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Hello Everyone-
I just returned from vacation to start teaching my first re-cert
course. I've read all of the emails, and I have to say that I agree
with all of Betsy's frustrations. I also can't believe that things will
now be censored. Last I checked, we do not live in communist China.
>From what I read, there has been unprofessional behavior coming from
both sides of this issue-admittedly from myself as well at times-but the
most appropriate action in my mind from the state would be both
addressing the issues of instructors and firmly reminding everyone to
remain professional, not ignoring concerns and threatening to censor
this connection between the instructors and the powers that be.
With that being said, and with the hopes that I will not be censored,
I would like to add some constructive criticism of the course content
and recommendations for changes that I firmly believe will aid in the
goal that, hopefully, we all share.
1. I do find it unacceptable that I received the course content only
three weeks prior to the course. I tend to be the type of instructor
who prefers to know my curriculum inside and out and I like to be well
prepared. On top of teaching CRMA, I am also the nurse consult and a
charge nurse for my facility, so I had very little time to prepare for
this class, and the CRMA's and residents are directly affected by this.
In the future I would hope that the state will have a little more
consideration in this area.
2. The formatting of the exams are awful! Please fix this! The items
really should be grouped in to multiple choice, true/false, etc. Some
of the question run on to two pages, and some of them are grouped so
close together that you can't tell where one question ends and another
begins. It really does look sloppy, and I would have difficulty taking
this test just due to the formatting alone. I opted to retype the exam
(using the same questions, but making it more legible).
3. On the subject of the conversions. I still believe that the way
they are presented do not help the CRMA to comprehend how they are
applicable to their daily job No one needs to know how many drops there
are in a ml or how many grains or drams. Please remove these! CRMA's
would be better served by showing they can use and understand the
conversion chart in their drug book. Rather than just complain, let me
give specific ideas on what question I would like to see on the exam:
Students should UTILIZE tools available to them to do these on the
exam (i.e.: graduated med cup and conversion table in med book)
a. You have been asked to document your client's intake and
output. At breakfast, your client consumes 8 oz of juice. On the I&O
form, you must document in ml. How many ml are there in 8oz?
b. The same client voids a few hours later in an attend.
You weigh the attend, subtract the weight of a dry attend, and get a
total urine output of 6.2 oz. How many ml would this be?
c. The physician orders 1 Tbsp of medication for your
resident. When you receive the medication from the pharmacy, the
pharmacy label reads give 15ml. Is this the same amount? Where would
you go to find out this information?
These are just a few examples of ways to appropriately incorporate
conversions into the curriculum using real life situation which I
believe the CRMA would learn much more from.
4. Please change on the documentation/transcription piece of the
curriculum the following: There is no such thing as Depakote "Spansules
225mg". This really tripped up my class today. This should be:
Depakote Sprinkles 125mg give two caps po bid.
Overall, I feel the course went well-it's just a lot of the info is
incorrect or not useful (specifically the conversions given). It makes
it hard for the class to flow. The exams DEFINITELY need to be
re-formatted, and until they are, I will continue to retype them for my
classes making sure, of course, that I keep the same questions per the
state request, though I'd love to see a committee to review the test
questions as well. I think a lot of them should be revised.
I hope this info is useful, especially to Peter, Carol, and anyone else
there working on the curriculum.
Thank You
Cynthia Ranco, RN
Casa, Inc.
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