assessment in nursing class really comes into play during test item analysis. I was able to give valuable input into the test questions that students struggled with. Hopefully the faculty will make these necessary changes for future test items. I realize I can only give them the information, but some have been on faculty for years and refuse to change their test items. This upsets me because I think we should always be open to suggestions throughout our career as educators.
Wow! What a busy but great week of learning! Next week I have a university faculty meeting that I am excited about. I will keep you updated on the student as well.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Exam Day
April 2, 2009
Yesterday was the day of truth, the big exam that I lectured on. I was concerned a bit for the students because they had three different faculty lecture. This is the intrapartum test and usually the one the students do the worst on due to the increased amount of critical thinking. My clinical group has lacked the clinical experience to back up what they are learning (some have not stepped foot in L&D yet due to instructor absence). I felt really bad for them because I am a visual learner and intrapartum is nearly impossible to learn from a text book. As I think back on my lecture, I am extremely grateful for the use of other teaching tactics including detailed pictures and videos. I believe this enhanced their learning experiences. I had the opportunity to proctor the exam and watch patiently as the students took the exam. The students were divided into three different rooms and the anxiety filled the rooms from beginning to the end of the exam. After completion, I had the opportunity to assist with processing the exams and posting preliminary grades. The average was slightly above 80 which was the expected mean for this exam. What a relief for all of the instructors because we all had to do a lot of trouble-shooting with these lectures. It made me feel great to know that the students had learned the content from my lecture. There were a few students that were unable to complete the exam and Dr. Arnold was unable to make it so exam review will be next week. After that the exam will be analyzed and final grades will be posted. I think the most interesting thing about the process was listening to the faculty talk about each students progress in the testing scores verses clinical. There is a tremendous amount of thought that goes behind this process. There are several students that the faculty feel are not ready to move on to the next semester so they decided to make extensive changes on the next exam. The third exam is on postpartum care and has traditionally been the easiest exam. This time they are going to make this exam a weed-out exam. I will be interested to see the changes made and the difference it makes for the students.
On a different note, I have been thinking a lot about where I want to do my practicum next semester. I really want a different learning experience so I looked into doing it at UTA but they didn't have a course I would be interested in during the summer. My second choice was Brookhaven College. I thought it would be interesting to see the difference in an ADN verses BSN program. They have welcomed me with open arms. I talked to Joyce Adair whom agreed to be my preceptor and we have made our plans for next semester. They divide their courses into summer I and summer II so I will be working with her during the summer I OB course. They do not have 45 classroom hours so I will go to the Med-surg course during summer II for my remaining 10 hours. I am exciting about the learning experiences ahead!
Yesterday was the day of truth, the big exam that I lectured on. I was concerned a bit for the students because they had three different faculty lecture. This is the intrapartum test and usually the one the students do the worst on due to the increased amount of critical thinking. My clinical group has lacked the clinical experience to back up what they are learning (some have not stepped foot in L&D yet due to instructor absence). I felt really bad for them because I am a visual learner and intrapartum is nearly impossible to learn from a text book. As I think back on my lecture, I am extremely grateful for the use of other teaching tactics including detailed pictures and videos. I believe this enhanced their learning experiences. I had the opportunity to proctor the exam and watch patiently as the students took the exam. The students were divided into three different rooms and the anxiety filled the rooms from beginning to the end of the exam. After completion, I had the opportunity to assist with processing the exams and posting preliminary grades. The average was slightly above 80 which was the expected mean for this exam. What a relief for all of the instructors because we all had to do a lot of trouble-shooting with these lectures. It made me feel great to know that the students had learned the content from my lecture. There were a few students that were unable to complete the exam and Dr. Arnold was unable to make it so exam review will be next week. After that the exam will be analyzed and final grades will be posted. I think the most interesting thing about the process was listening to the faculty talk about each students progress in the testing scores verses clinical. There is a tremendous amount of thought that goes behind this process. There are several students that the faculty feel are not ready to move on to the next semester so they decided to make extensive changes on the next exam. The third exam is on postpartum care and has traditionally been the easiest exam. This time they are going to make this exam a weed-out exam. I will be interested to see the changes made and the difference it makes for the students.
On a different note, I have been thinking a lot about where I want to do my practicum next semester. I really want a different learning experience so I looked into doing it at UTA but they didn't have a course I would be interested in during the summer. My second choice was Brookhaven College. I thought it would be interesting to see the difference in an ADN verses BSN program. They have welcomed me with open arms. I talked to Joyce Adair whom agreed to be my preceptor and we have made our plans for next semester. They divide their courses into summer I and summer II so I will be working with her during the summer I OB course. They do not have 45 classroom hours so I will go to the Med-surg course during summer II for my remaining 10 hours. I am exciting about the learning experiences ahead!
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Unfortunate Circumstances and Flexibility
March 25, 2009
This week there was an unfortunate turn of events for my preceptor and she was not able to come to clinicals or lecture. Barbara McAlister had to teach a lecture that she had never taught and did not write. I was able to see the art of being flexible in practice. Barbara had to get up at 5:30 this morning and read over the lecture notes to be prepared for class today. Everything worked out well. She directed several of the questions at me since I am currently working in the clinical setting so I felt valuable to the lecture today. I think it definitely helps to lecture on something in which you have experience and recent experience if it is last minute and you don't have preparation time.
