While I have a moment

Having just finished a 15 minute assignment for research and evaluation (which is a rarity, of late, most assignments for that course have run into the 8-12 hour range) and having stuff I can do, but don't really feel like doing as my brain is presently having a harder time latching onto the readings than GW has latching onto words longer than two syllables, I thought I would post a quick note.

The usual school = shit continues unabated. It is part stress related from too much to do and not enough time to accomplish it all and part related to validity issues in testing. To illustrate:

Our adult and home health rotation, which encompasses 8 credit hours, is comprised of many facets that make up the whole of our experience. We spend 18 hours a week in clinical (16 on the floor and 2 in post conference), 6 hours a week in lecture, 2-3 hours a week in simulation or home health, and countless hours doing the readings, weekly write ups, journals, and taking exams outside of class time every other Monday. All told, I would say it takes up 35-40 hours of every given week without the class readings included. Maybe another 5-8 hours weekly for the readings. That is possibly a conservative estimate as well because I skim the readings generally, if I have time to do that much. (As a sidebar, the class grade is composed of 70% exams, 20% clinical papers, and 10% home health presentation, with 0% allotted to simulations. What that says to me is that the classroom/book information is far more important than the clinical experience and that the simulation isn't worth concerning myself over. So, the two facets that would help us most in practice upon graduation are the two facets that are given the least credence in grading.......just found that interesting since I won't be able to perform a lot of patient care on paper in the future.)

Research and Evaluation is an ebb and flow type of class where the work varies widely week to week. The class is once a week (Monday evening from 4-7, which follows the adult and home health 3 hour block lecture that afternoon and, every other Monday follows a 90 minute exam as well.......so it is very common to see nearly half the class leave during the break) and thankfully requires little outside reading (a misnomer as well, it is just that nobody ever seems to read the articles we discuss in class for lack of time). All classes include a 4th hour assignment (because the class is supposed to be a 4 hour block lecture) which ranges from 10-15 minutes to 8-12 hours in length. It takes up, on average, about 8 hours a week of our time.

The therapeutics lab is a pretty big cake walk. You have 2 hours a week you have to be there and about an hour a week to prep for it (maybe two if you read the assigned articles, 3 if there are videos to watch). Lets call it 4 hours on average.

All told, for 13 credit hours, there are conservatively 52-60 hours a week spoken for between classes, labs, and clinicals without taking into account any additional time for studying. Some weeks there are less and some more. I dont know how people with children or who are working part time (though they often don't have the research class to deal with) manage. Even in the face of this, sometimes you just say to hell with it and write a blog.

The testing validity issue is the other major stressor. We frequently spend significant time studying for our tests only to have material brought in from other courses, questions about medications that we couldn't possibly know, or an endless number of multiple multiple questions (which are choose all that apply) where if you miss one of the five possible right answers out of eight options you miss the question entirely. No one complains about how hard the class is (Pathophysiology was much more arduous), but we do complain vociferously about how what we learn isn't what we are tested on. Hence, the class average is precipitously low.

I have simple tried to adapt as best as I can. I aspire to do well, but i am learning to accept that passing is all that is important and that much I can and will do, even if I am kicking and screaming the entire way. In the end, the result is the same.....cap, gown, and new career.
Just don't ask me about the renin-angiotensin system......I haven't had a chance to read that yet.