Yesterday was my first day to teach Anatomy and Physiology in the College of Nursing. Although I've been teaching for nine years in the College of Medicine in LNU, I felt that yesterday was somewhat different. It was a day of firsts: it was our first meeting (Ana-Physio), my first time in the College of Nursing, my first time in a new school, first time to be exposed to nursing students, and my first time to teach for the whole day! It was 8:00AM to 5:00PM class and my gosh it was really tiring!
The day begun with me arriving an hour earlier. I wanted to talk to the Dean but I was informed that she might not come because it was Saturday. So I proceeded to the rooms in the third floor where the nursing students are. Not knowing that there are 2 sections for the same subject, I entered the first room. I have already introduced myself, finished collecting the class cards, and have already started with the lecture when somebody knocked on the door. Oh, it was the Dean in the College! She informed me that I was in the wrong room.
I hastily collected my things and said goodbye to the class. The students we're saddened when they realized that it was a nurse who will handle them. They said that they have wanted a doctor to teach the subject to them and that the reason why they failed was because their former teacher was not knowledgeable with the subject. It was then that I learned that the class which I will handle is a group repeaters, shifters, and transferee s.
When I reached my class, I did the same thing again. When I was already giving my lecture, the class was silent. They didn't want to participate with the discussion and bowed down their heads when asked. What a day to start. To think that most of them are repeaters!
I simplified my approach. I started with the basics of Anatomy just for me to know how deep their knowledge was. Still they cannot answer. What complicated the problem was that some students are taking only the lecture part, for some only the laboratory part, and only a few are taking both. I was shocked!
Anatomy- Physiology is one subject in Nursing and it is composed of the lecture and laboratory parts. What the students learn in the lecture part is applied in the laboratory (practical part). And this means that we cannot separate the two.
I talked again to the Dean. She firmly told me that that's the way it is in their school and that there's nothing I can do. I just wonder how these students will learn their basics with this kind of set-up.Labels: Anatomy-Physiology, nursing class |
