Hardest Part: the job
It is another nursing application deadline. It is exciting, and a bit stressful as all the last minute testers try to get in and test high enough to get into the program.
It is like a much more intense late registration. These students many times have their future plans on the line. They have come to school to be a nurse, and they have to test well to get into our program.
It is easy to get annoyed with these last minute testers. They can be rude, unprepared, and fail to listen to basic directions (IE "what calculator can I use" after they have been told and theoretically they have read 3 times, AND signed that they understood that calculators are prohibited). They break rules, act entitled and a very select few throw temper tantrums.
Some of that can be wiped away by the joy that students find when they know they tested well, or even that they tested high enough to apply. Those are the happy moments.
The hardest moments are when the student tests below the cut off, or they made it to proficient level, but they know their scores are just not quite high enough to make it.
One student tested her final time today. She tested proficient, but she fears her scores aren't high enough for the program. It broke my heart to see her so defeated. She really wants to be a nurse, but this could be a roadblock for her. Later I heard her in the hallway talking to a faculty member, and she was saying all she wants is to be a Hospice nurse. That's her dream. You could see that dream dying in her eyes.
All of us have had our dreams taken away. We know how it hurts, and we can empathize with those in that situation. It's hard when you see the student so focused and excited before the test, and when the leave they are already starting to break.
I want to fix it, but I know I can't.
It is like a much more intense late registration. These students many times have their future plans on the line. They have come to school to be a nurse, and they have to test well to get into our program.
It is easy to get annoyed with these last minute testers. They can be rude, unprepared, and fail to listen to basic directions (IE "what calculator can I use" after they have been told and theoretically they have read 3 times, AND signed that they understood that calculators are prohibited). They break rules, act entitled and a very select few throw temper tantrums.
Some of that can be wiped away by the joy that students find when they know they tested well, or even that they tested high enough to apply. Those are the happy moments.
The hardest moments are when the student tests below the cut off, or they made it to proficient level, but they know their scores are just not quite high enough to make it.
One student tested her final time today. She tested proficient, but she fears her scores aren't high enough for the program. It broke my heart to see her so defeated. She really wants to be a nurse, but this could be a roadblock for her. Later I heard her in the hallway talking to a faculty member, and she was saying all she wants is to be a Hospice nurse. That's her dream. You could see that dream dying in her eyes.
All of us have had our dreams taken away. We know how it hurts, and we can empathize with those in that situation. It's hard when you see the student so focused and excited before the test, and when the leave they are already starting to break.
I want to fix it, but I know I can't.
Comments