Biblically Politically Correct

This posting is related to school. Specifically, my nursing ADN program at Bohecker College. But in an effort to remain professional and loyal and historically honest in this online dialog of my education experiences, I'll be gentle to those who walk this journey with me.

Last night my loving husband who says I'm his Angelwings and who holds with great esteem my religious thoughts and expressions, came to me with a question heavy on his mind.

"Is there a book in the Bible that has Judges in it," he asked knowing that I always know the answer to his curious Biblical questions.

"Let's see. There's Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel...Yep. There's a Judges book in the Bible," I confirmed after the instantaneous repetition of the Bible books of the Old Testament.

Shocked at my spewing forth with all this unconscious storage of unusual information, and amused by the look on hubby's face, I explained that as a young child I had been instructed to memorize all the books of the Bible, repeat hundreds of Bible verses, learn the strange and distant Bible stories, understand dozens of Bible parables, and even understand some Bible predictions of the future.

"Why" he asked in mild bewilderment "did you have to learn all that?"

"So I could answer your questions 50 years later," was the only reply I could think of last night - and even now as I sit down to put the story together.

I've discovered that my present situation at school isn't much different much of the time. Even though I urge the instructors to 'bring it on", and I try to stay positive and smiling, some things required of us have no rhyme or reason and perhaps will never serve any purpose except to recall the experience somewhere along the journey of life when I least expect it!

Why, for Pete's sake, did 40 of us students travel 200 miles and spend 10 hours of school time to stand in front of a nurses station for less than 10 minutes with no instruction or information forthcoming?

If the purpose was to get rid of taboo earrings, check compliance with dress code, update TB records, provide us with the hospital rules and regulations, and present copies of our TB test to the HR Department, why not spend a day at our school taking care of that business in this fabulous new age of technology?

I suppose that anyone who has ever taken Microbiology has posed the same questions that I ponder when we must spend many hours peering into microscopes we will never use again learning to recognize that Staphylococci looks like bunches of grapes, and Streptococci looks about the same except the cells are in long strands instead of grapes.

"You could see this again on a test" is the only worthwhile reason to memorize these facts right now.

Of course, the experience is a lot more fun than spending six long hours in one never-ending lecture after another learning about microvilli and ecoli in the colon, although that might be a little bit important someday when our patients have non-stop, stinky, diarrhea.

On June 1, we started our third term with all new instructors, books, expectations and teaching styles. It was/is stressful for all, instructors and students alike.

By now, with all due respect for your efforts to prepare us as future nurses, we ARE nurses already. (LPN's) Our goal is to pass the classroom tests so we can pass the course, so we can graduate, so we can qualify to take the state nursing boards as registered nurses.

Please tell us what we need to do for your class so we can pass the bi-weekly tests. So far we are not getting that information. It's like being asked to memorize all the books of the Bible so that we can show we studied the book!

We have four challenging courses to pass this term. Each one requires many, many hours of reading every week.

For instance, the dreaded Growth and Development course has a book that is at least 6-inches thick and has about 120 chapters that deal with every stage of life including conception, birth, growth, disease, death, and everything in between.

Today, our instructor informed the class that she will not lecture during class, but will "answer any questions" because there are too many chapters each week to cover it all. (And because administration sent her an e-mail telling her not to. I hope there is a second side to this story.)

Of course, we are expected to read about 200 pages a week from this book and "know" any information therein for testing.

Thank goodness I already know how to teach a man how to apply a condom, but the difference between dizygotic and polar body twinning is a little more complex. I'm happy to report that I now know what heteropaternal superfecundation means. But, I have 113 more chapters to read!

Now if I can just remember that earrings must be post style and limited to one in each ear although six are allowed if no one is checking. Professional attire doesn't include short shorts unless it's above 75 degrees and your good jeans are in the laundry. The no hat or head covering rule doesn't apply to days when you haven't had time to shampoo. The strict no cell phone policy doesn't count if you have little kids at school, boyfriends at home, or plans for the evening. Texting is okay if your purse is large enough to hide it when you're texting.

Well, I've made my point. With so much energy expended to get our degree, let's not add learning every book of the Bible as part of the requisite just because we can. Keep is simple, clear, and effective so we can learn what we need to know for each subject and not get bogged down in confusion and frustration. Don't make rules just for convenience.

We don't need to be 'biblically politically correct'. (Said as a joke to my husband when he asked why I knew so much.)

"I'm biblically politically correct," I explained.

Just to show I haven't forgotten, the New Testament books are ...Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude, and Revelation.

Take Care on the Journey,
~Linda

Home: http://dustyangels.blogspot.com
E-Mail: bestnurse@usa.com