Retraining the trained
I have had an issue essentially "re-training" students enrolled who have had experience in the field previously and now are seeking certification. While have industry experience is helpful sometimes, I find that they fall back on "the way my clinic does it". My solution has been to acknowledge that yes, there are many ways to do a task, however our curriculum is setting a standard to enforce consistency between classes and instructors. There is also a standard of care that we must provide. It can be frusterating to have them continually lapse into the bad habits they have picked up "on the job".
I have similar troubles, in my class. I found that I can discuss material that is a little more advanced, on break, to keep them engaged.
Heather,
The students sometimes don't understand this most important concept. They need to perform the steps in a certain way because of ethical and legal requirements. This is why you are teaching them that way and they need to learn how to follow such protocols if they are going to be successful in their careers.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
We have the same issue in Surgical Technology. There are many so called right ways to do something but only one "certification way" to do things. Our standards are given by many organizations and we must teach based on these.
I like how you stated it as a bad habit. Those can be the most challenging to break. Reinforcing the basses of the class, yet acknowledging the fact that there are many ways to achieve the same goal is a great way to handle these situations.
Anna,
I've ran into similar issues with students who have worked in the field and have a habit of saying "well in my old clinic we did it this way", so I typically let them know there are different techniques to different procedures and you need to be open to learn a new way and part of working in health care is having the ability to adapt to change, plus you may find the "new" way is actually better.
Stephanie Bernard
