A Long Time Coming

It’s been quite a while since I posted anything here. I’ve been quite busy working through the remainder of my didactics, writing (and passing) my comprehensive exams, and beginning work on my prospectus.  But, I’m back trying to regain some semblance of order in my life that includes sharing some of my ideas, thoughts, and observations on nursing, education, and a various sundry other things.

How Did I Get Here?

In the very first meeting of my cohort, we were asked to briefly explain how we came to be in the doctoral program.  When my turn came, I said, in all honesty, “I’m still trying to figure out how I got here!” And yet, I am now in the beginning stagses of my dissertation.  In all honesty I never expected to be here. A doctorate was never on my bucket list. After all, doctorates were for those far more brilliant and focused than I. There was almost something mystical about the process of obtaining a doctorate and something daunting about the fabled dissertation.  In my mind, the doctorate was something that other people pursued, not something that was within my reach. I was, after all, a fair-to-middling student, not the top of the class student that I imagined the doctoral student to be.

The Meaning of a Degree

The reasons why they may choose to do this are myriad. For some students, the BSN has long been a personal goal. For others, though, the decision isn’t internally motivated. Rather, they’re faced with either obtaining their BSN, or finding other employment. Now, for anyone outside of nursing, that latter reason might seem a bit harsh. But for those of us in the profession, it makes sense – at least to a degree. While I don’t disagree with the need for higher levels of education in nursing, I’m not so sure that the approach employers are using to encourage nurses to seek the BSN is the best approach. Let’s begin with a bit of background.

How Time Flies

Okay, granted not the most original title, but the fact is I really didn’t realize it had been nearly four months since my last post. If you read that one, though, you might be inclined to forgive me — I’ve been a bit busy. But, today those crazy hours are behind me and only a single paper remains between me and the end of the term.

There has been so much that has captured my interest this term that I’ve simply not been able to write about. I hope that I’ll have the time in the coming weeks to catch up on my writing. Be watching for more …

Technology For It’s Own Sake

About eight years ago I spent a couple of years teaching high school. Being a nurse, and coming into the experience with no real educational background it was quite an interesting, and eye-opening experience. Needless to say, I probably learned more than my students did. One of the things that left me scratching my head was the approach the school system took toward education. Tons of money was spent on technology and teachers were required to have at least one “technology lesson” each week. That lesson had to be so designated on your weekly lesson plan. Talk about misguided! As I write this I still see a lot of the same things happening in education — at all levels. And it’s just plain dumb. Let’s explore this a bit.

Is it for Education or Business?

In the early 1990’s as I was preparing to wrap up my MBA I was informed by my advisor that I still needed to take a basic statistics course. Now, that would seem a reasonable expectation were it not for the fact that I had already completed two advanced statistics courses. Being a bit obstinate, I asked why it was necessary for me to take a course designed to prepare me for courses that I had already taken and passed (quite well, I might add.) The response – not surprisingly – was that it was a necessary part of the degree and, therefore, could not be waived. That introductory statistics course, the one designed to prepare me for higher level courses, was the last course I took before graduating.