After exam review, I talked to some of the student's to see how prepared they felt for their second exam next week and the responses were filled with hesitation. If you recall, I taught the first lecture, then Dr. Arnold taught the second, then Barbara taught the third. This exam had several different teachers with different styles. I have been at all the lectures and though it can be confusing to combine these different lectures, I am confident that the students will do well. The content has been thoroughly covered, they have had test review and case studies, and we have been readily available to review lecture content. I think exams are a reflection of the teaching and that is why I made a point to discuss students' preparation for this upcoming exam.
Clinical was canceled and rescheduled this week. I don't like pushing my clinicals towards the end of the semester, but my preceptor had very valid reasons for not being there this week so I have to remain flexible. I am just thankful for the experience.
This week there was an unfortunate turn of events for my preceptor and she was not able to come to clinicals or lecture. Barbara McAlister had to teach a lecture that she had never taught and did not write. I was able to see the art of being flexible in practice. Barbara had to get up at 5:30 this morning and read over the lecture notes to be prepared for class today. Everything worked out well. She directed several of the questions at me since I am currently working in the clinical setting so I felt valuable to the lecture today. I think it definitely helps to lecture on something in which you have experience and recent experience if it is last minute and you don't have preparation time.
After exam review, I talked to some of the student's to see how prepared they felt for their second exam next week and the responses were filled with hesitation. If you recall, I taught the first lecture, then Dr. Arnold taught the second, then Barbara taught the third. This exam had several different teachers with different styles. I have been at all the lectures and though it can be confusing to combine these different lectures, I am confident that the students will do well. The content has been thoroughly covered, they have had test review and case studies, and we have been readily available to review lecture content. I think exams are a reflection of the teaching and that is why I made a point to discuss students' preparation for this upcoming exam.
Clinical was canceled and rescheduled this week. I don't like pushing my clinicals towards the end of the semester, but my preceptor had very valid reasons for not being there this week so I have to remain flexible. I am just thankful for the experience.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Evaluation Day
March 11, 2009
Today, Dr. Arnold continued her lecture on electronic fetal monitoring. She takes a very visual and hands on approach to her lectures. She discourages the students to concentrate on filling in the blanks in their notes and encourages them to listen and visualize the concepts. Her slides are basic with a white background and black print, but she adds a lot of detailed pictures. She also included a lot of critical thinking concepts in this lecture. The basics on how to interpret strips were taught and then the students had to link what interventions were appropriate to varying interpretations. Now we are talking nursing!
I took the opportunity to sit in the overflow room just to get a different experience. The room was dark for the students to see the screen and it was noisy with the students talking. Students would walk in and out making it distracting and some students were sleeping. You could not hear when students asked questions because they were not microphoned. Overall, I would say that this is not an environment that is conducive to learning. I am not sure why some students choose to sit in this room when there are available seats in the main room. I would be interested to see the differences in the students' grades between those who sit in different rooms.
Dr. Arnold and I met after class to review my midterm evaluation. I took this time to share goals that I felt like I had met and the ones that I need more opportunities to meet. I did not get the opportunity to participate in exam analysis for the first exam because I was lecturing so I will get this opportunity for the next exam. I am also planning to lead a post conference in a couple weeks. I will continue to lead the students in the different clinical areas across woman's and children's services. The course faculty do not have scheduled meetings, but I am going to have the opportunity to participate in a faculty meeting at the university level. I am going to have more opportunities to grade care plans and assessments. Sounds like I have exciting days ahead as the semester continues on!
Today, Dr. Arnold continued her lecture on electronic fetal monitoring. She takes a very visual and hands on approach to her lectures. She discourages the students to concentrate on filling in the blanks in their notes and encourages them to listen and visualize the concepts. Her slides are basic with a white background and black print, but she adds a lot of detailed pictures. She also included a lot of critical thinking concepts in this lecture. The basics on how to interpret strips were taught and then the students had to link what interventions were appropriate to varying interpretations. Now we are talking nursing!
I took the opportunity to sit in the overflow room just to get a different experience. The room was dark for the students to see the screen and it was noisy with the students talking. Students would walk in and out making it distracting and some students were sleeping. You could not hear when students asked questions because they were not microphoned. Overall, I would say that this is not an environment that is conducive to learning. I am not sure why some students choose to sit in this room when there are available seats in the main room. I would be interested to see the differences in the students' grades between those who sit in different rooms.
Dr. Arnold and I met after class to review my midterm evaluation. I took this time to share goals that I felt like I had met and the ones that I need more opportunities to meet. I did not get the opportunity to participate in exam analysis for the first exam because I was lecturing so I will get this opportunity for the next exam. I am also planning to lead a post conference in a couple weeks. I will continue to lead the students in the different clinical areas across woman's and children's services. The course faculty do not have scheduled meetings, but I am going to have the opportunity to participate in a faculty meeting at the university level. I am going to have more opportunities to grade care plans and assessments. Sounds like I have exciting days ahead as the semester continues on!
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