Monday, October 09, 2006

The Embarrassment of Ignorance

I don't know how I did on biomed yet, but the class average is below failing. (He gave us the average but no specific grades until tomorrow) People still swear they didn't have a hard time with the test. When I finished the exam I said how hard I thought it was, but most other students said they didn't think it was too bad - even though word around campus at that time was that it didn't go so well. (TAs get the scores before we do and they start the general buzz about whether it was good or bad) So what we have here is people who are unwilling to admit that they find the material difficult. The problem with this is that it makes it seem as though only one or two people have a problem - which means those one or two people should take time out of their already impossible schedule to go visit the professor on their own time, when, in fact, the class as a whole doesn't understand what's going on and therefore the material should be explained in a different way...or something.

Then, I failed the med math exam, too. Yep, I'm just failing all over the place. And, of course, everyone says they think they did well - nevermind the fact that you get your score right after you finish the exam! You should know how you did. But anyway, so I am expecting to go to the math office for my remediation tutoring and have plenty of one on one help. Ha! Instead I find at least 20 people in the damn hallway- and this is 15 minutes before the tutoring sessions even began! But everyone did so well.

It's one thing to BS your way through plot summarization in lit class, but it's a whole different world to attempt to BS your way through nursing school. You can't fake it. If you give someone the wrong med, the wrong dose, or at the wrong time you could actually kill someone, ie: K+. Potassium is what we use to kill people on death row by lethal injection. How the hell do you gloss over the fact that you don't know how to properly administer that? Is it really that embarrassing to not know all the answers? Do type A people base their self worth on how much they know, are they really that competitive? I used to think I was a Type A, but now I don't think so. I took the test and I came out 44. I guess I'm neither, which seems right. I am embarrassed by ignorance only if it seems like something I really should know. But I am not embarrassed to not get it on the first try, and I don't think anyone should be. How does one learn anything if they swear they already know everything?

2 comments:

KHP said...

Your school environment sounds so different from mine.

We all acknowledge that the material is difficult, and I think most of us have gotten past the stage where we worry about impressing everyone else. We're here to support each other.

It probably doesn't make you feel any better, but the attitudes you describe at your school are the reason why I opted out of pre-med in my undergraduate degree. I got fed up with the BS, with the need to impress, and the feeling of competition.

I hope that things get better. At least you know your strengths, and I think your character will shine through. :) You will be a great nurse.

KHP said...

Ha! I just took the Type A personality test from your link.

I got a 44. No kidding.

I've never been a Type A personality, but I do think I've become a little more assertive since beginning nursing school. Which, I guess, is a good thing.