Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Group Project Theater

Every semester we are assigned at least two group projects to submit to our instructors. Last semester and this one seem to have a theme... you have 1 case study and 1 project with a different theme, but that is geared towards the elderly (last semester it was prescription drugs, this semester it is nutrition).

So last night I finished the elderly nutrition project (I already completed the case study) and there was much rejoicing in the house. I HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE group projects. Our instructors say we do these things in groups "to help us learn to work as a team together" but I think it is so they only have to grade 6-7 projects and not 35.

Here's the type of exchange I wish would take place so that I knew ahead of time who would do their work and who would expect me to do their work for them.

Student Nurse Theater

Me, "OK, so I will do the 15 page patho on Acrocephalosyndactylia, Student Nurse Alpha agrees do the write up on the nursing process and Student Nurse Beta will come up with a teaching plan based on the nursing process. Let's plan to have this done a week ahead of time to give ourselves some breathing room."

Student Nurse Alpha, " OK, I will promise to do my section, but in reality I am going to ignore it for the entire working period and then two days before the final due date post something completely half-assed. Naturally, the whole time I will be claiming some family emergency is occurring so that you don't get too mad at me."

Student Nurse Beta, "Alpha, that's a great plan because I am going to agree to do the teaching plan, but will constantly bitch that you are holding me up. So finally when you get around to doing the work, I am going to claim I had a previous commitment that I claim I told you all about (but that no one remembers) and I expect someone else to do my work for me."

Me," I appreciate you letting me know that I will need to play janitor on this project. Now I can just do all the work up front and not have to get all of it done in 12 hours."

The End

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