The Catskill Chronicle

Dear Editor:

I too am appalled, not at the students who are filing suit, but at the lack of support you are offering them.

If the handbook reads two skills in 30 minutes, well then, that is a contract that the school has with the students and the school is violating that.

I also know that many people who are in school become nervous when performing skills checks, especially when they know their entire future is dependent upon it. Being nervous or perhaps timing out of three skills within 30 minutes does not mean that a person will make a poor nurse.

Actually it tends to be the people who are overly confident when they shouldn’t be who pose the biggest threat within healthcare.

The people who are more cautious and take their time, tend to be the ones who make sure that things are done the way they are supposed to be, and in a safe and correct fashion.

When such a large percentage of students fail, it reflects poorly on the educators not the students. Poor management leads to poor outcomes.

I, personally, am a critical care RN, but I remember how stressful school was. If you are indeed just a student, then you should not be referring to yourself as “Nurse Jackie,” or a current medical professional, because you have not indeed earned that title yet by passing state requirements.

Or perhaps you are one of the educators of this school hiding behind a false persona to defend the poor quality of education that is clearly going on within that program.

The results speak for themselves. The percentage of students coming from SCCC that pass the state boards on their first attempt is substandard at best. So even the students who made it through the skills requirements still have an uphill battle when it comes to getting their state license.

So, “Nurse Jackie,” if you are indeed a student, take some advice from someone who has their license. You need to humble yourself and be focused enough to study on your own because you will most likely not be well equipped to pass your boards on the education you receive from SCCC alone.

And if you are a teacher there, then shame on you for doing such a poor job of preparing these students for the real world of medicine. A real teacher facilitates learning and nurtures their students and does not brow beat them into submission or take pleasure in the failure of people who just want to better their future and want to be part of a noble profession.

Perhaps it’s time for the teachers in this program to take a little refresher course on a little thing called integrity.

Name withheld by request