So in order to pass the lab course I’m taking, you have to pass every single lab. If you don’t pass a lab, you get one chance to redo it, but if you get under a satisfactory score on any single assignment a second time, you’re doomed to have to retake the course (which you need permission for). There is no feedback provided before you actually submit the lab, so the only feedback is what you get after it’s already been graded.
I finally failed a lab, but apparently a lot of people also failed it, because there was a “don’t freak out” announcement and everything. I checked the feedback and… I did everything right. I used the verification checklist in the lab instructions on every scenario and caught everything that I was supposed to catch.
What I got marked incompetent for was not identifying “this prescription is crumpled and being filled late” as an issue. Despite the fact that they were otherwise valid prescriptions which were not expired. And despite the fact that the assignment was only to review the prescriptions for accuracy and completion. And despite the fact that nowhere in any course materials has it ever said that that should be something to be concerned about.
I redid the lab and basically added a line to each applicable scenario to be like “the prescription is being filled a bit late but it’s not expired and it’s still valid.” I turned the new version in along with about 4 paragraphs worth of explanations about why I had made the conscious decision the first time around not to consider the state of the piece of paper an issue, why there are concerning ethical implications if any professional did treat “paper is crumpled” as grounds for suspicion, the fact that I had clearly met the learning objectives and followed the instructions as they were laid out in the lab by assessing strictly the accuracy and completion of the written prescriptions, and a request for additional feedback in the event that my judgement was not sound, such that I may improve and adjust accordingly.
Prof gave me the passing score and response note about how, when the class was in-person, the lab scenarios would have been walked through step-by-step as a class, and how the resubmission method is meant to be a way to give students feedback in lieu of being able to meet in-person. She also said that while a tattered prescription isn’t strictly a legal issue, it could be a sign that a patient doesn’t know about assistive services available to them, for example prescription mailing or financial services.
Which is fair, but that was still not a part of the scenarios or the labs, and at a certain point I cannot list every single attribute a pharmacy might have, I cannot be expected to learn without meaningful feedback about the logic behind “correct” answers, and I still don’t think that a crumpled piece of paper in and of itself is incredibly weak as a red flag that a patient needs extra intervention, compared to much less innocuous things that would actually happen in non-hypothetical scenarios.
I’ve also emailed her pretty much once a week at this point to point out quiz questions that weren’t covered in course materials, to ask about grading criteria on labs, and to ask about trans-inclusive practicum sites. This one person has to deal with me for three different classes, for the record.
So the point of all that background context is that the grade for another lab just came in and the feedback is full of smiley faces, exclamation points, and compliments on my competence. Which is extra wild to me, since the syllabus and program handbook explicitly says that using emoticons is unprofessional and will result in docked grades if students use them. And all I can think is “does this lady think I’m a crybaby, or is she scared of me?”
Also online school is stupid as shit and I hate the fact that I am literally not being taught critical things, and I was 100% correct the first time around when I decided that paying full tuition for online courses is a terrible idea.
(Source: miseriathome)
