In nursing school, it can be easy for students to have poor communication with their instructors. Often, the instructor-to-student ratio shows a large disparity, so students may not always get their questions or concerns addressed. Student unions and organizations work to address this issue, but there may still be problems.
At the beginning of the school year, get your instructors' contact numbers, email addresses and office hours. Make sure to ask questions whenever applicable. Nursing instructors encourage their students to be proactive, so if a question is not urgent, seek out the answer yourself during self-guided study time, or even create an informal study group, as a classmate may be able to assist.
Do not be intimidated, however. When you need clarification of a nursing procedure or disease process, ask for it.
Long hours and the general pressures of a clinical environment can lead to misunderstandings between students and nursing instructors. Sometimes nursing instructors give too little feedback and may inadvertently contribute to student mistakes. Other times, nursing instructors seem impossible to please, which may leave students discouraged. Both teaching styles have negative effects on students' enthusiasm. In fact, they can promote hostility.
Whenever possible, ask nursing instructors exactly what they are looking for during clinical rotations. Instructors, regardless of how harried they may be, will prefer that a nursing student fully understand concepts and techniques rather than risk patient safety by guessing the appropriate course of action.
Sociocultural problems are less common in nursing school than in other educational environments because the material is so health-focused. The most prominent concern may be cultural bias in textbooks and on certain exams. Certain textbooks and exam questions may be uncomfortable for some students because most nursing baselines are derived from European norms, rather than encompassing a broad sociocultural perspective. Many nursing schools have sought to remedy this by using textbooks that address differences among a variety of cultures.
Cultural and religious awareness is important in providing sensitive nursing care, so if nursing instructors are not adequately addressing diversity issues, students should ask that such topics be considered. Nursing students should also try to find and read books that address diversity and its place in the clinical environment.